The darkness cracked open in an arced slit, and there was light as Shiranui's eyes pried open to find herself on an operating table on the 17th of May, her new body thankfully clothed from the elements as she felt Akashi's palm on her back to help her up into a sitting position.
Akio and Kousuke were at the engineering controls while several medical electrodes were attached to her body, clearly placed on her to monitor her vitals as her sight cleared to find Shigure standing inside the makeshift laboratory and was beside Aoba as the duo was some distance away from Shiranui and Akashi.
Akashi pulled out a flashlight as she held her left eye open to observe pupil dilation in the presence of extreme light, clicking it off as she made an observation for the human engineers to record,
"Pupil dilation seems normal.
Response…"
She then brought up her fingers to snap in Shiranui's face several times to get a rise out of her, and her expression soured as she snapped.
"Stop that."
" … normal."
The repair ship didn't even flinch in the face of her glowering stare, holding out a palm for her to take as Shiranui felt her soles suddenly touch down on the floor much sooner than she expected.
Tensing up and shooting out her arms to stabilize herself, she found that she had become much taller and that her body had grown in more than one aspect, looking around to find her destroyer self lying on the bed beside hers, a mechanical contraption attached to her head while Shiranui patted herself down to explore her new body.
The curves and muscles on this adult body were far more developed than her destroyer self, and her sudden 'growth spurt' gave her a minor case of vertigo which she hoped would subside soon, Akashi now holding both her hands up to eye level before curling them into fists with extended index fingers as she instructed.
"Now, with these fingers, show me how far your destroyer arm normally extends, shoulder to fingertip.
A guesstimate would suffice."
She was confused as to what this was really about, but she surmised that this was some kind of depth perception check as she pushed her fingers forward to the maximum length which her childlike arms would have been capable of reaching, her elbows bent since her adult arms were capable of reaching further.
"Now, extend your right hand's finger to the furthest length you can currently reach right now."
"Good.
Now, can you give us a rough estimate of the distance between both fingers?
Doesn't even have to be exact."
" … 11 centimeters, give or take."
Akashi, without moving her extended right finger, guided Shiranui's left finger back until her fist almost touched her nose while her left finger obscured a good chunk of her field of vision and partially eclipsed her right finger as Akashi continued, all while staring intently into her eyes.
"Now, focus your gaze on your left finger while allowing your distant right finger to blur, and tell me.
Are you seeing double of your right index finger, likely blurred and sandwiching your focused left finger?"
"Yes."
"Good, good.
Now, shifting your gaze onto your distant right finger, are you seeing a blurred double vision of the left finger in front of your face?
And are your 'two left fingers' sandwiching the right finger you're focused on now?"
"Wait. Yes."
Akashi lowered both her hands as she exhaled and turned to speak to the human engineers at the consoles,
"Depth perception abilities seems alright upon primary inspection, binocular vision working as per usual.
Might need to start on rhythm recalibration soon, and - "
"Wait, rhythm calibration?"
Akio spun around in his swivel chair in order to face her as he elaborated.
"Yeah, didn't you know?
Longer limbs means that the rhythm of your walking, jumping and sprinting speed will have to be re-calibrated.
The swing of every punch and stride will change accordingly, and in the case of the former, your longer arms means that a haymaker would take longer to connect and impart more force than you intended."
Shiranui considered herself using such a move as she looked down at her adult form and lean arm muscles, seeing their point as Kousuke piped up with a question.
"Wait, if you were going to resort to throwing haymakers, wouldn't it be ideal to impart more force to take someone out?"
"Yeah, but not if you only wanted to knock someone out cold and not fucking kill them.
Shiranui-chan here's got the demigod-like strength of a ship girl, but doesn't have the armor a ship girl has to avoid being picked up by metal detectors.
She needs to fully understand what she's capable of before being deployed."
Akio lifted an eyebrow in agreement as he turned back to his control panel, and Akashi turned back to her as she gave Shiranui a look as if to say,
'What they said.'
Shiranui gave her an imperceptible nod in response while looking at Shigure, Aoba instructing her on something or another as she saw that the currently available part of the suit was limited to the power glove with a glowing circle on her palm like a repulsor, and three guesses as to what it could do.
Shiranui took baby steps towards the sight of the destroyer clenching and unclenching her armored fist, aided by Akashi who kept her hands hovering around Shiranui to stop her should she fall as she heard the destroyer speak about the glove's capabilities.
" … just turn it up to 'high' and see what it does.
Trust me, it'll be a blast."
"Um, lame pun aside, these settings were designated as such with a Kai Ni Shigure in mind.
We can only expect that these settings would be wildly inaccurate when you, an unremodeled Shigure, is wielding the glove, so let's take it really easy for now, alright?
Besides, there's also no guarantee that it won't simply blow up in your hand, so there's that."
Aoba's concerns were understandable, but Shigure's curiosity overruled that as she stated, flexing her fingers as Shiranui heard the mechanisms inside it whir and click in response to the movement.
"Then let's start at a reasonably low 10% power, how about that?
Nothing can kill a ship girl at 10% power."
Shiranui could feel herself cringing as she heard that, and even Akashi was reaching for the first aid kit as Aoba twisted knobs and pressed a red button while Shigure pointed the glove downrange and at the paper target of a Wo-Class, where no was standing in out of obvious safety precautions as the glowing repulsor brightened in luminosity and emitted the mechanical whir of a generator powering up.
And everything went to hell.
KAKROOM.
Shigure was flung into the other end of the laboratory as the paper target was annihilated by the light beam shooting out from her palm as it carved through the concrete wall which the target was propped up on, the shock wave shaking the air as everyone jumped and ducked for cover upon reacting to the unexpectedly powerful palm blast while the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer was displaced from where she stood and disappeared from Shiranui's sight in the blink of an eye.
As the destruction of the wall resounded throughout the building as of burst pipes creaked ominously while bricks collapsed and hit the floor and an LED tube light idly swung from the ceiling after being partially dislodged by the blast, Shiranui waved away the dust cloud and saw that Akashi was already walking over to a pathetically whining voice sounding not unlike that of a wounded animal.
And after kneeling down and examining the destroyer who was lying behind a drawer, Shiranui heard Shigure feebly utter in a pained voice.
"I can't feel my hand…"
While Akashi replied nonchalantly,
"Well, good news is that you're right, you didn't die.
Bad news?
You might wish that you were dead, especially since you'll be feeling this…"
"OWOWOW I FELT THAT!"
" … for several days."
Shiranui's nose crinkled as she sharply inhaled, suddenly feeling quite grateful that while her New Wave power needed some time to get used to, at least it didn't involve such a painful trial by fire as she saw Shigure's power glove-wielding arm hanging limply while Aoba gently lifted her by the other shoulder as Shigure, with tears lining the corners of her watery eyes while she bit down on her lower lips, was clearly doing her best not to cry and complain after having tempted fate so audaciously.
"I'm afraid to ask, but…
What happened to your arm, Shigure?"
Junyou was sitting up and was being fed by Hiei since the light carrier's limbs were still twitchy after being electrocuted, and she was in a ward with Kinugasa, Tatsuta, Saratoga, Zuikaku and herself who were undergoing physiotherapy in order to slowly rest and recover after they were taken out or killed by electrocution.
Shigure was still feeling watery-eyed because of the arm injury, but she soldiered on as she gave the official story, a blatantly false lie being uttered through her teeth for all of them to see through in an instant but not question it, since docks were scarce and other ship girls needed it more.
"I fell down the stairs."
Zuikaku seethed, looking as if her muscles had cramped up on her again in her double-take as she spoke through clenched teeth.
"Really?
If you want to lie, at least say you jumped out of a building window and landed on your shoulder.
The stairs here are much too short for a dislocation to occur."
Shigure blanched, and Saratoga, lying down on a bed with a blanket covering her body, piped up with something she heard with her carrier-enhanced senses.
"I also heard something go boom and likely caused the destruction of a wall in a nearby building.
Maybe it was an enemy artillery shell which went wide or something."
