Author's Note

Just letting everyone know that I'm taking a break from writing fanfics to try my hand at writing an original manga-based light novel.

And while I don't want to completely abandon the stories I've written since I just can't stand leaving a story unfinished, the updates will come much slower, if at all as my priorities change.

I won't apologize for my prioritization of creating an original story to test my writing skills over riding on the coattails of an established franchise to garner said franchise's fans, but I will at least apologize for choosing such an awkward timing to start on my original work, especially when I'm deep into working on two fanfics which I've poured my heart into.

Sorry.

Junyou was walking alongside her 1st Fleet comrades which had been grouped with her since their relatively recent Yokosuka days, and while she hadn't been in too many sorties with them compared to other fleets, she still considered them fire-forged friends after nonetheless after going up against the Flying Dutchman at Mikura Jima Island, a Northern Water Princess in the Battle of Twelve Navies and slogging through the hell that was World War 3.

Honestly, she didn't have sister ships in Yokosuka, so having them as replacements was a simple affair as she halted her conversation with Hiei upon nearing the room were Shigure was housed after finding out that her fatigue wasn't going anyway, since the H.A.L.O. suit had drained her more than expected.

Well, Junyou counted no less than five of those Hyper Beams called X-Burners being fired in battle, and managing to meet Simurgh's Hyper beam halfway had to carry some kind of consequence.

And of course, the resident sociopathic repair ship was in the room with her, and was having none of Shigure's glib talk as a patient who was strapped to the bed to restrain her movements.

"I don't even mind sortieing as a ship girl on the ocean, I want - "

"Let me put it this way.

You stay out of this upcoming battle, or I swear I will fucking bitch-slap you back to 1-2-7.

I have no use for a soldier who doesn't listen to orders."

Junyou lifted an eyebrow at the threat of using physical violence on a goddamned child to turn her back to her base elements of fuel, ammo and steel, but she reluctantly agreed with Akashi that Shigure, in light of pushing herself too far and was now fatigued, what with her sleeping like a corpse for days on end in order to send the orderlies into a minor anxiety attack, waking up to still look sleep-deprived as though having finished a cross-continent marathon in her unremodeled state and required a friend to feed Shigure her three meals.

Hiei coughed while Tatsuta knocked on the door, both room occupants looking up at the visiting 1st Fleet as Akashi whipped her mop of pink hair around to glare at their supposed intruders, Hiei warily asking on their behalf,

"Um, is this a bad time?

It is visiting hours."

" … Whatever."

Leaping out from her seat and shooting Shigure a death glare which was thankfully not observed by them as it had the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer shriveling up from its intensity before stomping off, the 1st Fleet almost being sideswiped by Akashi's shoulder near the exit as her heels vehemently hit the floor as if it had wronged her somehow, and Junyou heard a secretly fearful Tenryuu wait to be out of earshot before making a snide comment.

"Wow, what's with that bitch, she in that time of the month now? What a control freak."

"Oh, please don't mind her.

Along with ensuring our well-being as a medic, Akashi-san's likely worried about leaving things to chance or outside factors after having lost Yuubari in a sortie which she had no control over.

I also think that it's honestly cute when Akashi flares up and displays her concern like that, it shows that she cares instead of allowing me to mindlessly rush off to my doom."

Junyou pulled up a chair before helping to loosen the restraints binding Shigure in order not to cause her skin to chaff, the 1st Fleet noting the slight blush and not-entirely-displeased smile while looking on the bright side of being talked down to by a 'motherly figure' and tied to a bed against her will, Tatsuta commenting,

"Are you sure you're not the one who needs psychological help?"

"Well, I have Akashi-san…"

Cue an exasperated eye roll from the junior Tenryuu-Class cruiser along with Tatsuta's exasperated response.

"The epitome of the blind leading the blind."

"And the pot calling the kettle black."

The 1st Fleet gathered around Shigure's bed, and while the others fought to keep their expressions neutral since the hospital was a place of clinical tranquility whose peace shouldn't be disrupted like a library, Junyou couldn't help but allow the erupting bout of laughter to escape her lips in light of how the precocious little destroyer was completely on the nose.

Tenryuu was next with a bark of laughter, Tatsuta following suit shortly after with a snicker before relaxing her tense facial muscles for a sincere smile.

Hiei broke out into a mirthful chuckle, and Ayanami politely covered her mouth and stretched cheeks while Shigure lowered her cheeks to hide a wide grin.

