Shigure was staring at the Ashigara before them, looking far too similar, but definitely not identical to the Ashigara she knew.
This Ashigara was half a head taller.
Her breasts were far more bountiful in size, her sinfully voluptuous figure and bosom now on par with those of a battleship.
And the fact that she wasn't wearing a bra meant that her, um, nipples were poking through the fabric of her tight uniform, likely not wearing any underwear down under as well.
And if Shigure's memory banks were working correctly, the heavy cruiser's form-hugging business miniskirt was short, but never this short as it had hiked up her shapely thighs by no less than five centimeters.
This woman looked more like a cosplayer of Ashigara because she appeared far older than any other doppelganger of herself, but the fact that she fell from the sky and landed without breaking a single bone convinced her beyond a sliver of doubt that she was one of them.
And did she say her nickname was Mata Hari?
Appropriate, as the heavy cruiser oozed sex appeal not just with her appearance which any ship girl could mimic and pull off with moderate success, but there just seemed to be an awareness in the Myoukou-Class heavy cruiser about not just who, but what she was and being proud of it, and it likely came with being long-lived.
But this was neither here nor there right now.
The Apache helicopter made a detour as it circled around to flank the enemies to the East, Ashigara-7 whipping her head up as she exclaimed,
"Ah, so that's where the action is, hmm?
Onwards then, cover me!"
Before turning back to wave them on, Nachi stepping up as she asked quizzically,
"Wait!
Ashigara-san!"
To which Ashigara-7 broke out into a run towards where the bulk of the fight was as the rhythmic chop of Helios-4's blades got softer while its weapons were still blazing.
"Oh, don't be so formal, Nachi!
Even if I'm not from your naval base, I'm technically still your sister ship!"
Musashi recovered the fastest as she whipped her head around to address a stunned Amazon company hurriedly,
"Everyone, do as she says!
The armored vehicles and reinforcements need to be wiped out in order for us to hold this area!"
"Wait, is Ashigara-san going to fight the Abyssals head-on without wearing any armor?"
Shigure's thoughts were echoed by Tenryuu who looked as tired as Shigure felt, but was still valiantly pushing on to maintain their hold on the area, to which Musashi countered offhandedly while looking down at Hatsuzuki and tilting her head toward the enemy.
"If half the things I've heard about her are true, she's arguably one of the leading candidates for the 'Ultimate Ship Girl'!
Let's hope she knows what she's doing, and not fail her by doing our part!
Let's go!"
Shigure was moved into action by Musashi's powerful words, cocking the handle of her acquired AK-47 rifle before breaking into a cautious sprint, being extra careful not to trip and sprain her ankle on the uneven terrain of the treacherous forest.
She had been shot no less than seven times before this, and the fact that she wasn't turned into Swiss Cheese was offset by the fact that she was feeling really fatigued, and lugging an assault rifle around didn't do her any favors.
Ashigara-7 was up ahead, sliding into cover as she approached a small opening with less trees than usual as the Abyssals shifted their attention from Helios-4 to the high-profile heavy cruiser, and Shigure saw Nachi throw an unpinned grenade in a fastball pitch into a Ta-Class battleship's torso and caused a vibrant red-blue fireball to illuminate the battlefield, engulfing the Abyssal and giving Ashigara-7 the chance to pop out from cover and continue her advance as the Abyssals were distracted for the briefest of moments.
"Ah, wait!"
Nachi's familial concern and warning fell on deaf ears, the wolf-themed Myoukou-Class heavy cruiser tanked several bullets fired from a Tsu-Class's M16 assault rifle, blitzing within striking distance while using the lithe footwork befitting a predator at the starting line bursting forth explosively in an all-out sprint mixed with a dancer's grace introducing an element of unpredictability and blurring her figure, said grace being noticeably absent from Yokosuka Ashigara's ferocious fighting style who only bothered specializing in the former.
Not that Ashigara-7 was lacking in that regard, the heavy cruiser coming within arm's reach of the Tsu-Class and transitioning from a run into a coiled strike with her gloved fist as her expression darkened, smashing her fist into the steel rifle and completely wrecking the M16 in order to ruin any chances of it being used ever again.
Shigure's jaw dropped at the sight of the heavy cruiser destroying an Anti-Ship-Girl firearm with her bare hands, and it took Tenryuu bumping her elbow to her shoulder while asking urgently,
"What're you doing by opening your mouth, huh?
Hoping to catch a fly?
Keep moving, and keep firing!"
For her to shut her mouth and hold up her AK-47 rifle.
"Uh, y-yeah!"
The Abyssals were now dividing their focus up to face Amazon company, Ashigara-7 and Helios-4, the two backup PT-76 light tanks accompanied by a ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" SPAAW and Type 95 SPAAA in the distance, but Ma'am Jackie spoke up with news which alleviated the situation somewhat.
"Amazon company, Helios-4, Tank Div 2 is making a detour and will on the scene within five minutes!
Just hold out until then, and you'll have the backup you need!"
Ashigara-7, incapacitating the Tsu-Class Abyssal in close-quarters combat, now used her as a meat shield against the Abyssals who were firing at her while she grunted.
"Urgh.. got it!"
Helios-4 fired a Hellfire missile in order to soften up the enemy as a trembling Samidare procured a binocular and used it to lase the targets, and Ashigara-7 took this chance to hold up the Tsu-Class cruiser who was now riddled with bullets and was more rag-doll than Abyssal, launching her towards the Abyssal horde with a mighty kick before throwing herself at the Abyssals who were knocked back like bowling pins while howling excitedly,
"En garde, you landlubbing fishes!
Ahahaha!"
The fact that Amazon company was moving up and surrounding them made things difficult for them, not that they didn't retaliate as a PT-76's main cannon sounded off, Shigure losing her balance as the shell impacted the ground behind her and she heard the scream of ship girls while perforated trees fell from the unintended deforestation, Panzerfaust 3 rocket launchers being whipped out in order to take them out.
A head popping up from beside her attracted her attention as she, in her panic, almost placed her finger on the trigger before her mind registered the fact that it might be a fellow ship girl, exhaling anxiously as she whispered,
"Sunray!"
And Kiyoshimo's face was partially seen as she looked behind her shoulder and uttered,
"Moon!"
While carrying what was clearly an enemy-procured Steyr AUG bull-pup assault rifle which fit her child sized frame and had blood on its skin, the camouflaged Yuugumo-Class destroyer having recovered from the wounds she sustained at the siege in the Kamogawa City Hall, both of them sneaking forward and laying down cover fire for the rampaging Myoukou-Class heavy cruiser as the Shiratsuyu-Class leaned in and made sure not to lose her balance on a loosened patch of soil.