Shigure anxiously chuckled to herself and scratched the back of her head while shiftily looking away, beads of sweat forming on her forehead and face while Junyou cringed at the flimsy excuses thrown out to cover up their activities even after the four of them had been taken out by Yuubari and already knew of the New Wave ship girls' existence.
Rumors had already started to spread, and ship girls who visited them in order to give their blessings and wish for their fast recovery had false smiles painted on their faces since many of them had a rough idea of what happened that night and knew that the Abyssals possessed dangerous Beasts and lethal superpowers.
Junyou felt her lungs seize up again as she broke out into another coughing fit and slapped a trembling hand on her mouth, leaning onto the other side of her pillow and reined it in until the spasming of her lungs was alleviated, Shigure and Hiei's expressions becoming wracked with concern as they leaned in to lightly clap on her back.
It was getting better thanks to the docks and physiotherapy, but the occasional twitch in their limbs, muscles and eyelids along with these coughing fits meant that it was going to take a little more time to heal.
Time which they didn't have in spades.
She leaned over to hoarsely whisper to Shigure,
"Um, look…
The five of us need some time to rest, and while I appreciate you being here, I'm afraid I can't spare any time for you as of now…"
Shigure nodded understandingly as she got up from her seat and meekly walked out from the ward as did Hiei as Junyou gave her a weak but reassuring wink, and once they were out of earshot, Junyou heard Kinugasa sigh as she leaned into her pillow and bemoaned.
"Aw…
Why can't they seem to trust us with the fact that we already know about those superpowers?
I mean, we were literally killed by them, so what's up with that?"
"Well, you can't expect them to reveal their secret projects to anyone who simply knows of them.
As a participant, I apologize for the secrecy."
A rare apology came from the Tenryuu-Class cruiser in the room, and Zuikaku shrugged it off in a manner which she made sure not to come off as inconsiderate.
"Ah, don't worry about it.
I just feel just that our friends deserve to know that we have some superheroes on our side."
Tatsuta exhaled, no longer even trying to maintain her smile as her gaze faltered while she mused over their designation as 'heroes'.
"'Hero', hmm…
I just don't want everyone clamoring for upgrades to become heroes like us, and senselessly throw their life away in the process.
Besides, what good is being a superhero if this here's where you end up, either here or the morgue or even ressurected as an Abyssal should they capture us?
The enemies clearly had a head start and produced far more powerful supervillains, so I daresay that it's become quite the lawless place.
Evil runs rampant while good has no way to curtail its advances, and…"
Words seemed to fail the light cruiser then, and Saratoga did her best to comfort her from the confines of her own bed.
"W-Well, we're all still here, and more importantly, here for you, Tatsuta-san…"
"Yes, and I appreciate that.
It's just that without my smiling demeanor, this is how I really am when the going gets tough.
I'll try to stop it - "
"No, no."
Junyou interrupted as the light cruiser attempted to close herself off and was stopped by the light carrier putting her foot in the door in order to thwart that attempt.
"It's alright.
I don't mind this side of yourself, really.
So long as you stay true to yourself and express your real feelings, because I want to know how you really think and feel rather than hear you utter enigmatic and coy responses."
Tatsuta raised an exhausted eyebrow at the point that was being made while Saratoga meekly piped up with a suggestion,
"U-Um…
Because we were witnesses to these superpowered ship girls fighting the Abyssal J.O.A.N. units, do you think we can request Admiral Mako to give us these superpowers?
I mean, Tatsuta-san, you all certainly seem as if you need more manpower in order to stand a chance against the Abyssals."
"By the way, where's Tenryuu?"
Tatsuta was overloaded by questions from both Saratoga and Junyou, pacifying them both as she answered to the best of her ability.
"Well, as to Saratoga's question, I can at least put in a good word for anyone who wishes to join, but I do have to warn that there is an element of risk.
As to the latter…
I'm not exactly sure where Tenryuu-chan's gone, but I'm certain that wherever she is right now, it's likely that she's blaming herself for the loss which got me hospitalized along with you all and training in order to become stronger."
Tatsuta's expression fell and made Junyou feel bad about asking how the Tenryuu-Class nameship was doing, but Zuikaku's spirited demeanor was conveyed through her never-say-die response.
"Well, all the more reason why we should join her in this fight!
Me and Saratoga, we met Cynthia, that blasted Aircraft Carrier Princess who has that flying hippogriff beast Simurgh!
There's no reason for us not to sit out of this fight, especially since we already know this much about our superpowered foes!"
Tatsuta lifted an eyebrow in agreement even as she shared everyone's concerns when the Shoukaku-Class carrier started hacking after exerting herself a little too much, Kinugasa putting in a good word for the ship girls who were called out to witness the hydrogen bomb detonation on the 30th of May and were harshly clued in on the existence of Abyssal J.O.A.N. units.
"Look, we need to call in ship girls who already know that superpowered ship girls and Abyssals exist, so that we can close the gap in terms of firepower and manpower.
Once we get back in touch with our own girls from Yokosuka, we can allow Shimakaze into the loop so that she can face Amatsukaze and stand a fighting chance against her, at least, from what I've heard about the 2nd Fleet and how Amatsukaze thrashed them."
Junyou then chose to rein in their questions since she didn't want Tatsuta to relapse due to being overloaded with questions.
"Alright, girls.
Let's lay off of Tatsuta for a while now, she needs her rest.
We're all witnesses to Tenryuu and Tatsuta using their powers, and there's no way that Admiral Mako can keep us away from the truth."
Everyone relaxed upon hearing that, and Junyou saw Zuikaku being occupied with thoughts which were drifting away from their current condition, and according to what Junyou saw in Zuikaku's eyes, more towards a certain Kaga-Class carrier as Junyou whispered.
"Zuikaku, are you thinking of Kaga?"
The Shoukaku-Class carrier paused before nodding silently, Junyou giving her a tired smile after seeing her go through so much but still have someone to yearn for, to look forward to leaning on and letting out all her anguish and sorrow.
Some part of herself felt jealous upon seeing love blossom on the battlefield, but she easily squashed that budding feeling by reminding herself that because of the distance between Zuikaku and Kaga, the Shoukaku-Class carrier must be feeling especially lonely especially since she never had the chance of choosing who she loved and was now cut off from her.
"I just… I just don't know what to do when going up against such strong enemies, and I now wish I had her guidance and her stoic but unwavering presence here to anchor us.
Is it too needy of me to think like this?"
But Junyou shook her head to dissuade those thoughts, suddenly reminiscing on the days in which they were together and found that she missed everyone's company so very much.
Akagi the big eater, Kaga the ice queen, Shokaku the unfortunate, Hiryuu and Souryuu the rising stars, Ryuujou and Taihou the cutting board…
How were they all doing right now, having to fend off the Abyssal naval assault in this World War?
Zuikaku's miserable expression was all she needed to know that she was much like Saratoga, alone in some sense with no other IJN carriers to share the burden of love with.
She piped in agreement,
"Well, I certainly wouldn't mind having her here to react to everything with a deadpan expression.
Certainly helps that she's the most level headed carrier, even if we have Houshou in our company to act as our surrogate mother."
"Yeah, I guess.
Not that I don't miss the other bird carriers as much, mind you, especially Shoukaku-nee, but it's just…"
"You miss Kaga in an entirely different manner, right?"
Zuikaku nodded, the fire being rekindled in her eyes somewhat as she turned on her bed to look back up at the ceiling as she remained silent the entire time, and Junyou drew back and allowed the carrier some space after speaking her peace to allow her to come to terms with her romantic love for Kaga on her own and what she was going to do about it from here on out.
Shigure was standing near the same sheltered area where she got injured yesterday morning on the 17th, and here she was again on the morning of the 18th in order to try and tame the beast that was the H.A.L.O. armored flight suit.
She was outdoors in order not to hit her head on a ceiling in their propulsion test to see how powerful the feet thrusters were, and how her relatively demure body in comparison to her Kai Ni body would affect the amount of thrust needed to lift her into the air.
