Commander's office.
The Commander was reading a report from the latest patrol around the island. He had a grim look on his face as he skim read its contents. It seemed Commodore Nico had decided to blockade the island with his fleet. The Commander knew it was simply posturing and Nico just having the naval equivalent of a tantrum, but he worried about the safety of the men under his command.
If Nico was stupid enough to order his soldiers to use armed weapons on the kansen, they'd all be slaughtered in minutes without him to order them not to, fortunately he trusted the ship girls to not use excessive force when dealing with Nico's men, not that they really needed to.
On the latest patrol, Prinz Eugene reported seeing a PT boat from one of the transports scouting one of the beaches, it seemed all she did was glide over and ask them what they were doing and they ran away. He chuckled to himself, imagining Eugen, in her intimidating rigging and wearing that sultry smirk of hers, just asking those terrified men why they were close to the island against his wishes.
But his smile melted away as he thought about what could happen over the next few days, if the Admiralty was worried he didn't have the kansen under control, they may order Nico to secure the island. While he was confident Azur lane could easily win any armed engagement, he worried that it may cost innocent men their lives if Nico pushed them to not back down. Not to mention the long term effects of Azur lane killing humans, it could alienate them even further from the rest of the world and make them lose their resolve to fight the Sirens.
His thoughts were interrupted by his computer flashing and chiming, it seemed the Admiralty wanted to talk to him live for once. He clicked the message and a window popped up revealing a middle aged navy officer on screen.
Despite his obvious age, he darkly radiated an air of unyielding authority, clearly seemed energetic, but in a precise, calculated way. His face had bright green eyes and a short brown beard that extended around his chin and ran unbroken up the sides of his head as sideburns, his brown hair just visible under his cap.
The Commander then stood and saluted, a neutral expression on his face as he watched the screen.
"Admiral Samson sir!" he stated in a practised tone. Admiral Samson saluted back with what he must have thought was a kind smile, but to the Commander it just came off as condescending.
"At ease Commander." He replied, his tone seemingly friendly, but no warmth behind it. The Commander then sat back down and folded his arms while giving the Admiral an expectant look, dropping any pretence of professionalism. This seemed to annoy the Admiral and his voice showed it as he spoke.
"I guess I'll start with the most immediate issue: Why the hell did you give my nephew a bloody nose?" He accused. The Commander rolled his eyes.
"Your nephew has no manners, so I decided to teach him some." He replied casually. The Admiral scowled at him before continuing.
"Nico and his men are the only thing stopping the kansen from stepping out of line again, if you insist on making life harder for him there will be consequences!"
The Commander could barely keep himself from laughing at that statement. He then explained, while trying to stop himself from giggling like a school girl. "I'M the only thing keeping the ship girls in check, with trust in each other and our friendship, Nico and his men don't even come close by comparison!"
"Commander you can't trust or befriend a weapon; you can only use it." The Admiral corrected. "Don't feed me your drivel of 'bonds' and 'trust', the kansen are meant to be an intelligent weapons system for use against the Sirens, nothing else beyond that! Your carelessness could have jeopardised the rest of the world." He told him in, his anger giving way to worry.
The Commander grew curious at that remark and leaned closer to the screen. "How exactly would that come about? The kansen just want to protect humanity." He pointed out. Samson looked down for a moment, collecting his thoughts before he replied.
"For now, you could be right. But remember Commander: these women may look, talk and even think like humans, but they're NOT human, they're weapons of war. You really think they'll want to just stay on that little island forever once the Sirens are gone?" The Admiral ranted, getting irritated with the Commander's assumed naivety. He started pacing in front of his own camera as he kept monologuing.
"Lets say you win against the Sirens, you have your big, end of the war party, hooray!" He sarcastically cheered. "Then what? They'll just stay on Azur Lane HQ and their own little homelands, twiddling their thumbs for the rest of time? Or turning back into mental cubes and/or normal ships? Of course not!" He then stopped and glared directly at the Commander, the younger man feeling a hot pressure in his chest just from the look.
"They're literally just warships at the end of the day, Its in their nature to fight and destroy, they'll eventually either turn their sights on mankind or each other. In either case we lose Commander, Nico is the only true ally you have out there, those 'ship girls' are not and never will be your friends." Samson finished darkly.
