It was strange, Takeda thought as he stood on the deck of the Akagi. Despite the lack of crew, he didn't feel as if he were on a ghost ship. Instead, even though the only "crew" consisted of himself and a few of the kansen not currently on patrol, the ship still felt alive. He found himself half-expecting to see sailors about their duties or to hear the quiet conversational hum that accompanied the normal workings of a warship. It was, he mused, as if he were surrounded by friendly ghosts, all striving to make the ship thrive.
In contrast, he remembered touring the wreck of Amagi. One of the first awakened kansen, there had been something wrong from the beginning. The core of the ship was damaged, he had been told. When the Great Kanto earthquake struck, it simply was too much for the poor kansen. Amagi had disappeared, her ship empty and cold. Takeda had stood on the bridge for over an hour, hoping against hope to see her again. She had been the first kansen he had known. They had been friends.
He paced along the flight deck, hands clasped behind him. Right now, he desperately wished for her advice.
Takeda had gone to confront Akagi about her dereliction of duty expecting an argument at the least and perhaps a minor physical confrontation. The sudden violence of her reaction had taken him aback- he had felt genuine fear for a moment when it looked like she would use her powers on him. If he had shown weakness, though, he had no doubt that she would have carried through on her threat. Amagi had warned him that Akagi needed leadership. Left to her own devices, she was too quick to let her emotions control her. Only by being strong enough to earn her respect could he hope to unlock her true potential.
So he had remained steadfast. He had weathered her wrath. What he didn't foresee, what he never would never had imagined, was her collapse.
In the moment she had fallen, the fear that had lurked within himself ever since Amagi had died reasserted himself. The fear of his own death was dwarfed by the idea that one of his kansen, one whom he had grown unaccountably fond of, might be suffering the same fate as his old friend. Akagi was stubborn, arrogant, and instinctively insubordinate. Stubbornness, could be another word for tenacity. Arrogance could be seen as a just pride run amok. Even her insubordination was borne out of a real desire to help her people. They were flaws, to be sure, but ones that he knew could be resolved into something special. In short, he saw in Akagi's flaws the virtues of Amagi.
Then, Akagi had launched her deadliest attack, one that had caught him by complete surprise.
He had no excuse. He should have stood up, walked away. But...
She had seemed so vulnerable, even as her advances had become more aggressive. Finding a way to disentangle himself from her hungry embrace, to reject her desperate need- it would have taxed his abilities under normal circumstances.
Takeda paused in his pacing. For a moment, he focused himself on the warm sun on his face, the cool breeze that ruffled his hair, the steady thrum of the engines beneath his feet...the heat of her body, the feel of her breath on his ear, the fast beating of her heart- he shook his head to clear it. Meditation, he reflected ruefully, would be difficult for some time to come.
He was only human. An attractive- no, preternaturally beautiful- girl had wanted him, her desire resonating with something in his very soul. All reason had fled his mind. All thoughts of the sheer stupidity of what he was doing, of the consequences that were to come, disappeared, erased by the sensations of Akagi's body.
"Fukusuibon ni kaerazu," he muttered to himself. "What's done is done."
The problem he needed to face was not what had been done, but what he now needed to do. He knew better than to think he could keep the whole thing a secret. He remembered an American aphorism. "Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead." In the Navy, he suspected that one couldn't keep a secret even if all three were dead.
So what should he do? Marry her? He briefly tried to imagine Akagi acting as a typical Japanese wife. No, he decided, that way madness lies.
Another thought struck him. Could she get pregnant? His body went rigid as he considered the possibility. There wasn't any way- she was, in essence, a spirit. Just because she looked like- and smelled like, and felt like- a young woman didn't mean she was one. The idea was preposterous.
The idea of kansen was, by any definition, preposterous, too. One couldn't take anything for granted in such a world.
So preoccupied, he didn't notice Mikasa's confident approach until her self-assured voice cut through the relative silence. "Shikikan!"
Takeda managed to avoid jumping. He even managed a creditably casual turn. He couldn't keep his voice from rising an octave or two when he answered. "Mikasa." He coughed and managed to regain outward control, at least. "Can I help you?"
She marched up to him and put her hands on her hips, glaring up at his face. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" she snapped.
She knows, thought Takeda. That thought was followed by a few choice words that barely remained within the confines of his mind.
