Junyou sat in her hospital bed, a hospital table rolled up in order to allow her to eat her breakfast as she was surrounded by the various carriers of the Yokosuka Naval Base, the Zuikaku Romance Planning Committee surrounding her and was either seated or was standing whilst leaning on the hospital walls.
Junyou's meal consisted of buttered toast, a cup of finished yogurt, a plate of rice, white broccoli and eggs with a helping of lettuce, and two fruit-flavored jelly cups with fruit slices in them, Junyou hungrily devouring them all with a small flask of whiskey to wash it all down after healing up in the docks, and sitting through an operation had sapped her of her stamina.
The fact that every carrier had eaten their breakfast and allowed her to heal faster by eating her fill was a blessing, since none of them eyed her food with overtly lustful eyes that she likely had to fend off by shielding her food with her arms, not that they'd actually ask to 'sample' her food, since they respected her need to feed herself in order to heal up faster.
As usual, someone had to run interference to ensure that Kaga was occupied, and this time, Akagi had offered to take the bullet by arranging a hospital visit on the same day which the 1st Carrier Division had a training session.
And since there were quite a few carriers in this base who had sessions 'conveniently' arranged around this week, Kaga made a hard choice by attending the training session in order to get some practice in before participating in the upcoming large-scale naval battle, although Junyou was extremely accepting of the Kaga-Class carrier's apologies since she was the one who engineered this 'coincidence'.
But Zuikaku had an annoyed expression on her face, her right eye twitching and a vein bulging on her left temple as she called everyone out on the presence of an extra carrier in the room.
And she was American.
"WHY IN THE BLOODY BLUE BLAZES IS SARATOGA HERE?!"
While pointing to the silent Lexington-Class carrier seated beside Junyou, it was understandable that the Twin Cranes might possess some feelings of animosity or at least feelings of intense rivalry for a carrier who had tussled with her and Shoukaku in the previous war along with Enterprise.
However, Shoukaku already seemed as though she were accustomed to the American's presence and didn't share Zuikaku's negative feelings towards Saratoga, so poor Zuikaku was pretty much alone in that regard.
Hiryuu lightly slapped her on the crown of her head, lifting a finger towards her lips as she remarked.
"Come on, Zuikaku-senpai.
The more carriers we have on our side, the better.
Besides, and no offense, Saratoga-san, but would you rather have a wild card that is a foreigner barging in at the wrong moment and mess up our plans?"
Saratoga nodded understandingly as she lifted a palm to rub the spot of hair on Zuikaku's head where Hiryuu slapped, earning the Shoukaku-Class carrier's ire as Saratoga saw Hiryuu's point.
"I understand, Hiryuu-san.
It is understandable that you would at least attempt to control every known factor when attempting to help a maiden win the heart of her loved one.
After all, love is fickle, and that alone is enough of a hassle to deal with as it is."
Shoukaku nodded sagely as she supported her left elbow with her right hand while her left hand was on her chin in a contemplative pose, adding.
"Yes, indeed.
But love, in a sense, is somewhat like war.
With Saratoga-san's presence here, at least on the surface, the hornet's nest will now be stirred amongst the carriers, and by extension, the entire base.
The fact that Kaga mentioned Saratoga's presence before attending the training session probably means that she aims to challenge and beat you in a 1v1, impress you and establish the pecking order here.
But is this a sign that we should take things a little slower so as not to jeopardize our chances of victory?"
But Junyou shook her head, almost seeing the golden opportunity amidst the ensuing chaos in Saratoga's wake as she lowered her utensils, gesturing for everyone to come closer as she noted.
"Nah, Saratoga's appearance may actually be a godsend.
We should try to think outside the box in order to use this seemingly chaotic and unfavorable situation to our advantage."
Gesturing for Saratoga to come closer, Junyou explained herself and the situation at hand, taking the time to observe the American newcomer up close since her eyes still weren't completely healed.
"Sorry 'bout this, Saratoga, but my eyes are still bad from my last sortie, so I need to lean in close in order to see what you look like.
Anyway, first things first, Kaga's competitiveness will hit an all-time high with Saratoga's arrival, so that's something we need to note.
Second thing, how can we catapult Zuikaku-chan into the spotlight while using current events to our advantage?"
Souryuu noted,
"Well, these days, a lot of bird carriers are taking up the training grounds to practice for the upcoming large-scale battle, so can we use that to stage a confrontation between them?
After all, I believe Kaga-senpai will want to see Saratoga-san's skill level through a duel, despite being newly spawned."
Saratoga, freezing up upon seeing Junyou's slightly damaged and dull eyes studying her facial features and being close enough to smell the stench of alcohol on the Hiyou-Class light carrier, gave the Souryuu-Class carrier an aside glance as she asked innocently.
"I-Is there really going to be a large-scale battle so soon after my arrival?
If so, then I need all the training I can get, and I need to clock in as many hours on the ocean as possible in order to gain experience quickly.
But after knowing that Kaga might challenge me to a duel in a training session…"
But Junyou had other ideas, instead rolling with the Lexington-Class's hypothetical scenario, building off of it and suggesting.
"No, actually, I think we can work with that.
After all, what better way to earn some affection points by being catapulted into the limelight and make Kaga proud by taking her place in the duel?"
Everyone's eyes turned to the younger sister of the Shoukaku-Class, and Zuikaku's face lit up as she considered Junyou's last sentence before retorting.
"Oh, no!
We're not doing things like thi-"
"I can't believe we're doing things like this."
Zuikaku had a deadpan expression on her face as she muttered under her breath, having grudgingly accepted Junyou's plan after she outlined its details for them to follow to the letter.
And now here they were, three days later, on the ocean with their equipment on them as they sailed towards the training grounds in order to participate in the large-scale training session that they had planned for everyone.
There, the carriers and light carriers could train their planes and themselves in order to prepare for the upcoming large-scale battle that was slated to take place in the Sagami-nada Sea, since carriers were said to play an important role in providing air support.
Saratoga had been training relentlessly these three days, because despite Zuikaku possessing a one-sided rivalry between them, the American carrier genuinely wanted to win this duel with the Lucky Crane, and by training herself up, it would mean that the battle wouldn't be as one-sided in Zuikaku's favor since the Kai Shokaku-Class carrier possessed a boost gauge, a vital tool in a mano-a-mano duel.
Saratoga was a respectably strong carrier in her own right, but there was no substitute for practice and experience, and if she didn't go all out in the duel with Zuikaku, Kaga might suspect that something was up with them and question the victor.
The time was 8.45 a.m. in the morning, and Zuikaku was now sailing with Shoukaku, Hiryuu and Souryuu while Kaga and Akagi led the three carrier divisions toward the training grounds, where several bird carriers and Saratoga were present, helping her improve on the performance of her planes.
Kaga was looking unnaturally serious about challenging the American carrier, and it looked as if no one was capable of convincing her otherwise, since as the strongest and most senior carrier in the Yokosuka Naval Base, she saw it as her responsibility to break the newcomer in and gauge Saratoga's strength.
And that's where Junyou's plan to catapult Zuikaku into the spotlight came in.
Reaching the training grounds on the ocean, Zuikaku could see several bird carriers surrounding Saratoga, namely Zuihou, Amagi, Unryuu, Chitose and even Houshou on the ocean with the American.
Ryuujou was predictably absent since she was sunk by the Lexington-Class carrier, and she probably couldn't handle meeting Saratoga so soon and dredge up bad memories in the process.