For example, if her Kai Ni body required 10% thrust in order to achieve liftoff, her unremodeled body likely required 7%, although these numbers were arbitrary and they had to test, extrapolate and then customize the H.A.L.O. suit's settings in order to fit Shigure.
What this meant for Shigure was, in the words of the legitimately pitying Akashi,
"You're going to get hurt.
A lot."
Some part of her was starting to wonder if all this suffering was worth the New Wave power she had been granted, and if she could possibly get a refund for another power.
In the distance, she could see Shiranui practicing the skip rope while a recuperating Tatsuta watched over her and clapped on for Shiranui to focus on and time her skips to the rhythm of Tatsuta's claps.
She stumbled again as the rope slapped her on the ankles again, the destroyer seething and muttering something about 'making a mistake' while Tatsuta got her back on track and had her starting another set of 100 skips as part of the exercise, meant to help her get used to her new body and make sure that her spatial awareness wasn't lacking.
To Shigure's understanding, Shiranui got used to moving around in her new body fairly quickly, but skipping rope could help her become aware of her body's dimensions to clear the looping rope and evade moving objects at moderate to high speeds without any risk to her body aside from slightly bruised ankles before even touching a firearm.
As for her…
Akashi snapped her finger in front of Shigure before pulling back and remarking,
"Hey.
You with us?"
"Y-Yeah."
The repair ship didn't seem entirely convinced, but she leaned in to ask in a sincere tone about her previous test's injury.
"How's that arm coming along?
I have half a mind to postpone this test simply because we don't know if your shoulder joint is going to pop out of its socket the second you take off."
But Shigure, ever the determined ship girl, vehemently shook her head as she denied.
"No, no.
I'm alright, I don't mind getting knocked around a little for the sake of getting stronger.
Besides, if anything goes wrong, I can always be thrown into the docks again and oh right…"
Akashi gave her a look which told her she really should have known better, and as Shigure inhaled to help her accepted the gravity of her own situation, she looking up as Akashi as the repair ship gave the horrified Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer some form of reassurance, perhaps out of pity in order to keep her hopes up in the face of seemingly inevitable pain and suffering for the sake of science.
"Look, Amazon company's made their new base of operations near Kanayama Dam, and we've been able to recover… most of our dead by dipping them in nanite-filled water.
Seeing your penchant for tests going horribly wrong, a tank of that improvised dock water's been sent our way, so you just worry your pretty little head about getting yourself off the floor without anything going wrong during testing."
She then looked down at the power gloves and shoes which Shigure was wearing, explaining why her armor took so long to craft.
"Look, the armor which is going to protect your body, it's taking a little longer to craft since we were given a new recipe to work with to make your armor is all but impervious to firearms and can only be dented by RPGs, tank shells and the like.
Also, we wanted to get your measurements right this time so that should we have to churn out replacement parts in the future, we can do so without much fuss.
We have your power gloves and shoes ready, and we might have to go through one more test flight in the future to change our settings to account for the weight of the armor, but I suppose a test flight now to get you acquainted with how these work might speed up your learning process."
Shigure nodded understandingly, moving onto the next topic at hand as she looked at Aoba and the engineers who were focused on her progress today.
"I see you all are prepared for the worst, what with the fire extinguishers you all have on hand."
Akio looked away innocently as he used his foot to slide the red fire extinguisher under his desk and out of Shigure's view, but she had already noticed no fewer than half a dozen of them near her and were all within reaching distance.
Akashi raised a disbelieving eyebrow as she commented on her unpredictable luck.
"Well, I can safely say that your tests are… eventful, to say the least.
Your luck can just as easily get you in trouble as it can get you out of it as your colorful ship girl past has demonstrated, so excuse us for fearing that your equipment might go up in flames and send you flying everywhere, especially since this is the testing phase."
"Fair enough."
Shigure conceded the point since her life was indeed eventful ever since she was crafted as a ship girl, more specifically when she came to Yokosuka and was drafted into the 1st Fleet.
Encounters with legendary ghost ships, fighting a Princess, participating in a large-scale battle ala Leyte Gulf and then fighting in World War 3.
And now, she was going to be the real-life Iron Man and be the first ship girl to fucking fly.
If that wasn't eventful, she didn't know what was.
Looking up at Akashi's genuinely concerned glance, she gave her friend a determined nod to send her walking back towards the panes of bulletproof glass where the technicians were tending to the controls panels, Akio and Kousuke standing further behind where Aoba was because if her equipment did indeed fail and she spontaneously exploded, squishy humans had a likelier chance of survival standing further away from the epicenter of the explosion.
Standing on the launching pad and taking in a deep breath to center herself, she then asked a question which popped up in her mind.
"Just asking.
But if I go up by activating the thrusters, how exactly am I going to get down safely?"
"You see that giant float we procured?
After you take off, we're going to pull it out for you to land on should a crash landing become inevitable the further up you climb.
And around this area are several more of these cushions for you to target and land on, so all you need to do is to fly towards them should you go off-course, alright?"
Shigure's HUD piped up with a request for the exchange of information, accepting it to find her map of the area updated with blue dots to indicate the locations of these landing cushions.
Sharing a concerned look with Aoba as the heavy cruiser flashed her a thumbs-up in order to wish her good luck through the transparent glass, she exhaled sharply and braced herself for another round of pain as she announced.
"First flight test, supplying repulsors with 1% power.
Let's see what this thing can do.
And in three, two, one."
Her entire being was lifted from the ground at once, not flung into the air like she'd been fearing but instead hovering awkwardly in mid-air as the micro-thrusters on her back and calves fired occasionally in order to orientate herself, noting Aoba peeking at her airborne form as she hid her face behind a clipboard while Akio and Kousuke pressed buttons and shifted levers.
Akashi was observing her every movement, which was the furthest thing from graceful as she barely succeeded at maintaining her balance as if she was a circus balancing act; her center of gravity was constantly shifting while her legs, unfamiliar with this unusual experience, wobbled while seemingly standing on thin air due to the jets of plasma being ejected from her repulsors and thrusters.
Finally, the power being cut to her gloves and shoes allowed her to plant her feet back on solid ground, tremors causing her body and limbs to quiver as the shock of landing caused a chill to fly up her spine and spread throughout her body in a fuzzy feeling, releasing a breath she didn't realize she was holding the entire time as Akashi and Aoba sidestepped the bulletproof glass to check up on her.
"Well, you certainly didn't go flying off, and that's a relief."
"To you and to me."
Shigure was breathing much harder than usual as she allowed herself to take in the fact that she might be the first ship girl to be able to fly (ship girls being in planes don't count, and neither do Fairies flying planes), and while her flying techniques needed work which could be overcome with practice, a part of her was genuinely excited about the thought alone.
Looking at Aoba and Akashi patting her down for injuries, she found it within herself to ask a burning question in her inquisitive heart.
"That was awesome.
Can we do that again?"
Both Akashi and Aoba looked at each other before looking at her with very uneasy expressions on their faces, and Shigure tried to reason and plead with them as she used her doey-eyed look to try and win them over.
"Please, please, please, please, pleassseeeeee?
We can complete our tests so much more quickly if we did two tests in one day!
The enemy has a head start, and I'm perfectly fine!"
Akashi retorted with an annoyed voice being laced with sincere concern for her well-being,
"And what, are we supposed to keep testing until you're crippled or dead?
As a certified medic, I'd rather wait and allow our analysts to make sense of the data obtained in your first test flight to minimize the possibility of injury on your second test."
"Ah, but what's the smarter thing to do, when you consider the fact that it takes such a short time to repair a destroyer's injuries?
Do you sustain several debilitating injuries in a row before taking a little longer to heal up fully in one docking, or dock every time you sustain a debilitating injury and cause precious time to be wasted in order to restore myself to full health with several dockings?
I mean, I am superhuman, after all.
And we need to take advantage of that to reduce the time taken for us to understand what this armored suit is capable of."