"Mikasa, please allow me to explain-"
"What could there possibly be to explain?" she interrupted. "Sheer stupidity is the only explanation. Despite how young you are, I thought you at least had developed the maturity to keep from doing something so stupid!"
"Look, listen to me, I-"
She shoved a bundle of clothing into his hands. Perplexed, he looked down at it then at her.
"It's called a coat," she said, speaking slowly as if to a child. "Young children learn to wear them at an early age so they don't catch their death of cold. It may seem warm to you right now, but when you go belowdecks soaked by the spray, you'll be sick in no time."
Feeling a sudden, intense sense of relief- she was just being motherly, that was all- he put on the coat. "Thank you, Mikasa," he said.
"Someone has to take care of you," she said, trying to hide a pleased grin without success. "Naturally it falls on your elders to look after the youngsters."
"I'm not that much younger than you," he pointed out, tugging on the coat to straighten it out.
"Umisen yamasen," she said. "Or, as the Americans might say, it is not the years, but the kilometers."
"Miles, he corrected. "The Americans use miles."
She shrugged. "Do you feel warm enough now? Would you like some tea?"
"Arigato," Takeda accepted the cup of tea. "I appreciate your concern."
She nodded, apparently satisfied. They both turned to watch the ocean again as they sipped their tea. It was peaceful enough, the waves regular if a bit high. Strangely, he could smell a squall on the wind, though the sky was nearly cloudless all the way to the horizon.
"Now, then," said Mikasa. "What's this I hear about you sleeping with Akagi?"
Takeda choked on his tea, pounded his chest to try and clear his airway. Mikasa, crossing her arms, just watched him critically until he finally managed to recover.
"Ayanami?" he guessed.
"Did you know," said Mikasa in a flat tone, "when I woke up this morning the last thing I expected was to have a young lady asking me about the 'special training' that Akagi and the shikikan were engaging in?"
"Um."
"That was her term, of course. After all, what else would the esteemed shikikan be doing with one of his kansen other than training? So, it fell on me to explain- after I had to suffer through a very detailed description of what she had seen you two doing- what was actually going on."
Takeda tried to imagine the conversation. After a moment of that, he wondered if Mikasa was going to kill him. "I am very sorry," he said, bowing deeply in apology.
Mikasa waved away the apology. "Oh, it's all right. I don't think she really understood it in the end. Sometimes she seems to live in her own little world."
"Well," said Takeda, straightening. "Perhaps it's for the best."
"Yes, no doubt. She's already pestering me for her chance at the 'special training' with the shikikan."
Takeda briefly considered the merits of ritual suicide.
Seeing his thousand yard stare, Mikasa slapped him on the back of the head. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself and start thinking about how to deal with your ill-timed lechery!"
Rubbing his head- that blow had been painful- he shot her a scowl. "I wouldn't call it lechery-"
"Ayanami is a very observant girl," said Mikasa archly. "She even acted out bits."
"All right, all right. So that was part of it- but it isn't just-"
"Isn't just what, shikikan?" Akagi's voice had its usual calm tone, but there was the slightest undercurrent of warning that put Takeda on guard. "Lust? No, but that was certainly part of it."
The kitsune sauntered up to the two of them, moving with even more grace than usual. Akagi on the sea was even more alluring than Akagi on land. Her movements were somehow both precise and bewitching, a calculated sensuality that threatened to overwhelm what resolve Takeda had been able to muster after their...encounter.
She came to his side, acting as naturally as if they had been lovers for years. He found himself looking into her eyes, searching out her true thoughts and feelings.
The mischievousness of a fox spirit was there, of course, a sort of amused, condescending cynicism. Beyond that, though, he saw a pleading, a need for his acceptance, the look of one who had opened up her defenses and was secretly terrified that he wouldn't like what he saw. Such a thought about Akagi would have been inconceivable to him even a few days before. Every leader felt lonely- perhaps she felt it more because of the loss of Amagi. Any inchoate intent to rebuff her evaporated. He knew, as those gorgeous eyes looked back into him, that he could just couldn't return things to how they were before. Like it or not, Akagi and he were bound.
It wasn't right, it was just true.
"My life," he said softly. "How much of it more remains? The night is brief."
"Masaoka Shiki," said Mikasa almost automatically, identifying the haiku's author. "Are you so afraid of the night's brevity?"