Zuihou wore a green kimono top with her long sleeves attached over white cloth and had a lattice trimming on her cuffs, her chestplate possessing a generic camouflage pattern in order to help her distinguish her Kai form from her unremodeled one.
Her similarly green, pleated shorts reached down to the middle of her thighs, and she wore a red-striped white headband to hold up her fringe as her light-brown hair was tied up in a high ponytail, and she, like the rest of the bow-and-arrow carriers, wielded a red-white-striped bow in her left hand with her arrow quiver integrated into her rigging.
She wasn't very well-endowed unlike the various carriers standing beside her, wearing white socks with red slippers as she had the characters 'づほ' on the left leg of her shorts in a white font.
Zuikaku picked up on everyone's skittishness around the Lexington-Class carrier save for Houshou, who had already built up a rapport with the American simply due to her maternal aura and amiable personality which everyone could connect with.
The rest of them tried to help her by guiding her planes onto the right path towards hitting the still bulls-eye targets, the moving clay models of the Abyssals and the airborne replicas of the Abyssal bombers, but never really knew what to talk to her about and loitered around her in an awkward silence whenever they weren't needed.
Zuikaku could see Kaga making a beeline for the American, eager to challenge her in order to personally witness the ability of an American carrier, everyone following behind her as Kaga introduced herself and her fellow Japanese carriers to Saratoga.
"Greetings.
I'm Kaga, and this is Akagi.
The both of us make up the entirety of the 1st Carrier Division.
Hiryuu and Souryuu here are the two carriers of the 2nd Carrier Division, while Shokaku and Zuikaku here are in the 5th Carrier Division.
Welcome to the Yokosuka Naval Base."
Everyone gave the American carrier a Japanese bow in order to formally welcome her to the base, and Saratoga was a little embarrassed by the welcoming gesture as she put her right hand forward to wave her palm, meekly commenting.
"Oh, don't worry.
You don't have to bow… ah, you're already bowing…"
Houshou giggled as she commented on the discipline and manners of the three carrier divisions, having spent a majority of her time in Yokosuka caring for them before they came into their own as the legendary carriers of Japan.
"Oh, they're well-behaved children, Sara-san.
Don't mind them, they're just being polite."
Zuikaku, as well as every one of the arriving carriers, noted the affectionate nickname Houshou used to address the American carrier, but Saratoga nodded warmly upon Houshou's reassurance as she commented.
"Ah, I see…"
And like everyone predicted, Kaga was direct in issuing a challenge to the newcomer, at least attempting to appear as non-confrontational as possible as she requested.
"Saratoga-san, forgive me for thinking that this is too sudden of me to ask, but I'd like to request a duel with you in order to ascertain your skill and strength as an American carrier."
But Saratoga was looking even more embarrassed that the Kaga-Class carrier was giving her this much credit as she scratched the back of her head and commented, looking down at the ocean sheepishly.
"Well, I wouldn't exactly call myself famous for being in any major event other than Operation Crossroads…"
Everyone looked a little perturbed at how the carrier immediately brought up Crossroads while downplaying all the naval battles and campaigns that she participated in, but Zuikaku could now detect Junyou's ship girl signature approaching them on the radar, Kaga attempting to salvage the situation by stating.
"Well, regardless, as an American, you should be a little more proud of representing your country in a foreign land.
And about that duel…"
But Junyou appeared at the most 'inopportune' time to intervene on Saratoga's behalf, shouting.
"HOOOOLLLLLDDDD IT!"
Everyone turned to see the hospitalized light carrier dropping in with her two hospital gowns covering her body, a flask of alcohol in her right hand as she hobbled towards the crowd of carriers, commenting in a lazy drawl.
"Yo, what the hell am I lookin' at here?
Some sort of 'new girl bullying' routine here?"
Everyone held their breath upon hearing that, looking between the Kaga-Class carrier and the Hiyou-Class light carrier as Junyou was indirectly addressing the stoic ship girl of the 1st Carrier Division.
Kaga, possessing quite a fair bit of patience for the hospitalized light carrier, closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking at Junyou as she asked.
"It's great to see you here, Junyou-san.
But pray tell, why are you not staying in the hospital and taking dips in the dock to recover as soon as possible?"
Junyou closed her eyes and furrowed her brows in distress, remembering the extended periods of time where she had to sit in the docks or in her privatized hospital ward by herself, with no one to accompany her save for several visits from her teammates and other carriers.
"Aww!
I just felt so lonely in my privatized hospital ward despite my teammates and several of you carriers visiting me whenever you take the day off.
And besides, when better to temporarily leave the hospital in order to hang out with my fellow carriers and the new girl than today, when you all congregate together in order to train, amirite?!"
Kaga leaned away from Junyou as she rested her head on her shoulder, desperately wanting to shake the light carrier off, but didn't want to look bad in front of everyone by treating a hospital patient with anything less than absolute patience, respect and kindess.
Junyou was obviously drinking (obviously not to the point of being wasted; Junyou knew her limit), so she had the stench of alcohol on her which made Kaga recoil.
Hiryuu raised her palms to jokingly comment about Junyou's improved vocabulary as Souryuu eased a tipsy Junyou off of her senior's shoulder.
"Woah, 'congregate'?
Get ready girls, because when drunk Junyou can still use such complicated words, I think that's a sign that the Apocalypse's nearing."
But Junyou took the initiative as she put on an innocent expression and asked the next question, knowing from personal experience that drunk people sometimes had a 'Get out of jail free card' that others didn't, at the price of being stigmatized as drunkards (not that Junyou particularly cared about her image, she had more important things on her mind which mandated her attention).
"Yo, but isn't the gap in levels too far between you two?
You get off on pickin' fights with ship girls who're weaker than you?"
Everyone's attention was drawn to her words, and Junyou gently shook off Souryuu's guiding hands in order to stand on her own two boat slippers, albeit wobbling a bit after feeling a dizzy spell coming on, elaborating as she pointed towards a silent Kaga.
"Kaga-san, no disrespect, baby, but I don't think you're suited to fight this battle."
The crowd's attention was now fixated on Kaga, the Kaga-Class carrier starting to sweat despite her expression never wavering from 'stoic hitman' as she coolly asked.
"And please enlighten us.
How am I not qualified to have a duel with Saratoga-san?
I am a proud member of the 1st Carrier Division, the most senior member of this base save for Houshou-san…"
Nodding in the light carrier's direction to acknowledge her seniority and presence, Houshou nodded back before Kaga continued whilst looking down at the ocean.
"I possess an excellent track record in both World War 2 and in the Abyssal War, and…"
But Junyou's extended hand slowly started shaking when Kaga started listing her resume before everyone, quickly transitioning into a circular motion to motion for Kaga to get on with her speech as she interjected.
"And that's exactly why!
You're overqualified to fight Saratoga, who hasn't even achieved her Kai remodel!"
Kaga stopped mid-speech, considering Junyou's words as Junyou went on the offensive and explained the situation.
"Look, I know that you want to test the power of an American carrier, and maybe you still feel a little salty after getting pwned at Midway and want to prove your superiority to a Yank here in order to establish the pecking order.
But you easily run the risk of crossing the line into being a bully lording your seniority over the newcomer with your ensemble of lackeys backing you up when Saratoga's only gotten several days of practice."
Bringing up her arms to swing them around to gesture to everyone, Junyou got everyone whispering amidst themselves as she asked, making full use of her apparent 'drunkenness' to make sure that she never came off as condescending in the process.
"Look, Sara here…"
Saddling up to the American carrier and slinging an arm around Saratoga's curled-in shoulders.