Mortars rained down on both sides of the battlefield in a lethal game of Battleship combined with old-school artillery games in order to flush any female super soldiers out of cover and into the line of fire, Haruna shouting into the radio in order to will them to do something to improve their situation rather than just sit here and wait for death which, seeing the panicked and utterly desolated expressions on several of the surviving ship girls' faces, they might just be doing.
"The Abyssals are trying to flush us out of cover with mortars!
Either hide yourselves in the tunnels or advance while keeping low, do not camp out here in the open and definitely do not bunch up!"
An allied rocket smashed into the side of the enemy ZSU-23-4 SPAAW, causing it to buckle and sway but not go up in flames, although the armor covering the impacted flank was now all but useless as the four autocannons on its main turret fired in succession while another rocket, intending to finish it off, instead hit a tree which a Ru-Class battleship uprooted and toppled with the deliberate intent to block its trajectory, Shigure taking cover in a bush whose leaves tickled her sweaty face as she heard a ship girl screaming something about,
"FUCKING TREES!".
Ashigara-7 wasn't fazed even after getting shot at, her slasher smile sensual and completely untamed as she was in the moment and never slowed down, uniform being mercilessly shredded as her body ejected bullets while Shigure and company covered her, flares being deployed from the steel chassis of Helios-4 in order to throw off the incoming missiles along with pulling off skilled evasive maneuvers, but temporarily put it out of range.
A Tsu-Class Abyssal unpinned a flashbang grenade in order to throw it at Ashigara-7 at close range, but the Myoukou-Class heavy cruiser used a high kick in order to kick the grenade out of her hand, and she used something like a snake strike with the tips of her flattened palms to stun the Abyssal before using her momentum to deliver a spinning hind kick, then planting both feet and hugging the floor to execute a double-handed snake strike to send the Tsu-Class flying, all within two seconds.
Using a scissor kick as if in a soccer game before Ashigara-7 landed and hugged the forest floor, the flash-bang flew into the faces of several Abyssals and blinded them for Musashi's Browning M2 machine gun to mow down, Shigure watching a Wo-Class's helmet fail to protect her head from a large-caliber round as bloody holes were punched into her skull and obliterated the grey matter within.
Someone likely threw a grenade which ignited the fuel tanks in a Ta-Class battleship as she ran across the battlefield, howling bloody murder and causing enemies and allies alike to move out of the way as the fast battleship was immolated in blue flames which danced on her hair, clothes and skin, lighting a few trees and bushes along the way.
[AHHH!]
The Abyssal finally performed Stop, Drop and Roll as Ashigara-7 got back and broke out into a sprint and carved out swaths of dirt from the ground, hugging a Ne-Class cruiser around her waist and using the Abyssal to tank bullets as she speared the Ne-Class heavy cruiser and slammed her into a nearby tree, branches quivering from the impact as leaves fell like snowflakes while the tree audibly cracked from the impact as Ashigara-7 stunned the Abyssal with a meaty right hook before leaving her for Amazon company to finish off while she moved on to her next prey.
Amazon company used the tunnels for traversing the terrain like moles moving underground, Shigure watching a disappeared Tenryuu pop up from another tunnel exit next to a Ru-Class battleship who was carrying a HK G3A3 battle rifle, the light cruiser teasing darkly,
"Pop goes the weasel!"
While simultaneously emptying a 12-gauge round into the Abyssal, and with Shigure spraying the Ru-Class while the Abyssal returned fire and managed to nick Shigure with two bullets, Shigure collapsing and wheezing in order to catch her breath and allow the nanites to do their job while Tenryuu pumped the Mossberg 500 shotgun before unloading another two shells at point-blank range, then attempting to use the empty shotgun as a baseball bat as she held it by the sizzling-hot barrel with her gloved hands and swung it at the Ru-Class's head.
And both their hearts stopped as the Abyssal caught the incoming attack.
The Ru-Class Abyssal, half her face disfigured by the 12 gauge shell's steel pellets tearing off flesh and a superficially bleeding torso riddled with shallow wounds from the shotgun shell shredding her clothes or deeper wounds from Shigure's AK-47 barely penetrating her armor, delivered a punch to Tenryuu's solar plexus and caused the light cruiser to double over, tossing away the shotgun and using her freed-up arm to perform an elbow strike to the back of Tenryuu's neck, causing her to collapse and eat dirt while Shigure shakily brought up her AK-47 assault rifle.
A crack from behind her downed the Ru-Class as a puff of red dust blossomed from her abdomen, and Shigure fought off gravity and fatigue as she pushed herself up and kept her assault rifle trained on the Ru-Class while helping Tenryuu up, hearing her purple-haired comrade mutter,
" … Fucking bitch hits like a fucking freight train…"
Before picking up the enemy's HK G3A3 battle rifle and joining Shigure in emptying their magazines into the Ru-Class, watching the exact moment the light left the Abyssal's eyes as her internal systems failed seconds after a hail of bullets riddled her body and head.
The both of them were now panting as their limbs trembled from the fatigue of battle, but there was nothing else to do but to move forward until they repelled the invasion and maintained their hold over the forested area, morbid updates coming in and draining them emotionally with every paragraph.
'ERROR: SHIP GIRL VITALS NOT FOUND
KAGEROU-CLASS DESTROYER 168
"URAKAZE"
STATUS: DECEASED'
'ERROR: SHIP GIRL VITALS NOT FOUND
TONE-CLASS HEAVY CRUISER 064
"CHIKUMA"
STATUS: DECEASED'
'ERROR: SHIP GIRL VITALS NOT FOUND
KUMA-CLASS LIGHT CRUISER 040
"TAMA"
STATUS: DECEASED'
Tenryuu stumbled forward before collapsing like a drunkard feebly attempting to walk in a straight line, Shigure sliding beside her with a look of concern and noting the glossy skin along with her taut neck and jaw muscles, Tenryuu shaking her head as she muttered halfheartedly,
"I'm alright…
Just… give me a second…"
"Stay here, alright?
I'll go on ahead!"
Shigure offered, Tenryuu nodding feverishly as she whipped out the HK G3A3 battle rifle she acquired mid-battle and flicked off the safety before peeking from cover, adding.
"Yeah, sure.
I'll cover you."
Shigure slunk out of cover and fired at the Abyssals, Helios-4 re-engaging with the armored vehicles as missiles screamed and auto-cannons barked, machine guns droning on incessantly while Ashigara-7 tore into the Abyssals' ranks as a one-woman-army, their opponents now realizing that the ship girls were fighting tooth and nail for every inch of this forest, viciously attacking in spite of their mounting casualties and was doing a complete 180 from their originally defensive stance.
