"Commander, may I ask a favor of you?"

I put my pen down and looked up at Musashi, my curiosity piqued. "Didn't expect you to be the kind to ask favors," I remarked as I leaned back, studying her face. "What sort of favor is it?"

To her credit, she kept her expression professional and polite, without a hint of worry or awkwardness. If I hadn't seen that facade crack a few times, I'd honestly wonder if she was even capable of anything beyond polite niceties. "My sister, Shinano, has been making…inquiries regarding you for the past few months now, and I was wondering if it would be alright if she were to come aboard to meet you."

For a moment, I wondered why she'd been searching me out for so long, and then it clicked. "Ah, right," I murmured before I spoke up. "I guess she doesn't completely remember our last meeting."

Musashi fixed me with a puzzled look. "She said she'd never met you before."

"Yeah, Helena said that might happen," I sighed. "A few months ago, I got trapped in a Mirror Sea out near Midway, and Shinano sort of…appeared…to help us out. But she wasn't really there, it was her dreaming and astrally projecting herself, I guess?" I shrugged helplessly. "A lot of the metaphysical goes over my head."

Musashi chuckled softly. "Understandable. My sister is a dream walker, seeing a myriad of potential futures in her sleep, trying to find the best path for us. Sometimes what she says can be confusing at times."

Despite everything I'd seen and experienced over the last few years, the supernatural stuff always threw me off. I was a skeptic by nature, and I tended not to put any stock into anything mystical. In fact, I'd dismiss it outright if it wasn't for the fact that I'd seen her materialize into that room with my own two eyes. Or her spirit, rather. Still, I had to ask. "And how has her quest to chart a course for the Sakura Empire gone so far?"

"Well," she smirked, "She's taken a particular interest in you. Perhaps she feels you are the best choice to guide the Empire to a bright future."

Suddenly, I found myself regretting the question as my cheeks began to burn. "Well…no pressure, right?"

Her laugh is soft and gentle, without a hint of scorn or pity to it. "If Shinano places her trust in you, you should not see it as a burden, but a blessing. Out of the myriad possibilities of the shifting skeins of fate, you are our best hope. That faith would not be misplaced."

Rather than comfort me, her words only stirred up my own feelings of doubt and anxiety. Managing a fleet was one thing, but to have an entire culture place its collective fate in your hands was entirely something else. And if I couldn't save my marriage, how the hell was I going to save the Sakura Empire? "I, uh," I began softly, trying to find the witty quip or clever phrase that would have allowed me to breeze past it and get on with the day. "...that is…" It was not going well.

Fortunately, Musashi stepped in, kneeling next to me and placing her hand atop mine. "It's alright," she soothed. "I know this can be a lot to take in."

I nodded as I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. The last thing I wanted was another panic attack. "Thank you," I shakily replied, "It's just…" I couldn't say it. As much as I wanted to say it, it felt like I was poised on a knife's edge, and if I said something, that compartment in the back of my mind would fail and I would be drowned in sorrow.

My unspoken message was still received by Musashi, however, who simply gave me a soft smile. "Should you ever feel anxious or frightened," she whispered, "please come to me. Your safe haven is here."

It was all I could do to nod and take her hand in mine. "Thank you," I rasped. Quick to change the subject, I added, "Your sister can visit whenever she feels like it."

"Thank you, Paul," she answered as she squeezed my hand before she withdrew it and stood back up. "Would today be alright?"

I nodded, letting the emotions recede further and further until I could be sure of myself. Taking one last deep, cleansing breath, I looked up at her and answered, "That'd be fine. It'll be nice to finally meet her properly."

"As you wish," Musashi bowed one last time and got back to her paperwork.


A few hours later, there was a knock at my office door before it swung open and Haguro ushered in our guest. Shinano was just as regal and serene as she had appeared in her spirit form, although this time she had a palpable aura around her, just like Musashi. This aura, however, was different from her sibling's. Instead of the protective, soothing presence, this was much more one of serenity and peace. It's hard to describe to someone who's never been in Shinano's presence, but my mind kept flashing back to a dead calm sea on a moonlit night. It didn't feel as unsettling as Musashi's did at first, although I don't know if that was due to my somewhat improved mental state or the difference in their auras.

She swayed softly as her eyes sleepily scanned the room as if she was trying to remember why she had come here. Eventually, they settled on Musashi, and then myself. She stared intently at us in turn, as if she was trying to piece together a puzzle before she directed all her attention on me.

"Has it arrived yet?" she asked softly.

I cast a nervous, asking glance at Musashi, who simply shrugged at me. I looked back at Shinano, hoping she would elaborate. When she continued to give me that bleary-eyed stare, I asked, "Has what arrived?"

Her answer chilled me to the bone. "That which will set you free."

I didn't exactly know what she meant, but something about it seemed ominous. I couldn't shake the feeling that whatever this "freedom" was, it would come at a cost. "Uh, I, ah…I guess not," I replied.