Akashi looked away in dead silence while Aoba gave her a concerned aside glance after witnessing the destroyer's fatal curiosity and inquisitiveness, the repair ship attempting to parse that sentence before looking back at Shigure with a strange, even cautious look in her eyes as she remarked.
"I'm not sure if what I just heard was the most brilliant or the most retarded thing I've heard in recent times."
"A little bit of both?"
"A little bit of both."
She finally got a compromise in the form of Akashi pulling out goggles which appeared to be used for welding as she removed the dark filter which protected one's eyes from the blinding sparks to turn it into pseudo-aviation goggles and fitted them around Shigure's head as she sternly warned,
"Drop altitude once you feel that the air is too thin for you, because I don't want to have to catch a falling, unconscious destroyer, alright?
And make sure to landing on the fucking landing cushions, alright?"
Nodding at Akashi as she got behind the bulletproof glass with Aoba, she looked back up at the clear blue sky as she longed to see what the world looked like from up there, the horrors of war fading away from memory in light of what she would be able to witness up there with her own two eyes, and not through a video or a picture that was taken by someone else.
"Second flight test, supplying repulsors with 6% power.
To infinity and beyond!
Three, two, one!"
Feeling the increase in thrust lift into the air much faster than before, she took flight and reached an even higher altitude than before after half a minute of flying more or less straight up into the air as she struggled to keep her limbs straight and parallel to each other due to the increased thrust, eventually powering down as she slowed down upon reaching the highest point of her unpowered flight path and felt weightless as her comrades were the size of dust particles beneath her.
The radiant sun shined down upon the earth and allowed her to appreciate the lush trees hiding what few buildings were built this far out in the neck of the woods, and near the horizon was Kanayama Dam where sun rays were reflected by the sizable body of sparkling water, while the clouds which floated in mid-air like she was right now and often appeared to be above the petty concerns of those who were bound by gravity were now closer than ever before, and almost beckoned for her to strive for greater heights and discover the sight of the earth from up there.
'Oh, wow.
This really is quite the view.
Wait, I asked about where to land, but how exactly do I land when I'm this high up?
Oh, shi…'
Real life kicked in as gravity worked its magic on her and pulled her back down to the earth where she belonged, the world spinning around her as she was sent careening through the air as the wind howled around her ears and sent her hair into a whipping frenzy around her face, her organs feeling queasy and weightless within her body as she did her best impression 'school girl frightened by a cockroach' scream all the way back to the ground.
"AAHHHHHHH!"
The fact that she was projected to land in an area without any available landing cushions didn't escape her notice, and her desperate attempts to slow down her descent with her repulsors and thrusters did much to significantly decrease the dizzying velocity of her fall to a survivable speed (for a ship girl) as she tucked her head in and squeezed her eyes shut while thinking to herself.
'Oh god.
This is gonna su-'
KRACK.
There was agonizing pain shooting both up and down her spine as she miraculously managed to avoid smashing the crown of her skull into the earth and render her head a smear of bloody grey matter and cerebrospinal fluid on the floor, tanking the impact with her face as her head snapped back at an angle too odd to be natural as the pain from her body stopped.
That was good.
As did all other bodily sensations.
That wasn't good.
She blinked rapidly in order to keep the thrown-up dust cloud out of her eyes before remembering that she had the goggles on as she failed to feel anything beneath the nape of her broken neck, her breath stopping as her feeble little mind was still whirling from the shock of not having her head crack open like an egg upon hitting the ground at a velocity too dangerous even for a ship girl to walk away from unscathed.
Oh, wait, she couldn't feel her lungs moving either as air slowly seeped out of them through her nose, so she had escaped dying a quick death by splitting her head open on the floor for a slower death via asphyxiation as her physical background function which kept her lungs moving in order to breath was also compromised by her broken neck.
She just had to beg for a second test flight in order to sate her curiosity and desire to re-experience the thrill of flying, didn't she?
Akashi was the first person to appear in her paralyzed field of vision with Shiranui and Aoba following shortly behind her as she called out to them.
"Good news, guys.
I don't feel any pain.
Bad news?
I can't feel much of anything at all."
And caused the annoyed repair ship to remark exasperatedly.
"Oh my god, you fucking moron!
Didn't I specifically instruct you to land on the landing cushions, not on your fucking face and neck?!"
Aoba's face scrunched up squeamishly as she looked down at Shigure's body on the floor and asked a similarly worried Akashi who was leaning in close to check on her body,
"Um…
I'm not a doctor, but I don't think necks are supposed to bend that way, right?"
"Of course not.
Shigure, are you still in control of your own breathing?"
Shigure did her best to blot out the pain which stung her face as the crash-landing likely fractured her nose, hearing her own voice become a little more high-pitched in the process.
"I don't… think so?
I'm starting to feel a little lightheaded and I don't think it's from the pain, and I might just pass out from air deprivation."
"My thoughts exactly.
A fall from that height might also crush your windpipe and cut off the air supply to your brain.
Get Akio and Kousuke here with a stretcher, we need to check up on and repair her neck in the medical bay before she asphyxiates.
Shiranui, give her rescue breaths ala CPR while I hold her neck."
"What?
Why do I - "
Shiranui's protests died in her throat as Akashi gave her a withering stare, the medic getting down into a seiza position before leaning down and using her forearms to cradle and support Shigure's broken neck, the Kagerou-Class destroyer then turning to Aoba as the heavy cruiser threw out a flimsy excuse.
"I'm, um, checking for any hidden injuries.
Don't mind me."
"Shiranui.
Every second you waste means Shigure is one second closer to dying.
Give her mouth-to-mouth, or else she dies."
Shiranui's expression was conflicted, and Shigure understood that while the Kagerou-Class destroyer could be standoffish at times and cold at others, she still cared for her as a friend and certainly didn't want any harm to befall her.
And finally, Shiranui relented as she sat down close to Akashi, cradling her chin and holding down her forehead while Akashi supported her neck and head, the Kagerou-Class destroyer reluctantly leaning in with puckered lips and closed eyes as she made lip-to-lip contact in order to fill her lungs with oxygen via the kiss of life.
First base, reached.
Taking flight and having Shiranui kiss her on the lips for the price of a broken neck?
She didn't feel too bad about today after all.
Shiranui pulled her head back while inhaling sharply, pupils dilated and cheeks colored in a tinge of embarrassed red while Shigure's gaze shifted over to Akashi, and the repair ship cheekily winking at her while keeping her deadpan expression out of Shiranui's sight was all she needed to know that Akashi was acting as a wing-man even at a time like this, and Shiranui managed to maintain her stoic demeanor in spite of her blush as she pinched Shigure's cheek and hissed.
"Don't think this means anything other than saving your life.
I just wanted to save on resources by keeping you alive."
"Ow, ow, ow.
Why me?"
Tatsuta looked up disbelievingly at Shigure as the destroyer had been hospitalized twice within the span of two days, now visiting Junyou and Tatsuta in their ward which was adjacent to her while she had an adjustable neck brace conspicuously wrapped around her neck and chin to prevent her from moving her head and exacerbating a neck wound.
Junyou, Saratoga and Zuikaku shared her concerned looks as they were all acquainted with the little destroyer with various levels of familiarity while Kinugasa was out somewhere doing physiotherapy, Tatsuta deigning to ask how this had occurred within a day of her dislocating her shoulder.
"If I might ask, just how exactly did you injure your neck a day after dislocating your shoulder?"
"I, um, tripped and fell out of a building window."
If their looks were concerned before, they were outright incredulous as the blatant lies had reached critical and were unbelievable to the point where it was a legitimate insult to think that even a three-year old child would fall for them for a second.
Tatsuta finally closed her jaw as she did her best to roll with the awkwardly blatant lie and conveniently forget the fact that Junyou, Saratoga and Zuikaku picked up a little girl's shrill scream which sounded suspiciously familiar to the Hiyou-Class light carrier's ears while spotting someone falling out of the sky with their superhuman eyesight.
"Oh well…
Just be sure not to push yourself too much.