Ashigara-7 performed a neck punch on a Ta-Class, the Abyssal looking as if she were retching as she held her crushed trachea and crumpled to the floor which in turn allowed Ashigara-7 to procure her FN FAL battle rifle, blowing the Ta-Class's brains out at point-blank range before spinning around to pistol-whip a nearby Ri-Class heavy cruiser with the rifle barrel in a stabbing motion, immediately putting her down with three bullets to her chest and head before firing downrange in order to keep the rest of the Abyssals behind cover.
Musashi had already discarded her fragile glasses as it was a cosmetic accessory and she had 20/20 vision like everyone else, panting as her shredded uniform belied the amount of damage she tanked for everyone, shielding a wounded and limping Hatsuzuki taking cover behind her as she had a machine gun ammunition belt wrapped around her demure body, the Yamato-Class battleship yelling hoarsely to Amazon company over the radio,
"DON'T LET UP!"
And Ma'am Jackie's words about vehicular backup came true as two vehicles entered the battlefield, a Komatsu Type 87 Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle and a Type 10 battle tank, Shigure watching them square off against the remaining enemy vehicles which included one PT-76 tank and the ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" SPAAW, finally granting them a sliver of hope.
Shigure was huddled in a crevice and fired her relatively puny firearm in comparison to the massive cannons which shook the earth and split apart the skies with every shot, a near-miss already able to throw ship girls and Abyssals off-balance as the battle raged on.
Leaving cover once the coast was clear, the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer watched Ashigara-7 tear into the Abyssals who, despite their best attempts to put some distance between them and execute the Myoukou-Class cruiser, Ashigara-7 caught on to their attempts to stay away from her by fighting at suicidally close range, gleefully exclaiming,
"Ahahaha!
Why the cold shoulder, girls?
Let's get intimate with each other, shall we?"
And the Abyssals, unsure of how to respond to this anomaly disguised as a ship girl, kept upping the ante by bringing out larger guns, and a Wo-Class brought out an RPG-7 launcher to aim at her, and even if she missed, she'd probably hit a ship girl behind Ashigara-7.
The Myoukou-Class heavy cruiser prevented that from happening by quickly leaning in to look down the scope of her acquired firearm in order to nick the Abyssal carrier in the shoulder, throwing off her aim by a minuscule yet significant margin as its errant trajectory missed a ducking Ashigara-7 and reduced a tree into oblivion with a fiery kiss of death, Shigure hugging the ground as she avoided looking at the fireball to avoid getting blinded or a face full of shrapnel and splinters.
Hiei advanced as she came into Shigure's field of vision, Tenryuu covering her with her standard-issue M4 Carbine while Hiei's controlled bursts of machine gun fire killed several Abyssals who attempted to hide behind trees which was easily pierced by machine gun round, the Kongou-Class battleship relying mostly on luck and outside assistance since the trees blocked Hiei's line of sight and made her rely on educated guesswork and spotters.
Hearing and feeling the destructive explosion of the ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" SPAAW with the combined help of Helios-4 and several ship girls armed with Anti-Tank weapons, cheers could be heard as it was one hell of a morale boost for them, Shigure hearing,
"Woohoo!",
"Yeah!"s, and,
"Let's down that last one!",
Amongst others over the air, even after the HUD dampened that celebratory spirit somewhat with the news it brought.
'ERROR: SHIP GIRL VITALS NOT FOUND
KUMA-CLASS TORPEDO CRUISER 098
"KITAKAMI"
STATUS: DECEASED'
Another Abyssal fell at the hands of Ashigara-7 while Amazon company covered her as the Myoukou-Class cruiser became the center of attention, and her uniform, at least what little remained of it after she had taken the full brunt of gunfire, was dyed with her own blood to the point where any spectator recently spotting her would think that her uniform was naturally red.
Throwing the spent FN FAL rifle at a Ri-Class's head and forcing the Abyssal to duck, the heavy cruiser performed a shoulder slam to put some distance between them, then transitioning into a sliding soccer tackle as she performed a high-kick with one heel between the Abyssal's legs and impacting her butt to send her flying above Ashigara-7, grabbing the heavy cruiser's Armalite AR-15 rifle and deftly pressing the eject button to pull out the magazine while using her other heel to plant it into the Ri-Class heavy cruiser's stomach, flipping her over and onto her back over Ashigara-7.
Both heavy cruisers recovered quickly, the Ri-Class heavy cruiser scrambling back onto her feet as she emptied the chambered round into Ashigara-7 before letting the assault rifle hang around her torso by its strap since it would take too long to reload, instead choosing to reach for her sidearm.
And came up empty.
Shigure witnessed the moment Ashigara-7's hand slipped into the Abyssal's sidearm holster during the shoulder slam to disarm her in a sleight of hand, and the Myoukou-Class cruiser lurched at the round impacting her shoulder but instead smiled like a predator knowing she had her prey exactly where she wanted her to be, pain be damned, picking up the Abyssal's dropped Walther PPQ pistol at her feet and emptying it into the Abyssal, dropping but not killing her as the slide was forced back and stayed there to indicate an empty magazine.
Throwing the smoking pistol into the Abyssal's face and picking up the AR-15 rifle, Ashigara-7 picked up the ejected magazine off the ground and loaded the Armalite AR-15 rifle with practiced ease before emptying several bullets into the supine Abyssal, teasing,
"This pistol belongs to you.
And these bullets belong in you!"
Shigure noted an Abyssal Tsu-Class wishing to take Ashigara-7 out by shooting her in the back, doing her job and watching out for the veteran by taking pot-shots with the Abyssal to keep her behind cover before unpinning and throwing a grenade, Ashigara-7 looking back to find bloody limbs of the Tsu-Class flying out from an obliterated cover as the fireball blossomed, Shigure huffing as she battled against leaden feet and trembling arms in order to stabilize her aim before nailing a Wo-Class carrier and a Ri-Class with several rounds.
That wasn't enough to kill them, but it bought the Myoukou-Class heavy cruiser enough time to blitz in like a pit-bull dog taking off after its prey, jumping over the fallen tree which the Abyssals hid behind with extended hands with fingers curled into claws as the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer witnessed within her the perfect blend of an eagle's majestic dive bomb assault intermixed with a hound's ferocity and unrelenting strength in her expression along with a snake's explosive strikes which reached out with the intent to kill.
"RRAAARRGGHH!"
Thankfully, the bloody beat-down took place behind cover where gunshots were heard but didn't drown out the horrified screams and gurgles of dying Abyssals, and with the receding backs of Abyssals now being seen more and more often, Shigure exhaled as she heard someone announce,
"They're breaking off the engagement!"