Finally, after getting some good mileage out of that unexpected yet much-needed zinger to break the solemn tension which always plagued hospital visits since something had to be wrong to be here in the first place, Junyou wheezed after collecting herself in order to continue their conversation.

"That was actually pretty funny."

"Not to mention true."

Tatsuta lifted an eyebrow at Tenryuu's little jab, and Junyou was relieved at how despite having been through so much and bearing witness to all the death and destruction to the point of almost being desensitized to it all over again, they were still able to see the bright side in little exchanges like this.

After all, if everything was going hell in a hand-basket, what was the harm in sharing a laugh or two with each other along the way?

The demure Ayanami-Class destroyer was the next to speak up and catch Junyou and Tenryuu's attention.

"I have to say, Tatsuta-san.

Your superpowers are perhaps the most poorly-kept secret in Amazon company, but I understand that protecting our lives is more important than maintaining plausible deniability in our company, and we'd protect your secret about your glaive's abilities to the death.

We get the point."

If everyone wasn't already looking at the speaking Ayanami, they did now as the 1st Fleet turned their heads to her save for Hiei, who turned away and was emitting a sound not unlike a deflating balloon in laughter, Tatsuta managing to maintain a stern expression in spite of her taut cheeks twitching as she lightheartedly threatened.

"If you are to make another joke like that, my dear Ayanami, you'd best watch your back should you end up in front of me, when we get into formation in the upcoming sortie with my glaive in hand."

"Being shafted from behind?

I thought sex-ed taught us that love-making was to be done with the hole between our thighs, but shows what limited tastes and experiences they've had with extending glaives."

Tenryuu was now the one who had to look away as she snorted upon hearing Shigure's double entendre while Junyou shamelessly chortled, and Tatsuta was also loosening up while in the presence of the 1st Fleet with a genuine smile.

As the laughter died down, Hiei was the one who brought everyone back to the matter at hand, and even she wasn't immune against the camaraderie and ensuing banter as she covered her smile with her fist to assume a neutral expression first before speaking up,

"It's been one hell of a month, huh?"

"Yeah…"

"Mmhm…"

No one knew what to say to that as the air hanging over the 1st Fleet quickly cooled, the Hiyou-Class carrier dryly thinking to herself,

'Well, no one can say anything about that, including me.

I mean, what the hell am I supposed to say, "Oh, sorry I was electrocuted to death by that blasted Yuubari and her goddamned jellyfish Beast?'

And Tenryuu, upon realizing Tatsuta's silent distress and Ayanami's benign urging with her encouraging gaze, slipped a reassuring arm around Tatsuta's shoulder in order to do her part as a flagship and elder sister, and Tatsuta didn't push Tenryuu away even as she jumped a little from the familial body contact and Junyou finally racked her mind for a comment to fill the silence.

"Well, I gotta agree.

I swear, when we get our downtime to have our entire naval base throw a party, we're probably going to destroy an entire town after consuming drugs and alcohol to deal with the stress of participating in our second world war."

"I don't remember us throwing parties during the Abyssal War?"

Everyone turned to Shigure as she was still relatively new and likely didn't know how wild their parties could get, and she was likely thinking about birthday parties for launch dates which ship girls never really bothered to celebrate since they'd pretty much have to throw a celebration almost everyday, Hiei patted Shigure's head while summarizing.

"Let's just say that it gets really wild, to the point where we need to warn police, firefighting and hospitals and hire cleaning services beforehand before partying hard enough to trash our own naval base harder than even the Abyssals ever could."

Shigure raised an eyebrow, but she now understood how their colorful personalities would be magnified and changed by the war to let out their frustrations and take the edge off as drinks and drugs loosened their lips and released their inhibitions, especially after the Abyssal War pushed them to the mental, physical and psychological limits.

Junyou would know, since she found herself completely wasted after these parties, even more so than her normal drinking binges which had exponentially decreased to near-zero due to World War 3, since the time for drinks as well as the alcohol itself were all in woefully short supply.

"Ah, the good old days.

It all seems like a faraway fairy tale from where we're standing, hm?"

"Yeah. But we're still here, and that's what matters."

And then everything took a turn for the worse.

The junior Tenryuu-Class cruiser's strained smile dimmed as her shaky breath hitched, the shadow forming over Tatsuta's face as she hunched and started sobbing out of nowhere.