Can you promise me that, Shigure?"
Shigure's expression fell upon hearing that, and Tatsuta could understand where she was coming from since they were comrades in the same fleet, and despite understanding Shigure's desire to become stronger and fight alongside Tenryuu and Tatsuta to balance the scales between ship girl and Abyssal New Wave units, Tatsuta didn't want Shigure physically breaking down to the point where all the king's men couldn't put her back together again.
Getting up as she gestured to the door,
"Well, I guess I gotta go now, Akashi's going to tear me a new one for this injury, and the last thing I want to do is to keep her wai - "
Before her arm froze in place, and Tatsuta suddenly felt a wave of dread wash over her as she saw that Shigure was staring off into nothing as if weighing something something internally before she uttered,
"Oh wait.
Here it comes…"
Shigure's hand went limp and hung by her side shortly before she lost control of her body as it lifelessly crumpled to the floor, prompting everyone in the ward to get off their beds and rush towards her in a concerned panic, Tatsuta herself suddenly overcome with some anxiety regarding her friend's condition in spite of her usually cool demeanor.
Junyou was shouting for a medic as she stumbled out of the ward, and Zuikaku slid onto her knees and was beside Shigure in an instant, but Tatsuta held out a hand to stop the carrier from moving her own fleet mate.
"Wait!
She's suffering from a neck injury, wait until more medics or ship girls arrive before moving her!"
Shigure could only lie down on the floor like a puppet with its strings cut, Tatsuta hearing a pained whine softly escaping the seething destroyer's lips as her face was kissing cold, hard marble tiles after her collapsing body caused her head to hit the floor.
"Ssss…
Ow, my face…"
Shigure was standing in the same firing range where she first tested her power glove and dislocated her shoulder on the 17th, testing the third equipment in her armored suit which was barely created in time to be shipped here along with her power gloves and shoe thrusters, and it was made up of two parts.
First was the steel 'rib cage' which was snugly wrapped around her chest where the armored plates were supposed to be attached to, and the second was the arc reactor on her chest as it emitted brilliant light in a mechanical blue tint, and if Shigure squinted, she could see the circuit board etched into the glowing material.
Fortunately for her, this arc reactor was flat as a board and meant that she didn't need to gouge out her own chest to fit it in ala Tony Stark, and it was placed on her flat chest in order to facilitate easier aiming and was also conveniently where most power from the soul could be easily drawn out.
Through the heart.
She also received assurances that should this arc reactor be taken out, it was neither going to blow her to kingdom come nor was it going to shut down her armored suit immediately, so that was that.
Her neck was doing marginally better as was her shoulder injury, and Akashi walked up to her while pouring some sort of metal sand into a glass full of water before using a spoon to mix it up, and Akashi answered the questioning gaze Shigure used to train on the murky glass in her hand,
"This bag contains inactive nanomachines which are activated when soaked in drinking water.
When you bleed in battle, the blood leaking out of you contains nanomachines and will reduce the overall nanite count in your body over time.
We had this idea to have them activate when put in drinking water in order to keep you hydrated and maintain the nanomachine count in your body."
Using a straw for Shigure to take a sip without having to tip back her head for obvious reasons, Akashi allowed Shigure to take possession of the glass as she whipped out something else which was hooked on the construction belt around her hip, bringing it up to Shigure's eye level as she wrapped it around Shigure's neck brace.
"What's that?"
"Something we created in order to improve the sturdiness of your brace.
I understand that you'll likely get yourself hurt again.
But this'll hopefully decrease the odds of your neck injury being exacerbated when you get injured.
At the very least, it should protect the right vertebrae sections to keep your breathing systems functional."
"Hmm.
'When', and not 'if', Akashi-san?"
The repair ship snorted derisively as she looked down at Shigure's neck brace and previously dislocated shoulder, remarking on her disturbing penchant for getting herself in trouble as well as getting herself hurt in the process.
"Oh, please.
Seeing what you get yourself into all the time, I'm inclined to believe it's only a matter of time."
"Hence the first aid supplies in your belt?"
"Exactly."
Shigure couldn't exactly refute that since she knew how unpredictable her own luck was at casually throwing herself into danger (if her curiosity, desire to become stronger or suicidal tendencies didn't get to her first) and enjoy watching her flounder in the deep end of the pool before Shigure was rescued.
"You know, I just had a thought.
Why is it that I have to be in the armored suit?
Can't we just make it easier to control by making it remote controlled, and I'll pilot it in base like an unmanned aerial vehicle?"
"The explanation is that the suit won't function and react as quickly since you're not in it, and because we're constantly sending signals to the H.A.L.O. suit, it will most likely suffer from lag when operating over extended distance and runs the risk of the signals being intercepted and cut off.
When the full armored suit arrives tomorrow, you'd better not be a pussy and get in the goddamned suit."
"Ok."
Shigure couldn't refute the callousness in Akashi's voice as well as the points which she made, and while it was indeed more dangerous for her to be in the suit, but there was at least someone inside making choices on the fly instead of having to constantly relay movement orders from their base of operations to the suit, and if an EMP managed to take her out, she could at least try and manually reboot her H.A.L.O. suit from the inside instead of looking on helplessly as her suit fell into enemy hands.
The contraption on her chest whirred mutely as she turned back to find several landing cushions placed behind her, this last weapon test predicted to fling her back into them according to Newton's Third Law of Motion, and she was to fire the arc reactor firing at the paper target of an Abyssal Ri-Class cruiser which would send her flying back into the cushions.
Looking at Akashi helping her to don a pair of sunglasses and taking the empty glass before passing her the firing button and joining Aoba, Shiranui, Akio and Kousuke behind the panes of bulletproof glass, all of whom were wearing the same pair of sunglasses so as not to be blinded by the beam's brilliance, Shigure held the firing button in her hand and took a quick breath before announcing,
"Arc reactor test, at 10% power.
Commencing in three, two, one."
She then punched the button while hoping for the best.
The whirring volume and luminosity of the arc reactor steadily increased in pitch to the point where it reached a crescendo, the brilliant blue glow nearly blinding her and the spectators if not for the donned sunglasses as all the pent-up energy within the reactor was then unleashed with a ferocious roar of a mechanical beast.
Shigure imagined this was what it felt like to fire the sun from her chest, seething from the blast's temperature searing her face and arms while the heat started to ignite parts of her uniform which were close enough to the arc reactor, her feet losing contact with the ground a second before she slammed into the landing cushion and caused her right shoulder and neck to be overwhelmed by the resulting wave of pain, tolerable but distracting.
Even with the sunglasses on, the brilliance of the beam was evident as her ribs started to creak from the equal and opposite force of the blast compressing her ribcage, and the internal ear mufflers muted the ringing in her ears as the deafening silence after the power was cut off.
Sliding down onto the floor as the cool air stung the first-degree burns plaguing her skin, her breathing becoming increasingly labored as every breath that was drawn precipitated a wave of muted pain which spread throughout her torso, although the silver lining was how being able to feel such things meant that the reinforced brace managed to keep her neck intact.
What was far from ideal, however, was the fact that she could feel her burning clothes starting to sear into her skin and warp her flesh until Akashi, Akio and Kousuke ran up and doused her head to toe with the pressurized foam fired from the procured fire extinguishers, getting it into her mouth and eyes as she retched from the terrible taste and braced herself against the humiliating jet of foam doing its job while getting into her hair and clothes, threatening to suffocate her with whatever the extinguishing agent was made up of and leaving her even more of a mess than ever before.
The commotion died down to allow Shigure to catch her breath after she held it to prevent herself from inhaling the extinguishing foam and gas, and the flames which were dancing on her chest were snuffed out as she hacked and coughed to clear whatever foam had gotten into her mouth and throat as Akashi knelt down beside her, checking up on her biting burns which were agitated by the extinguishing agent washing all over it, the repair ship then deigning to ask dryly.
"How does that dip in the portable docks seem now?"