Which heralded a chorus of cheers from Amazon company as they all sounded partially fatigued and absolutely miserable but celebrating the hell out of this victory, because the fact that they'd have to jump right back into the fire didn't escape their minds.
But this was still a victory, first and foremost.
With several ship girls keeping watch should the Abyssals try to circle back around in order to ambush them, Shigure crawled back up to a standing position and stumbled back to Amazon company, noting everyone's bloody clothes and the surprising amount of vitality and stamina which the nano-machines sucked out of them as everyone looked infinitely worse for the wear.
Looking at her 1st Fleet, their pallid expressions were a result of fatigue, blood loss and frayed nerves taking a toll on them, Hiei limping up to her as blood colored her bullet-riddled army pants in order to give Shigure an idea of what happened, the Kongou-Class battleship clapping a palm on her shoulder and sighing.
"You did good there.
All of you."
As she turned around to lock eyes with the rest of the 1st Fleet, Tenryuu, Suzuya and Ayanami looking jumpy after being on edge for the entire battle, and the fact that they hadn't eaten lunch didn't help matters one bit.
Also, Kitakami was dead, and that sucked.
Several of them had died despite the nanites covering as many bases as possible, and corpses were being lugged around on stretchers along with ship girls creeping up to seemingly unmoving Abyssal corpses and enforcing the double-tap rule in the vitals or head, Nachi and Hyuga doing the job since any possible Abyssal survivors attempting to get a last shot in with a grenade or pistol needed a ship girl who possessed considerable physical might in order to put down.
Shigure looked at the Myoukou-Class heavy cruiser royal escort who literally fell out of the sky like a guardian angel, and she blushed at the sheer amount of skin which Ashigara-7 displayed and wasn't bothering to cover up in order to maintain some form of modesty with her hands like most ship girls would.
Her skin was flawless yet tainted with both her own and her enemy's blood, and whatever little was left of her uniform was permanently dyed in crimson as she strutted up shamelessly with the unshakable confidence of a supermodel strolling down a runway and knowing that she was indomitable in her own territory.
And Amazon company, despite their fatigue, still bothered to look away and give her some privacy like Shigure did, but not before she noticed the heavy cruiser's bouncing breasts, the erect nubs on them as well as her exposed itty-bitties gracefully swaying along with the hypnotic swaying movements of her hips as she sexy-walked.
Her boldness left nothing to the imagination since she was as radiant as the sun in that almost no one could lay their eyes upon her, being as nude and just as shameless as Eve before the Fall, except this was done not out of innocence but an acceptance of her body, whose confidence made her look as if she had transcended the petty concept of shame which gripped a few ship girls whose uniforms weren't torn up half as bad as the heavy cruiser's, but they did their best to cover themselves up and seemed positively pedestrian in Ashigara-7's presence.
Musashi walked up to the Myoukou-Class heavy cruiser, managing to maintain eye contact with her like the consummate professional which she was as she expressed gratitude for her assistance on Amazon company's behalf.
"On behalf of us all, thank you, Ashigara-san.
We couldn't have held the fort as easily had you not been there to draw their fire."
"Oh, it's nothing much, really.
Me and the twins, we were in the area in order to pay a visit, but I couldn't leave our girls out on the field to die.
You know, the old soldier spirit burning up again.
You all need this victory more than I do, take this time to lick your wounds and count your dead."
Musashi nodded as Ashigara-7 downplayed her own role in the fight in true Japanese fashion, the heavy cruiser turning around and waving towards everyone in order to receive subdued responses, either due to the adrenaline wearing off or embarrassment in the shameless heavy cruiser's stead as Ashigara-7 called out with nary a care in the world.
"Heeey.
I'm Ashigara-7, but I go by Mata Hari due to my profession requiring, you know, persuasive skills."
Several more blushes were painted on their faces upon hearing that, Musashi coughing into her fist and pulling her head back before lowering it to stare into the ground before she addressed the elephant in the room as subtly as possible.
"And, um…
Would you like a spare uniform in order to cover yourself up?
We have some, and since you're awash in blood, you'd probably want to wash it off when we establish basic facilities to clean ourselves down."
And to that, Ashigara shook her head and looked around at the suddenly meek ship girls who shied away from her and averted their gazes, supple breasts swaying and bouncing with every movement as Shigure observed the air of unwavering self-certainty surrounding her, convinced that everyone else wasn't on the same page as her as she idly remarked.
"What?
Your girls still uncomfortable with seeing each other in the nude?
Surprised that even with what's going on around us, you'd have such skewed priorities about modesty, of all things."
Ashigara-7 seemed perfectly at ease about the whole exhibitionism thing, literally admitting the naked truth with the transparency of her nigh-nonexistent clothes.
"And if you're all wondering, I'm not ashamed of my body like everyone else is.
Our bodies were created to be flawless while mine filled out in time; why try to hide our beauty and assets from the world as if we're ashamed of them?
Oh, and…"
Pointing to Hiei, Haruna, Mutsu, Houshou, Atago, Takao and Choukai before giving up and sweeping her pointed fingers over all of Amazon company, Ashigara-7 then pointed to her own collarbone and neck as she recommended.
"You all might want to cover those hickeys up, girls.
Seemed like a whale of a time, and the next time any you get some, I want in."
The 1st Fleet turned to Hiei as the Kongou-Class battleship burst out into a furious blush and turned up her collar in response to the amount of attention she was getting, and the Myoukou-Class heavy cruiser turned her attention to Shigure and strolled towards the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer, causing her blush to erupt and glow in inverse proportion to the ever-decreasing distance between them.
And finally, Shigure couldn't divert her gaze any longer as she looked up at Ashigara-7, also called Mata Hari no doubt due to her curvaceous figure as she oozed alluring yet lethal sex appeal in everything she did, the Myoukou-Class cruiser threatening to give her a heart attack as Ashigara-7 leaned forward and made the ship girls standing behind her inhale sharply and avert their gazes, fleshy melons the size of Shigure's head looking like tempting and deliciously juicy fruits hanging from a low-hanging forbidden tree and threatened to either spill out of the remnants of her ship girl uniform or cause it to unravel faster than a child with a gift on Christmas morning, said uniform barely hanging together by frayed threads at very compromising positions.
Her eyes trailed up Ashigara-7's body, blood on the heavy cruiser's skin acting like rouge in a woman's makeup arsenal and achieving the same effect and emphasizing the truth of her body, that she was a genuine femme fatale with complete mastery over the art of life and death on the bed and in battle respectively.