The Commander was floored by the blunt hatred and fear from the Admiral, he truly believed humanity was in trouble once the kansen had gotten through with the Sirens. He didn't believe that himself, but he knew too many people thought like Samson and Nico about Azur Lane.
"Right...speaking of Nico I assume you have new orders for me that include him?" The Commander asked attempting to change the subject. Fortunately the Admiral took the bait and pulled a document out from off camera.
"Ah yes, I almost forgot: You're to allow Commodore Nico to offload his security forces onto Azur Lane HQ; you're expected to co-operate fully with him in this matter." Samson announced to him. The Commander sighed as the Admiral kept speaking.
"You are to allow his forces access to ALL areas of Azur Lane, no excep-"
"I'm gonna stop you right there." The Commander interrupted holding his hand up, not caring how rude it was. Samson glared up from the document.
"Excuse me?" he angrily asked.
"Many of the kansen are young girls, I won't permit some strange men snooping around their dormitories and bathhouses." The Commander then laced his fingers on the desk and added:
"Besides the older kansen won't allow it either and they won't be as nice about it if your men bring it up." The Admiral ignored the comment and continued.
"Each of the faction leaders will turn over their authority to new officers reporting directly to Commodore Nico, they are then to be incarcerated permanently, by force if necessary."
The Commander gave an exasperated gasp. "For someone who doesn't want Azur Lane to turn on humanity, you're giving them every reason to do so!" He snapped.
"Commander its not your decision." Samson stated matter-of-factly without looking up. "Those leaders are the same ones responsible for the 'Red Axis' war, as are you, the only reason you're not joining them, is because you're the only human who can, allegedly, control the kansen."
The Commander went wide eyed in fury at the accusation. "I did NOT cause th-"
"Finally..." The Admiral interrupted, making the Commander lean back out of annoyance. "Any and all sorties, are subject to approval by Commodore Nico, his forces must be present on all missions and patrols etc."
The Commander didn't even bother to look at the screen as he responded. "Then they might as well draw a bullseye on their hulls, since even the mass produced Sirens will tear them apart, plus the kansen are faster than anything Nico has."
"Well they'll just have to slow down then won't they? Someone has to watch the watchers." The Admiral sneered. "I should have known you'd go native Commander, but try to co-operate son, over the next few weeks you might just be glad to have fellow humans around to watch your back."
Samson then leaned in to turn off the camera, but then stopped for a moment. "Oh, one more thing: If you or any of your girlfriends ever touch my nephew again; I'll come out there and kill you myself."
The window then shut off as Samson switched off his camera. The Commander fumed in his seat as he mulled over his new reality. "I should just sink his whole damn fleet and be done with it." He thought as he clenched his fists.
The Computer chimed again, this time it was a message from the Royal Navy HQ, then a second one from Sakura Empire.
"Elizabeth AND Nagato calling me? What are the odds?" He thought again as he replied to both messages, in one window was an energetic, long blond haired girl with cloudy blue eyes looking back, she had a red and yellow crown on her head and seemed rather angry about something.
The other window showed a calm, long haired girl with black fox ears on her head and golden eyes, her expression very blank, the Commander knew Nagato wouldn't call unless it was important, she hated having to talk to anyone.
"What is it ladies?" The Commander asked, already regretting answering the queen's message.
In her very high pitched, almost child-like voice, Elizabeth screamed in fury: "Whats this about Wales throwing her glove at Akagi?! Hasn't that fox done enough damage without angering my subjects even further?!"
The Commander shot up from his seat and slammed his hands on the table in a mix of anger and shock.
"What?! What are you talking about your majesty?" He asked frantically.
"It seems Akagi has once again stirred up some trouble, I apologise for this Commander." Nagato solemnly replied, she looked down a little and her eyes closed slightly in what seemed to be disappointment.
"Trouble doesn't cover it! Commander, if Wales has thrown down the glove, than this can only mean one thing: a duel!" Elizabeth explained, pointing her finger at the camera.
"But...you girls spar all the time, how is this any different?" The Commander asked, not getting the seriousness of the queen's tone. Elizabeth frowned, getting irritated at the Commander's ignorance.
"Fine! Then i'll be blunt: This is to the DEATH!" She exclaimed. The Commander went white in the face at that fact. Even Nagato widened her eyes in shock.
