Mighty Eagle, Calm Nest

by xT-Zealot

With Enterprise suffering from a crisis of identity brought on by her battles with the Crimson Axis and visions of a dark reality, Belfast has chosen to take some liberties to bring Eagle Union's ace to London to try and restore her humanity that had been smothered by duty. Meanwhile, the overseers of this timeline consider its continued worth and what they can extract from it.

5. Chapter 5

"…Belfast?" Enterprise asked wearily.

"Yes, Enterprise?" Belfast returned playfully while filling her teacup.

"Can you sit down?"

"You know I have my duties- "

"Yes, I know." Enterprise hid her eyes beneath a palm while waving towards the chair across from her with the other. "And I know it hasn't stopped you before. So could you please…?"

"Since you're asking politely, I suppose I will."

Enterprise knew that most of the blame was hers. Last night, Belfast had gone through the trouble of going out and acquiring the dinner she ordered while Enterprise had been finishing up her bath. The carrier always being unable to accept some of the lengths that Belfast would go to with her duties had left her feeling bad about it. When the maid mentioned that the hotel provided a breakfast, Enterprise had accepted going down and eating as a sort of penance.

It didn't help that, despite the surroundings, this morning felt normal. The normal it has become, that is, with Enterprise sleeping soundly – dreamless, thankfully, though she had kicked a lot of the thick covers to the foot of the bed until she was down to the thinnest sheet and discarded all but one of the pillows – before she was awoken by the stream of daylight that Belfast would let in upon opening the curtains. With all the traveling to locations of differing time zones and the infrequent days of full, uninterrupted sleep, her body's internal clock had yet to properly set itself to get her up in the mornings without Belfast's assistance. It was most likely the reason for Enterprise not knowing where she was during the few seconds of disorientation until it passed and she was able to remember.

She took a morning shower – Belfast didn't fight her on it -, dressed, and when the maid was handing her her coat and cap, she got fooled into thinking the trip to breakfast would be much like going down to the mess at the joint base.

She was wrong. So very wrong.

The dining room wasn't crowded, but it was populated, and Enterprise realized her biggest mistake when she entered with Belfast in tow: it was humans who would be dining here, with her and Belfast being the only shipgirls, and Enterprise knew right away that a maid and her mistress who had all the markings of Eagle Union would stand out. The stares that they got and the additional ones that Enterprise knew they were acquiring during their trek for an open table said it all. She didn't have to look – she was avoiding staring back -, she could sense it all.

She delegated Belfast to get breakfast from the provided selections, leaving her at their chosen table to stare at a barren corner of the room with chin in hand to give off the appearance that she was pondering something instead of actively avoiding the looks that were getting passed her way. Here, now, the difference between her existence and that of humans were plain to her – from her uniformed appearance to her vaster presence and power that overshadowed them.

As per usual, Belfast didn't take any notice of it, and her cheery tone gave the impression that she was enjoying the situation when she set a plate down in front of Enterprise. "Here you are. A full English breakfast to commemorate your first morning in London."

She was speaking like normal, but Enterprise wished she would talk quieter anyway. What ended up bothering her the most was when, after filling her provided teacup with the pot that the cruiser had decided to bring back with her, Belfast had chosen to remain standing dutifully aside her table, ready to provide for whatever Enterprise may request like always.

What Enterprise requested was for her to sit down.

"You don't even know how they're looking at you," Belfast noted when she took the seat, lips curved upwards.

"Does it matter?" Enterprise asked, not ready to break her staring competition with the empty corner just yet. "It's pretty obvious that they know I'm different from them."

"Do you really think so?"

Enterprise faced Belfast at the same time that the Royal Navy girl chose to look back at the other diners. She saw her smile grow before she lifted a hand and waved her fingers towards someone who Enterprise couldn't see and didn't really want to see.

The carrier shifted her attention to her breakfast and nearly balked at the amount of food that was on it. Fried eggs and tomatoes, toast and slices of bacon, hash browns, sausages, and a small container of baked beans on the side. The plan of finishing up quickly and leaving was foiled the moment she thought it up.

"I can't eat all this myself," she protested.

"It'll be a busy day today," Belfast replied. "You'll want plenty of strength. There are sights that I'd like for you to see. On the side, I would also like to shop for groceries to cover our stay here."

"That doesn't change how I'm not going to finish this."

Belfast 'hmm'd', glancing down at the plate and feigning how she was only now entertaining the likelihood that she may have given her too much. "Would you like assistance, then?"

"Please," Enterprise returned grumpily.

The carrier saw the humor that was sparkling in Belfast's eyes when she flipped over the plate that had been preset for their table, Enterprise spearing and transferring one of her eggs to it with a fork which returned to repeat the process until they had an equal share of food. The division, she knew, wasn't going to make their meal go any faster as she suspected Belfast was going to take her time.

"It isn't bad," Belfast commented, sighing through her nose when she combined a bit of fluffy egg with the crunch of tomato.

Enterprise silently agreed, currently enjoying the crispy exterior and soft interior of a hash brown. Taking a cue from Belfast, she folded a bit of egg over another piece before stabbing her fork through the pairing and the bacon that was laid out beneath them. Her reawakened taste buds appreciated the blend of taste and texture with the unhealthy grease and salt of pork.

"I prefer your cooking," she said honestly after she swallowed.

That won her a smile of appreciation. "The finest compliment I could receive." Belfast's fork clinked against her plate. "Though I don't consider this a worthy foe, if I'm allowed to be presumptuous."

Enterprise had to agree with that as well, considering that she had this full English course before and how it happened to be the very first dish that Belfast had ever served her – though, again, not in such excess. While good, there was no real equilibrium between that taste and texture of the hotel food. She could assume it was an inevitable drawback of quantity over quality to provide for guests, but the food – the meats in particular – did not feel as evenly cooked with the charred bits she encountered and she could perceive how those taste buds of hers, while initially tricked by the stimulation, were a bit unsettled by what they now found to be a slight overabundance of the grease and salt once the first bite began settling.

Then again, maybe it was a bit premature for her to be in a position to critique food, given her own rediscovery of it with Belfast's dishes. Although even the dinner that she had last night – prepared by someone else – did not measure up either. Maybe she had been spoiled?

"Better incentive to get those groceries," Enterprise pointed out.

"And so you don't have to expose yourself as much to the public, isn't that right?"

Enterprise really tried not to let her dismay show at how her efforts to ignore the sideway glances she knew were still being made had been undermined.

Belfast pointed at her accusingly with her fork. "You know, I do remember how reluctant you were to eat and socialize at the mess."

"That was different," Enterprise argued, resuming her attack on her breakfast.

"Because in the end they were shipgirls, just like you."

Enterprise hadn't wanted to word it like that but nodded anyway.

"These humans are just like you, too, you know."

"Back to that, huh?"

"Isn't it the same, though?" Belfast rested her chin on the back of her hand, getting comfortable as she stared at her. "You didn't know how to approach your fellow shipgirls and you were uncertain on how to react when they approached you. Not on a social level, not even with the girls in your own faction."

Enterprise tossed her head to the rest of the dining room. "They're human, Belfast. I'm not."

"Which just means that you've placed them further away from you. The ones you wish to protect are the ones that you pull away from. Protecting humans being the reason you were created adds up to a distance greater than that of your own comrades. The gap is tremendous, but you'll be able to overcome it in time. I'm sure of it."

"At the moment I'd just like to stand out less."

Belfast performed a short and smooth roll of her eyes – a performance that miraculously kept the gesture ladylike - but her expression remained amused. "That sounds like you don't know how to do so when our next destination will accomplish precisely that."

Enterprise arched a brow. "It will?"

The maid leaned back into a proper seating position and redirected her fork towards her plate. "Let's finish our breakfast. After that, try not to be too hard on yourself when you realize the obvious."

That brow stayed high, delaying Enterprise from returning to her breakfast. Those instincts of hers, the ones that have been branching out to situations outside of fighting, were sending signals to her. Instead of attuning her to a potential threat, what they were saying was that something very odd was going happen with whatever Belfast was planning. She didn't know what but even as she told herself that all she could do was brace for what was to come, those instincts were warning her that it wasn't going to be enough.

But what else could she do other than continue on this course that she was entrusting her to lead her through? They finished in what peace they could have, Belfast collecting their dishes and going directly to the kitchen to return them as if she had every right to be there. No one apparently challenged her, she returning moments later.

Enterprise kept her focus directly on the door to the dining room when it was time to leave, refusing to let it stray to the other diners. There was a third of the distance left when something happened that she didn't expect.

A diner in her path was making an exaggerated turn in his seat that may've been meant to draw attention, but Enterprise ignored it. That was until he called out to her.

"Excuse me. You're from Eagle Union?"

Blank surprise was what Enterprise reacted with, but she was getting better at recovering from it. "I am." It almost came out as a question.

The diner stood up from his seat to introduce himself. "Arthur Bailey." She was also getting more accustomed to shaking hands, something she did when he held out his. "I served with some of yours at Casablanca."

Served with? She didn't need to make any kind of check, the man obviously not a shipgirl. He was shorter than her, brown-haired, and was dressed plainly, but she felt the strength in his grip and saw the hardiness in his face. "Enterprise."

"Casablanca," Belfast mused. "You were part of the landing forces."

Casablanca. The information passed through Enterprise's mind. North Africa. Former territory of the Vichya Dominion where a strategic naval port had been captured by the joint Eagle Union-Royal Navy task force sent there.

"I was with the Eleventh Brigade of the Seventy-Eighth," Arthur clarified. He smiled and dipped his head respectfully towards Belfast. "And I believe I recognize you, milady." Back to Enterprise, he said, "We were part of the opening wave of the landing force when we got hit by the shore defenses. One of your girls, Cleveland, covered us from aerials while Ranger suppressed the guns. A lot of my mates and I owe them our lives."

Enterprise wasn't sure how to proceed and grasped at the straw she could reach. "Ranger is at Eagle Union, but Cleveland is currently stationed at Gateway."

Arthur appeared delighted at the news. "I heard the propaganda but didn't know if she was a part of that. If you happen to see her, tell her- " He stopped and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Ah, no, I suppose I can't treat her to a pint – not in good conscience. Well, if you do see her, let her know that she has my thanks for then and her continued service. That goes for you as well, Enterprise."

The carrier became aware that her face had been blank throughout most of the conversation. Even with that understanding, she couldn't break from it. What she did do was give him a nod. "Thank you. I will let her know if I see her."

"I appreciate it."

He politely removed himself from their path that Enterprise followed the rest of the way out of the dining hall. Before she left, she found her once restricted gaze wandering, catching some of those looks that she had ignored. In truth, she hadn't known what she would find in them, but while she thought that the odd, searching ones – looks that said they hadn't known and still didn't know how to come to terms with her nature behind her appearance – were what she considered normal, the respect and gratefulness that were transmitted from a larger number surprised her.

She really didn't know what to think about those.

They didn't stop either, when the shipgirls left the hotel and took to the streets. Enterprise had suggested the idea of taking a taxi or some mode of public transportation rather than walking, but Belfast shot her down.

"It'll take longer to go by car than walking," she explained, and Enterprise had to defer to the logic. If she had thought traffic to have been slow at the tail end of their ride to the hotel yesterday, the morning traffic managed to be worse when she got her look at the packed streets as soon as they went outside with an unbroken line of vehicles that they were passing.

The foot traffic was hardly any better. The sidewalks - pavements as Belfast informed her as to how they were referred to here - were as narrow as the streets, the current stretch that they traveled on wide enough that four people standing abreast would have to be squeezed together in order to fit, and that would be leaving absolutely no room for anyone to get through them. As a result, Enterprise fell back behind Belfast's shoulder.

She became grateful for the positioning, the maid acting as a buffer to the glances, stares, and respectful nods and hat tipping that were made in their direction. Being at the forefront, Belfast attracted most of the attention, but some of the eyes she drew would inevitably transition from her to the Eagle Union carrier.

"Still behind me?" Belfast questioned without turning around, sparing Enterprise from one of the grins she had to be wearing.

"Still behind you," Enterprise confirmed, battling with an urge to lower the brim of her cap.

"Bear with it a little longer. One of the conveniences of a city is that anything that you need is a short walk away."

"You know, I have been able to take care of myself before you came around."

She received a very long, very deliberate pause. "I believe we've already established that your views and mine concerning how you've taken care of yourself are very different."

Enterprise puffed out a breath. "I mean that I can handle a little walk. A lot more crowded than what I'm used to is all."

"Feeling out of your element?"

Enterprise debated about asking the question that had propped up since the dining hall and decided that this might as well be an opportunity to ask. "How are shipgirls viewed here?"

"By regular humans, you mean? We're their protectors. It's been a long time since London has been assaulted but one generation still remembers the Siren raids well while the other has been raised with those views in mind. Our existence – fantastical at the time – is a normal part of their life now."

"Normal?" Enterprise repeated with a bit of skepticism.

Belfast shrugged. "There are inherent issues of perception where so few have ever seen us face-to-face. In the world, shipgirls number a few thousand with the Royal Navy currently making up a few hundred of that. The majority of humans rely on propaganda and other heavily publicized displays to get a glimpse of us which can embellish details as they tend to do. But once that is overcome, they see us as normal as them."

"That hasn't been the experience so far."

Belfast stopped and turned to a specific building. "I think it will be soon."

Enterprise examined their destination and, as it turned out, the cruiser was right: it was obvious of what they should do to blend in better.

"Come along, Enterprise~" Belfast nearly sang, opening and holding the door out for her, a bell chiming overhead.

Enterprise looked at the display windows to the right and left of the entrance, at the mannequins and the wares that they were meant to show off. With a slump of her shoulders and a shake of her head, she entered the clothing boutique.