Shigure's face was gently cradled and brought up to face Ashigara-7, and the one thing which drew her gaze in even more than her titillating body did were her eyes.
More specifically, how deep, mesmerizing and brilliant those two chestnut-brown orbs shined due to both her mature age as a ship girl as well as the breadth of experiences giving her a knowledgeable, 'seen it all' air.
Like staring into two brown universes.
It was to the point where she felt as if she could lose herself in them without worries like accepting her suffocating yet heavenly embrace, and as the heavy cruiser leaned in even closer, lowering her gaze to witness the risque view made Shigure's heart rate jump while the blood rushed to her face, inhaling the scent of blood, roses and traces of dried squid as the heavy cruiser huskily whispered at a volume loud enough for everyone to hear.
"I'd also like to thank you.
My little heroine."
Her ripe lips subtly puckered up for a kiss like a consummate lover would as it tenderly met Shigure's, allowing her to taste strawberry, sand and saliva while Shigure's frail, prepubescent little mind crashed from the sexual frenzy a simple kiss whipped her into.
And as the Myoukou-Class temptress disguised as a heavy cruiser pulled back with a shaking breath and let go of her face, the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer finally did something as her gaze lifted towards the heavens and her blush reached critical.
She fell unconscious before she even hit the floor.
"Amazon company's in the clear.
The Abyssals are retreating, and tomorrow's rain should grant them at least a day of reprieve as the Abyssals won't be carpet bombing them, at the very least."
Admiral Mako inhaled as she stared downfield and gauged the distance while weighing the golf club, an iron to take wild swings and make pot-shots in this case since they were in an abandoned golfing range and didn't want to expose themselves, Nagato watching her along with their two guests as she vented her frustrations by sending the golf ball flying into the green.
A green which was pockmarked by craters of varying sizes with splintered trees on the outskirts while the dull hum of unseen fighter planes droning in the background, the area secured by friendly troops as it was beyond enemy lines.
A whiff and a crack sent the white sphere away in an arc as she maintained her pose, held her breath and allowed the air to settle down like in the final stage of Kyudo, Zanshin, where one maintained their pose to relax and allowed their mind to recede from the peak of utmost concentration.
Exhaling and lowering the golf club as she turned back to her audience, Nagato was sitting in a quasi-ladylike position on the seats with one leg crossed over the other, one hand on her lap and the other laid on the back rest of the chair closer to Admiral Mako, lifting an eyebrow and remarking.
"Not a bad shot, but you should've led that shot by one point seven degrees to the left; today's wind is blowing a little stronger around here."
And in response to Admiral Mako's wordless challenge as she held the golf club out for the battleship while wearing an easy smile, her gaze hardened like a stern schoolteacher as she patiently reproached her own Admiral.
"I know what you're thinking.
I'm wearing a miniskirt, so no thanks.
Besides, we have guests."
Shifting her gaze to the two adolescent children sitting opposite her, Admiral Mako shifting her gaze to the left to watch the two giggling, precocious little princesses.
They were two black-haired children named Amaya and Ayane, with bright brown eyes while their hair was styled in a short-hair version of the hime cut for them to look more their age with a yellow hair band for Ayane and purple for Amaya to hold down their bangs.
Their dresses were a modernized take on a traditional miko dress styled in a child's knee-high gown as a ceremonial belt was wrapped around their waists and had the Imperial Chrysanthemum engraved on them, stockings and child's heels wrapped around their legs while they sat at attention in ladylike poses which were inculcated into them at a young age.
Despite their standoffish behavior as part of the royal family, they were certainly enjoying the exchange between the lesbian couple, their gazes switching back and forth as if following the ball in a table tennis match and had restrained smiles on their faces.
Admiral Mako's demeanor was still carefree even though she knew that everyone knew it was an act to hide her stress, but she shrugged as she gave the twins a sly, defeated-but-not-quite-down smile while remarking,
"Damn."
The already smiling Princesses burst into a fit of controlled giggles while covering their mouths with their sleeves, Nagato looking a little miffed as she pleaded.
"Please.
Don't we have war plans to discuss?"
Amaya then cut in to speak up in her favor,
"Oh, please don't be so hard on Admiral Mako, Nagato-san.
She clearly needs this as a form of stress relief, and the JSDF has assured us that this area of Japan is secured, partially thanks to Amazon company."
"Still, can't be too careful in this neck of the woods, can you?"
Guiding another golf ball into place with the golf club, Admiral Mako heard Nagato speak up expectantly about having the four incapacitated ship girls get back into the battle.
"Well, Kinugasa, Zuikaku, Saratoga and Junyou are all recovering from their injuries at the roof of the Kamogawa City Hall, and they'll be back amongst their brethren within the week.
Our comrades in Amazon company will be able to do much more than doctors ever could in helping them cope with the trauma, and psychologists require a longer period of time to get in touch with in times like these."
Admiral Mako's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the twins, and she could see the fact that the two of them also seemed worried about that idea in light of the stormy weather forecasts.
"I don't think that's such a good idea, Nagato.
Let's keep the four of them off the field and under observation for awhile longer, shall we?"
"Why?
Our upgraded nano-machines healed them, so - "
"What were they killed by, Nagato?"
Admiral Mako stopped Nagato dead with a sentence, the battleship looking confused as to where this conversation was going, and the answer came from a third party.
"Lightning."
Amaya met Nagato's shifting gaze, the princess's gaze softening as she defended herself.
"At least, that was the medical Fairies' report."
"Not just that.
A lightning attack, utilized by what we can assume to be the Abyssal commander at point-blank range to create the mother of all tasers."
Walking precariously close to the golfing platform's edge, she looked up as a cloud chose that moment to shelter them under its voluminous size and temporarily eclipsed the sun, feeding Nagato's train of thoughts with this next tidbit of information.
"You said that there was going to be rain tomorrow, right?"
Realization seeped into a very concerned Nagato's voice as she answered,
"You're afraid that they'd be deathly afraid of the lightning and thunder?"
Admiral Mako turned back to add.
"To the point of a possible panic attack, but a development of long-lasting phobia isn't too probable, though not impossible either."
"That's not all."
Everyone's attention turned to Amaya, the little Princess speaking up about a possible exploitation by the enemy.
"Indra, uh, Yuubari-san's jellyfish Beast, can avoid being picked up by radar in order to go wherever it wishes.
And the rain, whether artificially or naturally created, grounds our planes to stop them from easily spotting her."
"But…"
Ayane continued, building off of her sister's train of thoughts by sharing her own,
"If she's so powerful, why not come at us head on instead of sneaking around?
I suspect that even if she's powerful, she primarily utilizes stealth in that she requires her Abyssals and Indra to run interference via encirclement and stormy weather.