"Why would Akagi want to accept something like that?" Nagato asked, fearful for her kitsune friend.
"She doesn't have a choice, once the glove is thrown you must accept! I'd have no choice but to hunt her down if she doesn't." Elizabeth retorted.
Nagato's gaze darkened considerably as Elizabeth finished, her eyes narrowed and her ears straightened up, standing on end. She barely showed emotion often, but that little glare was one of the most intimidating sights to many kansen, despite being one of the few ship girls shorter than her, Queen Elizabeth went a little white and her eyes widened somewhat meeting this little girl's angry glare.
"Don't...threaten...my friend like that." Nagato declared very slowly and firmly. "Argh! I-I'm sorry! C-Commander, Wales-said-its-at-the-training-grounds-bye!" Elizabeth stated rapid-fire, before then slamming the camera, frantically trying to find the off button, after a few seconds of panicked tapping on the screen her window finally shut off, leaving Nagato and the Commander alone in the chatroom.
Nagato's face returned to her neutral expression. "It seems I won't make it in time to witness the results of this...duel." she stated in a soft tone.
"Getting here might be bothersome anyway, Azur Lane HQ is blockaded by human ships." The Commander pointed out.
"How odd, do you require assistance?" Nagato asked. The Commander looked aside, thinking about what to say to her. If Commodore Nico was intent on capturing the faction leaders, it might be best if Nagato stayed away, but if she did, he may see that as an act of aggression and attack Sakura Empire directly. With their home at stake and no way to directly command them, the Commander was certain the Sakura kansen would massacre the humans.
"Yes, but non-lethal force only, its their commanding officer I have an issue with, we don't need blood on our hands." The Commander told her, going for a middle of the road approach.
Nagato nodded. "I will make haste." She then looked away and added more quietly: "Take care of Akagi, Commander." She blushed a little saying it, The Commander chuckled a little since she actually looked rather adorable like that. Akagi must have mentioned their kiss and confessions to her.
Her window then went off, leaving the Commander alone once more.
The training grounds
This area of the island's coastline was deliberately chosen as the training grounds for its barrenness and isolation from the rest of the base. It was a small bay, high rise cliffs surrounded the water from either side of the beach, cratered and cracked from the constant sparing between kansen. No sight lines to the populated areas meant it was safe for ship girls to go all out with their abilities.
On each side of the beach, two small crowds had gathered: One was mainly Sakura Empire girls, though a few Iron Blood women had also shown up. The other was mostly Royal Navy, with a few Eagle Union girls mixed in. In between the two crowds stood the Commander, Queen Elizabeth, Kaga and one other short woman in a nun outfit; All with serious looks on their faces. On the water some distance away, was Akagi and Prince of Wales, they were several feet apart from each other facing the other.
Wales was raring to go, testing her sword with swings and jabs and swaying her cannons from side to side, constantly checking their traverse speeds, a confident yet angry look on her face. Akagi meanwhile just stood still, not even bothering to summon her runway or planes. She was deeply depressed that it had come to this and just stared at the water.
The Commander turned to the Queen, who was sitting on a table with a cup of tea and asked her: "So what are the rules?" Elizabeth glanced at him before turning back to the water.
"Its not that different to a normal sparring match, there's only a couple differences." She explained before taking a sip. She then narrowed her eyes slightly before continuing.
"The battle goes on until one of them yields or dies, running away, refusing to fight without yielding or anyone interfering in anyway before that, is strictly prohibited, not even medical aid is allowed and neither combatant is to leave this bay." She then glared up at the Commander. "I will be forced to arrest any offenders to those rules."
The girl in the nun outfit spoke up, her blue eyes frowned in worry. "I'd rather not watch this, it seems unnecessarily barbaric." She spoke in a soft tone. The queen looked back at her and nodded.
"I've made motions to have this tradition retired Vestal, but I've received some pushback over it." She stated, she looked back at ocean and frowned at Wales who was still warming up. "I made my disapproval of this duel known to Wales, but she refused to listen; she insisted its the only way to 'deal' with Akagi inside the legal system."
She then glared up at the Commander again, who raised an eyebrow in response. "She specifically mentioned you having clear favouritism for her, that its the only reason you haven't deported that fox." The young man looked over at Akagi and sighed as she was still just stood there barely moving.