"Seems to me like she's the protagonist in some anime high school drama, and you're, no offense, a queen bitch with her lackeys behind her.
And I perfectly understand that you want to gauge Sara-chan's abilities, but you can't simply ignore the difference in power level, dominate the match and humiliate her in front of everyone, y'know?"
Kaga lowered her gaze upon seeing Junyou's point, evading everyone's gaze as she muttered loud enough for everyone's enhanced hearing to pick up.
"I didn't mean for my challenge to be interpreted that way…"
But Junyou raised a placating hand to try and repair the situation as she told Kaga about her suggestion.
"But y'know, I ain't exactly shooting down your idea of a challenge.
Giving Sara-chan a bit of a challenge isn't a bad idea, but you gotta choose the right candidate so as not to overwhelm her or make things unfair, a'ight?"
Nodding, Kaga looked to Akagi as she gave her opinion on their predicament, Junyou realizing that the gluttonous carrier giving advice would be a good idea to get through to Kaga, although it had to be presented as a natural response in response to the situation at hand.
"Well, I do believe that the both of us can't duel with Saratoga-san, because we'd crush her with our experience and superior stats.
Hiryuu-san is already Kai Ni, and she suffers from the same problem of being overqualified."
"And Souryuu?"
Souryuu herself answered honestly, raising her arms up in a faux-surrendering gesture as she noted.
"Well, the difference in experience between me and Hiryuu-chan isn't that drastic anyway, and I'm getting my Kai Ni within a few weeks, so…"
Kaga nodded in acknowledgement as she added,
"So it comes down to Shokuaku and Zuikaku, since Saratoga-san should theoretically be able to defeat a light carrier or the Unryuu-Class carriers with ease…"
While giving the pale-haired nameship carrier an aside glance, but Unryuu was looking rather nonchalant about how Kaga added the term 'theoretically' since Unryuu herself would destroy Saratoga with her merciless fighting style.
But everyone brushed that comment aside as Zuikaku raised her hand to offer herself as a candidate for the duel, Kaga slightly raising an eyebrow as Junyou gave the Shoukaku-Class carriers a big grin, knowing that everything was going according to plan as she pointed to Zuikaku and commented.
"Well, come on, Kaga.
Pick Zuikaku as your representative in this duel and let's get on with it."
But Akagi was the one to question Junyou's judgement, although this was for the sake of making the argument flow naturally in order to make Zuikaku being chosen seem like the natural choice in this situation.
"No offense, Junyou-san, but why choose Zuikaku-san and not Shoukaku-san?"
Junyou shrugged with an innocent, wide smile on her face as she leaned in towards Saratoga, feeling the American's large bosom squeeze against hers in the process as she retorted as per the plan.
"Well, because Sara-chan here's a lucky carrier since she survived the war, and we don't need no unlucky carrier to go up against her, lest Shokaku-chan's bowstring snap before she even launches her first plane and forfeits, amirite?"
Shoukaku was visibly struck and leaned back from the blow as everyone started to giggle at the thought of Shoukaku's bowstring snapping due to her bad luck, allowing Zuikaku to take her place in the duel anyway.
Unryuu snorted softly in what passed as a laugh for the aloof carrier, while Kaga respectfully hid her snicker behind a false coughing fit, and in a superb performance, Shoukaku dramatically collapsed onto the ocean surface, lying down on her side in Amagi's heavily damaged pose as her dull eyes focused on nothing, monotonously intoning.
"Ah, Zuikaku, I understand if this is a duel between lucky carriers.
So please don't this unlucky elder sister's bad luck rub off on you…"
Zuikaku exclaimed as she stood over her sister's body, trying to motivate her elder sister into action.
"C-Come on, Shoukaku-nee!
I need you to cheer me on in the duel!"
But Souryuu turned to look at Junyou, and as per the plan, she asked the next question in order to redirect Kaga's attention.
"But Junyou-san, is there some sort of reason why you're taking Saratoga-san's side, other than being nice to the new girl?
Could you perhaps be trying to get into Saratoga-san's good graces in order to get her to do your bidding and allow you to slack off?"
Junyou visibly flinched upon hearing that as everyone's imaginative minds conjured up the image of a half-naked Junyou who was surrounded by empty alcohol bottles and was absolutely wasted as a genuinely loyal Saratoga attended to her, cleaning up her room and disposing of the wine bottles while asking in a polite, respectful tone.
"Yes, Junyou-senpai?"
Junyou would receive a message for her to sortie with the 1st Fleet, and would give the obedient carrier an order as she shook her head to clear her mind while waving Saratoga away.
"Ahh, the 1st Fleet's sortieing again.
Sara-chan, go take my place in the fleet and tell 'em I'm unavailable."
Junyou, in everyone's mind, would then pour some more sake into a cup while popping open another can of alcohol, muttering with half-lidded, bloodshot eyes as she mimicked the behavior of an alcoholic mother in everyone's over-the-top imagination.
"There's a bit of blood left in my alcohol stream, and I aim to correct that.
So get moving, and you'll be sleeping in the corridor if you don't get MVP and wipe out the enemy, you hear me?!"
Before taking a shot, while Saratoga happily obliged since Junyou stood up for her in practice and gave her a room to stay in, an obedient dog's wagging tail appearing on her hind and twitching dog ears fitting on her head in everyone's mind as she cheerily replied with a bright smile.
"Yes, Junyou-senpai!"
Everyone turned back to Junyou in real time, who was visibly sweating buckets, was evading everyone's gaze as she looked around shiftily, and was wildly gesturing with her hands while epically failing to defend her case, uttering a shaky,
"Wha-Wha…
What could you possibly be talking about, Souryuu-san?
There's no way t-that could be true, I'd never stoop to taking advantage of a fellow comrade's loyalty in order to make my life easier, ahahaha…"
Everyone sweat-dropped as they gave her the 'Bruh' look, which denoted apparent disappointment and the slightest bit of disdain, Saratoga innocently smiling as she looked confused as to what was going on.
All part of the plan.
The plan was to avoid arousing Kaga's suspicion about getting Zuikaku to replace her in the duel, and the first part of the plan was to point out how unfair it was for Saratoga to go up against a far more experienced and powerful carrier without much prior training.
The second part was to ease Zuikaku into the spotlight whilst keeping Kaga's attention occupied, first on Junyou calling her out, then onto Shoukaku's dramatic response to being called an unlucky carrier and back to Junyou pathetically trying to justify her actions.
The Hiyou-Class light carrier had to deliberately ham up her acting and make it look bad in order to draw everyone's attention while the Lexington-Class carrier had to look confused despite understanding everyone perfectly, and as she predicted, Kaga was the one who tried to bring the situation under control by clearing her throat and stating.
"Well, if no one objects to the pairing, then the duel between Zuikaku and Saratoga-san will commence in five minutes.
Junyou-san will coach Saratoga-san before the battle, and I shall have a few words with Zuikaku."
"Is everything going well so far, Junyou-san?"
They were standing at a far enough distance to make sure that Kaga and Zuikaku, despite being carriers with enhanced senses, wouldn't hear their hushed whispers as Junyou nodded conspiratorially, commenting.
"Well, Zuikaku is indeed taking Kaga's place in the duel, and I think she might have a score to settle with you after the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, where you and her had quite the skirmish.
But don't worry, I believe you can take her with your skills."
Saratoga nodded as she noted the two conversing carriers off in the distance, asking.
"But Zuikaku-san is under Kaga-san's tutelage, so while I appreciate your faith in me, I need to ask if you have some legitimately good advice for me to follow?"