It was reminiscent of a supply warehouse, but rather than rows of boxed and barreled materials stacked together and atop of one another, there were winding and straight racks of clothes hanging tightly packed along with shelves holding folded items and other accessories. Blouses, skirts and pants, jackets and scarves – a colorful array that were organized with the tags that labeled their sizes and the displays that promoted the designers.

"Welcome!" From amongst the rows, a finely dressed clerk appeared. There was the barest of pauses once she saw the latest customers, but her features kept to her welcoming image as she addressed them. "Is there anything in particular you require today?"

"Nothing in particular," Belfast returned, just as friendly. "Browsing at the moment."

"I see. Well, if you find anything to your liking, the dressing rooms are over there." She pointed in a direction that, when Enterprise followed, led to her seeing more rows of more clothes instead of the mentioned rooms. "And I will be nearby if you need any help or information."

She disappeared just as eerily as she appeared, making a move to the right and vanishing completely within the sea of clothing. Enterprise had only seen attack submarines perform such a feat with the waves they prowled in.

"Well?" As entertained as ever, Belfast motioned Enterprise towards the massive selection. "It's all up to you now."

Such words had been spoken to her when she was acting as a flagship for the latest incursion into Siren territory. The task that was being given to her here, she suspected, would prove just as daunting as she had no idea where to start.

Belfast lightly laughed. "Did I ever tell you how enjoyable it is to watch your expressions during times like these?"

Enterprise shot her a dirty look. "I'm glad you're having fun."

The cruiser sought to mask her enjoyment, but it was apparently one of those things that could effortlessly usurp her poise. "They're just clothes, although they'll serve to help in freeing you from more than just attention. Find something you like. Expand on your woefully absent wardrobe."

"I like what I have on now."

"Which will be inefficient in getting you to blend in, same in getting your mind away from fighting." Belfast poked at her cheek. "Don't pout."

"I'm not pouting," Enterprise objected, even as she knew the look she sought to remove from her face unmistakably felt like one.

"You'll feel better with new clothes, trust me. I doubt Hornet goes out in public the same way she does on base."

Enterprise wisely chose not to address that because she honestly wasn't sure if she did or not. "Guess I'll give it a shot."

"I'll be nearby if you would like an opinion," Belfast said and went off on her own.

With no idea of where she should start, Enterprise wandered over to the nearest rack and began her search.

It wasn't that clothing boutiques were an unknown thing to her, she just never had a reason to visit one in the past. The clothes she was wearing were, much like her ship and rigging, something that came into being based on her nature formed from the collective wills of the humans of Eagle Union who created her. Her shirt and tie, coat and cap – they were as much a uniform as they were another form of expression of her personality that revolved around her adherence to duty. Her armor.

It was the same with any shipgirl such as Hornet's looser and carefree style of mind and dress and Yorktown's calming heart and responsibility as the eldest who had held her younger ones together despite their diversity – as diverse as the humans of the unified states of North America. Belfast's was the image of the servitude dedicated to the wellbeing of those she watched over, whoever they may be, while Wales's personified military order and civility, all of which were core tenants of the Royal Navy. The shipgirls of the Sakura Empire were based on their faith, those of Iron Blood their uniformity and strength, Iris Libre/Vichya Dominion with their knightly and religious zeal, the harsh endurance of Northern Parliament, and so on.

Like her relentless and uncompromising dedication to her duty, Enterprise had rarely found it in her to discard her uniform. When awake, when asleep, on duty, off duty – she always wore it, ready to respond to any order to action or call of distress no matter where or when it may come. Even during her occasional award ceremonies it counted as a suitable dress uniform, although that wasn't to say that Eagle Union even had an official dress uniform given the wide diversity of their shipgirls having made such attempts to establish one frivolous.

So, naturally, being presented with such a once in a lifetime opportunity to lay it to rest had her entirely lost on how to do that, the metallic sliding of the hangers against the racking a steady tune her fingers were conducting as she searched through the selections. She had no plan of action on how to make her choices. The sheer number of articles made her deem the idea of spending more than a few seconds examining each one impossible if she wanted to get through all of them in a timely manner. Currently, she was trying to see if any would 'click' with her, much like how it would click when she knew when her bombers had reached the right height and angle to drop their payloads with the utmost accuracy on the target areas for maximum damage.

It was nowhere near as simple, and her task was made more difficult with the added variables: that she needed many pieces for an ensemble, making sure those pieces matched, whether or not they were of an appropriate fashion without sacrificing comfort, etc. Suddenly her mission here was flirting dangerously close to being labeled as a suicide mission.

Enterprise glanced over at Belfast to acquire some insight on what kind of process she should be using and saw her holding up a brown sweater. She had one sleeve with a ribbed cuff pinched, extending it out to get a better look at the sweater while testing the material with undisguised interest.

Deciding to mimic her, Enterprise retrieved a light grey, long-sleeved shirt with the reasoning that an in-depth look would better help frame an idea of what she wanted. She liked the color, but the material she found too thin and the way the sleeve stretched gave her a lot of questions of how it may impact the size she had to select. She returned it to the rack and moved on.

It wasn't helping as much as she hoped, even as she established limits such as the colors she wanted – white and black or shades of those two colors – and a preference for no graphics or lettering. She wondered if the limits may in fact be turning this into a hopeless situation if none of the hundreds of styles here could match what she had in mind. She tried to find Belfast again but, in this instance, she had disappeared somewhere in the maze.

"Is everything alr- oh, sorry! Didn't mean to startle you!"

Enterprise wondered if the clerk really was a submarine, given how she had snuck up on her and caught her so unaware. "No, I apologize," she responded, settling her nerves. "I was too focused on the mission at hand."

The clerk appeared unsure about her choice of wording, but soon smiled. "Having trouble?"

"…Yes," Enterprise admitted. "I haven't really visited a place like this before. I'm at a bit of a loss."

"Nothing to be ashamed about; you wouldn't be the first."

Enterprise blinked. "Other shipgirls have come here?"

"I meant in general," the clerk clarified easily. "Although I've had at least two occasions of shipgirls shopping here. Rare occurrences but, who knows, I may've helped another and not known about it. Makes no difference to me if you're one or not; everyone who shops here is the same to me."

The same? "Oh."

The clerk regarded the racks of clothing behind the carrier. "Do you have anything in mind of what you'd like?"

Enterprise didn't respond right away, feeling uncertain about asking for assistance. She was an employee though, and a London native, so why shouldn't she ask for the expertise that would be better suited than hers? "A little," she replied, feeling awkward regardless.

"Color preferences?" the clerk asked. "Style?"

"White and black." Style? Did she mean shirts or dresses? Or some fashion terminology that she may not know? "Style…uh…" Helpless, she referred to her current state. "Something similar to this, I guess? Plainer?"

She felt ashamed of her uncertainty, thinking that it and the information she was supplying would be unhelpful. Instead, the clerk was taking it seriously as she looked her over, something being silently worked over behind the hazel greens of her eyes.

"I do have a couple ideas if you don't mind me suggesting them," she said shortly after.

"I don't."

"One moment, please." She didn't gravitate to the racks, turning around and going to a shelf towards the back. She remained in view, selecting choices of different colors with a purpose that Enterprise had been bereft of and had her returning in shorter order than Enterprise expected. "How do you find this?"

It was a black one-piece dress with long sleeves that the clerk gave her to try. Holding it against her, Enterprise found that it would go to her mid-thighs and had a high collar. The fabric felt comfortable to her – not thin, but not thick either.

"I think that'll suit her fine!" Belfast came unexpectedly, suddenly at the clerk's side to show approval for the choice. She tugged on the collar, examining the tag within. "Although she may need a larger size."

"That shouldn't be a problem," the clerk replied, going along with Belfast's intrusion. She regarded Enterprise. "What size would you prefer?"

"Uh…" The carrier couldn't answer.

"I'll take care of that," Belfast took over, along with the dress. She retraced the clerk's steps, disappearing and coming back with another dress and handing it over to Enterprise. "This should be adequate."

Enterprise took it and held it against herself again, lost on what else she should do.

"I think a cardigan may go well with that," the clerk suggested.

Belfast looked over Enterprise studiously. "We could try it."

"There's one right here!" The clerk leaned over, Enterprise moving to the left so that she could reach into the racking behind her and extract a cream-colored cardigan that she brought to the forefront.

Belfast had a hand to her chin. "We could find a better color, I think, but…" She met Enterprise's eye. "What do you think?"

"Um…" Enterprise tried again.

"Would you prefer some kind of coat instead?"

"…Yes?" Well, at least she provided a better answer this time, albeit one heavy with uncertainty.

"We can take this opportunity to get you one that fits right!" Belfast claimed, suddenly motivated as she rounded back towards the selections. "Where would some belts be?"

The clerk pointed. "Accessories over there. Shoes, too."

"No outfit would be complete without them."

"A woman of culture!"

"Naturally!"

...What's happening? Enterprise had no idea at what had been started when they broke apart, human and shipgirl uniting in a quest that they enthusiastically embarked on that had them scouring throughout the boutique. They would return, armed with clothes that they compared with one another with Enterprise getting the sense that her presence was being forgotten until her shoulders would jump in response to the intensity that came her way when they held up their choices against her.

Clothes would be placed in her arms, then taken away, and sometimes returned, with no opinion being asked from her. As Enterprise was thinking that her fate was to end up as one of the mannequins here, she was pulled to the section with the dressing rooms.

"Give those a try, Enterprise," Belfast insisted, putting an encouraging nudge against the carrier's back to an unoccupied room. "I'm sure you'll like them."

Enterprise rotated on her heel with the idea that she should make some kind of statement but gave it a second thought when she saw the two expectant faces that she was up against. Retaining her silence, she obediently went into the stall and slid the curtain into place.

---

"I do hope she likes them," the clerk said to her co-conspirator.

"I suspect she will," Belfast replied confidently. The clothes, she was sure, would be enough to suit Enterprise's simple needs and they had the advantage of her desire to want a speedy conclusion to their business here. She would take them, and Belfast prayed that her fashion sense would be another thing to be expanded on in the process.

"She'll probably be a while and I have some returns to take care of. Make sure you let me have a look when she comes out."

"I'll be sure to do so in light of your assistance. Thank you very much."

"It's what I do."

They parted, Belfast spending a moment in believing she found a kindred spirit. Then she picked up a bundle of clothing that she had gathered and set aside earlier before entering another stall and closing the curtain behind her.

---

The black dress that had initiated the whole endeavor had survived the selection process and it was what Enterprise tried on first. She slipped it over herself, pushing her arms through the long sleeves to seize the end and tug it down so that she could get her head through the collar. After pulling her hair out and committing efforts to smooth and straighten it out along with the dress, she used the mirror to look at herself.

It felt uncomfortable but it had nothing to do with it being the wrong size or anything like that as Belfast did apparently have the insight of knowing what would fit her. It was just new, she figured, the skin of her arms unused to being sheathed up to the wrists in the conforming fabric the same way that the collar did around her throat, something that she tugged on to get rid of a distracting itch. Moving in it was a new experience with the entire thing stretching and bunching, not separate like her shirt and skirt. Remembering the belt, Enterprise tried that on next, stretching the dress down as far as it would go before winding and buckling the belt tight around her waist. It was an improvement.

For all the effort and excitement that Belfast and the clerk showed, there wasn't really much else to the rest of the outfit that they had created for her. She threw on a white coat, shorter than her own with it coming down to her knees and the sleeves didn't match the length of the dress's. It covered her shoulders, and she had the option to button it up but did without it. The one other addition was a hat; a white beret that possessed a third of the weight and expanse of her naval cap. Her scalp also itched when she placed it on top of her head, finding something wrong with a covering that didn't have a band pressing tight against it.

The exposure of her legs and feet reminded her that there were still the black high heels she had to put on to complete the ensemble. They were something else that were new to her with the lifting of her heels over her toes, but for a shipgirl who would balance on the fuselages of her speeding aircraft into battle, she was able to triumph over them easily with a bit of compensation.

Done, she conducted a full check in the mirror, spinning around to get a front and back view. It was, in a very general sense, a match to her usual outfit and she could appreciate that. Additionally, it was, as she requested, plainer, but there was more to it. She felt...lighter, in a way that wasn't referring to the physical weight.

Whatever the case, she was sure that she would be standing out far less now. Satisfied, she decided she best get to facing the two judges who were waiting for her, bracing herself when she swept the curtain aside and being left to stare dubiously when confronted with the empty space that she remembered them being last. Getting fully out of the stall, Enterprise took a better look and, nope, neither of them were around. "Belfast?"

"Almost done, Enterprise!"

That came from further down the stalls, the closed curtain pointing out precisely which one. It left Enterprise confused, as that would mean that Belfast was changing clothes too. No sooner had she made the connection did the maid reveal herself.

Except she wasn't dressed as a maid anymore. The light brown sweater with ribbed cuffs that Enterprise vaguely recalled her looking at previously had replaced the bodice, and the long, flowing skirt had transformed into a much tighter black one that was of a similar mid-thigh length. Black stockings clung to Belfast's exposed legs, matching the black heels.

She had donned additional accessories. Gold loops of earrings hung from her lobes, and the choker and chain had been replaced with a thinner black one with a grey stripe running through the middle that had what Enterprise guessed was a replica of a flower with four thin petals. The same flower that was in the bow that was affixed to where Belfast kept her hair braided. The braid itself was gone, the bangs it had once held free to descend and nearly brush her cheek. She had her own beret, red and much larger than the one that had been selected for Enterprise, leaving it to partially sag under the weight of the heavy wool. The decorative scarf was of the same red, although rather than her neck the long fabric was wound around one arm and was guided across her back where it wound around the other limb.

"Well?" Proud of her work, the cruiser slowly twirled in place, showing that her long hair had been gathered behind her and tied at the ends with a cloth binding.