Shigure, after suffering several cracked ribs, stinging first-degree burns on her face, arms and chest, a broken neck barely held together to prevent death by asphyxiation and a dislocated shoulder which had popped out again within the course of her testing session, only had this to say.
"Like heaven on earth."
Shigure was resting in a steel barrel which was filled with water retrieved from the nearby Kanayama Dam, where the next battle was slated to take place.
There was a mild fire underneath the barrel in order to keep the water at a certain temperature without boiling her alive, and she was hiding most of her body underwater as it reached up to her neck in order to maximize its effects on the most affected areas.
Akashi, training an eye on her, wasn't wearing her long-sleeved and high-collar undershirt due to the sweltering summer temperature and allowed Shigure a look at the scars crisscrossing her forearms as she swallowed an uncomfortable lump in her throat at the thought of Akashi resorting to self-harm at one point in time.
And strangely enough, Akashi spoke up about continuing their sessions to talk about her issues in light of her frightening enthusiasm for self-destructive testing.
"You know, I really think that we should talk some more in counselling sessions again, because I think that you going through so many battles thus far requires someone to oversee your mental state and well-being.
And before you ask, I've already sought out those who are more troubled than you are, like Saratoga who's survived a hydrogen bomb detonation and died in an encounter with Yuubari, so there's no need for you to go all 'Oh, there are others who deserve your time more than I do.'"
Shigure nodded meekly and accepted the appointment, since she wasn't prideful enough to think that she was going to be entirely right in the head after all this time, especially not when she was known to be full of repressed traumatic experiences which was masked by a silent demeanor, which really spoke volumes about her as a ship girl to those who knew her.
"You really do know how to counsel others as a medic, hmm?"
"Yeah.
I mean, I did work at a mental institute to deal with troubled and traumatized ship girls, so therapy comes naturally to me."
Shigure then felt a little down as her mind wandered towards her experiences with the Nishimura Fleet as well as the 1st Fleet and recalling what she wanted to protect, a memory of the Nishimura Fleet and her friends in the 1st Fleet.
"I'm sorry for giving you so much trouble.
I just want to get stronger and protect my friends, and I don't care if I have to bang my head against several walls and break them down to obtain the power I desire."
And to that, Akashi lifted an eyebrow with a witty retort at hand,
"Well, for all your supposed preciousness and intelligence, you do have a particularly thick skull when you test, in which notions of 'failure' or 'impossible' never really seem to stick in your mind for long.
And as you said, you do recover quickly as a destroyer, and they do say that drops of water can carve into stone through sheer persistence.
So I suppose banging your head against walls to break through them isn't such a Herculean task for after all."
Shigure couldn't help but chuckle a little at Akashi's biting but sincere words, but she could feel her next words vocalizing the repair ship's concern for her well-being.
"But for real, though.
I understand how you're afraid that the 1st Fleet might end up like the Nishimura Fleet, but you don't need to feel as if you have to carry the burden by yourself.
Tenryuu and Tatsuta may be out of action, but that doesn't excuse you from pushing yourself this hard with the strength of a hundred battleships, not to mention stubbornness about a hundred times that.
What would they think, if your unremodeled body were to fail at a critical moment?"
Shigure did admit that Akashi had a point, and the repair ship would be the one to break the news to the 1st Fleet.
How far was she going to go in abusing her body for the sake of getting stronger before it gave out on her?
"I… I guess so.
I think Tenryuu-san is out there, doing her best to improve herself as well, and doing this to myself would only distract her from her training should I break down beyond repair."
Akashi nodded understandingly, and Shigure used this time to dare to ask about Akashi's past and how it might be related to the repair ship's concern for her well-being.
"And um, I was wondering…
I saw that you had a C-section scar near your womb, and I just want to know what happened to your child?"
Akashi froze up and made Shigure almost immediately regret posing that question to the repair ship, but she did her best to reach out to Akashi and try to understand her better as she placed her hand on Akashi's scar-ridden arms, doing her best to struggle against Akashi's attempt to pull her arm away as she asked with the most sincere tone she could muster.
"Please.
You may think me nosy and inquiring about your past, but I just want to get to know you better as a friend.
Is it wrong of me to ask about what made you the way you are today?"
"Yes."
"Then I don't want to be right."
Shigure met Akashi's flinty gaze, and she could see that the repair ship's gaze was warning her not to push her luck on this topic, but a large part of why Akashi wanted Shigure to back off was because of one more thing aside from anger.
Fear.
She put forth a hypothesis as she gulped down the lump in her throat which existed due to the sheer tactlessness of her to try and use the direct approach in this situation, an approach which she thought Akashi would appreciate because she likely disliked people tiptoeing about the issue.
The air between them was electric as her determined stubbornness butted heads with Akashi's equally determined determination to shut her out of her own past as she started.
"I know that between your career in a ship girl mental institute and the repair ship for Yokosuka, you had a Dark Age-esque period.
In my opinion, I suspect that you were pregnant then, but for some reason, a lot of your misanthropy was formed even before coming to Yokosuka losing Yuubari, and that probably means - "
"Stop."
Shigure did just that as she saw the conflict in her eyes, and Akashi must have realized that someone would piece together her fragmented past and then make some reasonable assumptions about what happened even if she hadn't overheard Akashi's strained conversation with Admiral Mako about the repair ship's past at the pool (which was a bit of a cheat), the missing last piece of the puzzle being what exactly happened to her during that period which caused her to lose her children and sour her opinion regarding mankind.
She didn't want to dredge up Akashi's painful memories, but she wanted to place her cards on the table and give Akashi a heads up that she knew about most of Akashi's past, and she was going going to get to the bottom of this -
"If both my children were still alive, they'd be around your age."
Shigure paused as her mind struggled to parse that sentence and how despite the death of her children was the most logical conclusion to come to, it was still jarring to hear it from the horse's mouth as she looked up at Akashi and noticed that the repair ship couldn't help but reach down towards the C-section scar on her womb upon finishing that sentence, the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer warily whispering,
"'If'?
And 'children'?"
Akashi's gaze lowered as her expression darkened, looking far more miserable than Shigure had ever seen her during their time together as the repair ship gave her a reminiscing look while sharing.
"I was carrying twins.
And as strange as it may seem, you remind me of what I'd like my kids to be like."
"A-And what is that?"
"Slightly subdued and polite, perhaps withdrawn to some extent, but bustling with childlike curiosity and enthusiasm buried underneath the surface and is displayed on numerous occasion like sun rays piercing through rain clouds.
Of course, I could do without the reckless abandon, traumatizing past and fucking nosiness."
Shigure made a noise of agreement since she didn't want to saddle anyone with the burden of her memories and experiences while she made an effort to express her guilt of pushing Akashi to reveal her past, eventually making the connection in her mind.
"So, do you see me as a replacement of your, um, deceased children?"
"I suppose so, as strange as it might sound."
"And um, how am I doing so far?"
Akashi looked into the distance in order to consider the question for a bit before giving a brutally honest answer,
"You are… endearingly annoying.
You didn't really think you were going to fool me with your little waterworks which got you off the hook for being there to bait Tenryuu's New Wave powers out, did you?"
Shigure flinched upon hearing that, and she deliberately chose to avoid Akashi's gaze as her withering gaze bored through Shigure while the water droplets on the destroyer's skin rolled down her skin in lieu of sweat.
"You certainly put yourself through a lot in order to find out about Project Psyche and to get you and Shiranui into it in order to receive New Wave powers, culminating in your suicidal attempt to fight Yuubari in the rain.
As much as I'm annoyed by that kind of tenacity, I don't exactly dislike it either.
But remember that your life has always been intertwined with that of others, and there exists ship girls who care for you despite not being your sister ships, and they'd be devastated by your death."
"Including you?"
Akashi blinked as she lowered her head to look into the steaming bathwater, reluctantly admitting the existence of her bond with Shigure.
" … Yes.
Anything else, Shigure?"