"I don't know what she's really thinking, but I know Akagi doesn't want to let us down, over the last few days she's really tried hard to change her behaviour." He then turned back to the Queen and added: "Also, I don't know what Wales has told you, but the whole reason this duel is happening at all is because Akagi was protecting Unicorn." He bluntly told her. Elizabeth's eyes widened and she placed her mug down in its saucer in surprise.
"Thats news to me, Wales told me Akagi had simply attacked her when she showed up at that cafe." The two of them looked over at Wales in a mix of shock and irritation. "If she survives this, she won't survive the tower." The Queen stated darkly.
She then turned to a blond, purple eyed woman with a huge broadsword at the edge of the Royal navy crowd. "Warspite! Go start the duel!" The woman nodded to her and manifested her rigging.
Warspite's purple jacket flowed in the wind as she glided over to the middle of Akagi and Wales. She then raised her sword in the air with its blade pointing down, looking at Wales. Seeing Wales point her own sword towards her with a nod to signal she was ready, she then looked over at Akagi, she was still looking depressed and had her eyes closed, still no rigging summoned.
"Akagi! Ready yourself!" Warspite yelled to her, getting frustrated with the fox woman. Akagi flinched and finally manifested her flaming paper planes and runway. The Commander couldn't help but notice the runway and planes had less flames around them than normal.
"Shes in no state of mind to do this." He thought, a worried look on his face.
"BEGIN!" Warspite suddenly shouted, slamming her sword down and firing her main guns out into the sea. She then suddenly shot backwards to get out of the way.
Wales thrust her sword forwards and her guns all aimed at Akagi, who rather ironically for someone part fox, seemed to just be a rabbit in headlights. "Fire!" Wales then yelled, her main guns billowing a sheet of yellow flame as they roared.
Akagi came to her senses just in time, she sidestepped the shells arcing towards her, they barely missed her as they slammed into the cliff-face behind her. She bared her teeth and her runway glowed slightly as flaming planes manifested on it, their propellers buzzed into life as they shot away from her.
Wales watched the planes around Akagi and readied her AA guns. She then zoomed down the bay, looking over her shoulder with a smirk at Akagi. Not thinking clearly, Akagi made a gesture and her planes chased Wales, unfortunately she made them chase the battleship in a straight line, just what Wales wanted.
Wales then suddenly spun around and fired one of her main guns into the water, the column's of spray enveloped the small plane-shaped balls of fire, easily snuffing them out. She then looked back at Akagi and fired her second gun. Akagi again barely avoided the shots, she even yelped as she felt one of the shells brush by one of her tails slightly.
"What's she doing? She s normally much faster than this!" Kaga commented. "Her tactics are getting sloppy too, of course Wales would easily shoot down targets going in a straight line!" The Commander added, getting tense as he watched.
Akagi, with what sounded like a grunt of effort, launched another flight of planes from her runway. This time she managed to at least get some bombs off and they whistled as they fell towards Wales.
Wales just slalomed around the dropped bombs, unloading her AA guns into the sky above her. Even she was starting to see that Akagi wasn't on top of her game, she wondered why there just seemed to be four or five planes around her, as opposed to the swarm of them she knew Akagi was capable of sending after her.
"Don't insult me with these small fry fox! Come on! Come at me!" the battleship teased, using her free hand in a taunting gesture. Akagi glared back at her, but didn't answer. Instead she floated above the bay and with a flick of her arms she threw a barrage of red fireballs towards Wales.
The British woman effortlessly deflected each firebomb with her sword, one of which she managed to even reflect back at Akagi, the fox woman gave a short scream as her own attack went off in her face, momentarily dazzling her. She hadn't recovered her sight in time before she head Wales yell 'Fire!' again.
With no chance to evade them, almost all of Wales's salvo connected with Akagi's body, the sudden searing pain of high explosive battleship shells going off right by her, forced a scream from her mouth. The fox woman was knocked out of the sky and sent crashing into the sea. She popped back above the water, coughing out the sea as she tried to recover. Her kimono ripped in a few places and her face scratched and cut.
Akagi looked around and couldn't see Wales at first, she then correctly assumed she was behind her and rolled onto her back, just in time to see Wales plunge her sword into the water she was just laying in. As she pulled her arm back for another stab, Akagi threw a flaming plane right into her face.