Enterprise was distracted by a very noticeable feature of the knit sweater: the off-the-shoulder neckline that bared much of her upper arms and large chest. The bodice of her maid uniform had a design somewhat like that, but between the frills and the long strands of hair that Belfast had kept artfully tucked in front, there had been a measure of concealment to make up for it. With both gone, there was a vaster expanse of exposed skin and Enterprise had an unexplainable need to swallow when the twirl the maid(?) performed unveiled a comparably bared upper back beneath the fluttering of the bound hair and above where the scarf dipped.

Something else happened that made Enterprise unable to recall Belfast finishing her revolution. At a point where she had been able to make out the cruiser's shoulder blades, seconds of her consciousness went missing and by the time it came back she found herself the target of a face anticipating compliments.

The carrier's tongue was tied with the indecisiveness of selecting from a list of words that lined up for her. It didn't help that her vocabulary wasn't particularly suitable for situations like this, samples like cute and pretty inadequate while beautiful and gorgeous felt excessive in an oddly embarrassing way. She couldn't find a good middle ground – wanting to give Belfast a worthy compliment but not wanting to overdo it because…why?

"You look…" A breakthrough suddenly occurred. "…very elegant."

She considered the last-second save a victory when Belfast quietly giggled. "Why thank you." She wandered over, performing her own head-to-toe scan. "You're quite charming yourself."

Enterprise cast her gaze down and tugged at the hem of her dress. "I'm satisfied with it." She was, but seeing Belfast made it feel…inferior? "I didn't know you were going to change, too."

"I thought it would've been a given," Belfast replied. "Not much point in having you change if I'm going to lure in attention."

"That does make sense," Enterprise agreed awkwardly.

"Let me see this for a second." Belfast came up to her and began fiddling with her coat, making sure it was fitted around her shoulders. "You actually have a coat you can wear right."

It was an action that had become familiar at this point, particularly in the mornings, with Belfast tidying up her appearance with her own trained eye. However, it was different in this case. As she had been staring down at herself, Enterprise had to instantly look sideways when she got a close-up view of that bountiful chest and its added exposure.

Fingertips touched her cheeks and turned her head to the front. Without the gloves, the skin-on-skin contact was like static and left behind a tingling sensation for Enterprise when Belfast removed them. "Hold here, please." They were the same height, but Belfast lifted her chin to get a better view of how her beret was set and adjust it accordingly.

Enterprise did her best to fulfill the request but discovered it to be hard to do so at first, still experiencing that same compulsion to look away. But when she forced herself to stare ahead to obey Belfast's direction, there was a reversal, and the carrier couldn't find it in her to look at anything but Belfast. There wasn't even a frown of concentration, the cruiser armed with the same persistent, gentle curve of her lips but her blue eyes were narrowed and the way they shifted along with the angling of her neck became a point of interest as was the observation of whether it always appeared as slender as it did now.

Was this really all because of a simple change of clothes?

"There we go," Belfast finished, retreating a step.

Enterprise hastily established eye contact in a way meant to hide something. She wasn't quite sure what it was she was trying to hide, but the awkward movements of her hands that had her reaching but not quite touching her beret and coat were actions made to draw Belfast away from…she still didn't know. She eventually thanked her, but it didn't seem to be enough, Enterprise remaining nervous with how proud she appeared.

"I guess we should go see how well this'll work," she then awkwardly suggested, strategizing that the best way out was to leave.

Belfast grinned. "Oh, we're not done yet."

Enterprise jerked up in surprise. "What?"

"We need to get you something suitable to sleep in," Belfast said, returning to the racks of clothing. "You're not going to sleep in those clothes, and I refuse to let you wear your other set like you have been doing. Fresh nightwear will make it easier for you to get comfortable. Actually, while we're at it…"

She paused at some displays of a different nature. Selecting a hanger adorned with a bra-pantie combo, Belfast held it up for Enterprise to see. "Why not try some lace?"

Enterprise blankly regarded the white underwear of such fancy and delicate material, her nervousness being replaced with firm resolve. "Absolutely not."

"At least give it a chance."

"Belfast, no."

---

They spent upwards of over an hour or so at the boutique, a span of time that Enterprise hadn't expected to dedicate to the task. Though accepting of her new clothes, Enterprise had been emboldened to apply her own opinions to later selections, including an oversized shirt and pajama shorts for her nightwear despite Belfast trying to press her for a gown or something more feminine. When all was said and done, they brought their haul to the counter, the clerk from before complimenting and admiring their choices.

Belfast took care of the purchases and the directions of sending them to the hotel they were staying at. Any attempt from Enterprise to contribute payment – shipgirls were paid, after all – was rebuffed by Belfast who had already dealt with it. How she said it and the face she made while doing so kept Enterprise from inquiring about it, certain that there were more strings being manipulated behind the scenes that she wouldn't like if confirmed. Instead, she kept quiet so as not to ruin the mood that had been established.

And it was a good mood. With the feel of new clothes that she was getting used to and Belfast guiding her when they took to the racks again, Enterprise didn't feel as disoriented as she did during the initial foray. She may've even established somewhat of a preference when it came to clothing, her attention being drawn to a dress similar to the one she was wearing or some loose shirt or pants.

They had to return to society eventually and Enterprise did feel anxious upon stepping out to the pavement again with Belfast. Like before, the cruiser didn't verbalize a destination, instead choosing a direction with Enterprise following.

The instinct came to lower the brim of her cap, but she realized immediately that even if she wanted to the beret would not offer the same protection. She attempted to fall back to the position that she had taken earlier behind Belfast, but a different kind of obstruction came into play: that being the arm that looped around one of hers and pulled her close.

"B-Belfast!?" she exclaimed.

Strangely, she still hadn't become acclimated to Belfast's new look and the unexpected closeness took her aback. It was hard enough not seeing her adorned with her white frills – her maid outfit as constant as the carrier's uniform had been since they met -, and it was almost like Enterprise was with a different person. Someone who had shoulders slimmer than she expected, the blue of her eyes fuller than she remembered which made the light of mischief in them all the more noticeable, and her features smoother and softer than what Enterprise had become familiar with with their time in battle. The sternness behind her well-mannered guidance over the carrier's habits was markedly absent, too.

It was such a divergence, but Enterprise couldn't label it as bizarre or unnatural. The comfy wool of her sweater and beret was in harmony with this new Belfast, much like her sharper and more formal maid uniform had done the same with the Belfast she did know. Instead, the cruiser appeared absolutely normal, as outrageous as that did sound to her.

The coy smirk was the same, but there was a supplemental gentleness to it. "Relax," she said, patting the arm that she had captured in an effort to ease the tension that was in it. "You're not going to get any kind of appreciation out of London if you're going to hang back like that."

"And this is better?"

"There's nothing out of the ordinary here." The limb that entrapped Enterprise's squeezed lightly. "We're two friends out enjoying the sights. Sticking close means that you won't have to worry about losing me and we won't be taking up as much room for people to pass."

"That…makes sense," Enterprise gradually relented which assisted in getting her arm to relax.

…Did it?

Oddly, it wasn't that she ended up really scrutinizing, instead it being something else that Belfast said. "We're friends?"

She considered that Belfast was referring to such a thing as part of the act that they were playing out, but the way the cruiser looked at her with slightly widened eyes told her that she was wrong in doing so. "Are we not?"

"I…" Enterprise started and then stopped, needing to think about it and coming to an immediate conclusion of how the word 'friend' was something else she was as unaccustomed to as everything else that had been occurring with this trip.

She had family: Yorktown and Hornet, Hammann, and Vestal's position as a caretaker who watched over them made her included in that circle. But instead of friends, she had comrades; shipgirls she fought alongside with and protected. She would speak to them, and had done so more often lately, but she hadn't really felt a closeness with any of them that could align with friendship.

She previously understood that Belfast was different. She refused to accept their relationship as merely a servant serving her lady but referring to her as another comrade did not seem enough either. She had said that she trusted and admired her, but it went further than on the battlefield. They've spent a lot of time together, conversed often, and the way they had done so with topics that had unveiled their personalities and views to one another that would clash or be agreeable to each other made them satisfying to think about. Their most recent battles had Enterprise display greater concern in Belfast's wellbeing during engagements and she knew it to be the same the other way around.

Or was it? "To be honest," Enterprise managed to get out, "I didn't know you considered us as such."

"Because of me being your maid?"

There it was again, another sentence implying the ownership that Enterprise disliked but was forced to go along with it for this purpose. "More or less."

"Well, I can see your concern. Yes, our acquaintanceship began with Her Majesty's order for me to investigate and care for your wellbeing as I have done with her and the rest of the Royal Family, but our roles have always allowed room for personal connections. I am as much a friend as I am a maid to them, and though our time is not as long as theirs, I would like to believe that what we've gone through and what we've come to know about each other has led to at least a tentative bond." She repeated her inquiring look. "Or am I wrong?"

"No," replied Enterprise. "I feel the same. I think of you as a…friend." The act of speaking the word felt unusual, but there was a sweetness to it that made the carrier certain that she was right to use it.

Belfast remained close to her at her best and at her worst, supporting her in ways that went above the call of servitude and camaraderie which made their relationship more personal as was just confirmed. Personal enough that Enterprise would remain constantly bothered at the idea that they would have to go their separate ways sooner or later, much unlike the comrades that she would sortie with with the acceptance - or expectation - that they would be reassigned elsewhere wherever their duty would take them next once the current mission concluded.

She had known this all along, but hearing Belfast put a designation to it better cemented it.

"Besides." Stepping as far as she could without breaking their physical connection, Belfast extended her one arm and bent her knees in a loose imitation of her usual curtsies. "I don't look like a maid right now, do I?"

With her open for examination, Enterprise felt less guilty about conducting one. "Obviously not." A suspicion occurred. "So everything you did to get me here…?"

Belfast smiled. "While I do pride myself in applying nothing but the utmost effort for my duty, for this it is less about being a maid serving in the best interests of her lady but a friend wanting to help a friend."

"Oh." Enterprise turned her gaze off to the side, the clarification and the more enchanting than normal smile giving her a sudden need to hide the warmth that she was feeling at her cheeks. "Thank you."

So she's a friend, then, she decided. It made sense and had to explain a lot about the unfamiliar sensations that she was undergoing such as her interest in Belfast's appearance, how flustered she was from it and the cruiser's close proximity, and yet there being an underlying sense of yearning of how she wanted her to remain for as long as possible.

It was all due to a friendship that she was unused to. Right. She felt like it didn't explain everything, but she was more at ease with this epiphany that better clarified how she saw Belfast. She remained distracted by the weight on her arm and what it was doing to her though: her heart beating faster, an extra ounce of effort for her to breathe, and an ongoing skirmish between a force that wanted her to turn and admire Belfast and another that didn't for fear of being caught in the act.

She did experience another new thing though. Belfast was not leaving herself on display wholly for Enterprise, and the carrier suddenly became aware of how open the cruiser was on the crowded pavement. A couple passing heads turned towards her, and while what she saw in the glances were not of the awe or respect that she had seen previously, the kinds that she did see incited a sudden surge of protection with how…exposed Belfast was. Before Enterprise knew it, she sidled up close to Belfast, purposely positioning herself to block any more stares – something that had been the other way around shortly before.

She felt Belfast stiffen, caught unaware by her action, but quickly enough she felt her tuck closer to her side and refortified her hold on her arm. Instead of a sense of accomplishment, the ace's facial temperature upped some more, embarrassed with what she had done, and she hastily had them go on their way 'less she leave this opportunity for Belfast to tease her.

But that had been natural, hadn't it? Just a friend looking out for a friend, right? She didn't fully understand what it was she felt like she needed to protect Belfast from but…she just went and did it.

I'm supposed to be taking in the sights, Enterprise reminded herself, distracting her from that line of questioning.

It was a cool day with little humidity, the current climate of the city and the clouds that remained partially obstructing the sky preventing some of the unpleasant aftereffects that could come after a night of rain. The surroundings remained visibly damp with occasional puddles in the streets, but Enterprise didn't mind it.

Their new camouflage patterns were paying off, Enterprise noticing that the glances and heads of passers-by coming their way were less frequent now with them going along with the foot traffic. They were still occurring, Enterprise reasoning that their white and ivory hair remained a rarity among humans, but it was much easier for her to ignore them as they blended in better. That and the closeness of Belfast's presence was proving to come with an advantage of reassurance once her embarrassment from before wore off. Or, at the very least, lessened to a manageable level.

She tried to establish a calming sense of simplicity in their walk but immediately ran into difficulties. The activity and noise of the city still made her uneasy, and the crowds, cars, and buildings remained oppressive. Even with a smoother integration with their change of attire, there was little that could be done about how uncomfortable she remained.

"It's different, isn't it?" Belfast asked her after a while. "The cityscape of the joint base attempted to mimic it, but you can see it, too, can't you?"

"Yes," Enterprise replied, nodding, "I can."

Enterprise had known that the likeness of the Azur Lane base to a human city wasn't a perfect match, but here she could see to what degree the disparity really was. It was more than the population being human or how much larger it and the city was because, when it came right down to it, the joint base was a base; a military installation first and foremost. It had its own city equipped with diversions, but the docks being an integral part of it and its residents – shipgirls – whose existences were meant for battle belonged to its true nature.

In that regard, London was the exact opposite. The humans they passed were not combat vessels and the responsibilities that concerned them were meant to maintain their civilization. Where they were going, whether for work or entertainment, was all that concerned them and when their day ended, they would retire to their homes. There was no prevalence for battle, not against the Sirens or the Crimson Axis, and bases like Gateway were not part of that norm.

