Chapter 6: Taking Action
Shikikan counted the seconds as he laid himself down. The amount of work and effort that he had to exert caused his sanity to drop. If he were to desire something, he wanted it to be something pleasurable to ease the burden in his head. He placed his hand over his chest to feel his cold heart beating and counted.
There really isn't anything thrilling here. Sure the mock battles and exercises get my mind going, but the weekends are going to be the worst days of all since there is nothing to keep my mind off of being bored.
He sat himself up properly to observe his office. Outside was sunny with a few cumulus clouds flying by and a few destroyers playing in the distance on the hills. He pulled out his phone to see that it was around ten in the morning on a boring Saturday. He groaned to himself along with a forceful sigh to clear his head and think of the next step to make in order to keep his mind at ease. At first, he thought about going to Dunkerque to practice his baking and culinary skills along with her. The four destroyer girls might be nice to be with to have some good old fashion fun but he would look very suspicious if he hangs out with them. He wouldn't want to end up doing what Ark Royal does on a daily basis. He had a nice conversation with Amagi alongside a game of chess with her yesterday which came to a score of two to two. Then he had remembered that Takao was always training no matter what day of the week it was. He rose from the couch that he lied on and started heading for the training room.
He busted through the training building to see that it was mostly empty with the training equipment such as weights, Wing Chun dummy, punching bag, and other machine-type equipment. Beyond that, there are a set of doors that lead to a sparring room where fighters and swordmasters like Takao or Kinu would be either exercising or sparring with their fellowship. He heard some clashing within the room. When he was about to move on to the sparring room, someone called out his name.
"Shikikan? You don't usually go here on the weekends. What's up?"
He turned towards the voice to see Baltimore who was working up a sweat on the biking station.
"Oh, it's you Baltimore. Good to see you again. I was planning to do some sparring with Takao after remembering her saying that she is always here."
"Ah, Takao. She is always a great model of motivation. But sparring? Never thought you would take up swordsmanship."
"No, I'm just mostly looking for something to keep my mind running. Haven't had anything kicking my adrenaline ever since I was in the navy firing the AA guns."
"Well, you can always play a few sports if you're looking for some fun."
"Thanks, but I don't think I have the absurd amount of agility, speed, and stamina as a fit athlete like you. I've seen you play basketball with the odds against you. By the way, how did that game go when you were playing a two against four?"
"Hmmm? I believe that Minneapolis and I won that match against Cleveland and her sisters. They put up a good front and formation which was very impressive."
"Well, that being said. I have to see Takao now. My mind can't be soothed with just talk."
"Hold on, Shikikan," she yelled out.
He turned around to see what was up with Baltimore to see that her face was a bit flushed. Her head was tilted downwards looking at her fingers as she was fidgeting her fingers around.
"Can I be your secretary someday?" She spoke very softly.
"Hmm? What was that? I can't hear you if you mumble like that."
Her face grew redder and her expression showing more and more of an embarrassed face. Her hands now covering her face she recited the words again.
"Can… I be your secretary?"
"Your hands are blocking your words. Tell me what you are saying."
He forcibly took her hands off to see her reddened face which only grew more and more until it became a deep crimson. She looked away from him and started to say the words once more.
"Can I be your secretary someday?"
"Hmmm? That's it? There's nothing to be shy about talking about being my secretary. Although, your face is kinda red right now. Are you okay? It isn't good for you to overwhelm your body. Or do you have a fever?"
He placed his hand over her forehead and started inching closer to Baltimore's. Her face got more and more red at the touch of his hand and his face coming closer almost as if she was about to shoot steam out of her ears. This resulted in Baltimore kicking the commander in the gut flinging him into a punching bag behind him.
"Ah, Shikikan! Sorry! You just… really shouldn't have touched a woman like how you just did!"
"All I did was check if you had a fever until you made me fly across the room," he groaned. "Note to self. Keep my distance from Baltimore to prevent getting my gut kicked in."
"Are you okay? Do I need to take you, Vestal?"
"I'll be fine. Or at least I think…"
He raised his uniform to see that his skin didn't show signs of damage.
"That's a relief."
"Sorry, Shikikan. About what just happened. I just remembered that I have a tennis match with Bremerton. Bye."
She took off with her duffel bag leaving the scene for the commander to be left alone in the workout room. He picked himself up and patted the kick mark off of his uniform and went straight through the doors to meet up with Takao. When he entered the room he saw Takao practicing swinging her katana as if there was an invisible enemy that she was cutting up. She immediately turned her gaze towards Shikikan who was also trading glances with her.