She then sneaks into a strategic location, wrecks havoc and allows the Abyssals to tighten the noose."
"Which is the M.O. of the Flying Dutchman as well, and it works eerily well if we don't expect it.
But in this case, can we try and deliberately open up a weakness in our formation in order to trap her?"
Nagato threw out a viable suggestion and allowed Amaya to add, the twins being called in to act as consultants thanks to their insight on such matters.
"Not exactly.
If you were to do that, you'd either spook her, because she certainly didn't rise up through the ranks by simply producing some sparks, or you'd have to keep your own company of ship girls in the dark so as to make it believable.
One leads to failure before it even begins, and the other is bound to descend into chaos."
Admiral Mako, watching the exchange and keeping a neutral stance, smirked as she slightly lifted the golf club towards the twins and remarked with no small amount of respect in her voice.
"You see?
I knew that accepting their invite for a meet-up was the right choice.
You really shouldn't judge people's capacity for critical thinking because of their age, not when we've got bright little girls of our own in our naval base, Nagato."
The battleship raised an eyebrow and tilted her head in the twins' direction in order to concede the point, Ayane understanding where she was coming from.
"It's completely understandable, Nagato-san.
Not everyone listens to us in spite of our extensive upbringing designed to allow both of us to succeed the throne, because there's a prevalent belief that children shouldn't be taken seriously until reaching a certain age."
But Admiral Mako also came to her own girlfriend's defense by mediating,
"Now, now, girls.
I understand that Nagato made a mistake, and you're nice girls for wanting to explain how she's not the only one to fall prey to such an assumption.
But it can come off as a little patronizing to others whom you meet next time, so you might want to, you know, tone that down a little in the future."
Both of the imperial twins seemed genuinely sorry about their faux pas, bowing as reverently as their seats allowed them to as they apologized in unison.
"Yes, Ma'am.
Our humblest apologies, Nagato-san."
Nagato waved aside their apologies to let the trivial matter go, Admiral Mako turning to her girlfriend and jerking her thumb back at the twins to comment offhandedly.
"Man, that will never stop being creepy no matter how many times I hear it, whether on TV or in real life."
Nagato gave her a look to let her know that she was addressing supposedly divine royalty (which she really didn't give a hoot about), rolling up her sixth golf ball today as she addressed her audience.
"Also, I'd like to get a feel for who I'm talking to and get to know you better, because I'm certain you two know everything about me from my file.
And…"
Turning back to the twins who were attentively listening to her, Admiral Mako made a request.
"Please, answer truthfully.
None of that crafted persona I see on TV.
Today, it's just four girls hanging out on a war-zone and being 100% real with each other, alright?"
Getting approving nods and firm gazes, she pointed at Amaya, asking.
"Amaya Shirogane.
Avid supporter of the Abyssal War and successfully lobbying for several improvements to our fighting conditions, one such bill being an ambitious plan to double the defense budget some time before the start of Apocalypse, AKA World War 3.
And shortly before the Battle of Twelve Navies, it was hastily passed by the government in the face of evidence that a land invasion was imminent.
What drives a girl like you to do something like that?
Patriotism? Nationalism?"
Amaya started to show some expression as she sneered at the mention of the latter, speaking up in order to clear the misconception.
"Nationalism's not my thing.
I'm patriotic, but even I understand that our country has made mistakes in the past, and I'll make sure we do whatever it takes to make up for them and utilize everything we have to fight for our future, be it weapons, resources or even lives if need be.
Our ship girls are bravely fighting in their second world war and should be treated with the appropriate respect and reverence, they're more than what we deserve after having brought this on ourselves."
"You think the Abyssals are a result of man's mistakes?"
Admiral Mako was surprised by the child's pro-war and retributive views, and Amaya straightened her shoulders and sat up as she elaborated.
"Yes.
Our foolishness and lust for combat was why we created warships in a war of our making, which in turn spawned ship girls and Abyssals, and while the ship girls are soldiers whom we should be proud of and say our thanks and dedicate our prayers to, the Abyssals are the exact opposite.
They're the antithesis of ship girls but also a result of our destructive tendencies, and the stakes in this war mandates that we supply our ship girls with anything they need and throw everything we've got at the Abyssals in order to save our skins.
Nothing more, nothing less."
Admiral Mako was genuinely impressed and even a little scared of the kid, but one look at in her eyes allowed her to see that her heart was in the right place, and she simply wanted to win this war for everyone's sake, and if the Abyssals just raised the stakes with this world war, she had to call their bluff and get everyone to do the same.
"You really love this country, don't you?"
And to that, Amaya's expression softened into a smile as she corrected.
"Not the country.
Borders get redrawn eventually, countries get renamed eventually, and governments, empires and civilizations rise and fall throughout the passage of time.
But the one constant which ties them all together is the people.
They're what matters when the chips are down, their spirit being this country's heart and soul.
I'm not going to sell our country's soul in order to win, but anything else is fair game."
Admiral Mako lifted an impressed eyebrow, turning to Ayane as she asked.
"You.
Ayane Shirogane, future Empress alongside Amaya.
An expert on public relations, you've certainly whipped the politicians left and right into a unified frenzy to put aside their differences and take the nuking of America as a call to arms, also rallying the public to take up a more active role in the Abyssal War as it escalated into a World War.
You really know your way around crowds, no?"
Ayane nodded, being the more withdrawn princess of the duo who was strangely more social than her younger sister and preferred building and improving upon bonds between countries, people and races as an amiable mediator while her war-loving and 'bloodthirsty' sister focused on the war itself.
"Well, you know what they say about a house divided.
Not everyone can be counted on to do the right thing when alone with their self-serving goals and inner demons, and while it's completely understandable since it's in our nature to secure as much resources as possible to ensure our own well-being, I believe that with the right nudge, anyone can be convinced to do the right thing.
I'm just a rallying voice, that's all."
Amaya hugged her elder sister as Ayane exercised humility by playing down her own role in bringing everyone together, and while Admiral Mako understood the need to be humble, she still wanted the little girl to have some pride in her skills.
"Oh, don't sell yourself short, Ayane-chan.
You're incredibly precocious to be so wise beyond your years like your sister, and you really need to have some faith in your own ability to connect with people.
I know of older people who aren't as open and accepting as you are, and you have a promising career ahead of you which allows you to help people within your international range of influence just like your sister."
Ayane nodded understandingly and made Admiral Mako feel at ease if these twins were going to inherit the throne and guide the country in the right direction, and while they still had a lot to learn since they were still kids, she allowed herself to wonder if they really stood a fighting chance with them at the helm.