Takeda shook his head. "It's not my life that is- or could be- too short."
Mikasa's eyes bored into his. "Do you think you can justify your actions simply by your affection for us? Is that why you waited so long to strike back at the Sirens?"
Akagi had been watching silently, but now she spoke up. "Mikasa, you are treading very close to insubordination."
The battleship girl rounded on her furiously. "You are one to talk! First you seemed to hate him, next you're tripping your commanding officer into your bed?"
"Mikasa!" Akagi affected surprise. "Are you jealous?"
Her face slowly reddening with fury, Mikasa took a step toward Akagi. The carrier girl shifted her weight, moving slightly away from Takeda. He frantically tried to think of a way to stop what looked like an incipient fight.
Before it could go any further, Mikasa whirled and stalked away. If she'd had a tail she would be lashing it.
Takeda watched her go, sighing inwardly. He wasn't sure if that could have gone much worse. He felt something brush his arm and realized Akagi's tails were circling him possessively. "You know that it isn't jealousy that is causing her anger," he pointed out.
"Of course not," she said impishly. "But it had the desired effect. We're alone now." She leaned against him. "You may care for the other ones," she whispered. "But remember that you and I belong to one another now."
She kissed him on the cheek and walked away, toward the carrier's island.
Takeda watched her go, cursing himself for letting his life get this complicated.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Fifth Carrier Division has been dispatched to investigate the Marianas, particularly Guam, in order to ascertain whether there are any survivors and the potential for bases there," said Takeda, gesturing at the chart displayed on the wall. He was very aware of the gazes of the kansen in the briefing room aboard Akagi.
Mikasa's glare was the only openly hostile one, but Ise and her sister Hyugga, their arms crossed disapprovingly, met his glance with barely concealed disdain. Kaga still refused to meet his eyes. Souryuu mostly had her face down, taking notes, but Hiryuu's expression was openly challenging. Fusou and Yamashiro were the only reasonably friendly faces in the room- they knew, of course, but appeared to be the only ones who weren't treating him as a barely tolerable lech. Well, except for Akagi, but she brought him little comfort. Her adoring eyes when looking at him were almost as unnerving as the disdainful, suspicious glances she shot at her fellow kansen.
He reminded himself that they were on a mission. They would follow orders, despite their personal feelings. "The Second Carrier Division will be scouting Wake Island and Midway. I will remain with the First Carrier Division. We'll be acting as a strategic reserve. At this point in the mission, we are primarily conducting reconnaissance. As we gain more understanding of the battlefield, I will report our findings to Admiral Yamamoto, who will dispatch forces accordingly. At a minimum, we want to secure a base in the Marianas and one on either Wake Island or Midway."
Souryuu looked up sharply. "Those are American territories."
"I have been assured that the details will be worked out," said Takeda, though secretly he wondered whether negotiations were going as well as he had been glibly informed. It wouldn't be the first time the Naval Ministry- or the government in general- had been less than forthcoming to the commanders in the field. "Likely, we will turn over control of any bases established to the Americans once they are able to supply and defend them effectively." That last part was entirely his own supposition.
"No doubt the shikikan's judgment is impeccable," said Mikasa frostily.
Most of the kansen looked down, embarrassed at her near-insubordinate attitude. Mikasa ignored the sudden chill that had come over the room, staring at Takeda as if daring him to rebuke her.
He took a deep breath. "Are there any questions?" he said finally.
After a brief moment of silence, Souryuy raised a hand. "We have a number of minesweepers in the supply convoy- where are we going to place mines? We have no idea where the Sirens might come."
"I have some ideas, but so far nothing concrete. Much depends on how the Sirens react- or don't react- to our probes. For right now, they will remain with the main fleet."
Yamashiro's hand shot up. "Oh, milord! I heard we have some submarines now?"
Takeda waited a moment. "And your question...?" he prompted.
She looked confused before she realized she hadn't actually asked anything. "What are they going to be doing? It's not as if there's any Siren commerce to raid."
"Part of their mission will be scouting," said Takeda. "Thank you for bringing that up. The carriers will have to ensure the submarine tenders are adequately protected."
Yamashiro furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "Part of their-"
Takeda interrupted her. "If there's nothing else..." He waited a moment before continuing. "Dismissed. Please report to me as and when you make your dispositions."