Junyou thought about that for quite a while, noting.
"Well, no offense, but in your unremodeled state, you're almost no match for Zuikaku's Kai remodel in terms of air-power, armor, evasion, amongst others.
But I believe you beat her in cannon range and firepower, and the amount of health you possess."
Saratoga raised an eyebrow as she dared to ask how she knew of this.
"I'd like to inquire as to how you know of this, since I don't believe you've seen me in combat yet."
Junyou waved her concerns away as she commented offhandedly.
"Well, I had all the time in the hospital to check up on both your game stats on the internet, so don't worry."
Looking down to nod slowly, Saratoga looked to Junyou again as she furrowed her eyebrows and asked.
"We have a game about us?"
Looking rather nonchalant about this, Junyou added,
"Yeah, and a Japanese anime series about us that aired early this year."
Rolling her eyes in derision as she commented.
"Totally inaccurate in how they portray the Abyssal war, I tell you.
And they say season two and a movie's coming out.
Oh, the humanity."
Saratoga lowered her head as Junyou shelved those thoughts aside to focus on the Lexington-Class carrier.
"But let's focus on you instead, Sara-chan.
I'm no coach or training cruiser, but I genuinely want you to try and win, and not to throw the match.
So here's what I want you to do…"
And whispered into Saratoga's ear about her strategy to give Zuikaku a run for her money and to give Saratoga a fighting chance.
Standing a fair distance from each other on the ocean while facing each other, Houshou stood in between them to start the match as she listed the rules.
"Girls.
This duel is between Saratoga-san and Zuikaku-san, and the match will last for 15 minutes.
However, should either carrier drop beneath the health threshold on your health-bars while in practice mode, we will halt the match to declare the opposing carrier the victor so as not to allow either one of you to sustain serious damage.
It is possible for one of you to throw in the towel if the situation becomes unfavorable, after which the battle will also end.
Let's be sportsmanlike about this, alright?"
Both carriers nodded before Houshou gently raised her right palm vertically, before cutting down in a chop and retreating while gently calling out,
"Begin!"
And Saratoga immediately turned tail and ran, with her boat slippers audibly hitting the ocean.
Everyone stopped to watch the back of the Lexington-Class carrier, who was performing the sacred art of the 'tactical retreat' as Zuikaku's mouth dropped, before she recovered and started up her boat slippers in order to catch up, exclaiming.
"Wait!
Get back here, Saratoga-san!"
The American carrier glanced behind her as she apologized in a genuine tone.
"I'm sorry!
Junyou-san told me to do this!"
Everyone turned to give Junyou the 'Bruh' look again, the Hiyou-Class light carrier looking away whilst sweating profusely, whistling a random tune in order to fill the heavy silence that was everyone giving her the stink eye.
Zuikaku tried to fire off an arrow in Saratoga's direction, but was faced with cannon fire which interrupted her form, courtesy of Saratoga's 8-Inch Twin-Barrel Cannons firing opposite of where she was running, which was towards the sun.
Zuikaku performed evasive maneuvers as she slowed down in order to aim at the retreating carrier, but Saratoga running towards the sun meant that she had to squint in order to get a bead on her, before realizing that the American carrier followed suit, slamming her boat slippers onto the ocean in order to stop in her tracks before pivoting around and pulling one of the two triggers on her Thompson sub-machine gun, speedily sending out two Grumman TBF Avengers who flew towards Zuikaku.
Understanding the lethality of the two planes, Zuikaku understood that in a one-on-one battle against an American carrier who could unload her planes quickly, there was not time to go through the 'eight stages of shooting' in Japanese archery, Kyudo.
So she grimaced as she performed evasive maneuvers while pulling out three arrows from her arrow quiver, holding them in her right hand as she loaded them one at a time while keeping the other arrows in her grasp, holding her longbow at a lower angle so as to perform an unorthodox, but often-practiced art of quick-firing.
Different scenarios required different techniques to handle the situation, and one style which quickly developed for a bow-and-arrow carrying Japanese carrier was to grab a bunch of random arrows, quickly aim one at the enemy, draw and immediately release it while preparing the next arrow.
It was often looked down upon as a desperate and an extremely ungraceful move when compared to the Kyudo style of arrow shooting, where patience, beauty and perfection were paramount, but in a war where efficiency and practicality were the deciding factors in a battle, quick-release shooting was commonly taught to make sure that every bow-carrying carrier could summon planes en masse if required.
Saratoga was surprised when Zuikaku quick-fired her arrows, the arrows bursting into flames as the Fairy pilots quickly pulled up to meet the Avengers halfway, who had already dropped their payloads into the water and were now struggling to evade the incoming Type 0 Fighters (Model 52) who hounded them.
Zuikaku strafed to the left and lifted her right feet in order to evade the torpedo salvo, but Saratoga was mirroring her movements as she sailed in a counterclockwise direction to intercept her, pressing the first gun trigger twice while turning a dial on the firearm in order to load another two planes on the flight deck of her Thompson submachine gun.
Pressing the second trigger, she summoned a Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat and a Douglas SBD Dauntless to substitute the two retreating Avengers, who safely landed on Saratoga's firearm in order to load up another torpedo.
The Avengers landed on the flight deck and stopped on the lift before Saratoga pressed the first trigger, twisting the dial and pressing the gun trigger again to retrieve both Avengers, Zuikaku surmising that the first gun trigger was to activate the flight deck lift either to load or store an aircraft, the switch was to control which lift was to be selected while the second trigger was to launch the planes.
Zuikaku repaid the favor in kind by pressing a hidden button on her longbow twice, and her arrow quiver extruded two arrows for her to grasp, aim and fire at once to summon as many planes as possible to stop Saratoga, the arrows transforming after bursting into flames like phoenixes to turn into Tenzan torpedo bombers.
But as the two Tenzan planes tried to home in onto a moving Saratoga, the Lexington-Class carrier got her cannons to depress low enough while leaning forward to help them in that regard as they deliberately fired into the ocean, producing columns of water that threw their aim off, one Tenzan losing control and spiraling into the water after failing to evade in time and flying straight through said water column.
Saratoga looked down at the Japanese Fairy which popped up on the surface of the ocean with a life-jacket around its chest, apologizing to an apoplectic Fairy who was shaking its tiny fist at her not unlike a certain World War 1 Flying Ace beagle who was cursing his mortal enemy, the Red Baron.
"I'm really sorry, Fairy-san!"
Zuikaku wasn't exactly worried about the Fairy's safety or the state of the lost Tenzan, since unmanned submarines often patrolled the training grounds in order to retrieve lost weapons before restoring them to working order, while all Fairy planes were capable of safely ejecting the pilot even while underwater.
Even so, she sailed over towards the Fairy in order to retrieve it while Saratoga was still sailing counterclockwise, and Zuikaku was starting to face away from the sun as Saratoga was beginning to look at the sun behind the Lucky Crane, but the two reloaded TBF Avengers took off from the American's firearm along with the lone SBD Dauntless dive bomber, which broke past her planes' defenses to fly towards her.
Caught in the midst of a triple-threat, Zuikaku hastily resorted to another last-resort move to save her own skin, stepping forwards as she raised her left foot backwards and posed as though she were preparing to kick a soccer ball.
Digging her boat slipper into the ocean at an angle, she followed through by thrusting her foot and boat slipper forwards, kicking up seawater as she performed a powerful kick in order to throw the TBF Avenger torpedo bombers off with the resulting spray, shouting,
"Storm Leg!"