"Shikikan? Strange seeing you here. Are you here to spar against someone?"
"Yeah, kind of bored. Usually, I would have a hobby to eat uptime. Now, my mind just wants something thrilling to do or I'm not satisfied."
"And your hobby is?"
"Mostly consists of reading military tactic books, exercises, and sometimes video games. Lately, I haven't been getting a lot of them so I decided to come here and do some sparring with you."
"Sparring, against me? Do you even know anything about sparring with swords?"
"Well, I did a little bit of karate, kendo, and a year of sparring in a club until I left to focus on studying military tactics."
"Okay, so how experienced with swordplay?"
"I would consider myself an amateur in that department."
She walked towards a weapon rack and picked up two bokkens. She handed him the wooden sword and distanced herself from him.
"Come at me."
"I'm sorry, but what?"
"You heard me. Take a swing at me."
"Okay, here I come."
Without hesitation, Shikikan took a wide swing at her trying to catch her off guard. Takao, without any trouble, swept his legs and whacked him in the back of his head as he fell.
"You're too open, predictable, and cowardly doing a move like that. Are you sure you had a year's worth of sparring?"
"Shut up."
He rubbed the back of his head and took a defensive stance with his blade raised to anticipate an incoming strike.
"Alright, you better be ready then."
In the blink of an eye, she took a swing at Shikikan to which he responded with a swift parry and riposte. Takao managed to read his moves, which led to her kicking him backward.
"Oof, that hurt."
He took a few steps back with one of his hands on the kicked part of his body which was right in his abdominal region.
"You done complaining? You did come here knowing what would be in store when sparring against me."
"I thought that you would go easy on me. Guess you won't be teaching me when I told you that I was an amateur."
"The best way for someone to learn is through their own mistakes. You will only grow if you take on these challenges instead of taking the easy routes and complaining about them. You are too tunneled visioned on trying to land a lethal blow. If you do this on the battlefield and go reckless with your fleets, you will pay a serious price with the number of lives lost."
"You finished? I was just getting pumped up. Come on then."
"I guess there is another reason why you had left the sparring club. You lack discipline."
Once again they started clashing their bokkens with each other. Shikikan, a rusty amateur against a master swordsman who specializes in swordplay seemed like an unfair matchup. To him, this matchup was nothing more than a good adrenaline rush and a game of rock, paper, scissors. All he had to do was lock eyes with his enemy and anticipate every move and retaliate until someone messes up.
With that in mind, he set up a strike exposing little of his body. Takao responded back by blocking his hit. Their bokkens now locked with each other, it was now a matter of strength and endurance to keep up the sword locking between the two of them.
"A better strike than your cowardly attempt at catching me off guard."
"Shut up and take it. I'm sure you can take a hit from someone as wimpy as me. You are a natural-born killer on the battlefield, your performance says it all. That is why I had eyes for you on the field."
"Eh?"
He took advantage of the now dazed Takao and broke out of the lock by slithering his blade out causing Takao to lose her balance thinking that they were both still in a sword lock. In a heartbeat, he stuck her in the back.
"You really shouldn't let loose like that when talking to your opponent."
He offered her a helping hand.
"You're just playing dirty."
She took his offer and hooked hands with Shikikan.
"As they say, there aren't any rules on the battlefield. So using dirty tricks is viable given the circumstances."
He hoisted the heavy cruiser upwards back on her feet.
"I won't succumb to you and your cowardly ways. Now draw your sword and fight with honor."
The Sakura woman raised her bokken at him.
"Jeez, alright then."
Once again they took their stances with Shikikan in a more defensive approach. Their dueling with each other continued again defending themselves from what would be lethal blows from each other. They both exchanged blows with each other for a while. Shikikan mostly blocked multiple hits from his overwhelmingly speedy opponent. The atmosphere in the sparring room was mostly cool due to the air conditioning, but the heat emitted from the two started to warm up the room a little.
"How many blows did we land on each other," Shikikan huffed.
Both of them hit the floor exhausted from what felt like a whole day worth of sparring with each other.
"I believe that I landed ten hits while you landed two," Takao steadied her breathing and collapsed her back on a wall next to Shikikan.
"That isn't bad for someone like me who hasn't practiced for quite a while against someone like you."