Everyone in the room was taken aback at how the once-Stepford-Smiler ship girl was now breaking down emotionally in front of them, although Junyou still dared to look at the bright side of things by thinking that at least this way, Tatsuta wasn't so stoic as to hide her true emotions and turmoil within her and waited until she was alone before breaking down.

Tenryuu was already intimately leaning over and hugging Tatsuta from the side as her crying younger sister bawled.

"I… I'm sorry.

I shouldn't be like this, not when we have… the rare chance to get back together…

… I just can't take any more of this right now…"

But Ayanami was already there for her with a raised hand on Tatsuta's shoulder and reassuring words a nameship always seemed to have at the ready.

"It's alright, Tatsuta-san.

You don't have to be afraid of crying in front of us all, we're here for you.

And, it's also understandable that you'd be stressed out from having to fight all those Abyssal boss units all the time…"

Junyou's mind recalled that night on the roof of the Kamogawa City Hall and how Yuubari demolished everyone regardless of whether they had superpowers or not, and shortly after that battle, they fought a titanic Beast of thundering footsteps and howling trumpets that was Naka and Airavata the elephant Beast. It was no wonder that such a high-stress work environment and its demands would eventually get to Tatsuta, even with their strongest psychological defenses in place.

Certainly, Tatsuta wouldn't want to break down and make the atmosphere awkward for the rest of the 1st Fleet, but there was only so much bravado one could muster and so much fight one could put up before eventually succumbing to a meltdown sooner or later.

Hiei wore the same concerned expression she would use to face a distressed sister ship as she leaned in to whisper,

"Tatsuta-san, do you think you should sit this next battle out?

There's no harm in saying that you need some time off to get away from the stress and the war, even if we won't receive your super-powered backup…"

"No.

I can make it.

It's just that… the stress is just too much right now, I just…"

Tatsuta finally brought her sobbing voice under control as she spoke in an uncharacteristically subdued manner, looking down at her laps which her fists rested on while she did so.

"I just want friends to rely on and their shoulders to rest on in times of need, and I'm lucky that I have you all here with me to the end.

The thought of having to put on this facade of strength for so long is horrifying, and I know that I might come off as indifferent and cold in spite of my smiley demeanor, but…

But being with you all reminded me of what I was fighting for, what I valued above my own life which was the company of others."

"It is reassuring yet mildly disturbing to hear that you treasure us more than yourself, and I'm gonna have Akashi mark you down for counselling…"

"Well, misery loves company."

Junyou lifted a depressed eyebrow as she found that people sharing their misery like the ship girls sharing their time together after being killed by Yuubari via electrocution, and even though the argument could be made that they would become dispirited by each other's injuries, they needed each other since they understood the pain others felt.

"Tatsuta visibly shuddered as she leaned on Tenryuu's shoulder, her crushed expression now brought back under control like a broken mask being glued back together at the seams, and her breathing was eventually brought back as she huffed.

"I think I'm better now, I just needed a good cry to relieve some stress which was piling up.

Usually I do this when I'm alone, or at most in Tenryuu's company. But now, I think I'm comfortable enough to show you all my weak side.

Part of this is perhaps because I've become more comfortable around you, and I suppose that says something about how tight we've become as a fleet after having been through the wringer so often together.

Junyou leaned forward in her attempt to reassure the Tenryuu-Class cruiser without making any promises, since she knew how dangerous and double-edged promises were when one failed to live up to them in a war where life was fragile and fleeting.

"Look, Tatsuta…

I'm not making any promises here, but I want you to know that I'll be there for you.

To fight alongside you so that you don't have to carry the burden alone and have to come to our rescue all the time, I don't want to slow you down and instead wish to stand beside you on the battlefield to remind you that you can fall back on me without any concerns."

"Yes, but…

It's inevitable that some of us will… part with others, what are we to do then?

I can't prevent that outcome forever, even with all my power."

That was a legitimate question, and it had Junyou considering her response before she gave Tatsuta her answer with an uncharacteristically solemn and mature expression.

"I know how that feels, Tatsuta.

As one of the surviving warships of World War 2 before being scrapped, I, of all people, understand what it feels like to be left alone. And I only have this to say, ship girl to ship girl.

There may come a time when one of us will go; I won't lie to you.

But the fact that we must go in the end just means that all these fleeting moments we share right now must be cherished. A-And…

Even in the face of sounding cliche, I must say that it's the journey, not the end which matters the most to us. If not, why aren't we all killing ourselves right now in order to hasten the journey to reach the end?"