Again, this technique was a crude, yet effective way of deterring torpedo bombers, mostly utilized by standard carriers as a last resort and was also seen as a rather unsightly move since ladies, as per human societal customs, weren't supposed to perform powerful kicks while wearing short skirts.
But then again, they were in the midst of a war against innumerable Abyssals, where they could afford to sacrifice some dignity for the sake of surviving to see tomorrow…
The two TBF Avengers performed evasive maneuvers, one banking tightly to evade the sudden spray while the other pulled up, almost grazing Zuikaku's hair as the Shokaku-Class carrier ducked in order to avoid getting hit by the careening Avenger, the Fairy ejecting before the out-of-control torpedo bomber hit the ocean.
Bending her knees, she propelled herself to the side in order to avoid the Dauntless's dropped bomb as it pulled up, the bomb detonation throwing up seawater which slightly soaked the Shokaku-Class carrier as she sailed away, untouched.
Saratoga was again surprised to see Zuikaku defy her expectations by using simple, yet unorthodox defensive and offensive moves, commenting as she evaded the gunfire of her Type 0 Fighters (Model 52) fighter planes and a torpedo that was dropped into the water courtesy of Zuikaku's Tenzan.
"How interesting, that you use everything on hand to keep yourself alive.
Is this how Japanese carriers normally fight?"
Zuikaku grimaced as she retorted,
"Well, this is how every carrier in the world's taught to fight if they want to live to see tomorrow!
It may be unsightly and crude, but it works, so shut up!"
Saratoga's eyes slightly widened before narrowing, breaking out into a small smile a she remarked.
"Well, if I can push you to the point where you're forced to use these moves against me, then it means that you view me as quite the threat, right?
I'm touched."
Zuikaku's right eye twitched as she pressed on a few buttons and pulled out the extruded arrows offered by her quiver before quick-firing them, exclaiming.
"W-Well, you're still the newcomer here, so don't get ahead of yourself!"
A Suisei Dive Bomber and a Type 99 Dive Bomber emerged, engines whirring as they flew towards Saratoga, the Anti-Aircraft cannons of both ship girls doing their best to protect their respective ship girls.
And finally, Zuikaku's planes scored a hit as Saratoga was hit by the Suisei as it came in hard and dropped its payload on Saratoga's rigging, the training bombs created to never be able to inflict a lethal wound on a ship girl as the American carrier emerged, smoking, bruised and coughing up a fit, but still in fighting condition.
Zuikaku noted that the American upped the ante by summoning two Grumman F6F Hellcats in order to fend off the horde of Japanese planes that were harassing her, and Zuikaku was now put on the defensive as she had to evade the incoming Hellcats, Wildcats and Avengers, all of which were headed towards her.
She simultaneously summoned another two Type 0 Fighter (Model 32) planes so as not to leave herself completely defenseless, and began to perform evasive maneuvers just as the Hellcats and Wildcats opened fire, preventing her from performing another Storm Leg to stop the Avengers from dropping their payloads into the ocean, using her boost gauges in order to evade the torpedoes at the last second.
But Saratoga surprised her as she charged in with all her might, ignoring the bullets of the Type 0 Fighter planes that were punching through her uniform and drawing blood in minute amounts as she raised her Thompson submachine gun, a heavy Anti-Abyssal weapon in and of itself, and attempted to melee Zuikaku.
Zuikaku was stuck in motion and had no way to evade the blow, so she raised her left arm to intercept the incoming blow before attempting to return the favor in kind with the arm which held her bow, Saratoga also grabbing her incoming in order to prevent the blow from connecting.
Now in a deadlock with both carriers attempting to physically overpower each other, Zuikaku grimaced as she saw Saratoga mirror her fierce expression, since she was an American carrier and genuinely wanted to go all-out in a fair battle against her, despite wanting to help her win Kaga's heart.
Noting the position of the three-position rotary dial at the foot of the firearm trigger, Zuikaku noted the,
'T',
'D',
'F',
Settings on the rotary dial which was set to 'D', Zuikaku remembered too late that Saratoga's Dive Bombers, which the 'D' likely stood for, were already loaded via the first trigger, and since they would be stuck to the flight deck, likely via magnetism, even when the Thompson was orientated differently, that meant…
Zuikaku could see Saratoga's slender fingers pulling on the second trigger, two more SBD Dauntless dive bombers shooting vertically upwards while the Hellcats took advantage of the opening the Wildcats had bought them while dueling with the Type 0 Fighters to make a beeline towards her.
Shit.
Zuikaku flexed her ship girl muscles in order to free herself before the Hellcats zeroed in on her exposed back and opened fire with their machine guns.
The fact that the two Dauntless dive bombers that flew vertically upwards had deliberately stalled so as to drop back down in order to home in on her, drop their payloads and pull up at the last second didn't escape her notice either.
Unfortunately, Zuikaku's 160,000 horsepower out slowly lost to Saratoga's 180,000 horsepower output as the Lexington-Class carrier slowly overwhelmed her, and Zuikaku immediately changed tactics as she brought up her armored boot in order to stamp on Saratoga's feet.
The two of tussled in a dance of death, either trying to kick at or stomp on the other's feet while physically wrestling with each other, Zuikaku feeling her two hearts working at full capacity as the sweat freely flowed from her forehead while the engine buzz of the four American planes surrounding her got progressively louder to indicate her imminent doom.
Finally, Saratoga tried to break the physical deadlock by leaning backwards, Zuikaku quickly and accurately predicting that she was going for a headbutt, understandable since the Lexington-Class carrier didn't want to get caught in the blast radius of the dive bombers as they dropped their payloads.
But it was the wrong move to use in this situation.
She felt that Saratoga was trying to shift away from pushing Zuikaku back to pulling her in while throwing her head forwards for maximum damage.
Zuikaku used this situation to turn the tables by pushing her arms into an almost-straight position while the Shokaku-Class carrier raised her left knee to allow the American carrier, who was stuck in motion, to smash her nose into Zuikaku's armored knee-guard.
Everyone audibly "OHHHHH!"ed at the sound of Saratoga's nose breaking in a sickening crunch, the American carrier almost dropping her Thompson submachine gun as Zuikaku, in a moment of mercy, grimaced as she threw her sparring partner out of the blast radius before emptying her boost gauge in order to accelerate from a resting position.
She barely evaded the two bombs that were dropped by the Dauntless dive bombers, although she didn't get away scot-free as the Hellcats managed to get some good hits on her back and rigging.
Their miniature bullets stung Zuikaku's back as she winced and futilely tried to swat the two fighter planes out of the air, sharply inhaling through clenched teeth as she reminded herself that these were practice rounds, and in battle, these wounds were supposed to hurt a lot more.
Turning back as she panted, she saw that Saratoga was holding her bloody nose as the blood flow was partially stemmed, dripping onto the ocean as Saratoga's pained voice was a little high-pitched since she was holding her nose.
"You…
You protected me from my own bombers…"
Zuikaku took a deep breath before remarking about how she couldn't leave her in a situation where she'd get hurt.
"Look…
Call me soft, call me weak, but you're our comrade.
I admit if you were an enemy Wo-Class, I wouldn't have done the same.
But despite what we've been through in the past, there's no point in being a total bitch and leaving you out to dry when we're on the same side now, right?"
Saratoga's eyes widened as Zuikaku warily eyed the airborne Japanese and American planes, still fighting for air supremacy as she commented.
"Well, if you want to thank me, you can start by admitting defeat, because if we were on a real battlefield, let's face it, you'd be one a one-way trip to Davy Jones' Locker right now.
