"W-w-what did you say?" I stammered, hoping I'd heard her wrong.

"I said, 'What if we were a couple?'" she repeated, confirming my fears.

I swiftly dismounted from the couch and practically danced a few feet away, trying to get some distance between us as my mind raced. "I, uh I-I-I don't know," I finally sputtered.

Musashi rolled over onto her side and propped her head on her arm as her golden eyes warmly regarded me. "I'm not saying right now," she softly reassured. "But perhaps, in time, we could fully explore our feelings for one another as we continue to get to know one another better?"

I let out a long sigh and ran my fingers through my hair before I finally managed to get a coherent answer together. "Maybe. I don't know," I shrugged helplessly. "Don't get me wrong, seeing you this morning…reminded me of things I'd been unconsciously suppressing. Good things," I quickly added, "but I don't know if what I'm feeling is a genuine attraction or pent-up lust. And then there's all this baggage. I mean, I got out of my marriage literally yesterday and I'm an absolute wreck mentally speaking. It doesn't seem fair or right to drag someone into that. I'd rather not rush into something and ruin it rather than wait for when I'm…more stable."

I slumped into my chair as Musashi sat upright, taking in my words. After a few moments of thoughtful silence, she spoke up. "That is a sensible approach," she agreed softly. "But what if you never improve? What if this is something you wrestle with for the rest of your life?"

"Then I guess I die alone," I fatalistically shrugged. "I'm not- I can't ask someone to get involved with me when I'm such a mess."

"And what if someone asked to get involved with you?"

I emphatically shook my head. It was out of the question. "They wouldn't know what they were getting into, and I don't want someone else to suffer."

Her brows furrowed as she leaned forward, her gold eyes staring intently at me. "I know what I'm getting into," she confidently stated. "I've seen the mood swings, the anger, the fear. And I still want to be here with you, for you. When you're ready."

Knowing she would be there, unconditionally, filled me with equal parts dread, confusion, and joy. "That's just it!" I exclaimed. "What I did wasn't right! And I don't want to just go off like a malfunctioning weapon and hurt you!" I sighed and ran my hand through my hair again. "Some days I feel like I'm just looking for an excuse to get angry and…and…and you…are you even capable of getting upset?"

Strangely, that drew a small chuckle from her. "You've never seen me get mad?" She asked, to which I silently shook my head, prompting another giggle. "Even the most docile of creatures know when to bare their fangs. You would do well not to judge one by their appearance. Having that said, it does take some extraordinary skill to make me angry."

I wasn't sure anything about her appearance said docile or harmless, but I wasn't about to argue that point. Not when I had other, far more important ones. "Good to know, I guess, but that still doesn't make it right. Volunteering to be screamed at doesn't make it any less acceptable for me to do it."

Musashi sighed and glanced down at the floor before matching my gaze once more. "So what would you do, then? Keep everyone at arm's length? Do you honestly think that would help with your issues?" She paused for a moment, and when she spoke again, her voice was quiet, but it carried the weight of a battleship shell. "You aren't supposed to be the one imprisoned by what she did."

I recoiled as if I'd been slapped, stunned into momentary silence. She was right. I would be locking myself away from everyone until I felt I was better. And maybe the time alone would give me some clarity, but if it didn't…if I needed someone…if I needed her, then it would have been months, years, decades wasted. "You're right," I quietly admitted. "I shouldn't shut myself off from everyone. But I'm still not ready to consider a relationship right now."

"Of course," she said, that soft, reassuring smile returning to her face. "As I said, that can be brought up at a later time, after we've gotten to know one another better. Speaking of which, perhaps we could get underway tomorrow and I could give you a demonstration of this ship's combat abilities?"

"I'd like that," I slowly nodded. "This ship has quite the reputation and it'll be nice to see it in action."

"I'll make preparations-"

She was interrupted by a knock on the door as Haguro swung it open, her hands covering her eyes. "Is it safe? Shinano said you needed me." When we didn't answer for a second, she spread her fingers apart to peer through them before she lowered her hands with a sigh of relief. "Also, get a room, you two."

"It's my office," I shot back. "Besides, it was just a massage."