Takao scoffed at his words, "I counted the one from when you played dirty."
"Don't patronize me."
Both of them went silent for a little until Shikikan came up with a daring idea.
"Hey, how about a wager."
Takao raised a brow at his words, "A wager? You are pretty arrogant for thinking you can win against me after landing one fair hit on me compared to my ten."
"Ah, but a one to ten is still a good odds for me. Besides, do you not want to hear what the wager is?"
"Alright then, Shikikan. Let's hear it."
"The loser has to do whatever the winner says."
With those words now traveling towards Takao's head, her mind filled up with the different things that she can make her commanding officer do.
"Alright, I accept your challenge."
"Before we spar again, what is it that you have in store?"
"I'll say mine if you say yours."
"What is this? A middle school secret exchange?"
"Never mind that. I am confident enough to know that I will win in this exchange, but I am curious as to what you have in store for me."
"Fine, you see there will be an upcoming tactics battle with another tactician. I got approval for this trial from central command in order to test you guys on a real-time battlefield while given instructions and to prove your loyalty. A four versus four fleets with me as one of the tacticians. I was hoping that you are willing to join one of my fleets that I will be leading."
"Sounds more like a favor than something daring."
"I said my part. What is it that you want me to do?"
"I was hoping for an upgrade to my current main guns and or torpedoes."
"Well, given my financial situation, I should be able to rig you up with one new weapon of your choosing. That is if you win this match."
"I'll make you eat your own words," chuckled Takao.
Once more they took their stances, stiffening the muscles in their forearms they stuck at each other. Strike by strike, parry by parry, every sword lock that happened between the two, he locked on to her amber-colored looking eyes while returning a cold gaze that matches his personality.
"Has anyone told you that your eyes are as beautiful as the sun?"
"Quit the flattering, I won't fall for the same trick twice."
"As to be expected of one of my fiercest daughters."
"You won't make a buffoon out of me with that blatant lie."
"Did Atago tell you about it?"
"No, I just knew. You really don't want to lose do you?"
"Well, if you let me win, maybe I'll let you choose the fleet you can join."
"Thanks, but I'll be taking the upgrades instead."
They both went back to struggling in the game of pressure and endurance. Shikikan gritting his teeth was barely able to keep up with Takao's overwhelming strength that she is placing on him. His strength and his struggle started to crumble as he started to be pushed backward. Takao realizing this, managed to push aside Shikikan's own bokken out of his hands. Now that he was disarmed, Takao just had to land a hit. Out of desperation, Shikikan prevented the winning strike by grabbing her wrists and kept pushing to prevent her from finishing the duel.
"Just yield already, Shikikan. You are prolonging the inevitable."
"I say the duel is over when it's over."
Takao pushed him to the floor hoping that he would lose his strength by the time that he hit the ground. Shikikan was now hanging by a thread with the bokken slowly heading towards his chest. He closed his eyes as if he was waiting for a miracle to happen, but he soon realized how cliche that was and was just about ready to give into Takao's requests until the unexpected happened.
"Ara ara. I didn't know that Takao was this bold enough to do something like this."
"Y-your wrong, Atago!"
She turned to face her sister who was now looking to tease her younger sister to a red. Shikikan, being crafty with this situation. He took advantage of Atago's teasing and misunderstanding to further reinforce the effectiveness of the teasing.
"She's lying. She tried to-"
"Shut up commander and yield. You don't have the right to meddle with our conversation."
"Ara, that is what I thought might have happened. Takao, get off the commander at once."
"Not until he yields."
Shikikan talked back at Takao, "Trust me when I say this. I think it is best to call this a tie and we listen to each other's requests. You'll get both of your upgrades before the battle starts and in exchange, you will join whatever fleet you want okay before things get worse for the both of us."
Takao kept applying pressure in the attempt of trying to finally land the winning blow, but she came to the conclusion that it would be best to take up the deal that he had offered. Takao let go of the bokken which flopped on Shikikan's body. In response to this, Shikikan let go of Takao letting out a sigh of relief that it was finally over.
"You know, Takao? I had fun sparring with you. Maybe, just maybe you can teach me a little bit more on mastering the sword."
"If you are willing to take the time and discipline to actually dedicate yourself to learning, I'll be more than glad to take you in to teach you the way of the sword," she said, giving a light-hearted smile toward Shikikan.
"Ara, you've never smiled like that to anybody before, Takao. Maybe you really have fallen for the commander."