You got outplayed, although I will admit that it was only because of your inexperience.
So how about calling it a day, here and now?"
Zuikaku raised her right hand in order to draw another arrow and quick-fire it, and since Saratoga previously summoned two Dauntless dive bombers to try and take Zuikaku out while danger close, she would have to wait for her Thompson to load another two planes, and Zuikaku would have already sent out two torpedo cruisers in order to drop her by then.
Saratoga exhaled through her mouth, considering the proposal as she looked down at the ocean and the drops of blood dripping into it, her internal systems stemming the bleeding and was evident as the blood flow, previously an unbroken trickle of blood, now slowed to a few occasional drops as she responded.
"Alright then.
I admit, it's my loss.
But for a newcomer, I sure gave you quite the run for your money, hmm?"
Zuikaku closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose as she lifted an eyebrow to concede the point as she used her palms to form a 'T' motion, and the planes halted their heated battle after their respective carriers had stopped the battle.
The normal landing procedure for a bow-wielding carrier was to fly towards her as she grabbed a handle beneath her flight deck to hold it out horizontally in order for the plane to land before turning back into an arrow in a burst of flames, the carrier then picking up the arrow and storing it in her arrow quiver.
The mechanism which attached their flight decks to their shoulders would maintain the previous position of the flight deck (in this case raised and positioned horizontally forwards) unless the carrier moved it again, and their arrow quivers would automatically arrange the received arrow for them.
A slightly riskier, yet faster alternative was to allow the warplane to slow down to an extremely slow speed before turning back into an arrow in mid-air, and the carrier could snatch the arrow out of the air and store it.
But since this was training, and the harbor wasn't that far away, the planes flew back towards the harbor in order to land on a landing strip there, and when the harbor helped the carriers unload their riggings, the mechanical system would arrange everything for them.
Saratoga used a bit of force in order to shift her nose back in place, the spectators all wincing again as Saratoga started bleeding again from the nose, but she looked a little better now that her nose was straight again.
Kaga walked up to Zuikaku, and the Shoukaku-Class carrier could feel her cheeks color a little in anticipation for what her mentor and rival had to say about her performance, lowering her eyes for the incoming head pat as Kaga raised her gloved right palm.
And immediately formed a blade and lightly karate-chopped Zuikaku's head.
Everyone looked on, clearly expecting a head pat and was surprised to find that their expectations were subverted, Zuikaku starting to tremble like an erupting volcano before exploding, throwing her arms into the air as a vein bulged on her temple.
"What the hell was that for, huh?!"
Kaga immediately went into full-on lecturer mode, explaining.
"You were easily thrown off by Saratoga-san and Junyou-san's opening move, and you were slowly caught up in their rhythm as you gave chase.
What you should have done was stay still and launch your planes, not engage in a game of tag with the enemy across the battlefield.
That is not our forte."
Zuikaku flinched as Kaga listed several mistakes that she committed, like assuming that Saratoga wouldn't be able to launch her planes while in a physical deadlock, even when she knew that unlike Japanese carriers, Saratoga only needed a few planes on her flight deck, and all she had to do was pull a trigger to launch them.
Junyou was now cringing, not expecting Kaga to be so blunt with her observations, but before she could interrupt her lecture, Kaga's voice softened as she commended.
"Well, I do admit that you and Saratoga-san are almost evenly matched, and while this wasn't the most graceful of victories, you did win.
There's a lot more you need to learn, lest Saratoga-san improve with time and learn how to counter some of your moves, but I will say this.
You pulled out all the stops in order to beat her, and I think that it was a wise decision after seeing who you're going up against.
Well done."
Kaga now patted Zuikaku on the head as she gave the faintest of smiles, and everyone could see that the Shoukaku-Class carrier was failing to contain her blush as she looked down, too embarrassed to look her crush in the eye as she meekly nodded.
Kaga now turned to look at Saratoga, noting the blood on her face as she commented on the American carrier's performance.
"You did well too.
We will be teaching you a few close-quarters combat moves that are specially developed for carriers, as well as the situations where it's appropriate to use them.
That headbutt, although potent, exposed you at a crucial moment and left you open to friendly fire.
But we can see that you're skilled, and I look forward to working with you in the future."
Saratoga's expression brightened as she broke out into a small smile, bowing respectfully as Kaga turned to Junyou, looking at her with a deadpan expression.
And after five seconds of absolute silence from her, Kaga turned away without saying a word as Junyou blinked, unsure of how to respond to such a cold-shoulder treatment from her.
But then again, in Kaga's eyes, Junyou was breaking out the alcohol when she was still recovering, and attempted to corrupt Saratoga into doing her bidding…
Kaga announced,
"We'll be taking an early lunch break before resuming our training."
As she set sail for the harbor without looking back, everyone giving the Shoukaku-Class carrier hidden thumbs ups and small, congratulatory smirks as Zuikaku performed a small bow towards the crowd of spectators and to Junyou and Saratoga to thank them for their commendations and their efforts in helping her win Kaga's heart, a reserved smile gracing her red face as she threatened to tear up.
"I dislike being dead."
Tatsuta commented as Mamiya nodded understandingly, Tatsuta having woken up and was sitting on the hospital bed in two hospital gowns which covered her front and back, the food supply ship taking some time off to accompany her.
The both of them were peeling apples with small kitchen knives that Mamiya had brought out of her apron and sleeves as a way to pass the time while being productive, the basket of apples sitting innocently on Tatsuta's hospital table.
As to why Mamiya was carrying knives in her uniform, Tatsuta assumed they were for self-defense purposes, since the food supply ship sometimes had to sortie in order to feed ship girls who were out on sorties and supply the human inhabitants on the Izu Islands and Guam, amongst other islands within the Safety Zone.
Mamiya soothingly replied,
"Well, I do believe that is the general consensus amongst ship girls.
But at least we can be resurrected via the docks, so there's a silver lining for you."
Tatsuta nodding, noting her experience while she was unconscious and recollecting a very strange dream in the process.
"When I was still trying wake up from that dark place, I felt like I was deep underwater, and the light was shining down from above the surface of the water.
And even though I couldn't move in the bottom of the…"
Tatsuta struggled to find the words to describe where she was in the dreamlike limbo before her revival, and finally continued.
"Perhaps it was supposed to be an ocean, and I was on the seabed where my warship body is currently located, but in that dream, it felt like more like a large pond which I laid in.
And I assumed myself to be at the bottom of it, immobile but conscious of my current status of being dead.
But when I felt myself come alive, the world which was the entirety of the large pond began to shift around me.
I was certain that I was still lying on the pond floor, but it felt like either the pond itself was being drained, or the ground itself which I laid on was being lifted by some unknown force.
Either way, it did not feel as though I were floating upwards as I, in a supine position, broke the surface of the pond and awoke in this hospital ward.
How strange, to think that we dream of such things."
Mamiya hummed in approval as she explained, still looking down at the apple as she dug the sharp blade into the juicy red fruit.
"Many studies have been conducted in order to understand these dreams which we occasionally experience, since quite a fair number of ship girls have all experienced the same dream.
I do believe this is a normal dream to have when you die in this life and your body is resurrected, but you remain unconscious for a while since your mind and spirit needs time to recover."
Mamiya gave Tatsuta a sad smile as she spoke from experience, recounting.
"Ah, but note that not everyone will have this dream, since my first death and eventual resurrection was quick and dreamless.
It mostly occurs after you've died for the first time, and after that, the chances of experiencing this dream again drops exponentially."