Everyone recoiled and cringed a little at the morbid thought, but Tatsuta, being someone who was always morbid, could understand her 'suicide' analogy to see Junyou's point, the Hiyou-Class light carrier reaching out in order to tenderly hold Tatsuta's hand.

"Please, don't obsess yourself with the end, which may or may not come.

None of us are oracles.

Instead, please look at us who are alive and are with you right now."

" … But.

What if I'm left alone?"

Tenryuu looked rather disappointed upon hearing that since she sank earlier, and Junyou felt herself blushing a little as she dug deeper into her own heart to find the right words to say, drawing from personal experience to give some credibility to her answer.

"Then… keep going anyway.

It may hurt, but that pain drives you further to survive and win since committing suicide would be akin to disrespecting their blood-soaked deaths with your attempts to escape from the grim reality of their deaths.

To keep yourself alive keeps your memories of them alive, and memories of them keep you alive with the recollection of better times and to have the chance to make new ones by winning this war."

Tatsuta sniffed as she rubbed the tear from her eye, visibly shivering before giving Junyou a sincere attempt at a forced smile as Hiei clapped a hand on her left shoulder. "You would have been quite the sister ship to Hiyou-san, if she were in our base."

"Well, in lieu of Hiyou, I suppose you all are my sister ships. After all, there's the 'He who sheds his blood with me today shall be my brother' and all that."

The entire 1st Fleet, upon seeing how close they were to Junyou, spontaneously erupted into heartfelt,

"Awwww!"s,

And made Junyou feel conscious all of a sudden regarding opening her heart to the 1st Fleet with a slight blush, and Ayanami rushing up to tackle and hug Junyou precipitated the entire fleet following suit from all directions, completely flanking and sinking her in bear-hugs.

Shigure clearly wanted to join in the group hug but couldn't since she was tied to the bed as her pained yet happy expression belied her desire to join them, and Junyou then piped up with a suggestion,

"Everyone!

Let's give Shigure-chan a dogpile hug!"

To which everyone immediately responded,

"Aye!"

And they jumped Shigure in a disorderly unison, the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer's eyes widening in horror at the thought of being crushed by a destroyer, two light cruisers, a light carrier and battleship landing on her as she repeated,

"Nononono - "

Before being dogpiled by the 1st Fleet, Hiei cushioning the impact with her hands and elbows so that she wouldn't crush everyone else beneath her as did Tenryuu, Tatsuta and Junyou, everyone relaxing in order to slowly apply their body weight on each other without causing grievous harm, some of them yelping and squealing,

"Aha!"

"Ee!"

Upon feeling someone else's limbs grope where they normally wouldn't in their entanglement of limbs and bodies.

And finally, Junyou found herself bursting out into genuine and heartfelt laughter with the rest of the 1st Fleet as they all laid on the bed, Shigure eventually succumbing to the contagious laughter which even had Tatsuta joining in to act as the best medicine in these dark times.

Cynthia the Aircraft Carrier Princess was sitting on a workbench in front of another tank truck passing her by, paying them no mind as she hid her amputated arm in the sling as repairs were slated to take a week or two.

Zuikaku.

'Luck' was a label slapped on a series of events which either favored or hindered someone and was irrelevant to an Abyssal like her, who favored seeing things from a more pragmatic point of view.

But to think a wench like her could steal her ring…

She wasn't concerned about the lack of a master arm, that could be grown back.

That ring, however, was sacred due to its what it contained, and since her Zuikaku was the reason why that ring existed in the first place, for the both of them…

Damn that girl.

Or at least, that Yokosuka doppelganger and thus 'fake' who now possessed their wedding ring …

It just had to be another Zuikaku who took it away from her, didn't it?

Remembering the surge of memories, once sweet and romantic ones being marred by the war and everyone else's disapproval, and the Aircraft Carrier Princess couldn't help but shudder violently at the grisly end, and how sentimentality tugged at her immovable heartstrings and was forcibly ignored in favor of cold logic.

Sakawa rolled up to her along with Lorelei in a golf-cart used for quick transportation within the submersible turtle Beast they were housed in, the Abyssal secretary and Aircraft Carrier Water Demon disembarking the vehicle to keep Cynthia company Not that she needed it, since she was overlooking the creation of her New Wave weapon in this mobile base.

But it wasn't as if she was going to turn them away, since they were comrades.