"Uh-huh, sure it was," she said sarcastically. "That's how it starts. So what'd you need me for?"

Musashi quickly got to her feet and began ushering Haguro back towards the door. "We're going to be getting underway tomorrow, so I need you to begin preparations. We'll also require a few mass-produced capital ships."

"Capital ships?" Haguro repeated, looking back over her shoulder. "What for?"

"I'll explain outside," the kitsune smiled before shooting me an apologetic smile. "If you don't mind, I'll just be a moment. I'm sure Shinano-" Right on cue, the white-haired kansen drifted into the room, making a beeline directly for the couch. Musashi grinned and shook her head. "Right on cue. I'll be back shortly, Commander."

I smiled at her and nodded. "See you soon." I waited for the door to shut before I turned to face Shinano, who, much to my surprise, was still awake, although her eyelids were half-lidded and she swayed as though she may fall over at any time. There was an awkward silence that hung in the air, and I decided it was best to just get it over with. "So…not today, huh?"

"Perhaps," the corner of her mouth twitched up in a sleepy grin. "Some possibilities lead to that. Others do not."

Now it was my turn to grin as I felt a slight blush color my cheeks. I wanted to ask her a question, but I hesitated. If I ask about my future, would I be locking myself into that path? If she tells me a horrible fate awaits me and I take action to avoid it, will that result in me blundering directly into it?

In the end, Shinano allayed my fears. "You may ask," she groggily declared. "It will not, as you fear, 'lock you' into any set path."

Her prescience startled me, and I can only assume that I'd voiced those concerns in one of her dreams. Unless she was-

"No, I am not psychic."

Oh. Well, in that case, I decided to just go for it. "Do I ever get a happy ending?"

"That is hard to determine," she listlessly answered. "What do you define as happiness? Is it the life lived full of passion but only half as long, or the slow, steady flame that burns over decades?"

To be honest, I never thought about how much longer I had. And quite frankly, I didn't want to know because if I knew, it would be hanging over my head for the rest of my life. "Not…how long I live, but…" I glanced back at the door. "...for starters, will I ever be free of what happened to me?"

"Your trauma, you mean?"

"Yes."

She fixed me with an empathetic look and slowly shook her head. "You will always struggle with this. Sometimes it is infrequent and mild, but it is still there, others, it is…more severe."

I didn't like the ominous tone of her last words, "How severe?"

"It torments you, drives you to do terrible things, and in the end...you cannot bear the weight any longer…" her voice trailed off, leaving the fatal implications unspoken.

I shuddered and shook my head. I definitely didn't want to go down that path. "And how do I avoid those endings?"

"You must seek shelter in the storm."

I paused for a moment, confused by her choice of words. "You mean from the storm, right?"

"No," she emphatically shook her head. "In the storm."

"I thought…" I paused, trying to wrap my head around her words. "Musashi said you don't speak in metaphors."

"I do not."

I paused again, my mind racing as I tried to figure out what she meant. "So…to keep from being overwhelmed by my issues, I should take shelter inside of a storm?"

She gave me a lopsided smile before she answered. "I don't speak in metaphors, but sometimes the dreams are not clear to me. I travel along the myriad paths, seeing what might be. Some feel as real as you or I do right now, but others are hazy, unfocused. Something will happen, soon, and when it does, you will either shelter in the storm, or you will stand apart from it. If you stand apart from it, you will wither and die. If you embrace it, you will grow, you will find some measure of peace. It will not be easy at times, and it will need constant work, but…yes, perhaps you will find this 'happy ending' you spoke of."

The thought gave me some comfort, although now I feared that I wouldn't recognize the moment and let it pass by without knowing. "This…thing that's supposed to happen, how will I know what it is?"

Her smile became a smirk. "I asked you that myself. You simply said that you would know it when you saw it. You also found that bit of non-advice quite amusing."

"Great," I quipped as I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, future me."

"You also said to tell you that you're welcome."

That one got a chuckle out of me. It sounded like future me at least got some of the old me back. "Well, thank you for the advice."

Shinano nodded as she lay down on the couch and made herself comfortable. "You're welcome. If I may ask, why the sudden change? When last we spoke, you said you didn't want to know your future."