Tatsuta gave the food supply ship a small smile as she changed the subject so as not to make things awkward between them, asking the food supply ship about how her teammates were doing.
"And how is everyone doing?"
Mamiya's smile drooped a little upon being asked that, but she convinced the Tenryuu-Class light cruiser that they were mostly alive and well, while the others were on the road to recovery.
"Oh, don't worry.
Ayanami, Tenryuu and Shigure-san are all working hard in order to get stronger in different ways.
Hiei-san and Junyou-san have recovered for the most part, and the both of them are doing well enough to be up and about.
I know this because Hiei-san attended breakfast in order to talk to me about Shigure-san being alive and well even after fighting an Abyssal Princess, and took the time to show the new arrival, Saratoga-san, around.
And last I heard, Junyou-san, after downing a few drinks, went out to attend the bird carriers' training session as a spectator.
At least, that's what she said in between downing sake cups."
Tatsuta nodded idly, before registering Mamiya's words and turning to face her, asking politely.
"I apologize, but did you say that Shigure-chan fought an Abyssal Princess?"
Mamiya nodded, noting solemnly as she met Tatsuta's gaze.
"Oh, yes.
I do maintain good relations with the 8th Fleet and participate in sorties with them from time to time, so I'd know when they were sortieing.
Shigure awoke on the 15th of April, and she was in time to sortie with the 8th Fleet in order to fight a Southern War Princess on the 17th."
Giving her a small but reassuring smile, Mamiya notified her about the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer's condition.
"She's unharmed, although last I checked, she was sleeping soundly in bed after she participated in two night operations within a week."
Tatsuta nodded as she lowered her head and got back to peeling the apples with the knife in her hand, deftly inserting the blade into the apple at an angle to peel the red skin off without scraping too much of the flesh off, performing this duty with machine-like precision.
She asked.
"You say that there is someone called Saratoga who was with Shigure-chan.
If I remember correctly, she is a Lexington-Class carrier, of the United States Navy."
Her expression suddenly darkened as a shadow hung over her dulled eyes and false smile, her hands moving quicker than usual as she felt herself getting agitated from a blasted American being near her teammate, asking darkly as she skinned the apple with a vengeance.
"Why is an American carrier doing with Shigure-chan?
And why wasn't I informed of this sooner so that I could 'greet' her the second she stepped into this base?"
Mamiya sweat-dropped as she recounted Admiral Mako's explanation over yesterday's lunch as to how the American carrier arrived at Yokosuka.
"Well, after the Southern War Princess was sunk, the spawn system messed up after the Southern War Princess deviated from her usual route.
And instead of an IJN carrier, the system chose to resolve this error by spawning Saratoga, and the 8th Fleet brought her in without incident."
Tatsuta slowed down the pace of her knife as her eyes expressed genuine surprise that Saratoga wasn't roughed up by the infamous 8th Fleet.
"Hmm.
Well, I expected the ship girls of the 8th Fleet to incapacitate her and rough her up before bringing her in.
But I suppose if she does her job well, I don't have much to say about her."
Tatsuta's smile widened as she looked down at the next apple which she picked up, her gaze darkening as she got to work on the next apple with a silent fury as she hissed with a false smile plastered on her face.
"After all, my issue isn't with carriers.
It's with submarines."
Mamiya nodded understandingly since Tatsuta was sunk by the American submarine USS Sand Lance, while Mamiya was sunk by USS Sealion, making them rather wary of submarines in general.
Mamiya turned to face the door after hearing someone approach their room as Tatsuta's ears twitched, also hearing the familiar footsteps of a certain light cruiser approaching her room.
And as she predicted, Tatsuta was relieved to find that it was Tenryuu who walked through the door, her sister wearing an exercise singlet and shorts in lieu of her usual school uniform.
She was sweating from head to toe after some sort of strenuous exercise regime, which left her panting and wiping away the sweat on her forehead in order to make herself look presentable to Tatsuta.
Tatsuta, now breaking out into a warm, genuine smile upon seeing her sister visit her, greeted Tenryuu.
"Well, hello, Tenryuu-chan.
You seem to be quite busy with your training schedule."
Tenryuu nodded as she scratched her head, visibly restraining the urge to hug her as she remarked sheepishly.
"Well, I was worried about you, but Kiso told me that I couldn't do anything while simply waiting around for you to wake up.
She recommended that I take this time to get stronger instead of wait here in my shredded uniform and live off of hospital food like a bum.
Kiso said that it's probably what you would want, and as your sister, I knew that you probably wouldn't be happy to see me in a mess."
Tatsuta nodded in order to agree with Kiso's wise words as Tenryuu bowed towards a smiling Mamiya in order to acknowledge the presence of her senior, greeting.
"Good afternoon, Mamiya-san."
Mamiya nodded in order to acknowledge her greeting as she looked back down at the apple in her hand, a pattern beginning to emerge in her hands as she responded.
"Good morning, Tenryuu-san.
It's good to see you up and about, training with Abukuma-san in an attempt to improve your physical condition."
Tatsuta looked to Tenryuu as she asked her about the newcomer in the base.
"Tenryuu-chan, what do you think about the American newcomer?"
Tenryuu, being a ship girl who wasn't too concerned with the finer details in life, shrugged as she answered aloofly.
"Meh, I'm a little miffed about her being American.
But when I thought about it, she didn't have a choice in being created as an American, and also didn't choose to be spawned here.
So I feel like giving her a chance and cutting her some slack, since I certainly wouldn't want the Americans around me blasting me for 'being a fuckin' Nip' if I were spawned in America by some mistake."
Mamiya nodded, looking a little surprised but extremely glad that her fellow ship girls were taking this new development with an open mind, noting.
"Yes, I did talk to Houshou-san about this.
Saratoga-san feels very alone in this foreign country, especially when you consider the... complicated history between our two countries.
She needs friends try their best to understand her plight and keep her company so as to help her overcome the loneliness."
Nodding, the two sisters lapsed into silence in order to relax and unwind together, and for sisters like the two of them, it wasn't necessary to talk in order to understand each other and appreciate the silent moments between them.
Tatsuta felt that Tenryuu made the wise choice in following Kiso's advice, because it was unanimously understood amongst the ship girls of Yokosuka that a major naval battle was about to take place, and a dark storm was brewing ahead.
They couldn't afford to waste any time on actions based on sentiment, and she was glad that Tenryuu had friends and mentors who could guide her on, even without her being there to keep Tenryuu's temper in check.
She wasn't under any illusion that she was invincible, as her death had previously illustrated.
She could sink on their next sortie or on the sortie after that, and despite her best efforts to keep herself for both her own and Tenryuu's sake, there was no predicting the future, and she wanted Tenryuu to be prepared.
She knew how being left alone after the sinking of a sister ship had hurt, since Tenryuu sank in 1942 while Tatsuta had sunk in 1944, and even if she were to sink, she now knew that Tenryuu would be well cared for.
Hiei,
Junyou,
Shigure,
Ayanami,
Everyone...
"... Tatsuta?!"
Tatsuta flinched as Tenryuu shook her awake, momentarily lost in her thoughts as she looked towards her worried sister, asking patiently with a gentle smile.
"What is it, Tenryuu-chan?"
Tenryuu, no longer wearing her eyepatch and mechanical ears, used both her eyes to look at Tatsuta with a serious expression as she asked in a no-nonsense tone.
"You're crying, Tatsuta.
Does it hurt anywhere?"
Blinking in confusion before realizing the moist tears rolling down her cheeks which were stretched out in a small smile, she wiped her tears as she put the kitchen knife down on the blanket which covered the lower half of her body.