Akashi's tone became caustic again as she closed off her world-weary heart after revealing enough of it to Shigure in their tense exchange, and she noted Akashi's undershirt-less torso exposing her scarred arms and her bosom as her skin was glistening with a layer of sweat thanks to the summer heat and the steamy air of the barrel dock, and she hid her blush and fidget well enough for the repair ship to chalk it up as a side effect of the piping-hot bathwater as she remarked after mentally forming a plan.
"Well, a kiss might be appreciated.
Not on the lips, because even though Shiranui already took my first kiss, it didn't really count when it was done to keep me alive like in CPR.
How about on the forehead, then?"
Akashi gave her a weird look as she pulled her head back, chiding Shigure for her childishness.
"Can you not be such a fucking child?"
"Hmm, and after so many people tell me to act my age?"
That gave Akashi pause as she considered the likelihood of people telling Shigure to do just that, and then silently tilting her head to concede the point while Shigure continued.
"Isn't it also common practice for adults to kiss a wound in order to help it heal?
I mean, you did say that I was banging my head against a wall during the testing phase, after all."
"Metaphorically.
Besides, kissing a wound is likely to infect it."
Shigure resorted to using her puppy-dog eyes as she leaned forward to tilt her gaze upwards while giving Akashi an intensely affectionate gaze, and despite the fact that Akashi possessed a hardened and cynical heart, she couldn't help but relent as she exhaled and performed her job as a repair ship, which entailed keeping her patients' hopes up so that they'd strive to get better.
"Fine."
Before leaning over the edge of the steel barrel and tenderly puckering her lips while she closed her eyes, Shigure's heart-rate spiking as she looked down the collar of Akashi's shirt to witness just how well Akashi had filled out over the years as two sizable, fleshy orbs were held close to her chest by a pink bra and the repair ship's action of leaning forward allowed them to squeeze together deliciously thanks to her taut bra.
Akashi then pulled back from her kiss to give Shigure a look, finding the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer unable to tear her eyes from her generous cleavage which was exposed by her sailor collar and no longer covered by her high-collar-long-sleeved grey undershirt as her sailor collar now hung loosely from her neck and gave a blushing Shigure a decent view.
Shigure was then assaulted by the annoyed repair ship sharply pinching and pulling both her cheeks, a vein popping on Akashi's temple while tears formed on the corners of Shigure's eyes.
"You horny little brat."
"Ah-Ah-Ah!
You're gonna stretch my cheeks out, Akashi-san!"
The Project Psyche participants and technicians were now at a wide opening on the 21st of May, ship girls and soldiers alike all forbidden from entering an area of 50 kilometers in order to preserve secrecy regarding Shigure's New Wave powers, even from the five recuperating ship girls whose makeshift ward was outside of the radius after they transported the relevant equipment to a relatively secluded area.
Shigure had skipped over the incredibly awkward suiting up part, because currently, there didn't exist proper facilities for that express purpose being created yet and meant that everything had to be done manually, which led to some intensely awkward 'bad touch' moments.
Shaking those thoughts out of her head, she looked down at her own H.A.L.O. suit to observe the newest additions to her suit, which included a skintight g-suit suit which pressed on her body from every conceivable angle to make all the blood rush to her face and not deprive her brain of oxygen, causing a slight blush to perpetually color her face.
The Project Psyche engineers were putting the finishing touches to her H.A.L.O. suit's settings after consolidating and reviewing the data from all her failures thus far in order not to repeat them, having factored in the additional weight of her armor and the various accessories inside.
Akashi was there to give a partial explanation of how the suit worked, starting with the skintight suit which Shigure was forced to wear before putting on the armor.
"You feel that sexy, glorified gimp suit you're wearing beneath your armored suit sans the face mask?
It's to tighten around vital areas when in mid-flight, like a corset wrapped around your abdomen and waist and everywhere else in order to prevent your blood from flowing away from your brain as you fly through the air.
This…"
Knocking lightly on Shigure's armored suit on the 'S', Akashi continued.
"Its insides are lined with inertial dampeners in order to prevent the G-forces from outright killing you, since turning at the speeds which you are capable of flying at can turn even you into a chunky steel-fuel-blood paste in your suit."
"And what happens if I were to open my suit in mid-flight?"
Akio interjected with a pithy answer,
"You'd be a moron."
"A dead moron soon enough."
Kousuke high-fived Akio as he added upon his best friend's remark, causing Shigure to gulp anxiously as she suddenly felt a little nervous about taking flight when any single mistake might spell her doom in spite of opening her suit mid-flight being a 'too dumb to live' indicator, Akashi speaking up in the H.A.L.O suit's defense in order to reassure her.
"Look, you will still experience G-forces, but they're definitely survivable in here, and should you be shot down by any tank shells in mid-flight like in that Iron Man film I showed you…"
Shigure nodded nervously after the repair ship got the idea to show her a film which would help her visualize how it felt like to fly and what to avoid, like antagonizing the air force into attacking her by giving them the silent treatment.
"And will I encounter allied jet fighters I'll be crashing into by accident?"
"No.
The JASDF has been told that we'd be running tests on a classified flying military equipment today, and that they should fly around the designated testing area marked out in your helmet.
Even then, your signature should pop up as an allied one, and the codename will be 'SHI080', password 'H.A.L.O.' will be used to identify yourself as an ally.
No superhero landings, and no engaging enemy units in combat.
What your suit currently consists of are the barest of essentials to help you fly, and there are little to no weapons equipped on your suit right now.
Got that?"
Shigure tersely nodded, understanding that this simply was a test flight, and as much as she wanted to get out there and help her comrades, there was no helping people without weapons since her suit was armed for flight and not combat as of now.
"Look, these shoulder pads around the cap of your shoulders?
We'll be retrofitting two more repulsors behind them after this test flight so that the backward force of the palm repulsor and arc reactor which flung you back is cancelled out by this shoulder repulsor firing in the equal and opposite direction, and we've increased the strength of the bracers on your arms, neck and rib-cage to protect you against any similar injuries in the future.
And we'll also be attaching air propellers on your shoulders and calves to help you maneuver about when you're hovering in mid-air after this.
Understood?"
"Understood."
Allowing the mechanical arm to extend from the helmet storage container on her chest and the nape of her neck to assemble her helmet starting from her chin and back of her skull, they connected with each other near her ears in order to provide complete protection, opening her eyes to find herself staring out into her surroundings as if the helmet was a one-way mirror to allow her to look outside.
The displays on the inside visor of the helmet displayed things which her eye's HUD never thought to show as a ship girl, amongst them an altimeter and a attitude indicator which wouldn't be out of place on a plane and complemented her ship girl compass, a display of her suit's overall condition as well as her own vitals, magazine capacity of her weapons which all read '0', and threat assessments of all ship girl and human comrades which read 'NIL'.
Thank goodness for that.
'Highly-
Armored
Latent
Operation
System
STATUS: ACTIVATED
TYPE: NORMAL'
A computer window popped up before her as Aoba appeared before her, explaining how the objective of the mission.
"Remember, Shigure, don't fly up too high since we're afraid of ice buildup and the lack of oxygen possibly compromising your body or your suit's functions, and going outside of the test zone is likely going to attract the attention of the JSDF or the Abyssals, attention we currently don't need.
Finally, and I'm saying this not just as your mission control operator but also as a friend, please don't push yourself too hard and aggravate your injuries which would similarly compromise your ability to fly while in mid-flight, alright?"
"Don't worry.
I'm feeling fine after a dip, but I'll do my best to hold back!"
Looking up and assuming the take-off pose to, well, take off, Shigure heard Akio's hopeful yet cautious voice counting down the seconds to liftoff.
"Ten.
Nine.
Eight."
"Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four."
"Three.
Two.
One.
Launch."
Staring into the sky, her feet left the earth and wobbled as she kept them pointed down at the floor to launch herself into the air, her arms experiencing a similar problem as her two repulsors fired at a rate that was fast enough to propel her but slow enough not to send her careening into the blue sky.