Wales shouted in pain and staggered back, clutching her face while Akagi got back up, when she pulled her hand away, she clearly had a large burn across her now enraged face. She then went wide-eyed seeing Akagi's boot flying towards her in a jump kick. She had no chance of dodging it and her head recoiled back from the kick.
As Wales fell back, Akagi launched more of her planes. Wales got back on her feet and growled looking back at the Asian carrier. Akagi just returned a surprisingly mild glare by her standards. The British battleship then heard splashing sounds over the noise of Akagi's aircraft and realised there were streams of bubbles racing towards her from different directions.
"Torpedo bombers!" Wales though and attempted an evasive action. She managed to dodge one torpedo but slammed straight into another. A geyser of water erupted from the explosion, making her vanish from view for a moment. Akagi looked puzzled and looked around for the battleship. She then felt a shadow over her and it was revealed to be Wales, she had somehow leaped into the sky and was holding the sword above her head.
She then started bellowing in rage as she brought the sword down towards the fox woman. Akagi jumped back from the attack, making Wales create yet another geyser of water from the impact. Akagi then flicked her arm again, but nothing happened. In shock she tried again, but no planes appeared between her fingers, she looked at her runway and it looked much more transparent than when she first manifested it.
"Now!? I run out now!?" She thought in a panic as her runway disappeared. She looked back at where the column of water had been and saw Wales standing there with a scowl on her face, she was panting heavily, whether it was from anger or exertion Akagi couldn't tell. When Wales saw that the carrier had lost her runway she gave a dark chuckle.
"Not much of an aircraft carrier without any aircraft are you?" She taunted as her cannons aimed themselves. Akagi knew she was a sitting duck without her planes and tried to evade the incoming cannon fire. Wales's fired her main guns, still smirking as she now knew she had Akagi purely on the defensive.
Everyone on the shoreline was watching all this happen in tense apprehension, even those previously rooting for Wales, were now looking on in discomfort at how one-sided this fight was becoming. The most anxious person on the beach was the Commander, he just looked on glaring and grinding his teeth, not far behind him on that front was Kaga, just looking on in fear for her sister.
Finally one of Wales's salvoes landed right in front of Akagi, the spray of the erupting splashes of water blinding her, over the roar of the exploding shells, she could hear Wales yelling, rapidly getting louder. Then it happened, Akagi heard the distinct sound of steel rending flesh, before feeling a shooting pain in her abdomen and back.
As her vision cleared up, she saw Wales standing in front of her, smiling smugly. She looked down and saw her sword buried right up to the hilt in her belly, she could even feel her tails rubbing along the blade poking out her back. Her mouth hung open in a silent scream and all the colour drained from her face. Before she could fully register what happened, Wales twisted the sword, making the fox woman really shriek from the excruciating pain. She then fell to her knees, the sword leaving Wales's hand as it was embedded in her body.
"AKAGI!" a young voice screamed out from the crowd, everyone turned around to see Unicorn fighting with Illustrious, she broke away from the shocked older carrier and attempted to run onto the water. However Warspite grabbed her and threw her over her shoulder before carrying her back to shore. "NO NO NO! LET ME GO! AKAGI!" She kept on screaming.
All over the beach, that event had triggered chaos. Younger girls had to be restrained by the older girls from running to Akagi's aid, two other Sakura empire women had to tackle Kaga to stop her running out there. "SISTER! I'M COMING! GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME, SCREW YOUR TRADITON LET ME HELP HER!" She roared thrashing around on the ground. The Commander could only look on in shock at the horrifying scene.
Akagi, with blood dribbling from the corner of her mouth, managed to weakly look back at the beach. She could just see Unicorn bawling her eyes out from on Warspite's shoulder and Kaga raging around on the sand as the other kansen tried to restrain her, but what really broke her heart, was seeing the Commander's helpless gaze. She remembered him telling her that he trusted her, she shed a tear as she thought about how she couldn't fulfil her promise any more.
"Commander...please...forgive...me..." She strained to utter out. She gritted her teeth as she then stood to her feet, fighting the pain and her wounds to stand. With much greater effort she then said: "No...I can't sink now...I...I won't! I WONT!"
Wales, shocked by Akagi's sheer willpower, backed away from her. The pandemonium on the beach also stopped upon hearing Akagi's words. Unicorn stopping crying seeing Akagi stand, Kaga stopped wrestling with the others hearing her sister still alive. The Commander's shocked face morphed into one of surprise and relief.