She tried to laugh the entire thing off as she did so, remarking.
"Oh, no.
I was just thinking about everything I stood to lose, should the missile fly true to its target.
The 1st Fleet, the Kuma and Nagara-Class cruisers, amongst others, the Akatsuki-Class girls...
You...
Dying for the first time really puts things in perspective, I'll tell you that..."
Tenryuu tried to reach out in order to console her, but Mamiya, being a ship girl who's lived for a full decade as a ship girl, interrupted the two of them as she gave her sagely opinion on things.
"Yes, you're right.
As a ship girl, the first stage of 'growing up' is to experience death before being resurrected."
Looking down at her apple as she thought about the situation at hand, Tatsuta could see that the food supply ship was speaking from experience as she elaborated.
"As a ship girl, injuries are nothing to us simply because we can walk them off, given enough time.
But death, in some sense, reminds us that we're not infallible, and that we have a lot to lose should we sink.
But I do believe that this experience should be used to motivate us into improving ourselves in order to prevent this from happening again, simply because of how thin the line between dying and sinking is."
Tatsuta lowered her head as she dropped her smile, thoroughly agreeing with Mamiya's words, but Tenryuu sighed a little as she slapped a comforting hand on Tatsuta's shoulder, commenting offhandedly as she sighed in relief.
"Whew, so it's just Tatsuta being human?
That's good, then.
I thought that you were hurting somewhere and was trying to put on a tough front."
Tatsuta hummed questioningly as she sniffed and asked her sister about her words, giving her a tired smile as she did so.
"And pray tell, what do you mean by that, Tenryuu-chan?"
Tenryuu gave her a relieved smile as she settled down into a seat to make herself comfortable before answering wholeheartedly about how it make her feel relieved to see her sister not bottle everything up inside of her.
"Well, it kind of reassures me to know that my sister's still human, and she can still experience pain, sadness and even fear.
So when I see that my fearsome sister can still express her sadness and pain freely around me and feel more natural around our teammates instead of smiling all her problems away, as your sister ship, it makes me feel happy inside since that means you're slowly opening up to everyone."
Tatsuta's expression shifted into one of slight surprise, before she retorted with a sly smile and with half-lidded eyes.
"Ah, Tenryuu-chan, I didn't know that you were such a closet S, hmm?"
Tenryuu's face, at first trying to wrap her head around her sister's statement while reviewing her previous sentence, exploded into a crimson red as she brought up both her arms in order to wave her palms wildly, her expression now panicked as she tried her best to explain herself.
"N-N-No, that ain't what I meant!
I'm just happy that you're revealing your inner self to us and ARRRGHH!"
Realizing that her words unintentionally contained many innuendos within them to provide Tatsuta with more than enough material to work with, Tenryuu looked towards a giggling Mamiya as she asked of her senior, tears starting to form on the edge of her eyes.
"Mamiya-san!
Please stop laughing, and explain to my sister that I'm innocent!"
Before she collapsed onto her seat while letting out a defeated whine and looked like she wanted to cry, her tough facade falling apart faster than a house of cards as she covered her luminescent-red face.
But outside the door were two voices, both of them getting progressively louder and overshadowing the ship girl trio's conversation as voice #1 asked,
"...wanna decide it over rock-paper-scissors?"
"Alright, then.
No point delaying it further, doesn't matter if either one of us talks to the two of them anyway."
A period of silenced ensued before voice #2 shouted,
"YOU FUCKING CHEATED!"
Voice #1 sounded smug as he now sounded ready to screw voice #2 over, remarking.
"Well, you never said anything about no cheats, right?"
"Well, I got a fourth hand to play, here it is, fucker!"
A male cackling voice could be heard as voice #1 stopped in his tracks, mocking in a way that old friends would without any consequences as he made his way back.
"That's what salty motherfuckers play as a last resort.
Well, it ain't all bad, hanging out and talking to two ship girls instead of working in the lab all day, right?
I'll be heading back first now, hmm?"
Voice #2 sighed as he continued on his path towards Tatsuta's room, retorting.
"Whatever.
At least I got you to get some exercise after walking from Engineering to the hospital, so it ain't all bad."
Voice #1 only chuckled as he left, his footsteps disappearing down the corridor as someone knocked on Tatsuta's door, the Tenryuu-Class cruiser answering.
"Come in, please."
The human engineer Akio popped up as the door opened, the bespectacled human leaning to ask politely.
"Tatsuta-san?
Is- Oh, Tenryuu-san's here as well.
What's up, Mamiya-san?"
Mamiya slightly lowered her head in response to the engineer's greeting, Akio scratching his head as he cocked his head towards the corridor, sheepishly asking.
"So from your expressions, I guess you heard everything, huh?"
Tenryuu nodded, cringing a little after hearing the exchange between the vitriolic duo as she remarked.
"Oh, hell yeah.
You aiming to wake up the dead with your yelling?"
Smiling bashfully, Akio smirked as he raised a manila-colored folder with the red 'CLASSIFIED' stamp on it, looking down at the food supply ship as he regretfully had to ask Mamiya to leave, despite respecting her immensely.
"Heh...
Mamiya-san, I'm afraid this is for their eyes and ears only, so...
Eh..."
Mamiya nodded in acknowledgement, understanding the need for secrecy if the engineers needed to talk to the ship girl duo about classified matters as she got up from her seat, picking up the basket of skinned apples and her kitchen knives as she placed the apple which she had been working on for five minutes on Tatsuta's desk for her to admire and eat, leaning in to whisper.
"Bon Appétit."
Tatsuta and Tenryuu's eyes widened slightly as Mamiya had used her knife to carve out the pattern of a 3-dimensional rose onto the side of the apple itself, a wrapping of thin apple-red skin and light-yellow apple flesh as they formed petals and seamlessly embraced each other in a circular fashion around the rose's center to form a complete flower.
Tatsuta looked up as a lone sweat drop rolled down the side of her face, giving the food supply ship a weak smile as she remarked.
"Mamiya-san, you're making me feel bad for having to eat this work of art."
But Mamiya, looking down at her two juniors while carrying the basket of apples under her right arm, formed a fist with her left hand and brought it up to her face, twisting it a little as she held the joint of her index finger close to the side of her left eye.
And like that, she mimicked the act of weeping as she gave Tatsuta a cheeky pout, as though to wordlessly communicate,
'Tough luck.'
Before bringing her hand down and giving them all a warm, maternal smile before passing Akio and leaving through the door as it clicked shut behind her.
Akio turned back towards the Tenryuu-Class cruisers with a slight blush after watching the admittedly curvaceous figure of the food supply ship from behind as she left, Tenryuu raising an eyebrow and gaining a knowing expression as she snarked.
"Like what you see, eh?
Pervert."
And instead of denying the accusation, Akio raised his hands and the manila folder as he smirked and admitted in the face of two ship girls who possessed very sharp weapons at their disposal.
"Ok, I admit.
Guilty as charged."
But as he sat down, it was clear that the engineer was no longer in the mood for small talk as Tatsuta lost her smile, a serious expression overshadowing everyone's face as Tatsuta asked in a no-nonsense manner.
"What is this visit about, Akio-san?"
Akio put the classified folder onto the hospital desk, beside the untouched apple art piece as he opened the folder to reveal the contents inside, beginning his little speech in order to bring the two light cruisers up to speed on what he, Kousuke, Aoba and several other Fairies had been working on for the past few weeks.
"You see, we engineers, Aoba and a few Fairies have been working on a little Project during these past few weeks..."