Sakawa, noting her sullen expression (at least, more sullen than usual), leaned forward as her cheerful disposition gave way to a slightly more concerned one.

[Aw, what's with the cloudy expression?

No sad faces on the Sakawa Express!

It'll upset Jasconius's appetite, eh?

Eh?]

The rhythmic yet sharp beeping sounds of reversing vehicles replaced cawing crows as Lorelei slapped Sakawa upside the head for that, displaying behavior which was characteristic of her cavalier attitude towards authority as she snarked,

[There's being funny, and then there's you.]

Sakawa then clutched at the wound on her head, looking uncannily cute and adorable in spite of her status as a J.O.A.N. unit who was known for pulling off an eerily saccharine demeanor which could be kept up even in combat to throw enemies off, since it was quite jarring to see an Abyssal who was so sickeningly sweet in the midst of combat.

[Hawawa, it's cool and all to prepare your New Wave weapon to be launched on my Beast, 'It's an honor' and all that.

But that means that I can't launch my nukes on those dastardly humans and ship girls, and that makes me so mad that I want to blow up!]

The Agano-Class light cruiser threw a childish tantrum and lightly stomped as she spun around on the spot and wildly flailed her clenched fists, but the Aircraft Carrier Water Demon beside her inched away from the deceptively cute and fuming Sakawa, Cynthia narrowing her eyes and waiting out the temper tantrum as Sakawa calmed down to continue her get-well speech to Cynthia.

[Ah, don't mind me.

We'll have a whale of a time wiping out mankind…]

Leaning closer towards Lorelei and batting her eyelids at the self-assured nature of her lame joke, the Aircraft Carrier Water Demon similarly leaned in to give her commanding officer a toothy grin as well as a death glare, although the 'toothy' part could be chalked up to Lorelei trying not to sport a genuine grin in spite of the joke being bad as she seethed a disclaimer.

[And none of my four Beasts are whales…]

[ … and I'll hope that we'll be working close together from now on!]

Innocently holding out a right palm to shake Cynthia's hand in spite of her recent loss of a limb, Lorelei whipping her head around and covering her mouth in a poor attempt to hide her snickering, Cynthia's cheeks stretching out a fraction at the deliberate faux pas and had Sakawa breaking out into a relieved smile as she teased,

[Hmhm.

Made you smile.]

Sakawa spun around with her skirt swaying along with her momentum, using roller shoes to effortlessly move back to her golf cart to drive off and leave the two partner J.O.A.N. units alone. Cynthia looked back up at the tower-like structure in front of her, several Abyssals hanging off of wires as they wielded construction tools to put finishing touches on her New Wave weapon.

The silence filling the air between Cynthia and Lorelei was palpable, and Cynthia wasn't itching to fill it anytime soon, a notion which wasn't reciprocated as Lorelei started.

[Pretty insane, huh?

A Beast the size of a small country, to the point where it can house several Abyssal armadas and my four Beasts…

Never would've dreamt of it back in those days, when it was all about the five basic classes on either side, hmm?]

Silence.

She had no response to a remark that needed no answering, and Lorelei awkwardly looked away while Cynthia used her tried-and-true tactic of the silent treatment with her partner, It took a while before a grumbling Lorelei turned around to face her and use a more direct approach which Cynthia appreciated due to the lack of fluff.

[Alright, what the hell's gotten you so emo all of a sudden?

Before, you didn't give a shit about anything, and now you're moping all by yourself in the belly of the Beast about this ring that you lost.]

[ … I didn't know you cared.]

[Well, I'm still not familiar enough with how you work and your past to be sure that your judgement won't be clouded by this.]

Cynthia shrugged as she leaned in to allow a shadow to form over her face, fingers intertwined while her elbows resting on her knees before answering.

[You don't need to worry about that. Their machinations and petty tricks will all be for naught once I tear through them to retrieve what's rightfully mine. I'm already upgrading my weapons arsenal and Simurgh's to go in harder next time.]

And with that, Lorelei chimed with a request, [Tell you what, since I'm participating in the Battle of Tokyo Bay - ]

[Thanks for the spoiler.]

Lorelei chuckled understandingly, since Cynthia missed out on the briefing for the Battle of Tokyo Bay in light of Simurgh and her condition, and would only receive a dossier to update her on a need-to-know basis.