The kansen stood up, clothes rustling as they made their way out of the room. Takeda caught Mikasa's eye.
"Mikasa, wait a moment, please."
She turned away and strode out of the room without acknowledging him. Yamashiro, who noticed the interaction, looked shocked and had to be pulled out of the room by her sister. A bit cautiously, he looked at Akagi.
She was watching Mikasa with an appraising eye as the battleship girl left. "Hmm," she said, softly enough that he doubted he was intended to hear "Perhaps I wasn't entirely wide of the mark after all."
"Akagi," he said warningly.
She smiled at him as she closed the distance between them. "Do not worry, shikikan. I will take care of this little...problem."
"Akagi-"
Without another word, she left, leaving Takeda alone in the briefing room.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Should we not focus on the British and Germans?" asked Tester.
The two Sirens were floating just above the sea ice only a few dozen miles from the North Pole. It wasn't the largest base the Sirens had established, but this one was the most convenient for their current purposes. It was possible the British had picked up on signals, but the chances of an enemy attack were effectively nil.
Immune to the cold, Observer shrugged. "I doubt we'll see any major actions from them in the near term. They are currently otherwise engaged. Particularly the Germans."
"A very interesting development," said Tester. "Although the probability for Hitler to seize power was assessed as very high."
"Hmm. Another variable to take into consideration. Though certainly a dictatorship can be easier in some ways to predict than other forms of government. Assuming we can understand the dictator, of course."
"We've done well with Stalin," pointed out Tester. "The Soviet fleet has been largely neutralized for the duration of-" She stopped as she suddenly remembered exactly when the Soviets had last contributed to the war.
Observer, however, seemed unfazed by the memory. "Hitler seems more unpredictable. His irrational hatred of various ethnic groups among the humans makes it hard to determine when he will act with reason and when he will react with hate. We will have to watch him carefully."
Tester nodded. "Very well. And the Japanese and Americans?"
"I don't like the idea of them combining, do you? I would rather test them separately, in detail."
"It would make the variables easier to control if they were not allied. It will be hard enough to test individual elements without possible feedback between them."
"Let's see what we can do, then. I am very anxious to find out just what these Commanders are capable of." Observer agreed, brushing away some snow that had fallen on her shoulders. "By the way, do we know who exactly was responsible for the explosion at the Reichstag?"
The question caught the other Siren by surprise. "Surely it was the Nazis?"
"Yes," said Observer. She idly watched the sea beyond the pack ice, noting the slick black form of a whale broaching the surface. "Have you located Purifier?"
Tester turned to face her, eyes narrowing in sudden suspicion. "No, she hasn't reported in since the Battle of the North Sea. Why do you ask?"
Observer shook her head. "No reason. Although..."
"Yes?"
"I wonder if I was the only one affected during the battle. You may have made it through unscathed-" she emphasized the word may slightly "-but something corrupted my vessel, enough that it affected my personality. And Purifier isn't exactly the most stable of us."
The cold wind threw up flurries of snow as it rushed past in the silence that followed.
"I will make every effort to locate her immediately," said Tester finally.
"Yes, I think that would be wise."
A/N: It's worrisome that I seem to write unhealthy relationships better than healthy ones. I suppose it's true, write what you know (don't worry, I'm not in a bad relationship now- but I have more experience with it than I like to admit).
Wanted to do a quick plug for a book that I'm reading right now. Twenty Million Tons Under the Sea: The Daring Capture of the U-505 by Admiral (ret) Daniel Gallery, USN. The late Admiral was an excellent writer, who wrote some hilarious fictional books about naval aviators in the Cold War era ("Now Hear This" and "Stand By-y-y-y to Start Your Engines"). Twenty Million Tons Under the Sea is his non-fictional account of the Battle of the Atlantic, leading up to the capture of the U-505 by his task group in 1944. A lot of people are unaware that the Americans did capture a U-boat and it was the first capture of a foreign man-of-war on the high seas by the US Navy since 1815. This book is readily available, though I am still unable to find his fiction. If anyone finds them in a digital format please let me know- I haven't been able to find my paperback ones in years.
One thing that struck me was that he includes the story of the friendship between the captains of U-556 and Bismarck in his narrative, which will be familiar to any AL players. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in naval history.