"Shut-up, before I smack you with this sword," she said with a flushed face.
"Well, you look better with a smile on your face, Takao. It will be better for you to smile more, you'll get less wrinkles if you do."
"Uhh, t-thank you, Shikikan."
"Anyways, what's your business being here Atago?"
"Well, I was here to invite Takao over for lunch after she was done training at this time. Since you are also here, why not join us again?"
"Well, I always eat alone whenever it is time to eat. Why not? Could use a change every now and then."
After eating lunch, Shikikan decided that it would be best to go for a stroll around the island to get a better feel of the area. Walking past the several clothing stores, restaurants, and many other storefronts, one caught his attention after seeing a friendly face inside. The store that he stood in front of is a small ice cream parlor painted in pink and green with a sign in the front saying their special flavor for the week was pistachio ice cream.
As he entered the door to the parlor, a tiny doorbell chimed drawing everyone's attention towards himself. Inside was cool and the atmosphere of various scents of chocolate, vanilla, and many others that filled the store made the place more inviting and willing to pull one's wallet out. Inside he recognized every ship that was there, from the Z class destroyers enjoying their sugar cones with a generous scoop of ice cream to some other destroyers like the Mitsuki class. The person who had caught his eye was that Amagi, Akagi, and Kaga were there paying for all of their scoops.
"Ah, Shikikan-sama, are you here to share a good ice treat with us? Oh, no we don't have any money left on us to pay for yours."
"That's fine Akagi. I'm just surprised that all of you are willing to pay for all of these kids."
"Oh, I just couldn't help myself after seeing all of these kids staring down the shop from outside," said Amagi.
"How about I pay for it?"
"Really? You are too kind Shikikan-sama. Do you want anything in particular that I can pay for?"
"Thank you, Amagi. I'll take basic vanilla if I so choose."
"You know, you can always share with me, Shikikan-sama," said Akagi.
"Thanks, but I think you would enjoy it better if you ate it along with us. After all, food apparently tastes better when you eat it with those you are friendly with."
"I bet it will taste even better if you eat it from Akagi."
"Née-sama. If the commander so wishes to eat for the same one, he would have complied. If you force it anymore, it will just make him stray away from you even more."
"Ara, I don't think you understand since the inside of your mind is comparable to a blank canvas like your white hair."
"I'm sure Shikikan appreciates me more for my combat capabilities than your cheap flirting, bootlicker."
"I believe that your combat capability lacks more than when you were a battlecruiser."
"Oh, is that a challenge? We can settle this right here!"
The two kitsunes summoned their rigging. The tension between the room turned the cool, aroma-filled room into a room of fear while sitting in a hot seat. All of the destroyers whimpered in fear while the commander rallied them up to behind a booth to shield them from the possible bloodshed that was going to occur. When things seemed to come to the tipping point, Amagi stepped up and pounded both of their heads hard enough to be heard from where Shikikan was hiding.
"Both of you need to know how to control your temper. Not only are you scaring the kids, but you're also making a bad impression in front of the commander himself."
Shikikan came out of hiding from behind a booth after hearing the voice of Amagi's assuring voice and the sound of her fist landing to see that both kitsunes were tamed by her older sister.
"Sorry, shopkeeper. We will be leaving now, sorry for my two sister's tempers."
The sound of the doorbell chiming when off followed by three of them leaving the parlor.
"Is it safe to one out?" A destroyer questioned.
"Yes, the scary women are gone. Are all of you okay?"
"Yes," they all said in unison.
Thank god that they didn't actually get into trouble. I should buy a gift for Amagi the next time I meet her.
After the incident that happened Shikikan decided to visit the Royal Navy residence as he wanted to see the great port view that he had remembered that he wanted to see when Belfast had toured him around the Royal Navy residential area. Speaking of Belfast, he remembered that she delivered an invitation from the Royal Navy women for a tea party.
Hmm, they aren't too far from the place of view. Maybe I should calm myself down with a bit of talk and tea.
He started to set course for the Royal Navy tea party. While reaching there he found that there are ships other than HMS that are enjoying the afternoon sipping tea. What he saw of all the people he would least expect there was Bismark and Eugen sat at a table with Hood and Wales. He saw that Belfast was currently standing idle beneath the same roof as Elizabeth and her peers waiting for her majesty's next request or command. Seeing that the group was enjoying their tea time together, he thought that the best way to get info was through Belfast seeing that she was the one who helped mostly with the preparations for the party. While approaching her, the queen acknowledged his presence moving towards their table.