Her H.A.L.O. suit was trembling and so was her body, but the number on the altimeter was steadily rising in magnitude while the needles on it were spinning clockwise, output readings of her repulsors, thrusters and her vitals all in the green, although the latter was on the rise as if she was physically exerting herself in order to power the H.A.L.O. suit and could feel it inexplicably sapping her stamina without doing anything to her since her soul powered her body, but a good chunk of that recoverable life energy was now used to power her suit.
And finally, her altimeter reached and surpassed the 100-meter mark as the earth-hugging landmarks eventually disappeared from her field of vision and was now completely replaced by the clear blue sky, candy-floss like clouds steadily approaching her as she gained altitude.
Liftoff.
The soundproofing was far from ideal as her propulsion system roared in her ear but was muted by her internal ear mufflers, and she made her first maneuvers in the sky and felt some of her body's inertia being dampened by the suit while her body was constricted by the 'gimp suit' to prevent the blood from flowing away from her head, attitude indicator shifting to display her new orientation relative to Earth's horizon.
As to how she was feeling about all this, 'ecstatic' didn't begin to describe it.
"WWOOOOHHHOOOOO!"
The sensation of flight left her feeling almost weightless and unbound by the seemingly omnipresent reach of gravity on Earth, and despite her penchant for silence and introspection, the thrill of being able to live the phrase 'the sky's the limit' had even her hollering for joy, because only now did it register in her mind what she was truly capable of after having her two-dimensional frame of mind as a ship girl expanded into three dimensions with the inclusion of height and opening up a whole new world to her, something no other ship girl could claim to have before today.
And upon straightening out in order to fly parallel to the earth, the bird's-eye view simply took her breath away.
Clouds, previously appearing ethereal and untouchable even to ship girls who commanded Fairy-driven planes since they were grounded on the sea, were now threatening to obstruct her flight path as they idly drifted along to the whims of the wind while out-sizing hills, pyramids and even entire mountain ranges in the horizon which she never seemed to get any closer to as they cast their colossal shadows on the ground below in order to blanket swaths of land.
In comparison, the forests were no taller than moss growing beneath her feet while buildings and ship girls were downright microscopic in comparison as her view of earth within the disc which formed the horizon encompassing the view-able section of the earth was broadened due to the drastic increase in altitude, the sensation being different from being in an airplane since she was far more vulnerable and lonelier up here and an ephemeral and alien sensation of false peace since she was a Terran and didn't really belong up here, her radio link to ground control being her last tether to human civilization much like the first aviation pioneers.
All of her friends were down there while she was up here and really drove home the point that she may be the first ship girl to fly, she was also the only ship girl to fly as she suddenly felt very small and very lonely upon watching the horizon to stretch on and on while feeling utterly disconnected from the world war raging down below, especially when she was up here with nothing but her thoughts and her suit.
"Akashi-san, Aoba-san, Akio-san, Kosuke-san, are you all seeing this?"
"Yes.
I'm guessing that you're speechless because of the sight and sensation of flying for the first time?
Trust me, like flying in an airplane, the magic wears off shortly enough, so savor that feeling."
"Yes, but…
Everything and everyone's so small when looking down, and the world's so huge in comparison when I'm up here…
I thought I had the power to change the fate of the Abyssal War and protect, but I now realize that to the world at large, I'm just a little girl with a metal suit."
A noise of understanding came from Akashi as she set a speed limit for her to reach in order to finish this test session as quickly as possible without endangering her.
"Let's punch it.
I say that Mach 1.2 would be a safe speed for you to hit, but your suit would still protect you should anything happen."
"Mach 1.2?
Why not go for Mach 1.7?"
"Your funeral.
I'd be lying if I said I trusted you not to get into trouble, so let's not "
The airspeed indicator was showing 240 m/s or Mach 0.8, Shigure pressing on as the ground beneath her was starting to zip by at breakneck speed, and she pierced a cloud with little difficulty in order to follow the designated flight path at a faster speed than was planned, passing through a holographic circle which was projected in her helmet with an arrow beneath her compass in order to point her to the next checkpoint along with a three-dimensional map on her HUD.
Keeping the 50 km circle radius of the testing area in mind, she angled herself to fly counterclockwise as she held her arms closer to her body and accelerated past the speed of sound, gritting her teeth and seething as she braced herself for the onslaught of g-forces acting on her body while she performed a reasonably sharp turn, feeling her H.A.L.O. suit's inertial dampeners doing its job spectacularly and aid in her survival.
Now hitting Mach 1.1 with nothing much hindering her other than her superhuman body having to endure the dampened g-forces which would have likely killed a human, she glanced down to find the Kanayama Dam, pulling up in order to gain altitude so that anyone down below, wouldn't be able to spot her through the clouds on the off-chance anyone sneaked into the testing area or looked up and spotted her flying figure.
After all, if there wasn't an air raid siren blaring in their faces, whoever was up there had to be an ally, right?
Pushing her suit even further by passing through another checkpoint as she blitzed across the sky, she felt her gut shift within her as she banked while her stomach contents sloshed about and was likely the reason why she felt so bloody queasy right now, Akashi piping up with concern lacing her tone as she hit Mach 1.4.
"Shigure, are you alright?
Your vitals are on the rise, you need to slow down a little up there…"
"I'm… I'm fine!
Keep going!
I can do this!"
She could feel the sweat starting to soak her face while her heart was pumping as hard as if she were in battle since this was her maiden flight, nearing Mach 1.5 as she rose before dipping and performing a dive close to where the Project Psyche technicians were to ensure that the one time she flew close to the ground, there wouldn't be anyone present who wasn't authorized to see her armored form.
Pulling up ahead of time out of a genuine fear of crash-landing again, unbearable stress was placed on her arms much like doing a push-up while a supporting a battleship's weight as she dropped from Mach 1.7 to 1.2, and her vitals were certainly at an all-time high as the trees and earth flashed by in a carpet of green and brown while she kept watch for tall trees or flocks of birds which she might collide into.
Passing another checkpoint angled at a 45 degree angle and pointing upwards, she knew that this was where she was to pitch herself upwards to climb and break past the cloud layer, doing just that as the sight was equally as stunning above the cloud cover.
Snow-white clouds appeared as fluffy as cotton candy with wildly varying contours and geographical features which were nigh-impossible to be formed on land, and the sun was automatically dimmed by her visor in order not to blind her and only appeared as a lens flare in her eyes, the sky subtly shifting to a darker shade of blue above her to indicate the layers of the atmosphere leading into outer space as it stretched out endlessly above her all while she only managed to break through the clouds in the troposphere, which stretched out like a colorless desert all around her with no signs of human life and was almost analogous to the end of the world.
Here she was, a little girl pushing through into the oft-explored but ultimately foreign domain that was the sky to mankind and was downright alien to a ship girl who patrolled the seas.
And beyond that lay space, the final frontier which was in a sense, an ethereal paradise of exploration, mystery and wonder which she could attempt to reach for and leave this horrid war, and with it, all her responsibilities and woes as a ship girl behind forever.
If only she could just push herself a little further to reach that height and see what the view was like from up there -
" - gure, drop altitude!
Don't fly too high, that's a Icarus-style crash landing waiting to happen!"
She snapped back to reality thanks to Aoba's urging concern as she slowed down to perform a dive in order to reach the final checkpoint which was located in the air above the launching pad, her H.A.L.O. suit snapping open several air brakes in order to slow herself down before her arms swung down in order to negate the decelerated downwards fall and doing a flip so that her feet was pointed down at the fast-approaching ground.
Listening to Akashi looking up at her and pressing on the earpiece in her ear while coaching,
"Steady, steady…
Keep your arms and legs straight, slowly reduce power to your thrusters and keep your body upright!"
She straightened her arms and legs as the displayed thrust output steadily decreased in order to drop her altitude, her friends were already running towards her before she even touched down in order to check on her condition as her helmet disassembled itself to allow herself to breathe fresh air again, and the enthusiasm and relief on their faces was likely mirrored on hers as they raised towels to dry her ruddy face while she remarked confidently.
"Yeah.
I can fly."