Still a ways to go before then, but baby steps.
She dropped the golf club on the grass before she made herself comfortable on the seat beside Nagato like a married couple, the both of them slightly leaning on each other as Admiral Mako then got down to brass tacks.
"But let's not dance around the topic at hand.
Hardly any members of the royal family come out into a war-zone nowadays, what do you wish to share with us?"
They looked at each other, and then back to Admiral Mako and Nagato as Ayane explained,
"Well, the weapons which the Americans are sending over to us is going to help us out a lot; it certainly wouldn't do for our soldiers and ship girls to save the world without having access to the best available weapons and equipment we have.
The second is our intelligence networks picking up the fact that there might be a correlation between one of your ship girls and the fact that an anonymous source tipped us off about Central's less-than-savory activities behind the scenes."
Admiral Mako's first thought instantly leaned towards,
'Akashi.'
But she said nothing, and could feel that Nagato connected the repair ship with this grim update as her mysterious existence predated Yokosuka's conversion to a ship girl base.
Leaning back on Nagato's sturdy arm and keeping her hands on her crossed laps, she remarked.
"Well, to my understanding, Central's always been funded by people rich enough to buy their own islands on a whim despite how bad an idea it may sound now.
And Central strives to be as nonpartisan and unbiased as possible when recording, coordinating and predicting our progress, setting goals and reviewing our budget expenditure on a global scale, kinda like a UN for ship girls around the world.
And if the people backing us want to earn a profit by investing in weapons and supply stocks as World War 3 starts, we just need a cut of that cheddar in order to convince us to look the other way and use it to fuel our war machine.
Money does make the world go around, after all."
The imperial twins nodded, since they clearly had to work with this international organization in order to push the limits of what the Japanese war machine could do, like introducing electric cars to reduce fuel consumption by the public and allow more of it to flow into the ship girls' veins.
But Amaya rebutted with a very disturbing revelation,
"We're not talking about that.
What we are talking about are ship girls being brought in to be experimented upon in the past, since it isn't everyday that you come across a repairable and reusable platform for testing the effectiveness of weapons, repeated vivisections in order to further the understanding of a ship girl's internal systems and the like, back when the existence of ship girls were a secret and they thought that they could get away with this."
Silence.
Her fingers threatened to curl into fists while her body stilled and her gaze lost its focus, rage starting to boil at the fact that even in the modern age, people - nay, idiots still did this kind of stuff which often led to catastrophic ramifications, ones which future generations would look back upon and ask,
'What the fuck were they thinking by doing that?"
Well, if they won this war with enough left standing to birth the next generation.
If.
She could only whisper,
"Who?"
Ayane's expression was crushed while Amaya's was smoldering, and the former was the one to pipe up with some much-needed answers.
"People whose pockets run deeper than the Marianas Trench, corporations specializing in medicine, cosmetics and scientific studies, the military, almost everyone's had a hand in this.
There are those who did it for the greater good for it to benefit mankind, some who wanted to get rich from it all by using them as a testing platform, and others who just wanted the chance to tear an alien specimen apart molecule by molecule to see how they ticked."
A nail-on-the-chalkboard screech of heavily deforming material distracted the twins, and Admiral Mako only needed to feel Nagato's rippling and flexing arm muscles which she leaned on to know that she was singlehandedly crushing the top corner of her seat without hurting her, and the twins gulped at the show of force from an esteemed battleship and war veteran as her expression was dark while her red eyes were glowering at a nonexistent target in the distance.
The imperial twins were understandably a little frightened at the duo's simmering demeanor melding together as one and united by their shared disdain for those who took advantage of this war for their own ends, shrinking back a little and leaning on each other other for support while uttering.
"We-We understand this might come as a shock - "
"No."
Admiral Mako felt her gaze look at nothing in particular in a downward tilt, lost in her own thoughts shortly she recovered by blinking a few times before returning the twins' worried gazes, explaining herself after having cut Ayane off.
"I completely understand how man can be a wolf to man, so this doesn't come as a shock so much as … disappointment."
The hatred dripping from her tone surprised even herself, and Nagato gave her a concerned sideways glance with her narrowed gaze which she took in stride and continued, her gaze becoming flinty while her jaw muscles became taut from the tension, patiently listening to the princesses.
"A lot of the data concerning these activities have been taken or expunged from Central's servers after the Abyssal War was made known a decade ago, and the few leads we have to crack down on this case need to be retrieved by the ship girl you call Shiranui.
She is a stealth specialist according to our records on your base, and we believe that she is part of your Project Psyche and has gained New Wave powers."
"Secure locations?"
"Very secure."
Ayane confirmed her concerns, which put her in a slight pinch as to what to do.
Information like this was sensitive by nature due to its ability to compromise working relationships, and while the more rational side of her wanted to drop the case so as not to break apart the human-ship-girl alliance, her emotional side rebelled at the mere thought of not bringing this injustice to light and punishing the perpetrators, and she looked up to her girlfriend for a third opinion.
"Nagato?
Do you wish to investigate this?
You do have an emotional stake in this as a ship girl, after all."
Nagato certainly seemed equally peeved by this revelation about the abuse of her own kind even if she managed to hide it better than a volatile Admiral Mako did, looking down at her and leaning in closer in order to let Admiral Mako pick up the solemnness in her stony voice.
"Well, our current situation is precarious, and any mistakes would lead to a governmental revolt by both disgruntled ship girls and disgusted citizens.
The question is, do you trust us not to make a mistake in carrying out our mission?"
"I do, although even if you do fail, I wouldn't blame any of you.
You're all still part human and thus fallible, after all."
"Then there is your answer."
Amaya spoke up about their actions in the immediate future in order to help Admiral Mako with her investigation while handing over a thumbdrive,
"This here contains all of what we know thus far from our two sources, and various hypotheses we've cooked up for you to follow up on, Admiral.
We'll provide assistance in any way we can, but please understand that our position is delicate and our hands are tied regarding several matters which concern political powerhouses as well as our financial backers in the war."
She nodded understandingly, knowing that the Shirogane twins were intertwined in political matters and couldn't make moves or be caught delving into controversial matters which could either spook those involved or cause concerned backers of their course to withdraw their support, neither of which were desirable outcomes.
Nagato piped up with a question,
"Who informed you two about these past dealings and experiments?"
Amaya and Ayane turned around to face them, Nagato asking a question which had been on the tip of Admiral Mako's tongue the entire time, and Amaya could only share with them the anonymity of their informants.
"Anonymous sources, both from within Central and your naval base, which was why we had to make contact with you.