It should be peaceful, but instead it added to how London just wasn't right to her. Though a harsh comparison no matter how loosely she was making it, the disconcerting atmosphere felt like an attenuated version of how she felt out in the ocean near or in the midst of a naval engagement. Whether a large city or an open sea, she felt confined in unfamiliar conditions. The buildings of London and battle lines – marked with imaginary lines or landmasses – restricting her movements, the congestion of people and cars reminiscent of the fleets of shipgirls and Siren ships she had to guide and maneuver through, and all the noise involved keeping her on edge.

This was nothing like how she felt last night. The hotel room was strange, but it had been empty and peaceful. The greater city was the opposite, and she just couldn't get to a comfortable position within it.

"You're tense." Other than how Belfast had looped an arm around Enterprise's, the cruiser had laid the palm of the other against that same limb; a position that could be an added securement to Enterprise, but now a potential tool of measurement to gauge the ace's fretfulness.

"It's still a lot to take in," Enterprise replied, keeping her internal comparison internal.

"Well, turn here," Belfast suddenly said, the excitement in her tone and the tug she made against Enterprise's arm leading the carrier into a street.

Enterprise made a correction, the 'street' being a cobblestone lane that was free of automotive traffic with how narrow it was, the crowds reduced to the few who were choosing to navigate through here. Yet the absence of cars was one step that had been taken to separate this lane from the modern times, the three-story buildings that lined both sides of it made of brown and red bricks, their flat faces possessing square windows and shudders. The styles emanated historical age.

"Eighteenth century townhouses," Belfast identified for her. "Georgian style. Some of the best examples you'll find here."

Enterprise understood enough to conclude that these were very old despite the clean outward appearances, and she was surprised when she caught glimpses of people inside through the windows. "People live here?"

"Yes, they do. They're expensive though, being listed buildings."

Enterprise didn't recognize the term. "Listed buildings?"

"They're protected due to their historical and architectural significance. This is just one of many streets that can be found in London, with buildings that have survived and been in use since the seventeen hundreds."

"So Roman roads and Georgian townhouses?" Enterprise found it in her to question with a bit of airiness. The change in environment was getting her a little more comfortable.

"Yes." Pride illuminated Belfast's features. "The British have taken great care in safeguarding their heritage all across England. Many of them we won't be able to get to, but in London alone there's surviving fragments of the London Wall from the third century, the Wellington Arch for the First Duke of Wellington and his victories in the Napoleonic Wars, the Church of St Andrew of the fifteenth century, Trinity House, or streets like these. Keep a lookout for blue plaques – commemorations of where men and women of history had lived or made their notable achievements. They started setting them before the Siren War and have continued to do so."

Enterprise couldn't prevent the smile that crept up on her. "I think I see how you know so many things now."

There was the ghost of movement that could've been Belfast on the verge of glancing away, but she – and her merry expression – remained steadfast. "As part of the Royal Navy, it's my history, too. And yours. The United States inherited much from the great empires that had held colonies in America – Spain, France, and Britain. I know those influences have survived in Eagle Union and part of my mission is to give you an appreciation for them. Starting here."

She performed a vague wave around them "Feel. Sense. As culminations of humanity's will and the memories passed down to us, we are receptive to the impressions that persist here."

The carrier had been feeling something as soon as they entered. The architecture around them was emanating sensations that she could pick up with her awareness, made easier with less distractions. Like with her own ship or production model warships, she can sense the impressions that Belfast was referring to. They were weaker here, not as strong as the emotions and efforts that went into constructing hulls for conflict, empowered by the will to fight in the battles in the here and now.

But being weaker did not mean they weren't prominent in their own way. Within that age was a collection of a past that couldn't be found in products of the present. As they walked, Enterprise could perceive apparitions; the lingering presence of humans who had been amassed here to set the stones beneath her feet and assemble the materials of the townhouses to her right and left. She was close enough to one that her free hand came up, palm brushing along the smooth finish of the brick while fingers dipped into the joints to get a feel for the mortar.

It was faint but she felt other hands joining with her own, setting and layering the material in the rows that created the solid face which returned to repair and restore it when it began to deteriorate. From within, she could detect the lives that had been and are currently housed here.

There was warmth. Comfort. The emotions of then and now within these homes pleasantly tickled deep into what made up her existence.

That was before something stabbed into her hand.

It happened suddenly, as if the smooth brick had sprouted needles that pricked into her palm and fingertips. It was not overly painful, enough for Enterprise's hand to flinch away from them to break contact but didn't jerk it back in a greater show that would've attracted unwanted concern, particularly from Belfast.

The connection she made was cut off from the townhouse, but a moment later she realized that the impressions that she had been picking up from the entire street had become thick. Muddled. She could still make them out, but rather than the clear vapors that had been able to pass around and through her easily with the sensations they transmitted, they had become a heavy, incomprehensible fog.

An impulse to try and probe through was met with hesitation from her and one that Enterprise couldn't overcome. The attempt she made lacked any real effort, with the only thing she managed to pick up being a stiffness that came to her spine and shoulders. A force within her that was holding her back.

The same kind of force she had encountered during her failed training run that had led to two of her planes crashing into each other.

It's going this far? she asked herself, bothered by it. Even when I'm not fighting?

"Enterprise?"

She had come to a stop and been standing in front of the townhouse with her hand outstretched, something that she understood when Belfast said her name. She let her arm drop back to her side, but she stared at the brick for a couple more seconds before addressing Belfast. "I feel out of place here."

"We've hardly begun our little expedition," Belfast pointed out. "Don't you think it's a bit early to make such claims?"

"I just…"

"What?" Belfast asked with a touch of concern.

Enterprise shifted her gaze from the townhouses to beyond where the modern metropolis of London awaited.

With the sampling of modern civilization and the products of the past within it, she could perceive the peace here. One was hardly affected by the ongoing wars, its people's concerns and efforts exclusive to that peace, while the other, a product of the ideas and wants of humanity just like her, had been constructed to supplement that living which was much unlike hers.

It made her wonder if her now cloudy awareness was really due to her defect, or because she was trying to link with an environment that was unsuitable to her.

"I can't see where a shipgirl like me fits into this," she said.

"Enterprise," Belfast said again in a way that strongly suggested that the carrier should look at her.

Enterprise did and what awaited her was a flick to the forehead. She flinched again, touching where she experienced the sudden bite of pain. "Ow."

Belfast lowered her hand, the cruiser possessing an ounce of the severity that Enterprise was more used to whenever she had to be more insistent to get through to her. "As I said, it's far too early for your tendency of being thoughtless. So for the time being, I implore that you abandon it until we finish with what I wish to show you for today. Or…" She made another flicking motion, the threat behind it plain.

Feeling oddly intimidated by that measly gesture, Enterprise submitted to it. "Yes, ma'am."

"Very good." Like a switch being flipped, Belfast reverted to her gentle pleasantry. "Let us set aside such prospects of being able to fit in as a human or settle in a human civilization because that is not why we are here. We are here to revitalize your spirit with these locations and their views." She loosened her arm but didn't free Enterprise, dropping and taking her wrist instead to pull her along. "This actually wasn't where I wanted to start us off, but the proximity warranted it. Let's move on."

For yet another instance, Enterprise looked at Belfast's smiling face and how she stood with her weight at her heels, leaning back with the hold she had on Enterprise being the one thing keeping her from falling back.

This was…normal. This picture was the furthest that Enterprise had when it came to what she had become accustomed to with Belfast's mannerisms but still she couldn't deem it as something abnormal. And being unable to find anything wrong with it, there was little reason for her to not let herself continue to be led along.

"Where are we going?"

Belfast's smile grew. "Oh, just to take a little walk in the park. That's all."

---

The park wasn't so little.

The city remained loyal to its conveniences that Belfast had attested to, the pair of shipgirls not needing to travel far to reach the winding path that led them to a terrain of rain-slicked grass and copses of trees. Although this was yet another facet that the Azur Lane joint base had attempted to imitate, the sheer scale of a genuine city made it befuddling as to how the urbanization could give way to nature that, as it turned out, stretched into acres upon acres of land.

Soon, any attempt to look back at the city they left behind were blocked off by groves of trees. Along the paths, hedges and other shrubbery had been meticulously trimmed and pruned into uniformed guards that were stationed in perimeters around gardens of colorful lilies, roses, and daisies.

Here, Enterprise was able to acquire a state of calm simplicity in their walk that she hadn't been able to do within the city. Belfast was no longer hanging from her arm, instead walking alongside her, and although she was conflicted about how she should feel about the comforting/disorienting presence that she had earlier provided, the freedom did let her take in the peace and quiet of the park. It went so far that a tautness that had been laid upon her like a mantle ever since this morning had grown looser.

As always, there was a history behind the park that Belfast was more than willing to inform her about, where they were traveling through only making up a portion of the thousands of acres of land of multiple sites that had been devoted to such greenery. Amassing such did not come about in one fell swoop, instead having been acquired individually overtime by the generations of monarchs of the Royal Family.

"Henry VIII was responsible for seizing much of these lands and converted them into hunting grounds to satisfy his needs to hunt deer," Belfast said. In an ongoing break from her maidly persona, she had her hands clasped behind her back, her spine casually bent as she admired a large pond, water jetting out from a fountain hidden beneath the surface. "They were all made private, but full public access was granted after his reign."

Such an enormous area being devoted for such a singular purpose was not something that Enterprise could understand. Not in the past, and not so much the present either. "All this space and none of its being considered for anything more practical?"

"Practical, huh?" Belfast repeated, bemused. "Are such places of leisure not practical in their own right?"

Thinking that she may've been too blunt, Enterprise tried a different avenue with the congested buildings, streets, and people in mind. "The city is cramped as it is, and you said yourself how development room is its own struggle. Historical monuments and streets are one thing, but why so much land devoted to this?"

"Why was a section of the Azur Lane base devoted to its own park?" Belfast asked, countering with her own question. She extended her arms out as if to take in everything in its entirety. "True, when it comes to its parklands, London holds a great percentage, but take a look around. Do you not see how valuable all this is?"

There was the dip of a hill to their left, enhancing the fantasy of the two shipgirls being in some part of the countryside rather than a sort of yard of the city with how it rose and rolled into others like it. Upon the tops and sides, there were humans taking languid positions on benches, folding chairs that they brought with them, or blankets that had been laid out so that they could relax whether it be with the assistance of a book or a fixing they prepared for a quick meal. The cloudy weather did not seem to dissuade any of them from coming out here, the cool breezes suitable for the few kites that were being flown. Smaller humans – children – were running and sometimes flinging themselves down the hills, the damp grass adding to the enjoyment.

It was something that she had seen at the joint base with juvenile destroyers making their own fun with the games they learned from their makers, same with their seniors and the hobbies they acquired in the same manner. The difference was that she didn't see any shipgirls here, the attendees exclusively human in a park that had been meant for them since its conception, in a city that was also meant for them.

Or so she thought. Enterprise was letting her feet move her ahead despite her sight being diverted until she detected a subtle but tangible 'ping' originating from nearby – her awareness alerting her to a presence of another vessel close enough to alert her. But while she turned to address the presence, the shipgirl she found was not as inclined, the book she had on her lap engrossing.

She had bright but not golden blonde hair, locks of which she happened to be tucking behind her ear so that it would not get in the way of her reading. Light green eyes flicked along the lines of her book, not straying once from the pages. Given her petite size and presence that was not as solidly built as battleships but not as small as destroyers, Enterprise could only assume her to be the likes of a cruiser.

"That's Aurora," Belfast said, her voice a measure lower so as not to disturb the sitting shipgirl. "I had heard that she had been assigned to the Dragon Empery, but it appears that she had returned. She often comes here, typically with one of her latest romance novels. She's not the only one either."

She wasn't. The discovery of Aurora became a full unveiling of others who were here, Enterprise having either missed them entirely or had been too slow to pick them up beforehand. One small group of what she thought to be human children were playing an improvised game of badminton, three of them swatting a shuttlecock between them that was sought to be caught by others in the middle. The distance had made them difficult to pick up, but by fixating on them Enterprise could make out how three of the children – two of the swatters, one of the catchers – were standing out more prominently than the rest. Shipgirls, likely destroyers.

Further up that same hill overlooking the playing field as if in supervisory role were another pair of shipgirls, Enterprise drawn to the light pink hair of one that gave her a hint to her and her companion's true identities as their attire did not possess any obvious fashion indications that would be out of the ordinary. Their partaking of some tea would not have been unordinary either.

Enterprise couldn't locate any more, and the ones she did identify were but a fraction of the total parkgoers, but they were here.

"We all share appreciation for nature," Belfast lectured, drifting nearer to Enterprise to be heard, her voice remaining low. "Humans and shipgirls greatly benefit from the unspoiled nature of the world, away from the fighting. And for you, the seas. See. Breathe. This is a place of healing, with a natural purity that even some of the grandest cities cannot provide."

Enterprise dutifully followed the instruction, taking in the environment. She concentrated on the colors of vitality: the green blades of grass and shrubs, brown healthy barks of trees, the clear blues of the pond, and the rainbow of flower petals that were pleasing to her sight. Having traveled so deep where there was nothing but this, where the sounds and sights of the greater metropolis of London were obstructed, Enterprise could focus on the nature around her.

She breathed deeply, inhaling air that had a freshness that she was not used to. No trace of the copper of blood or burning of oil, the sulfur of gunpowder or the polluting smoke – nauseating scents that traveled with her everywhere whether it be in battle, at a naval base, or clinging to her form. Neither was there the salt of the sea, once pleasant when left alone, but had become tainted with it so closely associated with the conflict that was her everyday life. All she could smell was flowers and water and air so clean that she swore she could taste both.

She didn't expect what occurred when she exhaled; a loosening of a strain at a microscopic level, deep within her bones. The shift was of such an atomic nature that it was only when it happened that she understood that it had been a burden on par with her uniform and her rigging. And, like them, she had donned it the moment she came into being, prompted by the memories of warfare and the drive to participate in the one that had sent her across the seas in a struggle that had yet to end.