[And I'll beat the thief of a ship girl to a bloody pulp and get the ring back…]

Cynthia was already anticipating the catch and correctly predicted it ahead of time, the Aircraft Carrier Water Demon unashamedly leveraging the situation to her advantage to get closer to Cynthia out of a genuine attempt to forge something resembling camaraderie between them or to find something to manipulate her with, she didn't care.

[ … if you share the past behind that ring with me.

I mean, we're partners now, and I don't mind sharing pasts with each other, if only to understand each other better.]

Cynthia considered that disclaimer and how the Aircraft Carrier Water Demon appeared genuine in her attempt to get closer to her, both to support each other emotionally and to make their relationship that much deeper and fulfilling than any relationship they could form with rank-and-file Abyssals, who had the emotive range of NPCs with pre-programmed responses.

Well, turning her down would only serve to distance the both of them, and that nasty outcome wasn't desirable when working as partners.

Besides, she had to throw Lorelei a bone for her efforts.

[That wedding ring… belonged to someone I loved.]

Ignoring Lorelei's raised eyebrow and slight head tilt of 'No shit', she understood that the Aircraft Carrier Water Demon didn't want to verbally interrupt her and remained silent, allowing Cynthia to sullenly continue.

[It was between me, or at least my past life as a Kaga with another ship girl, Zuikaku.]

This got Lorelei's attention, now cutting the bullshit and sarcasm since it was blatantly obvious that the Water Demon Lorelei was a resurrected Shokaku, and name-dropping her sister ship had her listening more intently.

[We… learnt to find solace in each other's company and we were happy together, until outside circumstances drove us apart.

I was ordered to kill her after a successful suicide mission 'for my country', and in my ensuing grief-stricken misery, I killed myself.

Now I'm here, and my ring has been taken by that pathetic doppelganger of my deceased wife.]

[ … Wow, didn't know you were such a hopeless romantic.

Hope you didn't use the business end of a blade to make sweet love to your broken heart at the end of that tragedy.]

Cynthia emitted a noncommittal grunt in response to that infamous double-suicide literature reference, keeping the sob story itself and her own answers vague whilst making sure not telling any outright lies to let the Aircraft Water Demon come to her own conclusions.

[So you think the humans have your ring?

I mean, it's enemy property after all.]

[Yes, so don't expect to find the ring in the Battle of Tokyo Bay since either that other Zuikaku has it and is docking just like me. That, or the humans are likely running their tests on it to ascertain if it's dangerous to wear.]

[Is it?]

The Aircraft Carrier Princess maintained her stoic demeanor as she did in her past life, looking away as she remarked icily.

[No.

It's a wedding ring, it was never supposed to be harmful.]

She didn't ask for Lorelei's sob story since the Water Demon was free to keep it all to herself and the agreement was that Lorelei helped Cynthia in exchange for knowing the story behind that ring, but apparently it drove Lorelei to share her past due to some kind of self-perceived equivalent exchange as partners, and Cynthia didn't force her into anything.

[Well, it's somewhat similar for me, except I was the one getting shafted.

I was a Shoukaku in my former life, me and my Admiral did this and that which got me pregnant, and he had to send me out to be sunk because he had better carriers by then and I was going to be out of commision for nine months.]

[Wouldn't scrapping be of more use, since he'd receive more resources and get rid of a ship girl in the process?]

Lorelei shrugged, the Water Demon looking rather comfortable with sharing something this morbid and personal, and since she had the benefit of hindsight while returning the favor of sharing their pasts with each other, she could keep a cool head and consider her past from an impersonal point of view.

[Humans back then played a game of numbers, so I understand why a pregnant carrier is nothing but a exponentially increased resource hog. The Abyssal War also was a secret to the rest of the world back then, so an abortion was difficult, especially when our physiology was poorly understood and the baby might have superhuman capabilities like us.

What I remember about him was that he said something about wanting to be left in the dark, that if he went with scrapping, the grief would be too much for him since it would be clear that I was dead, and my pregnancy would be logged into the system to be dredged up later should an investigation occur later down the road.

It was me who suggested I die Uriah-style so that he could claim plausible deniability, and there would be no corpse for the higher-ups to inspect or for him to grieve over, allowing for some kind of ambiguity regarding my fate.]

Cynthia remained respectfully silent and understood how the soldier Uriah died in the Book of Samuel after King David had his soldiers withdraw from Uriah's location to leave him to die, and it was common for soldiers to die on the battlefield since life was cheap in times like these.

She finally dared to ask,

[Did he truly love you?]

[I think so.