They made it abundantly clear that they did not want to be found by the thoroughness in which they hid their tracks, but the evidence from both parties, while damning, isn't enough to build a case off of, and we'll require the help of Shiranui-san to bring them to justice.
We are certain of one thing, though, and it's that our source in Yokosuka certainly came from one of your ship girls instead of a human.
The leak from your naval base was in a format which can only be read by another ship girl on her HUD, something which a human could never hope to do with our current level of technology."
The two princesses got up and bowed reverently towards Nagato and respectfully towards Admiral Mako, secret agents coming in as their conversation concluded and was a sign for these gentlemen to do their job, which was to escort the twins in lieu of the missing Ashigara-7, the admiral and ship girl duo standing up to see them out of the golf range before they spoke with each other, Nagato opening up with a plausible suspect.
"You think it might be Akashi-san?
Or any one of her 8th Fleet friends who leaked this in order to exact revenge on her behalf?"
Admiral Mako shrugged, although her answer was far less ambiguous regarding her stance on this matter.
"I doubt it.
Akashi despises authority with a passion, especially governments, and with how intertwined the royal family has been with politics nowadays despite still being more or less a figurehead, it's quite unlikely, although not impossible for her to spill the beans to them, of all people.
Her friends are more likely to do so, but also lean more towards 'no' since they're thick as thieves, and would rather die than betray one another's trust."
She could see Nagato grudgingly admit the point as the battleship ahd worked together with the repair ship for several years now, and it seemed inevitable that Nagato's straightforward approach to get the job done would clash with Akashi's unconventional approach to cause as much damage as possible to everyone marked as a red dot on her HUD.
"Then you think another ship girl might be privy to Central's wrongdoings?
If so, we need to know how to get in contact with her, find out how she discovered this and take over this investigation is possible."
Nagato displayed her knack for leadership and initiative, and Admiral Mako tempered that spirit with no small amount of wariness in her voice which didn't discourage it, but she simply put forth her two cents regarding this peculiar situation.
"Someone in our base knows more than she lets on.
And whatever her motives are, I'm not sure, although I am sure that it isn't as clear-cut and well-meaning as you might think.
Why wait until now when we're focused on fighting World War 3 and need everyone to band together, when such slanderous news would definitely cause a rift to open between humans and ship girls when everyone finds out what we did to them behind closed doors during the First Decade?"
"You think that someone might be playing both sides?
I mean, only the Abyssals would profit from this divide splitting us up, and… "
As unthinkable as that might seem, Nagato dared to imagine the impossible which was now made only improbable by a paradigm shift as the Admiral could only shrug in response, since the possibility had occurred to her and wasn't entirely written off because while she loved her ship girls, she wasn't going to rashly proclaim that her own ship girls wouldn't betray her.
The fact that New Wave powers complicated things and begged the question of whether one of her girls was acting under the influence, or even the complete control of an enemy unit.
"I'm thinking of a lot of things right now.
You might be right, but I can't say for sure.
What I can say is that Shiranui needs to get out there as soon as possible and gather information before we get blindsided by anything which threatens the lives of our ship girls.
Someone who can discover and be able to leak such things out without getting caught is far more dangerous than any Abyssal Princess.
But what makes me question this source's drive and allegiance is the fact that I've helped us win so many battles."
Looking up at Nagato with a genuinely confused look in her eyes, Admiral Mako made her feelings and thoughts known to her girlfriend-slash-subordinate.
"I command one of the largest ship girl bases in Japan, perhaps even the world.
If a mole was in my base and allowed me to do my job within a few years of her playing both sides and living with the knowledge of these atrocities without anyone suspecting a thing until now, that tells me one of three things.
She has the patience of a saint to wait until now, utterly incompetent at being a mole, or her loyalty is conflicted.
All it takes is a decryption key to our radio frequency, some case-sensitive files which can be replicated without much fuss with your capabilities and despite our best attempts to keep them secure, and we'd be compromised to hell and back without ever knowing what hit us."
"So all those past losses could possibly be attributed to this mole's actions, but could it also be that this mole is good enough to lead us on and let us win some battles in order not to arouse suspicion?"
"Hence the saintly patience.
It's also possible that we're chasing red herrings and the solution's much simpler than this.
But… now?
Why not earlier and why not reveal it to me personally, and I could have helped?"
Nagato looked down as she could only give a confused shrug, and as Admiral Mako looked away and stared at the horizon of the destroyed golf range, Nagato only had this to say.
"And in this case, every ship girl is a possible suspect before being proven innocent.
… Including me."
Looking up at her girlfriend, Nagato bristled as she stood up straight and accepted the implications in which an investigation like this brought about.
"I will remain professional, Admiral, and include even myself in the investigation process in order to be thorough.
Please, Admiral, approach this with a clear mind and not let it be tinted with biases or assumptions so as to bring this matter to a swift resolution."
She couldn't help but smile at the amount of dedication Nagato devoted to her work like a professional, and she had to uphold her end of the relationship so as not to feel bad by letting Nagato go through this alone, giving her a warm smile and a slight heads-up.
"Thanks, Nagato.
And, by the way, I don't think you're the mole.
I like to think that those whom I fall in love with, I know for sure that they would never turn on me, and vice versa."
Nagato exhaled through her nose in exasperation, but she cracked a rare smile which was positively radiant in Admiral Mako's eyes, the battleship knowing how she worked and could only remind her to remain professional throughout this investigation.
"Mako, please.
Anyone, especially those close to you could be the mole, and you know it.
If anything, the conflicted mole angle could very well be a result of the romantic relationship which you established with various ship girls."
"Oh, so the morale of this story is to romance all my ship girls like the main protagonist in a harem-genre visual novel, and minimize the odds of betrayal thanks to lesbian love and sex?"
Nagato opened her mouth to argue the point, but no noise came out as she then closed her jaw while her concentrated gaze belied the thoughts running through her mind, right before she looked down at her and conceded the point with a slight blush while fidgeting.
"I know that there's a point to be made about relationships in the workplace and loose lips, but I keep getting sidetracked by our past … ahem, hanky panky shenanigans, so let's hold that thought for now.
And I suppose our bonds with each other does pay off in the end, I mean, if this scenario really is the case.
I just want to expose and denounce any wrongdoings of the enemies and traitors behind us for our girls to focus on the fight before us, and not have to fight a war on two fronts."
"You and me both."
Nagato leaned in for a quick peck on her lips before turning and briskly walking away as Admiral Mako struggled to catch up with her girlfriend, already back in business as her mind was brimming with plans and thoughts about the war while mentally keeping track of all the players on the field, taking this new revelation about a mole in stride and factoring it into her calculations in order to try and win this world war with her ship girls.