She nodded slowly, then turned to face Musashi. "He will need your help," she calmly instructed. "He will be hurt, and he will-"

"Still be in the room, dear sister," the elder sibling quickly interjected, directing Shinano's gaze back to me.

The white-haired kansen stared incomprehensibly for a second before she nodded to herself. "I see," she murmured. "He stayed this time. Interesting…" She turned back to Musashi and suggested, "We could continue this in your quarters."

"I think that would be for the best," she agreed as she ushered Shinano out of the room, shooting me an apologetic look. "If you will give us a few minutes, Commander, I'll be back shortly."

"Yeah, sure," I numbly responded, still trying to wrap my head around everything Shinano had said. What was coming that would 'set me free'? Was I about to be relieved of my command? I'd be free but in the worst possible way. Granted, that would keep in line with what she said to Musashi about me being in pain. I hoped, desperately, that wasn't the scenario she dreamt. I was actually hoping for some good news for a change, but if I get fired, my life will be consistently falling apart around me.

In any case, whether I was fired or not in the future, I was still the Commander of Azur Lane now and I still had a job to do. With a long exhale to cleanse myself of these dark thoughts, I went back to my desk and got back to work.

A few minutes later, Shinano slipped back into the room, this time making a beeline for the sofa, and draped herself upon it without so much as a how do you do. I stared at her for a moment, wondering if she intend to do or say anything, but she remained still and silent.

"Hi," I said, a bit loudly to make sure I had her attention. "Will Musashi be rejoining us?"

"Soon," she sighed, "Some things have arrived, and she is seeing to them."

"And you?"

She closed her eyes and made herself comfortable before she answered. "I am here to rest for a moment, to ponder your futures."

My heartbeat rose several dozen beats per minute at her announcement. "Are you…are you going to share those futures with me?"

She opened one crystal blue eye to peer at me. "Do you truly wish to know?"

After giving it some thought, I shook my head. "No. I'll make my own fate."

She smiled softly. "You always say that." And with that, her eyes shut again and she quickly fell into a deep sleep.

No sooner than she had passed out, the door swung open and Musashi re-entered with several folders. She glanced down at her slumbering sibling, then back to me. "Did she tell you anything?" she asked with a concerned expression.

"She offered," I explained, "But I declined. I don't want to worry about what might happen to me in the future. Cross that bridge when I come to it."

"I see," she said slowly, keeping her tone very neutral as she crossed the room.

That tone worried me. "What? Is there something I should know about?"

"No," she answered with a shake of her head. "She told me you would say as much. I just-" She quickly caught herself. "It's not my place to say."

I knew this probably wasn't going to end well, but I would rather have an argument in the open than let things fester unsaid. "No, say it. Always speak your mind with me."

For a few seconds, I could see Musashi wrestling with herself before she finally relented and with a heavy sigh, said, "It's just…if you knew that something was coming, something painful, I could help shield you from it, protect you from it."

There was something in her voice, an urgency I'd not heard before. If anything, she sounded rattled. "But her dreams are possible futures, correct? There's no way of knowing what will or won't happen, right? I mean, what if she tells us that I'll be gravely injured, and in taking steps to avoid that scenario from happening, we blunder right into it?"

"To a degree, yes," she conceded. "The further she dreams from the present, the more possibilities occur. But if she dreams of, say, something that will happen in the next few days, the chances of it occurring grow exponentially."

"So what are you trying to protect me from?"

Musashi looked down at the floor and shrugged. "She wouldn't say. But I would much rather be proactive in your defense."

I leaned back in my chair and let out a long sigh as I thought about it. In the end, it all came down to what Shinano meant by "set me free." As I leaned forward, I looked at the slumbering kansen on the couch. "Does she ever speak in metaphors?"

"Not really," the dark-haired fox answered with a shake of her head. "She tends to speak in vagaries, but nothing metaphorical."

"So when she says something will 'set me free', she's not talking about something like, say freeing me from this mortal coil?"

She emphatically shook her head this time. "No. Physical threats to your safety she would bring to my attention, regardless of your feelings on the matter. It is my job to keep you safe, and I will uphold that with my dying breath."

"Alright then," I nodded slowly. "While I appreciate your concern unless it's something regarding my physical safety, I don't want to know about it. We'll deal with it when and if," I paused, emphasizing that last word, "it happens."

Besides, I thought, nothing would hurt more than it does right now.

Oh, how wrong I was.


Over the next few days, we all settled into a new routine. Every morning, Shinano would come over, fall asleep on the couch, and dream. In between reports, I would glance over at her. Sometimes she would be sleeping peacefully, a contented smile on her face, other times, she appeared to be in the middle of a terrible nightmare, her eyes closed tightly as she thrashed about.