Wales, now terrified, lifted her arm up slowly at Akagi. "H-how...you...you have a fucking SWORD in your body!" she shouted, still backing away. The now revitalised fox woman clenched her fists and screamed up at the sky in primal rage, her eyes glowed red with newfound power and her tails caught fire.
"My love will incinerate the world's evil and keep burning! STARTING WITH YOU!" She suddenly declared pointing at Wales, her voice resonating with raw animalistic fury. She started to glide over to Wales, she was still bleeding from her stomach but she didn't seem to care any more.
Not knowing what else to do, Wales opened fire with her guns, she looked on in horror as Akagi's tails flicked the shells away from her effortlessly, making them explode in the sky above them or on the cliffs behind her. The British battleship's bravado completely evaporated in the face of Akagi's anger.
The carrier suddenly charged forwards, she grabbed Wales by the neck and slammed the two of them into the side of a cliff. She then lifted her off the water one handed, Wales gave a choked gasp and tried to free herself. Her cannons moved to blast Akagi, but the kitsune's tails suddenly ensnared the battleship's rigging, acting more like a kraken's tentacles than like the fluffy appendages of a fox, the sound of metal groaning and giving way could be heard as the tails started crushing the rigging.
As she choked, Wales looked into Akagi's eyes, they were bright red and slitted like those of an animal, any trace of humanity or mercy gone, only a feral fury.
"A-Aka-gi..." Wales tried to say, she then felt a shooting pain in her arm and opened her mouth to scream, but due to the kitsune's hand on her windpipe, all she could manage was a choked cough. She strained her head to look what happened to her arm. With her free hand, Akagi had shoved the British woman's right arm over an outcropping in the cliff-face, breaking her forearm and bending the arm beyond its limit.
Seconds later, Akagi's tails had pried off one of the battleship's turrets from its mount. She then threw Wales into the air, using the detached turret like a baseball bat, swung the massive hunk of metal around into her as she fell back down. Wales was sent flying across the bay and crashed near the beach.
The Commander could tell Wales was in a bad way; she was struggling to breathe and with only one good arm, was trying to crawl up the beach towards the crowds. It was then the Commander realised that she had a broken leg now too, either from the swing or the crash-landing was unclear however.
Akagi landed behind Wales, with a wince of pain she pulled the sword out from her belly and started to stalk closer to the now crippled battleship. Wales was whimpering, trying to scoot backwards, but not getting anywhere in the sand with only one good limb. Akagi still had the primal look in her eyes as she got closer, she raised the sword over Wales and was about to stab her chest when:
"I YIELD!" The battleship screamed. Desperate to prevent her own demise. Akagi froze, she was still seething and panting through gritted teeth, but she stopped to look Wales in the eyes.
"What did you say?" She asked in a low tone.
"I yield! I give up! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" Wales yelled, shielding her face with her arm. Akagi gasped and shook her head, seeming to come to her senses. The fires on her tails died down and her eyes faded back to normal.
"I...I won't." She then dropped the sword next to the whimpering woman and staggered back, clutching her bleeding stomach. She then heard a familiar yell.
"SISTER!" Kaga suddenly came out of no where and practically tackle hugged her, she was crying her eyes out from relief and shock. Akagi slowly hugged her back and started crying herself, grateful her sister was here. She then felt another person hug her, she looked down and saw Unicorn's hair style and heard her sniffling.
She then saw the Commander walking over to her, a huge smile on his face and his eyes overflowing with tears.
"You're in so much fucking trouble, but thank god you're alive!" He then joined in on the group hug.
Wales meanwhile was being put on a stretcher by Warspite and Vestal, she saw Elizabeth and Illustrious looking down at her with the meanest glares she have ever seen.
"Y-Your majest-"
"Get her out of my sight!" The queen interrupted. As Wales was taken away she looked back over at Akagi being group hugged and giggled. Illustrious smiled with her as she watched.
"I guess the Commander was right not to deport her." Illustrious stated happily.
"So it would seem." But her smile soon faded as she thought about what Akagi had done. "But that power, that anger, does she really have a lid on it?" She wondered out loud.
Illustrious looked back at her with a puzzled look, then the two of them looked on at the celebrating crowd around a weary Akagi.