I let out a long sigh as I leaned back in my chair. "Things changed. Or may change. And I don't want to start something if I'm going to do something terrible to them and cause them unnecessary pain."

"And who is it you speak of?" she softly asked, her voice trailing off as she began to drift to sleep.

I hesitated, not wanting to say her name out loud because if I did, I would be admitting to something I'd been trying to suppress. But Shinano deserved to know. Assuming she hadn't dreamed it up already. "Musashi."

A soft smile crossed her lips. "As I dreamed," she whispered. "You will be good for her."

"I think you have it the other way around," I offered, sure she'd made a mistake. "She could help me, I think."

"She has, she will, if you let her," Shinano confirmed. "But you will also help her."

I couldn't believe what she was saying. "I'm a mess," I scoffed. "How am I going to help her?"

She softly shook her head. "It is not my place to say if she has not told you. But together, you may find healing. For now, I sleep…"

With those final words, she closed her eyes and drifted off. No sooner than she entered her dreams, Musashi came back into the room.

"You two have the worst timing," I chuckled as I shook my head. "She just fell asleep."

"A shame," she smiled as she went back to her paperwork. "But there will be other times, I'm sure."

I shrugged and shook my head as I began to set up my own workstation. "I guess, but it'd be nice if we were all in the same room and actually present for the conversation. It feels weird having these one-on-ones and swapping notes afterward."

"Understandable," she nodded. "But Shinano does not like to discuss her dreams outside of those who need to hear them." Her golden eyes flick to her slumbering sibling and she smiles softly. "At least she seems to be dreaming good dreams."

I glanced over at Shinano and saw the faint smile on her lips as her eyes danced behind her eyelids. I silently hoped we'd all have good dreams in our future…


The next day, a little after breakfast, we hoisted the anchor and got underway. Haguro had stayed aboard with us, but Shinano opted to stay at the Lagoon, presumably to dream peacefully without eighteen-inch guns going off right above her head. It was nice to feel the wind in my hair, and the sea was calm that day, with hardly a cloud in sight. Trailing behind us were two mass-produced battleships and a cruiser, brought along as target practice.

I climbed to the top of the superstructure, to the air defense combat station just above the First Bridge. It offered a commanding view of the entire ship as well as the surrounding seas, and the powerful binoculars arrayed around the railings also allowed me to keep an eye on distant ships.

Much like the last time we got underway, I found myself preoccupied with what lay ahead of me. What was this storm? And how was I so certain that I would "know it when I see it"? I tried to force myself to relax a bit, to enjoy the beautiful view, but those questions just wouldn't go away.

I was so busy wrestling with these concepts that I didn't hear the distinct sound of geta on metal deckplates coming up behind me until Musashi was standing right beside me. "Is everything alright?" she asked as she placed her hand on the small of my back. "You seem…distant."

"Just thinking about what Shinano told me yesterday," I sighed softly.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her nodding slowly as she leaned against the railing with me. "May I ask what it was that she said to you?"

"She said I should 'seek shelter in the storm'," I answered, deciding to keep most of the details to myself. "And that I would 'know it when I see it'."

Musashi hummed thoughtfully for a moment before she spoke. "Perhaps she is speaking of Susano-o," she suggested. "He is the kami of storms. Perhaps his shrine at Saitama would provide some refuge for you?"

It had some weight to it, but I was unconvinced. "Maybe," I replied slowly. "It fits, but it's not jumping out at me."

"Maybe you would have to be there to realize its significance?"

"Also a possibility," I conceded. "Let's put a pin in that for when we get back to Truk."

"Of course, Commander," she smiled and bowed politely as she pushed off from the railing. "Would you care to think on this for a bit longer, or shall prepare the demonstration for you?"

"Oh, the demonstration, please," I smiled eagerly. I'd honestly been looking forward to this part for a while now. Like just about everyone else, I had heard of the legendary guns of the Yamato-class, and I was excited to see them in action.

The kitsune nodded and activated her communicator. "Haguro, are the mass-produced ships ready?"

"They're good to go whenever you are," Haguro's voice crackled back. "Heading zero-nine-zero, speed twenty knots."