That's what I like to think, and I think the ambiguity works both ways since it was the situation which drove us apart, and hopefully not our growing differences.

Was it our inflamed passions getting the best of us then, or was it the result something deeper pulling us together? I don't know, and I want to keep it that way.]

Hope.

Perhaps not the most logical course of action, but she could see where Lorelei was coming from since Princesses balanced emotion with logic on various points on a spectrum, and she was no different as her thoughts went back to her ring which was with Zuikaku. And while sentiment was useless to most Abyssals, perhaps the power which Princesses and J.O.A.N. units wielded needed to be sprinkled with some personality as the flavor of life, balancing out the stoic Abyssal nature with emotions which could be tempered and guided by said stoicism to enhance their powers and strength.

What Lorelei needed was not the truth, but the precious time they spent together regardless of the legitimacy of their feelings as their forced parting managed to preserve the illusion of true love to allow the Water Demon, once Shoukaku, to convince herself that it might have been real.

And that was perhaps the greatest end in that predicament.

Sharply inhaling, Lorelei pushed her chest out and lifted her head defiantly in the face of the negative emotions attempting to get her down before a sortie with her four Beasts.

[Well, if there's one good thing that came out of this, it's that you're a little more talkative now.]

Cynthia's eyebrow quirked upon hearing an interesting manner in which to interpret this situation, and Lorelei idly shrugged in a 'Hey, I'm trying to look on the positive side' as she continued whilst turning to face her and raising her hands to frame Cynthia in her rectangle-forming hands.

[Just saying.

Seeing how little you talk before losing the ring compared to after, I've half a mind to prolong my search just to appreciate you communicating even more, even if it's brooding emo-talk.

Just saying, you were one dead fish back then.]

She only grunted again, although the perceptible crease in between her eyebrows was enough for the Water Demon Lorelei to realize her hidden annoyance, learning to watch the micro expressions Cynthia allowed to slip through her facade to humor Lorelei's attempts to connect with her instead of being a Wo-Class 2.0, and Lorelei's expression now brightened a little.

Watching another rumbling truck pass by them as it traveled on the road which Sakawa drove on with her golf-cart, Cynthia filled in the silence to try and hold up her end of the conversation.

[You're going up against Amazon company in a few days, right?]

[Yeah, why?]

[They're getting irritatingly good at fighting us.

Kill them before they kill you.]

Lorelei raised an eyebrow at the scarily pragmatic and direct advice which Cynthia was wont to do, Cynthia appreciating the company which Lorelei provided since Simurgh was in the docks due to their last battle.

Actually...

As a secret test of character, Cynthia leaned in with an uncharacteristically concerned look in order to face Lorelei as she uttered, asking for a personal favor to see if Lorelei would rat her out to Yuubari or any other Abyssal.

[You know, I have just one favor to ask of you.

I'd like you to keep this from Yuubari.

This is a personal matter, and I'd like it if we kept it on the down low and outside of Yuubari's radar.]

If Yuubari found out about this little trinket possibly forcing her to act outside of her jurisdiction, she could lie her way out of the situation and shut Lorelei out due to being a snitch.

If Yuubari was none the wiser, it was either because Lorelei kept her secret or she was competent enough to convince Yuubari to act ignorant after ratting her out, in which Cynthia would continue keeping her just within arm's reach of her inner intentions and feelings.

Finally, Lorelei's expression creased into a concerned frown as she asked Cynthia a genuine question regarding what the humans might do to the ring, since it was enemy property.

[Just a stray thought, but…

What happens if they destroy it?

The ring, I mean.]

And while it was a legitimate concern and a path of action which the humans and ship girls could take, Cynthia wasn't exactly certain that they'd simply destroy it since she had unintentionally revealed her bond with the ring and the sentimental value she placed in it for reasons currently unknown to them, but was exploitable nonetheless.

[They know I know that they have it.

They recognize how powerful I am without my New Wave power, and even without it being completed, I'm getting stronger and so is Simurgh.

It's easier and safer for them to use it as leverage against me, destroying it would be unwise unless they're sure they can contain and lock me down when I'm on a rampage.

And with this in place, I dare them to try.]

The two Princesses looked up at the titanic space rocket which was being assembled within the turtle Beast belonging to Sakawa, the acronym S.E.L.E.N.E. imprinted onto its flank while its steel nose cone stretched up to brush the roof of Jasconius's insides, now in the final stage of preparations before being launched into outer space as part of Cynthia's New Wave power.