All of which made it her normal.

Seeing and breathing in this break in that normal, it was the first time that Enterprise understood that she was somewhere that did not carry a threat whether immediate or nearby, any docks or military bases far from here and her mind. For once, she had a better idea of what Yorktown gained from her own personal vista and how she was able to cope with her diminished state.

And, as she learned from when they last spoke, how her sister was able to keep from being overcome by the regret of having placed so much on her siblings, with Enterprise most of all.

The colors were more vibrant now. During a moment, the carrier had become unfocused, and when it passed the scenery had become increasingly distinct. The shades of greens and browns were more intense, the touch of the pristine air corporeal to the point of how she could easily trace it when it filled her lungs and when she expelled it back out. All that she heard was the breeze, the vegetation that danced and sung to its manipulations, and of those who were welcomed and added to it.

To Enterprise, it was surreal.

Because none of this is real.

The claim slithered out from a dark recess of her mind, coiling around once to transmit its message before returning to its cavern, leaving Enterprise with little chance to give chase and figure out where it had originated from. All that she was left with was a slippery chill that coursed through her, disrupting the gains that she had been taking from the park. That vibrancy had wavered, almost as if the peacefulness of the park was a mirage, and when it settled, she was left distracted.

Belfast had no way of knowing about it, the cruiser having only seen how Enterprise had been content to absorb what the park offered her. Happy with that, she retook the ace's hand with Enterprise relieved with how her touch and her smile chased away the discouragement brought on by that unknown voice.

"We've still got plenty more to go."

Enterprise tried to put the disturbing moment out of her mind and found that she didn't need to apply too much effort. The tranquil park and its visitors – human and shipgirl – continued the further they went. Enterprise was startled when the path they were on became obstructed by gray-feathered bodies of pigeons who were very nonplussed about their presence. She reasoned that they must've been so invested in the breadcrumbs and seeds that were being tossed out by some humans sitting on a bench, but drifting so close to the edge of the birds when she and Belfast circled around them had her staring into the orange beady eyes with feathers not once being ruffled.

That was when they passed another pair of shipgirls; a cruiser that was trailing behind an excitable red-headed destroyer who was carrying a piece of bread with obvious intentions. The single-mindedness rush of the latter had Belfast and Enterprise exchanging brief greetings with the cruiser.

It was the last time they would encounter one of their kind when they reached the end of their path, but Enterprise was a little astonished as to how many they did see.

"I may have been cheating just a little," Belfast admitted.

"May have?" Enterprise repeated suspiciously.

Although they left the park, it wasn't the crowded streets and mid-rises that they returned to. With the green of the park remaining close to their backs, they strolled along a wide, paved path. The trailing reach of the park left patches of grass to their one side but there were short, modest buildings that were providing humble attractions of recreation; a pub, eatery, small shops, and even a sandy playground. On the other side, the metal rails created a barrier that would keep any pedestrians from falling into the depths of the River Thames that ran alongside them.

Enterprise appreciated the minor rise of escalation of return to the city, maintaining the peace and ease that she had gotten from the walk that they were still taking but came to a pause when Belfast moved to the safety rails and pointed across the river. When Enterprise came to her side and looked over, she saw what the cruiser wanted her to see.

Across the calm and fresh blue of Thames, the modern metropolis appeared ready to resume save for one building. A rectangular block of stone, out of which had been carved the pillars and pilasters that lined the base, the façade decorated with the arches and columns that Enterprise knew well, and a domed tower with its clockface topping it.

Though the pillars and arches were more excessive, and the stone masonry making it look archaic, Enterprise believed she could identify the nature of the structure with the slight resemblance she found and the secondary building next to it that was without a dome but retained the rectangle shape. "An academy?"

"Yes," Belfast confirmed. "Based on the previous Royal Naval College." Solemnly, she said, "Regrettably, that cherished site had not survived the Siren raids. As an academy that trained human officers, it must've been a priority military target that had the Sirens obliterating it. A lot of history was lost - how a royal palace and a hospital became devoted to the training of naval officers while housing a beautiful work of art; the Painted Hall. I have only seen pictures of it and lament how I can't view it in person."

With her continued appreciation for history, she took the loss as the tragedy she was making it out to be, pain flickering into being. "Nonetheless, I and other shipgirls consider it an honor to have attended classes in these buildings that had been devoted to recreating some of that lost treasure which then became a center of our learning as the humans before us. I suspect Amazon will be returning to teach the latest strategies and tactics developed in our battles out in the Pacific if she hasn't already. This is where the majority of shipgirls of the Royal Navy new and old attend."

"Meaning there was a higher likelihood of us running into them," Enterprise remarked lightly, being persuaded to sway Belfast away from the loss in whatever way she could.

"And demonstrating how shipgirls are able to coexist with humans," Belfast added for her. She began walking again. "Enjoying the same things as they do and interacting with them so effortlessly. Wouldn't you agree that had been the case with that soldier and the clerk who had been so helpful?"

Enterprise tried to resist and counter with some form of rebuttal but any that she could come up with were weak, her stubbornness an insufficient weapon to fight back when it wasn't sharpened with the examples that could counter the ones that she had witnessed. The only argument she could devise was that the location that encouraged higher probabilities of shipgirl/human interaction made both parties comfortable and aware of each other but wouldn't be the case if it had been a more distant city.

And as much as she didn't want to, she had to be the one to shoot it down. Would it really be that different if they had tried somewhere else, where such encounters were rare? It didn't change how much time had gone by since the first shipgirl had been created, the only difference being just how many of their numbers had grown since then. The navies of humankind consisted nearly entirely of shipgirls and the production model warships that they could control. That was a truth that had become a normal of this world.

As a result, the denizens of this world – human beings - who had summoned and came to rely so much on shipgirls naturally accepted them as that new normal overtime despite the steep technological evolutionary shift that turned what had once been soulless hulls and batteries managed by the combined expertise of hundreds of humans into sentient beings that solely wielded such destructive force with their own bodies. Even if there was someone with limited to no experience of meeting with such an existence, it could be easily remedied because that was simply the normal that they knew of but had yet to experience it face-to-face.

Enterprise only had to look at herself as an example. Save for the human officers she followed the orders of, her involvement with the general public had been non-existent. She knew of the civilians she protected, but had never intermingled with them. That made her an exception, with Belfast and the shipgirls she had witnessed today being the norm that she hadn't experienced for herself.

She was not comfortable with it, but with just these initial efforts supported by Belfast's guidance, she could see how she might be able to.

She couldn't admit it verbally, at least not now after only one day. Thankfully, Belfast didn't make any additional effort to get a response out of her – not that Enterprise was pretending that not answering wasn't an answer of its own – and had become interested in a building that they had been about to pass. However, Enterprise couldn't think of what would catch Belfast's attention save for the bright flashes of lights and noises coming from within that consisted of loud chimes, sirens, clinking of coins, and others that Enterprise was not familiar with.

"I can't imagine that you've ever been to one of these," Belfast said.

Enterprise tilted her body left and right, trying to see what she could within the doorway that had been braced open. Inside, the lights had been purposely dimmed but there were humans clustered around boxy machinery, the purpose of which she couldn't understand with their big screens, sticks, and buttons that were being manipulated and smashed on so enthusiastically.

"What is it?" she eventually asked.

A smirk pulled itself into a corner of Belfast's face. "I didn't think so." Without warning, she took Enterprise's hand and practically dragged her through the doors.

The sudden motion had Enterprise almost tripping and she reflexively reached up when her beret nearly slipped off her head, it not being as secure as her cap. It put her at a disadvantageous position that the cruiser used to the fullest, getting her inside with Enterprise quickly being assaulted by the barrage of sounds and lights that disoriented her. They didn't venture in far, something that the Eagle girl considered as a blessing when the hold on her hand was released, leaving her to somehow deal with the unrelenting attack on her senses enough so that she could see what Belfast had dragged her into this time.

Before her were a row of what she assumed to be some kind of machines but not like the ones that she had seen. Rather than tall, boxy shapes, these were best described as long, inclined lanes that had a hump at the end. Past that, a steeper incline that had holes lined one after the other with rings around them that had numbers painted on them.

"Alright," Enterprise said once she was sure her beret was back in place. She had to raise her voice for the smirking Belfast to hear her. "What is this?"

"It's a game," Belfast answered.

Enterprise gave the lanes a wary look. "Okay…"

"This is a place for games." Belfast produced a bill from her person, sticking it in yet another machine that was nearby. It sucked the bill in and there came that noise of clinking coins again when it spat out tokens that Belfast collected. "You're going to play."

Enterprise's brows disappeared within her bangs. "I am?"

"Yes, you are." Taking one of the tokens, she stuck it inside the machine. A loud click resounded, and several wooden balls rolled into an open slot that Enterprise had noticed but hadn't understood the purpose of. Belfast acquired one and held it out towards Enterprise. "You have seen plenty, so let's get you actively participating in some fun for the sake of it."

The carrier took it, stared at it, and looked at Belfast again.

"The concept is quite simple," Belfast started explaining and grabbed another ball. "It's called skee-ball. You take one of these balls, roll it down the lane, and try to sink it in one of the holes to score points. I considered that you may take a liking to it because…" She finished her words with action, rolling the ball down the lane and towards the hump that launched it up towards the ringed holes, sinking into one that had the number thirty over it.

Enterprise saw what Belfast was getting at, the rolling and launching of the ball reminding her of how her Wildcats would fly from her flight deck. A scoreboard on top lit up, a bright thirty flashing into existence.

"You try to get as many points as you can with the number of balls it gives you," Belfast ended and moved off to the side. "Give it a go."

Enterprise gave her and her persistent smirk another stare before sighing. Centering herself within the lane, Enterprise gave it another once-over. The five holes were numbered from ten to fifty, but then there were two others on the uppermost corners that had a very attractive hundred. Once she spotted them, the lesser numbers disappeared from her thoughts, her mindset always being to go for maximum results.

Enterprise cocked her arm back for the underhand, trying to judge what angle and force would be needed, and then swung her arm forward when she judged that she had it, loosing the ball.

It rolled, hopped, and with a loud smack it struck ones of the bars that held the protective netting above the holes. The express purpose had to be the prevention of wild balls, something it accomplished swimmingly when the ball bounced back, sped down the lane, and Enterprise hastily bent down to catch it. Her hand missed it, but her knee didn't which got her to hiss between her teeth.

There was a short-lived laugh that was interrupted with a slap and when Enterprise turned to glare at the source, she saw Belfast with her hand clasped tightly over her mouth.

"Sorry," she apologized when she loosened her fingers but kept her palm in place, undoubtedly to keep Enterprise from feeling any more humiliated by exposing the wide grin hiding behind it.

Enterprise thought of just stopping right there but she didn't want to end it like that. So, squashing those negative feelings, she reclaimed the runaway ball and set herself for another attempt. Ignoring the ache at her knee, she pulled her arm back, held it, and applied less force in the next roll.

The ball launched up and Enterprise stiffened when it struck the ring lining the thirty hole, the sound making her afraid that the ball was about to come back to take her other knee, but instead it dropped, got caught in the larger ring around the ten pointer, and dropped in to turn her thirty score into a mere forty.

She got points that time, but it was the lowest she could acquire. Remembering how effortlessly Belfast managed to score the thirty on her first try, Enterprise grabbed another ball with the intent of at least matching the achievement. Tensing her arm and making another adjustment to what she thought she needed, she let it go and was left in dismay when it missed the forty, dropped, and gave her another ten points.

Determined, she retrieved yet another ball, showing a minor improvement when she sank it into the twenty. Any good feelings she hoped to get were beaten down when her thirty-point attempt turned into yet another ten. Harder than I thought it'd be.

She reached for another but stopped when she heard a click and the wooden rolling of balls being set to her left. Glancing over, she saw Belfast already having retrieved a sphere to throw down her own lane. The cruiser met her glance and made a show of spinning the ball on her index finger before snatching it, cocking it back, and rolling it down the lane.

She scored forty points on her first hit.

Belfast hummed and grasped another ball. "I seem to be having a good start."

Enterprise knew provocation when she saw it but still she fell for it much too easily. She seized her next ball in a tight grip and rolled.

Several balls later, the two stood there, one looking on in dismay while the other had a case of twitching lips at the sight of how one score was quadruple the amount of the other.

"Care to go again now that you're used to it?" Belfast questioned.

"Being generous there, aren't you?" Enterprise returned sourly, the results making it clear that she was far from 'used to it'.

Now Belfast decided to apply some good-hearted damage control. "It is your first time. Her Majesty has quite a liking to this and has insisted on dueling me on occasion."

"Elizabeth does?" Enterprise could actually see the child-like queen playing this…probably because of said child-like appearance.

"This and other such games. Skee-ball, golf…polo."

"What's polo?"

Belfast's hand on her chin was the perfect picture of the great care that she was taking in the future prospect that she was considering. "Mmm…something that I don't think we'll be acclimating you to for your safety and that of your self-esteem. If you ever fancy a viewing of the sport once you learn about it, I'm sure we can schedule something."

Enterprise decided to take the hinted dangers to heart. "I'll stick with skee-ball."

"Oh?" Belfast held up a token. "Again, then?"

Enterprise inwardly cursed, too late in seeing the opportunity that she had created and what Belfast had seized. Looking at the shiny face of the token and knowing that Belfast had more, she rationalized that she couldn't very well let them go to waste, even if the score difference remained illuminated to hint at how well a future match so soon would turn out. She took it and was ready to insert it into the slot of the machine until she noticed another shipgirl within their vicinity.