"Halt! What is your business around here, servant?"
"Ummm, well your majesty I wanted to discuss with Bel about something uhh, concerning other ships."
"Bel?"
"Yes, your highness."
"Go talk about this someplace else with the commander. I don't want him to spoil my bliss any more than has to."
"As you wish, your highness."
She left her post to walk alongside Shikikan to discuss this pointless matter with her.
"What is it that you'd like to talk about Master?"
"Well, it's kind of a stupid question to pull you out of the Queen's table like this so I'll make it quick. How come Bismarck and Hood drinking tea with each other? I thought that their past made them resent each other."
"Ah, that matter. It was a daunting task for the both of them to agree to come to this tea party together. The Queen wanted reconciliation between the two as we would soon be deployed into battle. We would have done it sooner, but Bismark turned down the offer as she doesn't want to ruin the moment for Hood. But, now we had Eugen trick her into drinking with her so she can't run now."
"I see. Well, it is good to see that you guys are trying to get over your pasts."
"Indeed."
"If only I could do the same," he murmured to himself.
"What was that Master?"
"Nothing important. But thinking that Eugen was able to trick the Iron Blood flagship into something like this, certainly, it takes some mad skill to pull off."
"Indeed, Master. If you will excuse me, I have to go back to serving her majesty before she throws a fit. Do you have anything else you would like to talk about before I go?"
"No, that's fine where it is Bel. You are always a great help to me."
"Likewise. You are always returning the favor not only for me but all of the maids here. I am more than pleased that you are both my commander and master."
"I only did it so that my subordinates can rest easy knowing that I'm an easygoing person," he prided himself, "At least for now anyway."
"I'm sure that everyone appreciates you for who you are Master."
"Thank you, Bel. You may return to your post."
She cruised in response and started heading back towards where the Queen and her tablemates are sitting. Shikikan looked up into the sky to see that it was still a decently early afternoon.
Maybe I should see how the two of them are holding with each other?
He started heading for the table which was only a few seconds away from where he stood. Eugen who was just staring at the sky idly, not caring for the refreshing drinks that are in front of her, spotted him at the corner of her eye.
"Hey, Kommandant. Are you here to amuse me some more?"
"No, I'm just here to see how things are going between these two battle cruisers. I'm not ruining anything am I?"
"Nein, it has been mostly awkward social exchanges between these two."
"Belfast said that you managed to trick Bismark here. Is that true? If so, to think that the mighty Iron Blood flagship being fooled seems absurd."
"Don't remind me, Kommandant," said Bismark trying to enjoy her tea.
She chuckled in hearing both of their words, "It was rather easy. All I had to do was say that Tirpitz invited her here for a drink. And to think that she was that gullible."
"Eugen, I would turn you into scrap if I could right now for your trickery."
"So, you guys got over your past? Let bygones be bygones?"
"Well, they tried."
"This reminds me of the time that I had to talk to a POW when we were interrogating. Nothing but blank, cold stares and itching knuckles. Had a hard time restraining myself from beating his face to a bloody pulp. Until I finally decided to get over what that bastard did to the crew."
"And why were you the one to interrogate this POW?"
"For personal purposes. It was personal as I was getting restless after a few losses that didn't take two likely. A friend asked for permission for this exchange thinking that it would be good for me to have someone on one to know that the enemy is just as the same as any other ordinary person. I would say that if that bastard didn't speak, things would have been violent. It was until he started talking about why he even bothered with picking to fight for such a ruthless enemy."
"What'd he say?" Asked Hood.
"He said, 'Please free me from this damnation that is this war. My family…' Something along the lines of that. He started to sob after that. At that moment I didn't know whether to feel sympathy or hatred for that guy."
"What happened to him afterward?"
"He was pulled out of interrogation and put back into his cell. As much as I didn't forgive that man, he made me realize in the end we are the same with a loving family. Anyways, I hope that the both of you can find that you can rely on each other when the time calls for it. Good day to you three, I'll be taking my leave."
"Are you sure you don't want to stay and enjoy the rest of the afternoon with us? We can trade stories with each other if you would like," said Hood.
"Hmmm… well I would like to hear what you all have to say. Especially if Eugen wants to talk about her time on the field."
"You're interested in my stories? Ufufufu. That let's get down to your own personal stories if you would like to hear mine."