She nodded to herself, and I could see her doing the math behind her golden eyes. "Understood. Keep clear, we're going to fire a ranging shot and then rapid-fire salvos until the mass-produced ships have been sunk."

"Roger."

Musashi thumbed off the communicator and smiled at me as the rangefinder just above our heads began to rotate, pointing off to the port side at something I couldn't see with my naked eyes. "I'm beginning my calculations, Commander. If you'd like to see our targets, you can find them at bearing three zero one."

I quickly looked through one of the binoculars as I called out the bearing. "Three zero one, copy."

After a few seconds of scanning the horizon, I spotted them. While this wouldn't be even close to the Musashi's maximum range, the ships were still far enough out to appear as tiny silhouettes against the blue sky. "I see them," I announced as I looked up from the binoculars.

"Excellent," Musashi smiled as she gestured down to the massive turrets. "I've completed my plotting and I am now taking aim."

As soon as the last word had left her lips, both turrets began rumbling and groaning as the massive machinery deep within their armored hides began to rotate them to the port side, the guns themselves raised into the air as they were brought to bear. You could feel the entire ship shake as they moved, and it was no small thrill to watch as they locked in on their targets.

"Stand by for firing," Musashi announced before she leaned in close to me. "This will get very, very loud, so please be careful, Commander."

I smiled up at her and gave her a thumbs up, to which she smiled back and nodded. "Commence firing!"

There was a deafening roar as three of the gun barrels fired; two from the first turret, one from the second, and the entire ship shuddered violently. A geyser of flame erupted from each one, followed by a cloud of black smoke that momentarily obscured our vision until we sailed past it. The acrid smell of cordite filled my nostrils as I tried to steady myself. Musashi, on the other hand, was still standing tall and proud, as if nothing had happened.

"Time to impact: thirty seconds," she calmly stated and I headed back towards the binoculars, taking only a second or two to locate the trio of target ships. In my head, I counted down the thirty seconds, with Musashi calling out "Now!" right as the shots landed. Huge fountains of water bloomed on either side of the ship, and I called out, "Straddled! Nice shot!"

"Making adjustments now," she replied as the barrels that had fired slowly lowered, one last puff of smoke drifting from them. "Stand by for rapid fire."

I wondered what she meant by that. Had the Sakura Empire perfected some sort of auto-loading procedure? Some sort of magic enhancement Musashi used on her hull? In any case, I would find out soon enough.

"Commence firing!" Musashi shouted once more, and once more, the guns thundered, the shockwave rattling in my chest as it passed through us. However, I noticed that only three of the forward guns had fired. As they lowered, the three that had fired the ranging shots raised into position. There was a brief warning klaxon, and then those guns fired. And so it continued, with half the guns firing, then alternating to the other half. As I looked at my watch, I noticed that shortened the gap between volleys down from thirty seconds to fifteen. While that wasn't exactly the unending stream of shells that, say, Cleveland or Swiftsure could put out, it did mean Musashi could more easily track any changes in speed and heading made by her opponent.

Holding onto the railing to steady myself, I peered into the binoculars once more just as the second volley of shells hit home. This time, all but one of them found their mark, columns of flame and debris bursting from the mass-produced vessels. One shell must have found the engine room of the closest battleship, as it quickly fell behind the other two. Like a predator, Musashi pounced on her wounded prey. The next two salvos slammed into the ship, rapidly reducing it to a smoking hulk before a shot from the second salvo hit one of the forward magazines. The fireball filled the binoculars' field of vision, and by the time it had dissipated, there was nothing left but impact splashes of falling debris and the stern of the ship as it quickly sank beneath the waves. I checked my watch. It had only been five minutes since the first ranging salvo. Within just five minutes, Musashi had pulverized a forty-thousand-ton battleship and sent it to the bottom of the sea. If this was how powerful her hull was, I was almost afraid to find out just how powerful Musashi herself was. As it turned out, I would not have to wait long.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" Haguro's panicked voice cut in. "I've got an enemy fleet on radar, headed straight for us!"

Sirens.

A/N-I'm sure they'll be fine. What's the worst that could happen? Until next time, fair winds and following seas!