Except Enterprise knew the one who was feeding a bill in the token dispenser behind Belfast. Like every other shipgirl thus far, she was wearing what should be getting her to blend into the crowd more, but the insignia of a flag with the stars and stripes of the United States at the shoulder of her white jacket instantly grabbed Enterprise's attention. They had their back turned, but with the long dirty blonde hair and how a few strands had been tied into a sidetail behind her white visor cap, there was only one girl who came with the Eagle Union entourage that Enterprise could recall to fit with who she was seeing.

"Cleveland?" It had become natural for her to raise her voice to be heard with their loud surroundings and she succeeded in catching the girl's attention.

Eagle Union's knightly cruiser turned at her name, the reddened oak of her searching eyes unmistakable. They didn't need to search long but they did squint towards Enterprise's face with Cleveland leaning in in order to be positive that the one who called her name was the one who she thought it was.

"E-Enterprise!?" she then exclaimed, shocked. "And…Belfast!?" She went back and forth between them, her mouth hanging open. Enterprise thought her surprise to be exaggerated until Cleveland asked, "Where have you two been!?"

Oh... Enterprise remembered now. After all that had happened, she hadn't given any thought as to how it must've appeared when Belfast had whisked her away: arriving at Gateway, meeting the base commander, and then immediately being sent off in a limo to the city without a word exchanged to the others. Apparently, no one else had informed the rest of the fleet about what happened.

Either Belfast had thought about it and planned for it, or she naturally knew what to say and, really, both possibilities could work when it came to her. "The fault is mine, Miss Cleveland," she said, bowing in supplication - reverting to her formality that didn't fit quite right without her maid uniform. "I had made previous arrangements that had been unknown to everyone, including Enterprise, about setting up a lodging off base. It was an oversight of mine to not ensure that you and the rest were aware of it after we were transported. Please forgive me."

Cleveland was slow to take it all in, features turning quizzical at Belfast's confession. It was only when she switched back to Enterprise did the smaller girl understand not only the explanation but the purpose behind it, the timely lighting of a blinking signal of a winner at some other arcade machine exposing the bout of sympathy that the carrier couldn't help but turn away from. It had been one of those things that she had wanted to avoid seeing on another shipgirl.

"There's nothing to forgive!" Cleveland stated, the loud proclamation and wide smile exaggerated but the cruiser gifted with such enthusiasm that made the entire show very convincing. "Especially with how good you're looking, Enterprise! Your handiwork, Belfast?"

"I may've contributed a little." Belfast's downplaying of what really happened was enough to draw Enterprise back to the group with the purpose of shooting Belfast with silent accusation.

"Well, it looks good!" Cleveland gave Enterprise a thumbs-up. "I definitely approve!"

That abundant enthusiasm accomplished in overriding the discomfort of her condolences, Enterprise becoming self-conscious for a different reason. "Thank you." It occurred to her that while Cleveland had learned of how they got here, the same couldn't be said the other way around. "What are you doing here?"

"You mean how I got here from the base? You saw the railway, right? A bunch of us were able to catch a ride on the trains that come and go between the logistics center and the city. Montpelier and I wanted to check out the Royal Academy and we happened to notice the arcade here."

"Montpelier is here?"

"Yeah! Oh, hold on!" Rounding back towards the crowded center of the arcade, Cleveland unsuccessfully tried to locate her sister ship. Going for a different approach, she cupped her hands over her mouth and yelled, "Montpelier!" She lowered her hands, spotted something, and sent a signal wave.

Enterprise caught Montpelier breaking through to join them. Like Cleveland and Columbia, she had inherited the same earthly red eyes, Denver being the sister Enterprise knew of who broke from the mold with her sky blues. She and Denver did share the gray blonde hair, albeit Montpelier's being much longer, down to her calves, and having a couple shaped tufts that could be mistaken for low-placed cat ears.

What was exclusively hers was her deficiency in energy, flirting with the line of complete disinterest, for anything that wasn't Cleveland. "I was waiting for you," she said with a voice that would've been unenthusiastic if not for how perturbed she was referring to the period of absence.

"Sorry, sorry!" Cleveland apologized, rubbing the back of her head. "But look, I found Enterprise and Belfast!"

Montpelier swept her gaze over the pair, again nearly expressing total indifference until she halted at Enterprise. She fixed her with her blank look for a few slow seconds until a very subtle, almost undetectable, downward drag of her mouth occurred. "Sis was worried about you."

The allegation of wrongdoing being directed at the ace carrier was nearly as faint, but Enterprise identified it and her burgeoning guilt was enhanced by it. "I'm sorry."

"Belfast explained everything," Cleveland interjected. "So it's all good!" Registering the machines that they had been playing with, the lead knight sister gravitated to them. "Oh hey, were you playing some skee-ball? That actually sounds like the perfect game to end everything on! We'll probably get all the tickets we need from here!"

"Tickets?" Enterprise questioned.

"What, you don't know? That's half the fun of coming to arcades!" Dipping her hands in her pockets, Cleveland pulled out a fistful of folded lines of tickets. "Play games, collect tickets, and turn them in for prizes!"

Montpelier dug into her own pocket of her jacket that matched Cleveland's, unveiling her own collection of tickets.

"Yeah, see?" Cleveland crouched down and pointed. "These are yours, right?"

Three tickets were protruding from a slot of the machine that Enterprise had been using. At Belfast's, there was a line of tickets that was as many times longer as their score difference, delivering a dull blow to Enterprise.

"You sound like you come to these a lot," Enterprise noted.

"Tons! Whenever we have time off and can get away from the base, I go with my sisters. We hit a bunch of the machines for tickets to see how much we can collect together, but there are games that we play for the fun of it! There's even a game about us!"

Enterprise wasn't sure she heard right. "What?"

"There's one over there right now! To the right of the gun game there!"

Enterprise looked where directed, finding what she believed to be the game that had her staring at a distant screen in disbelief when she saw cartoonish versions of shipgirls armed with their riggings darting around an ocean, dodging and firing bright colored dots that had to be projectiles while additional caricatures of planes and production ships passed by, many going down in explosive fashion. She was seeing it for herself but couldn't believe it.

"Weird, right?" Cleveland described. "They put in a lot of characters, including you and me. It doesn't have all my sisters though…"

"You're the one most deserving anyway," Montpelier attested. A rare grin was tugged to the forefront. "Clevebro."

"Aaaaah!" Cleveland pulled the visor of her cap over her reddening face. "Don't say that!"

Enterprise was quite sure she didn't want to ask for details. Frankly, she found the idea of pretending that she had never been made aware of a game like that to be immensely attractive. "You were saying something about skee-ball?"

Cleveland was as relieved as Enterprise at the change in subject. "Yeah, skee-ball! We should play that! I wanted to get gifts for Columbia and Denver since they're taking care of my bonsai tree for me. You in, Enterprise? Belfast?"

"I will regrettably decline," Belfast responded. "But I'm sure Enterprise will gladly participate."

Enterprise gave her a surprised look, but Cleveland spoke up before she could question Belfast's decision. "How about it, Enterprise?"

The carrier still had the token that Belfast had given her and had been about to feed into the machine earlier for another game. The Royal Navy cruiser not participating threw her off but any tactic of her refusing in the same manner was met with an obstacle: that being Cleveland's giving her a look of such anticipation that she couldn't say no.

"One or two, I guess…" Enterprise caved.

Cleveland pumped her fist. "Yes!" She immediately selected a lane, fishing for her own tokens.

"Your lane not working?" Enterprise asked Belfast, using the time that Cleveland needed to prepare.

"I believe it still is," Belfast replied. "Why? Is something wrong with yours? Would you like to use it?"

Enterprise narrowed her eyes at Belfast, trying to figure out what her plans were behind her grin. "Why aren't you playing, then?"

"I didn't get that many tokens," Belfast tried to explain away, holding the small handful that she still had. "Besides, it seems pretty clear that Cleveland would like to play with you specifically."

"She does?"

"Did you not see how worried she was before? How excited she is now? I do not wish to get in the way of that, not when we'll be spending so much time together."

Enterprise didn't know what Belfast would be getting in the way of, not seeing why Cleveland would mind her participation. "What will you be doing, then?"

"Providing morale support," she answered. She leaned over, lowering her voice while pointing vaguely down the lane. "You may be getting some competition."

Enterprise followed it, finding Cleveland first who had inserted her token and readied her line of balls. She looked over and Enterprise found herself the target of a wide smile and another thumbs-up.

She does look happy, Enterprise thought, a little caught off guard as to how much enthusiasm was being transmitted from her fellow Eagle comrade. She was persuaded to offer her own tiny smile which, somehow, got Cleveland to look even happier.

Then came Montpelier, the other cruiser having chosen a lane between Enterprise and Cleveland but was using this moment to step directly between them. She partially obstructed Cleveland from view, which let Enterprise see that the usually aloof sibling was sporting a pair of puffed cheeks. Rather than face Enterprise, she peered down at the carrier's low number of tickets and produced a humored 'hmph' that was meant only for the ace to hear. Enterprise was startled and waited for an explanation, but it never came when the girl slotted her token to begin a game, effectively avoiding her. Eventually Enterprise did the same, deciding to forget whatever that had just been.

This was not a scenario that Enterprise had ever entertained the possibility of. She was side-by-side with fellow shipgirls, but rather than conducting a sortie with the mission's success relying on the annihilation of deadly foes, it was a set number of slips of paper that they had to acquire in order to accomplish their goal. Instead of gun batteries and planes, it was the wooden balls that they were firing off into the holes that were their targets, the most desired placement of their munitions being the ones that would contribute the most to their scoreboards.

There being no foes wouldn't be an accurate statement though, Enterprise finding something adversarial in the line of scoreboards that were aside her own. Their first game, as she predicted, did not go well for her, her trial run having been inadequate training to prepare her for this. To make matters worse, Cleveland and Montpelier quickly proved to possess the same prowess as Belfast when it came to skee-ball, leading to an end result of scores from the two of them tripling what Enterprise had.

Then there was Montpelier in particular. It was after the opening game that Enterprise took note of how the shipgirl would delay starting another set, waiting for the carrier to finish hers so that she could see the total of their scores side-by-side. Enterprise couldn't read anything from her, but after the second and third game with the same thing occurring, she was able to pick up something from the typically uncaring cruiser: satisfaction.

Belfast hadn't moved since the games began, only doing so to hand Enterprise another token when she needed one. It was during the handing of one that Enterprise couldn't help but ask, "Any idea what's up with Montpelier?"

"You can't guess?" Belfast questioned.

"No." Enterprise couldn't think of anything that could explain the antagonistic impressions she was getting from the girl. She had been introduced to the Cleveland-class sister ships beforehand and got familiar enough to remember their names and be envious of how much they cared for each other. During their battles, the 'knights of the seas' did justice to their titles, their fighting capabilities a proud example of Eagle Union valiance, especially when they fought together in defense of the fleets they accompanied.

Enterprise respected them, and playing alongside the two of them stoked an old longing of how she had been so close to her own sisters. Hence her puzzlement when it came to Montpelier's adversity.

"Hm, I wonder what it could be then," Belfast wondered in a tone that said she had no problem figuring out what it was. Enterprise wanted clarification but was cut off.

"Out of tokens?" Montpelier suddenly spoke up.

Enterprise curled her fingers around her acquired token. The query sounded like Montpelier wasn't terribly interested, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd rather that Enterprise was out of tries. An unusual prickling that Enterprise couldn't explain occurred.

"Not yet," she responded with an edge, slotting in her token.

In this instance, Montpelier did linger on her before she refaced her lane, her lips in a thinner line.

Enterprise was getting more involved in the games, but that had been entirely on a compulsion to reach an acceptable level of adequacy. As someone used to performing at her best in everything she did – 'everything' being fighting -, playing a game of skee-ball so poorly was gnawing at her, inspiring to do better. That, and maybe she was getting some relief at being able to carry out this task, menial as it was, when she had been continuously proven as to how impaired her combat capabilities had become.

Though she still didn't know what was going on with Montpelier, she was starting to see her as an opponent – one that she wanted to beat at least once. So, focusing on the game, her arm began moving with more precise surety, her balls rolling, leaping, and sinking with growing ease and accuracy that a consecutive scoring of higher points got Montpelier to pause when she saw it.

But as the next game showed, Enterprise had failed to match her. However, she was getting better.

"Neck and neck again, Montpelier!" Cleveland called, the line of tickets that the two sisters had nearly even.

"You always come out on top, big sis," Montpelier replied, the claim stated as an impenetrable truth instead of with any modesty.

"And Enterprise…you're learning!"

"So I am," Enterprise returned, feeling encouraged by her comrade's recognition of her efforts.

"Unfortunately," Belfast said, handing her another token, "this is the last one."

Enterprise took the news with alarm, the coin weighing heavier as a result. The last one? Right when she was feeling confident?

"Guess the Lucky E isn't so lucky," Montpelier remarked

Enterprise snapped her head towards Montpelier but once more she was prioritizing her game rather than the ace for her attention. That didn't stop Enterprise from seeing the glint in her red eye.

One nickname could paralyze her and leave her shaking. Her other nickname, spoken in such a way, had an entirely opposite effect. Enterprise claimed her next ball, fixated on her mission to make this last chance count.

Picking up on the responsibility that Enterprise was putting to the cause, Belfast did her part as morale support. "Good luck."

Enterprise stared down at the area that was the center of her operations: the line of holes of ten to fifty, with the one hundreds at either corner. She rolled the ball in her hand, accustomed to the smooth feel and weight of the wooden sphere at this point and took her time lining up her shot. She slowly pulled her arm back, her muscles tensing with the right amount of force that she was calculating what she needed. She made a tiny shift of her feet to get the right angle and when she believed herself to be ready, she launched the ball.

It rolled, speeding down the lane like one of her Wildcats, the line it followed straight, the takeoff smooth, and the drop into the target area perfect: right into the fifty hole.