On the day we made it back to Truk, almost a week after we left Itsukushima Shrine, she did something strange. Well, strange for her. She woke up about an hour after lunch, sitting bolt upright in an instant. I damn near jumped as I looked over at her. "You okay, Shinano?"

The kitsune turned her head to look at me, although it felt more like she was looking through me. "What time is it? Where is Musashi?"

There was an urgency to her voice I hadn't heard before, and it had me a little worried. "She's topside handling a few things. We had a supply ship and a courier waiting for us when we arrived. As for the time…" I quickly checked my watch. "It's one thirty-six."

Shinano visibly relaxed, which helped calm my nerves in turn. "I see," she murmured. "Excuse me, Commander, I have pressing business elsewhere. I will return, but until then, may the kami, and my sister, grant you peace. Good day." Without another word, she quickly got to her feet and left the room, leaving me wondering just what the hell that was all about.

No sooner than she had left than Musashi returned, with an armful of what looked like mail. She was headed for me when she glanced over at the empty couch and paused. "Where did Shinano go?"

I shrugged helplessly. "She said she had pressing business elsewhere and that she'd be back later. Rather suddenly, too."

"She can do that from time to time," she sighed. "You get used to it."

"If you say so," I grinned ruefully before I gestured at the bundles of envelopes in her arms. "Whatcha got there?"

In an instant, she switched back to her usual smiling self as she quickly separated out one large envelope from the rest. "It appears you've received mail from back home. I haven't had time to sort them all out yet, but this particular one was marked 'urgent'."

"Can't imagine what'd be so urgent, I told everyone I was leaving on a long trip," I muttered as I took the envelope from her. "Thanks," I absently said as I read the return address. It was from the law firm of Allen and Petrel, and I quickly realized what these were: my divorce papers.

That's when it hit me. This was real. My wife betrayed me, poisoned me, kidnapped me, and would have done gods-know-what to me if the police hadn't stormed the building. My hands began to tremble so much the sealed envelope started to rustle in my hands.

Musashi was quick to realize what was happening. "Paul, are you okay?" Despite her being right next to me, she sounded like she was underwater and a million miles away.

"I'm…I'm…I'm…" I began in a shaky voice. I wanted to say "I'm fine", to brush it off, to compartmentalize it with all the other bad memories and dark thoughts. But I couldn't. This was more than my mind could bear and confronted with the awful reality of what Rose had done to me, the compartment, already full to bursting, burst, washing me away in a tidal wave of pain and loss.

With a broken, grief-stricken wail, I fell to my knees and wept uncontrollably. Tears ran down my face as I bawled and howled, clutching the divorce papers tightly to my chest as if I could use them to stem the tide of pain. My heart felt like it was being crushed by an unseen hand, and in the back of my mind, I realized heartbreak was more than a metaphor. It felt as if my heart was literally breaking at that moment.

She didn't say anything, she didn't try to stop my tears, Musashi just knelt beside me and put her arm around me. That was all it took. I dropped the divorce papers and wrapped my arms around her, fiercely clinging to her as my body was wracked with sobs. In turn, she held me tightly in her gentle, loving embrace, softly encouraging me to let it all out.

"Why?" I sobbed, my body shuddering with every word, "Why did she do this to me? I would have given her anything, anything. We could have worked this out!" It felt as though my sorrow was never-ending. "Oh god, it hurts, it hurts so much…"

"I know," she soothed as she began to lovingly stroke my hair. "I know it hurts, but you're safe with me. You don't have to carry this pain anymore."

In my heart, I knew the sincerity of her words. She had been there for me since the beginning, kind and gentle, without any hint of judgment or deceit. Something inside me broke again at the thought of genuine safety and comfort, and I let out a long, shuddering wail once more.

After what felt like hours of weeping and wailing, the river of tears finally ran dry, and I released my grip on her. As soon as we parted, before I could even speak, Musashi handed me a box of tissues. "Thank you," I rasped as I took the box and used the first tissue to gently wipe away my tears from her shoulder before I began to dry my eyes and blow my nose.

"You're welcome," she softly replied as she eased me into a sitting position on the floor, taking a seat next to me. "If I may ask, what is in the letter that upset you so greatly? You hadn't even opened it."

Part of me didn't want to discuss it further, but considering she had lent me her shoulder to cry on for God knows how many minutes, I thought she'd at least earned the right to know. "It's divorce papers," I answered softly, still hearing the trembling in my voice. "My wife…my ex-wife, I guess…she was…" Even now, it was still hard, almost impossibly so, to say it out loud. "..she was part of the group that abducted me."

Beside me, I could feel Musashi's whole body tense up as she let out a quiet gasp, and I knew this was about to be a long and painful discussion…

A/N-Well, for anyone asking about the divorce…here it is! Now Musashi has officially unlocked the Commander's Tragic Backstory ™ Until next time, fair winds and following seas!