Like that. Enterprise locked onto the trajectory, willing her body to memorize and maintain it. She only made the movements necessary to reach over and grab a ball and, after another minor shift, she rolled again to create a repeat, her ball disappearing into the fifty for the second time in a row. Then a third time. The scoring and catching Montpelier's attention made Enterprise more daring, wondering if she could…

She applied another shift, made an adjustment in power, and went for the biggest prize. That attempt was met with failure, her ball bouncing off the protective ring of the hundred pointer, but much like her planes she prepared for another run while making corrections. When she fired off another ball, she obtained the coveted hundred points. She controlled the rise of success, knowing how much of a folly it was to let overconfidence influence her, and instead maintained the steady moves that saw her obtaining another hundred points.

The same couldn't be said for Montpelier and her failing battle with the rashness that hastened her rolls. Striving to achieve Enterprise's growing success, she rolled for and failed her shot at the hundred points. The loss and the pressure to make up for it with another shot that subsequently failed, Enterprise knew, was a slope that could lead to only one result.

"Woah!" Cleveland exclaimed when all was said and done, impressed at the score that dominated Enterprise's board, breaking the thousand-point mark easily. "Nice going, Enterprise! That must be the best score of all!"

The praise added to the flush of success the carrier felt, she unexpecting this amount over a game but enjoying it nonetheless. She didn't let that overcome her though. "It was only the one game," she deflected with logic. "I don't have anywhere near the number of tickets you and Montpelier have."

"Yeah, but imagine if you had been this good at the start! Or played some more like this!"

Enterprise showed her empty hands. "I'm out of tokens." Recognizing an opening that Belfast could capitalize on, she added, "And I think I've had enough."

Belfast, thankfully, decided to help her out despite the knowing look she possessed. "We do have some other plans made."

"Aw, that so? Well, I did say Montpelier and I were finishing up here."

Montpelier, meanwhile, was fixed on the two scoreboards, features deceptively blank if not for the regression in her shoulders. So engrossed, she almost jumped when a bunch of tickets slid into her view.

"You can have these," Enterprise offered.

Montpelier eyed them suspiciously. "These are yours."

The senior shipgirl shrugged. "I don't have any use for them, and you and Cleveland said you wanted them for your sisters. They're not much, but I'd like to contribute."

Enterprise still wasn't sure what had bred the competition and the emotions behind it between them, but she didn't want any hard feelings. It had just been a game for a good cause, even if they had been opposing each other. They were still comrades.

Distrust remained, but gradually dispersed when Montpelier slowly took possession of the tickets and the reconciliation they represented. "Thank you." She stood there uncomfortably, her gaze going astray. "Big sis was right about you."

Enterprise hadn't expected that. "Huh?"

"Well of course I was!" Cleveland interceded, throwing her arm around Montpelier's shoulders, brandishing her tickets. "And thanks to her, we should have way more than enough to get the good stuff!" She transferred ownership to her. "You remember what we were looking at, right? Could you get them?"

The task was met with determination, Montpelier straightening and gripping the tickets like precious cargo. "I remember. I won't fail you." She took off with the haul, disappearing deeper into the arcade.

Enterprise considered it a good opportunity for her and Belfast to take their leave. She turned with the suggestion on her lips, but it remained there when she saw that she wasn't where she had been last.

"Looking for Belfast?" Cleveland guessed. She pointed in the direction that Montpelier went. "I saw her head over there, too. She should be back soon."

Is she donating her tickets, too? It was the only explanation she could think of.

Cleveland tipped the visor of her cap enough for her to swipe at her brow. "Don't know about you, but all that has left me a bit warm. Want to step outside and wait for them?"

The cool London air did sound appealing, Enterprise having worked up a minor sweat with those exertions. "That sounds nice." They stepped outside, Cleveland sighing with relief while Enterprise quietly shared her appreciation for the lower temperature that went against her heated skin.

"Thanks for the help by the way," Cleveland said, performing a mild stretch with arms above her head. "I didn't have to use up that much of my allowance because of it."

"If you wanted to get them a souvenir, why not buy them directly?" Enterprise asked, thinking that she would've saved a lot of time and effort.

"Because it's a lot more fun doing it like this!" Cleveland stuck a thumb against her chest. "And with the skills of me and my sisters, some of the stuff we've won probably ended up cheaper than if we had bought them."

Enterprise inclined her head in acceptance. "It was fun."

Cleveland radiated triumph, as if scoring a personal victory with her words. "Glad you did! You and Montpelier seemed to be really going at it!"

So she noticed. "It was…competitive."

"Which just equals to more fun in my opinion! Although I'm glad you took it all in stride; Montpelier can get a little jealous at times."

Enterprise blinked. "Jealous? Of what?"

"Oh…ah." Cleveland scratched embarrassingly at her cheek. "Of you, I guess. Might've bragged about you a bit too much at times. She's more attached to me than the rest of my sisters."

Oh, so that's what it was about. Having a clearer picture helped. Enterprise hadn't felt there was anything to really forgive, but it did grant her understanding and an ability to relate to Montpelier. Enterprise was one of the last people who could fault her for being attached to an older sister ship. "I didn't take it personally, and maybe it did get me more into the game."

"That's good, then." Relieved, Cleveland drifted closer to Thames, folding her arms on top of the protective railing. "So how are you liking London?"

"It takes some getting used to," Enterprise replied, taking a page from Massachusetts now that she experienced it herself. "Trying to settle in right now."

Cleveland checked out her clothes again. "I can see that. Belfast helping you out?"

"She is."

"Yeah, same with me and Monty. I visited here before and I've been showing her the sights."

"You came here during the campaign in North Africa?" Enterprise asked. "Against Vichya?"

Cleveland's good cheer waned for a moment, her gaze growing distant as she thought back to that time. "Yeah, Vichya. That wasn't very fun, but the Royal Navy let us recoup here after Casablanca as honored guests."

Enterprise chose to take her own position at the rail, adopting a similar posture to stare out at the river and take comfort in the clean, saltless waters. "I met a soldier who said he was part of the landing forces."

"Oh, you did?"

"He wanted me to pass on his thanks to you for your part in defending the landings. Do you remember an Arthur Bailey?"

"Ha…" Cleveland appeared a touch regretful. "I don't, actually, and kind of feel bad about that now. There were thousands involved so can't remember everyone, right?"

Enterprise took an interest. "You served with many of them?"

"What, you haven't? Oh, wait, you were always close to home so…"

"Don't really have to worry about ground forces when it comes to Sirens," Enterprise finished, nodding.

A cruel life lesson with Sirens was that they didn't occupy territory. Instead, they purged it. Any islands or lands along the coasts that were enveloped by their spheres of influence were completely at their mercy – something that they never showed to any of the inhabitants that weren't able to evacuate in the wake of their advances. Once supremacy was obtained, their mass production ships would annihilate any sign of civilization within range of their arsenals while jet fighters and humanoid types would go further beyond the shores to hunt down survivors.

Being the very patient, very methodical beings that they were, entire islands and huge swaths of the coast would be cleared of all human life by the Sirens. Cuba and the rest of the Caribbean were just a few examples. When Eagle Union reclaimed them, shipgirls like Enterprise would go ahead and drive out the Sirens from the surrounding waters with the reoccupational forces coming in later once the coasts were clear to find cities brought to ruin with craters and incinerated skeletons along the countryside that were the sole signs of how survivors had sought to seek shelter and failed.

Eagle Union did not have as many uses for their armies of soldiers in North America and even less opportunities to necessitate working with supporting shipgirls. Such conventional warfare was instead centered around Europe and Africa where they were shipped to, aiding its allies in their civil strife with select shipgirls being sent as support. It was yet another factor in Enterprise's neglect of human contact, rarely ever being assigned to that half of the globe.

"Well, what's really the difference between them and us, anyway?" Cleveland shrugged. "We're all the same, aren't we?"

Enterprise turned to stare at Cleveland fully, the cruiser not noticing as she continued to look out across Thames. "But we aren't. We're not human."

It came to her that she couldn't remember sharing this viewpoint with one of her own such as Cleveland. Before Belfast, it had never really been contested by her Eagle comrades. Enterprise would always be focused on the mission, the others following her doing the same, and when not on mission she would isolate herself with those same others gathering to do their own thing, respecting her space and reputation. Yorktown she could never argue with, leaving her to accept her advice and be lost on how she should follow it, and between their separate deployments and other issues, she and Hornet had never been able to have proper conversations in recent memory. Other than them, Vestal tended to be much more concerned about her physical health and engrossed in fixing her ship rather than her philosophical views.

With all that in mind, Enterprise didn't know what to expect as a response from Cleveland, but it wasn't how the other girl casually treated it as an insignificant detail. "Well, yeah, we're not human but we're still human. You get it, right?"

Enterprise reception of the question was as slow as her response. "I…don't."

Cleveland looked at her, blinking. And then she blinked again. "Wait, you're being serious."

Enterprise let her silence say it all. Why wouldn't she be serious about this?

Cleveland scratched the back of her head, in the midst of reflecting and trying to spot something wrong with what she had said, except she failed. So, she tried again. "Sure, we're not human," she emphasized. "Gliding around on top of the water with cannons and being able to drink oil says as much. We're shipgirls. But…" She waved at herself, then Enterprise, and dragged out the performance, hoping the wordless display would convey what she was getting at.

All she got was Enterprise imploring for more.

"At the end of the day, we come back here, don't we?" Cleveland asked, referring to the city. "It's the same with the soldiers I was with. We can do things they can't, and they do things that others can't, and we can be afraid when we do and watch out for each other, but we all want to return home and enjoy life, right? Sports, games, food, uh…underwear shopping?"

"But we're ships," Enterprise attested.

"But not machines," Cleveland argued. "Otherwise, we'd be the same as production ships. We can't fight unendingly and stay anchored in port until the next one. We need to live, and humans treat us as human, too." She became worried. "You haven't been mistreated, have you?"

"I haven't," Enterprise answered. "I'm just…not used to it."

Cleveland spent the following silence looking at her in a new light that was putting a temporary hold on her spirited nature. Enterprise found it uncomfortable, feeling like she was letting someone who had followed and admired her so much down.

"You're amazing, Enterprise," Cleveland said. "I don't just tell my sisters that, and maybe I got too caught up in that. I wish I had been more like Belfast and saw what was wrong with it. Maybe I could've said something sooner, but right now I'm really glad that she's helping you out."

"She's a good friend," Enterprise stated, the designation remaining new to her.

"We're friends, too, aren't we?"

Enterprise couldn't help the surprise that she failed to mask. Cleveland saw it and she pouted.

"Aren't we?" she asked again, her mannerism taking a similar turn to her sister.

Is she…jealous? Enterprise didn't know why but she found it funny. "Yes," she confirmed with a short smile, going with the flow. "We're friends."

Cleveland perked up, making a full return as she cheered, "Great!"

"Cleve!" came a call that had both of them turning to see Montpelier in front of the arcade, a bag in her hand that had to contain their prizes.

"Woops, gotta go," Cleveland said, tapping her fist against Enterprise's arm. "Trains are on a schedule and there's things we want to check out before we have to catch the last one. Oh, I'll think of something to tell everyone about what you two are up to. Don't worry though, I won't say too much."

Enterprise decided that the trust and confidence that she could place in Cleveland made her qualifying as a friend. "Thank you, Cleveland."

"Hey, what are friends for?" Reaffirming it with a wink, she jogged over to Montpelier, waving as she did so.

Waving back – and getting a half-hearted lifting of a hand from Montpelier in return -, Enterprise scanned around for Belfast. She's still not back yet? Deciding to wait for a little longer, she resumed leaning against the railing, thinking.

She knew what her thoughts would turn to, that being Cleveland saying how they were human. They had their inhuman qualities that she had registered, but rather than the divide that Enterprise saw it as proving her assertions, Cleveland treated it as insignificant. From a certain point of view, that shouldn't make the cruiser's statement credible, how lightly she took those issues – such as consumption of raw materials – as her failure to understand how truly different it made humans and shipgirls.

And maybe Enterprise would've thought that way too, but that simplicity of Cleveland's ruling had her reconsidering, as did how her friend had been looking at her when she realized how little Enterprise had experienced things that were clearly normal to her and, going by the hints, Montpelier and her other sisters. Those same things that she witnessed many of the shipgirls at the joint base partaking in. She had believed that they were just pretending, committed to the imitation that was their existence.

But with her foray into that human world that she herself had neglected and seeing others who hadn't done the same and were integrating with little effort, it got her thinking…

Was it really that simple?

Enterprise brought up her hand – her right one - to stare at the lines within her palm. She bent her fingers, watching the folding of her skin and thinking of how the bones were moving along the joints, tiny muscles contracting to perform the movement, the blood and vessels that were supplying so much, and the electrical pulses that were being sent from her brain to the nerves that carried out her commands as soon as she thought them. Taking her time to look and think of all that was involved to accomplish the natural task of moving a finger, she wondered…

Am I human?

And the entire construction of her hand suddenly froze as a dark wave rose up within her very being. It swelled with intimidation, reaching heights that could rival any tsunami that eclipsed Enterprise's surroundings, Thames and London zoning out from her consciousness. And when it crashed down, it wiped out the question and all semblance of an answer that wasn't the one it gave her.

You. Are. Not!

The loss of control that had her hand being clenched into such a painfully tight, shaking fist carried what Enterprise could only describe as truth. Seeing it, wanting it to stop and relax its grip, and it refusing not because it had a mind of its own but it being completely disconnected from her command was proof. How it was, Enterprise had no idea because of how she couldn't remember and didn't want to remember. All she wanted was to forget, no matter how much she desired an explanation as to why she was so certain about this one thing: that she wasn't human.

Her awareness pinged her with the presence of another shipgirl coming behind her. The signal and her knowing who it was had her reestablishing command over her appendage, the digits jolting themselves free from the hold as they received her delayed orders, revealing the red marks that had come from her nails pressing and nearly breaking the skin of her palm. Although the shakes did lessen, they did not cease, devolving into tremors that had Enterprise placing her hand at her side when she half-turned to address Belfast, hiding it from her view.

"I decided to get my own prize," was what Belfast greeted her with when she turned, holding up a small colorful box. "It took some time because they were counting Montpelier's tickets first and I hadn't known that you came outside."

"Cleveland wanted to get some air," Enterprise explained, keeping her voice carefully measured. "I did, too. Sorry we didn't tell you."

"No need to apologize – it can get stuffy in there with all the excitement." She looked around. "I see that she and Montpelier have left. Ready to go?"

Enterprise would like nothing better as she pushed off the railing to show her readiness. "Yes."

"Did you and Cleveland talk about anything interesting?" Belfast asked, the pace she set keeping them alongside the river.

Not the topic she wanted to return to, but Enterprise devised that careful selection would get her around the pitfall that she had tripped into. "Nothing much. Her mentioning how she had visited here once before and that she'd explain to the rest about why we aren't on base."

"She is a reliable one," Belfast complimented. "And looks up to you. It was a blunder of mine to not consider how she most of all would feel with our absence."

"She mentioned that," Enterprise revealed. "About how she thought of me. She wanted to know if we were friends."

Belfast glanced over. "Are you?"

"Apparently I have more friends than I thought."

"I would say that's surprising but..."

"Right, just something else that I hadn't noticed until now."

Belfast chuckled. "You're learning a lot on your first day."

Enterprise wanted to agree, but while she had started her first real step into this experiment with a more open mind, it was one that wasn't giving her any real purchase to getting her to what she desired. It was unfair to expect anything so soon, but the moments that she encountered so far with her own eyes that were easing her into compliance, only for something within her to expel it so vehemently as it had just done and earlier…

Keep going for now, Enterprise told herself. See what the rest of the day brings and the one after. Then, maybe…

The strategy with such straightforward thinking worked for her before countless times. Endure, push forward, and beat the opposition into submission. It was how humankind had survived and it was how she had yet to fall despite all her battles.

But as the final tremors in her hand warned before they finished, her opponent was herself and her goal wasn't so clear. What did winning mean? And how was she going to do it when very critical intelligence was being hidden by herself?

The tearing of a package lured Enterprise away, the carrier turning to see Belfast opening the box that she had gotten. Wondering what it was, she asked, "What is that?"

"A treat that I hadn't expected to see," Belfast elusively described. "Directly from the Sakura Empire. I actually didn't have enough tickets, but Montpelier was kind enough to give some of her extras." She pulled something thin from the box. "It's called pocky."

"I never heard of it," Enterprise admitted, looking at the example Belfast produced. It was, her best way to describe it, a stick coated with what she believed to be a layer of chocolate save for the tip of one end that was the light brown of untouched cookie or some other biscuit-like quality.

"It wasn't that commonly sold to begin with, and I suspect it's gotten increasingly rare to find that I would deem the couple packages at the arcade to be a lucky find." She checked the back of the box. "It's still good."

"Is it good?" Enterprise specified warily.

"I've had it and consider it to be so." Belfast extended the pocky to her. "Do you wish to try?"

Enterprise delayed in taking it, undergoing a brush of distrust at the cookie-like treat that was suffering from guilt by association. She understood the nonsense of it though and it got her to give in as she went to take it.

"Actually…"

Enterprise stopped in her tracks when the pocky was pulled away from her, flipping between deft fingers before the tip was tapping against Belfast's cheek in thought. The cruiser was putting on an act of pondering what it was that crossed her mind, but the gleam Enterprise saw was a dead giveaway that she was already set on it. What it also did was trigger Enterprise's instincts with another warning of Belfast plotting something confounding yet again.

"How about a game?"

Her instincts really didn't like how Belfast delivered the suggestion. "What kind of game?"

"One that is actually closely associated with pocky. The rules are very simple." She tapped the cookie tip closer to the corner of her mouth. "I take this end and put it between my teeth. You have to bite off as much as you can from the other end. To win…how about if you can claim more than half of it?"

That sounded too easy, Enterprise's arched brow saying so. "That's it?"

"'That's it', you say," Belfast repeated with a smirk. "Why don't you find out for yourself, if you're feeling that brave?" She took the stick, placing the one end between her teeth and leaving the rest out in the air pointing towards Enterprise.

The sense of competitiveness that had been galvanized at the arcade was roused again by what it had taken as a taunt, Enterprise reflexively squaring herself for this latest match. Still under the illusion of how easy the rules were, Enterprise leaned forward – and stopped almost immediately when the action led to Belfast's face taking a growing majority of her vision, the blue of her eyes a central focus.

She had made a miscalculation, something that became very apparent when she mentally pictured how much closer their faces would become in order for her to pass the imaginary halfway mark on the chocolate treat. It was…frightening. Not in a blood-freezing terror kind of way but Enterprise couldn't conjure up another way to decipher how it felt.

Belfast's lips curved around her end of the pocky, adding a slight tilt of her head that the ace couldn't translate as another taunt or encouragement.

Enterprise was committed. She had given away as much with her posture and the slight lean before pausing and Belfast clearly knew that. Backing out would be recognized as a loss.

So? some rational part of her brain questioned. Just accept defeat and ask for your own piece.

She could do that…if that bit of common sense had been loud enough to overcome the not-so-common rationale that was positioned at the front instead: that she had never gotten that rematch with Belfast at skee-ball and how she had been taking so much pleasure out of Enterprise's expense moreso than usual. Actually, the times when Enterprise could say she ever 'won' against Belfast were few and far between to the point where she had to ask if she had she ever really won against her?

Lean forward and bite down. Easy. Enterprise forced herself to push on and found an impediment in the form of her human muscles taking a condition from her ship body when it wasn't properly cared for; namely, the rust that encrusted them and arrested her movements when her teeth touched the other end of the pocky.

Belfast was remaining still and frustratingly amused, emotions playing within her eyes, but none that Enterprise could make out. The curtains that were her lids closed and opened again, demonstrating the fullness of her dark lashes.

Concluding that it was far more dangerous to remain where she was, Enterprise pushed forward in a surge of movement and bit.

The rally attempt was in vain, Enterprise knowing by the tiny portion that she carried away within her mouth and confirming it when she saw the broken end of the pocky that Belfast still had. She didn't even get a third of it.

The rest of it disappeared when Belfast drew it in, taking her time to savor her victory with her gaze never leaving Enterprise. "You lose," she declared after she swallowed.

"Uh huh…" Enterprise said, left with the unpleasant digestion of defeat.

"Again?" Enterprise was going to raise the white flag until Belfast suggested, "Shall I close my eyes this time?" The carrier's pause of consideration she took as agreement to the terms, Belfast affixing and sticking out another piece from her lips, her lids closing over her eyes as she waited for her.

Logic dictated that Enterprise could call it off, but Belfast's sealed lids had her entertaining a notion of victory. She would feel worse about having what she saw as Belfast giving herself a handicap if not for the powerful influence she knew of those weapons that were now sheathed, so she considered the battlefield even instead. Shoring up her resolve, Enterprise went in for another attempt.

It should've been easier with Enterprise no longer under such an intimidating spotlight. However, when her mouth drew close, she again hesitated.

Belfast was defenseless with the loss of her sight, arms at her sides, and face presented with the prize. That should be giving Enterprise all the advantages, but that vulnerability was becoming its own hazard. The kind that had her stopping and staring at her exposed face, so close.

She couldn't see, but she had to at least perceive how close their faces were, maybe feel Enterprise's breath even. Enterprise couldn't feel hers, but that didn't mean the other way around wasn't happening, especially with the effort she was putting into just to breathe normally. Something had to be touching those soft cheeks, the delicate hairs that framed her face, freed from the braid. Without her uniform, she had to be as exposed and sensitive just as Enterprise was with her casualwear.

She was taking too long. She knew it, Belfast had to know it, but the cruiser remained where she was, unknowing of what Enterprise was doing. What she could be doing.

Wait, what? Enterprise was shocked at the last. All that she should be doing was winning the game by taking the specified portion of the chocolate-coated biscuit. There was nothing else for her to do.

This was a game. Just a game. One being played between friends. Nothing strange about it at all, nothing that should be making her interior churn like runaway boilers, a pressure building within her chest while the excess heat leaked out to her cheeks and Belfast having no idea what was going on.

But she could. All she had to do was open her eyes, the clock ticking to when she would finally realize something was off and see Enterprise. See everything.

Enterprise panicked, and with only one visible way out of this, she closed her eyes and took a forceful plunge.

She was successful. Too successful. Her nose bumped against Belfast's and Enterprise immediately reeled back, reflexively biting down and taking the portion that she had to adjust with her tongue and suck into her mouth.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself looking away, a forearm up and obscuring her face, an excuse laid out that she was just checking her nose. She chewed and swallowed quickly, wanting to get her apology out and praying her cheeks would cool by then. They dropped in temperature but whether or not she considered that to be enough became irrelevant when she lowered her arm to confront Belfast.

What she saw was Belfast having her back to her, the cruiser's hands up towards her face.

What embarrassment Enterprise had left was wiped away, concern replacing it. Had she hurt Belfast? The bump had stung a little, but not bad. Then again, Belfast couldn't have seen it coming…not that Enterprise expected it either.

"I'm sorry!" Enterprise quickly apologized anyway. "I didn't mean for that to happen!" She took a step, wanting but unsure if she should approach, being the offender. "Are you okay?"

Belfast was already shaking her head, hair swishing to reveal and conceal the bare skin of her back. "I'm quite fine. Do not worry. I was just surprised."

She was not emitting any pain, but Enterprise would be more relieved if she would turn around, and her not doing that was leaving her with few options on what to do. "Sorry…," she settled with a repeat.

"Why should you be?" Lowering her hands, Belfast turned around to show she was sporting a very normal grin. "You won."

The sweet taste of chocolate tinged her mouth which Enterprise's tongue touched when it reached behind her teeth to pick up the crumbs stuck there. The victory she had won didn't taste as good, tainted with guilt.

Another piece of pocky protruded towards her and Enterprise's heart leapt with the prediction that Belfast wanted to go two out of three.

"We'll call this a draw." Instead of her lips, Belfast was offering this piece with her fingers to partner with the cheery result of the game.

Enterprise took it, relief bleeding out of her. "I'm fine with a draw." Able to take an anxiety-free bite from the treat, she could form an opinion of the pocky with her investigative chews. "This is actually good."

"Isn't it?" Belfast rolled up one of her cuffed sleeves, unveiling a watch that she checked. "We shouldn't spoil our appetites too much. It's a little late but we should think about lunch. I know you admire my cooking, but I would feel personally amiss if I did not introduce you to some fish and chips from a place I recommend."

"If you recommend it, I could probably live with it." Enterprise finished off her pocky, slapping her hands together to remove the sticky crumbs. "I'll buy this time."

"By all means, Enterprise!"

There was something that could be considered unusual with how Belfast pronounced her name that was followed by a swing of her body and lift of her heel that had that restrained energy that was propping up more often since this trip began. For Enterprise, she did find something out of the ordinary, but it wasn't the cruiser's mood. Instead, it was something that she had been bothered with for some time but hadn't really seen an opportunity to bring it up until now.

"Belfast?" she asked while following her.

"Yes?"

"I've noticed this before. You've stopped calling me Miss Enterprise."

"Oh?" Belfast quirked her head in thought but maintained her pace. "Ah, so I have."

Enterprise had noticed way back when they reunited at the joint base. When addressing another shipgirl, Belfast always used the polite 'Miss' whether she was directly serving under them or not. The only exceptions that Enterprise could count were Queen Elizabeth and those closest to her court – Wales, Illustrious, Hood, and the others within the Maid Corps. Otherwise, Cleveland and even Zuikaku and Shoukaku all received the courteous treatment, even with her current break from her maid persona.

Being under her supervision, 'Miss Enterprise' had become a daily repeat from morning to night. Remembering it got Enterprise to chide herself with how she hadn't noticed and brought up the change sooner.

"Is that when you started considering us as friends?"

"I wonder…" Belfast mused, churning it over. "A question for you: do you remember when I stopped calling you Miss?"

Enterprise was about to answer when she had returned from her leave, but perceived falsehood attached to it. That wasn't right. She had stopped using it earlier than that but as to when exactly it happened…

A blank. That was all Enterprise was coming up with.

"I don't," she replied, feeling a little ashamed. "Not exactly."

A click of a halt. "You don't?"

It was an unexpected, unguarded moment that took Enterprise by surprise when Belfast's head suddenly came around, her smile gone and adopting wide-eyed intensity. It lasted for an instant but while her expression relaxed her smile remained absent.

The reaction motivated Enterprise to try a little harder to remember. When did Belfast stop? When was the exact moment that she had referred to her solely by her name? When…?

Nothing came to her, and she eventually had to admit defeat, shaking her head. "I really don't remember."

Belfast held her stare for a duration that lasted longer than it should've before her lips curved into a smile that lacked substance. "A mystery, then."

She left it at that, resuming her walk and leaving Enterprise to watch her before she eventually followed her example.

It kept bothering her though, enough that she wanted to ask Belfast if she did and let her know when it happened. No, she was able to at least pick up the subtlety of how Belfast wanted her to solve this 'mystery' without her aid.

But not telling me means that it can't be that important, can it? Enterprise wondered.

Still, that look that she had right then…

She'll worry about it another time as it may just come to her later. The takeaway from this was that, as they had established this morning, they were friends and the dropping of Miss from her name was a result of that.

Enterprise soon became bothered by something else though, one that she deemed even less important, but it came to her anyway. With two people to compare – Belfast and Cleveland -, a question arose.

Why did referring to Belfast as a friend feel so much different from doing the same with Cleveland?