Yamashiro cracked her eyes open slowly, finding herself in subtly familiar surroundings. She was in a futon, not a bed. She could smell bamboo and tatami, could see rice paper walls and wooden doors. For a brief, fearful moment she thought she might even be back in the sanctuary, that her sister had risked both of their lives for nothing. That was until she saw Fusou's relieved face and a man who was definitely not from the Sakura Empire.
"Easy now. You and I took quite the jump last night. Those command towers of yours..." he said, placing a broad, firm hand on her back as she sat upright. At some point during the night or following day, someone had redressed her in her kimono.
"Nee-san?" Yamashiro asked weakly, hoping for an explanation. Her sister took her hand gently. "What happened? I remember falling and then…"
"It's alright, Yamashiro. A great many things have happened but we're safe for now," Fusou declared. Thorson was about to follow up and explain some of the occurrences of the prior night when the door to the room was thrown open and Akashi made her presence known.
"Yamashiro-san is awake, nyaa! Akashi will bring tea!" With that declaration the minty kitty scampered off to wherever on the base she stored such luxuries. While Akashi's excitability was not necessarily a surprise, Thorson was definitely caught off guard by who else had accompanied her. Shiranui floated into the room while the three children as well as the other Sakura on base watched from the doorway. Even some of Thorson's Union ships could be seen. Yamashiro blushed.
"What's the occasion?" Thorson asked good-naturedly.
"The maidens are alive. The gods have not abandoned us, idiot Shikikan," Shiranui said quietly. Fusou protested.
"You should not refer to tono-sama this way, Shiranui. But I am happy to see you yet live."
Thorson thought he was dreaming as Shiranui looked well and truly chastised for the first time since he'd known her. He stepped in. "Thank you for your concern, Fusou. Shiranui and I have a...let's call it a cordial relationship, and I appreciate when she speaks her mind. She's the one who insisted that I bring every gun to bear in order to save you and your sister."
"The spirits bless you, Shiranui. And you, tono-sama," Fusou replied, bowing deeply to them. Yamashiro nodded quickly and joined her sister. Shiranui responded by bowing as best she could while floating, a depth of respect she'd never extended to him before.
"You honor me. Thank you. And yes, I do yet live...in a fashion," Shiranui replied darkly. They were saved from the gravity of gods and death by the cheerful pitter-patter of Akashi returning with a traditional Sakura tea set and matcha powder. Steam wafted lazily from the pot's spout.
"Where did you even get that?" Thorson asked as Akashi extended the set to Yamashiro. The younger shrine maiden reached for it with shaking hands.
"Akashi has many secrets, nyaa! Shikikan should spend time getting to know his new battleships, not worrying about Akashi's business. The base will always have enough, nyaa!"
"Here, let me help you, nee-chan. You are still recovering," Fusou insisted, helping Yamashiro settle the tray in her lap.
"Akashi is right. The three of you should discuss our next acts to liberate the Sakura Empire," Shiranui agreed, floating off to the door where she and Akashi began to disperse the crowd that had gathered. Thorson caught Cleveland's eye.
"I'll see you lot at lunch, alright?"
"Sounds good, Commander! Don't you go getting a new flagship now! I want to link with you again!" Cleveland replied happily before Indy and Portland gave chase, tailing her down the wooden hallway.
"Why do you only get to link with the Commander?!" Portland protested as laughter echoed through the dormitories, eventually leaving them in silence. When he turned back he found that Yamashiro had begun preparing tea, whisking matcha into the warm water as her sister watched over her with a keen and caring eye. The neko battleship hummed to herself as she did so, an innocent and cheerful tune that clashed violently with the horrors that Thorson remembered from the night before. Her ears twitched as she worked, the sleek black fur around the edges contrasting with the impossibly soft looking fur of her inner ear.
"Nee-san, here you go!" Yamashiro said proudly, offering her sister a cup. Fusou demurred, however, gesturing to Thorson.
"Yamashiro, last night I surrendered officially to Shikikan Thorson and his fleet. He is our lord now. Serve him first," she advised. Yamashiro cocked her head in confusion and looked at Thorson instead. He smiled.
"The 'lord'," he began with a hint of sarcasm regarding his own status, "says ladies first."
"Thank you, tono-sama," Fusou replied with a polite smile, accepting the cup from her sister. Yamashiro prepared a second cup and gave it to Thorson.
"Go ahead tono-sama! I need my hands free for the last cup!" She said happily, displaying few outward signs of any lingering trauma. When they all finally had drinks, Fusou spoke.
"Let us share this tea in the hope of forming new alliances," she said before bringing her cup to her perfect lips. Thorson watched spellbound, as every movement of her body lent an air of elegance to the room. He and Yamashiro followed suit before Thorson spoke.
"Let's get the difficult stuff out of the way first. Why did you flee the Sakura and what can you tell me about their alliance with the sirens and the state of their forces?"
Yamashiro's ears wilted as Fusou closed her eyes and sighed. "I pray the spirits will understand my decision to pledge our service to you, tono-sama. Otherwise I'm sure our misfortunes will be redoubled for betrayal and treason. I do not know everything about the dealings between Akagi, Kaga, and the sirens. But I know that their rule is absolute and all dissenters are crushed eventually. The manner they chose for us was...particularly distasteful. We were told we were to be retrofitted for the use of scout aircraft and that our rigging would have to be modified. It was all a front, one I was able to see through. Those tethers they fused into our shards were meant to inexorably link us to our ships. We were to become a part of the machine, a pair of mindless tools to be used as the sirens saw fit. I..." Fusou began to cry as she looked at her sister. "I told Yamashiro to let it take her at first while I did my best to fight it, to let them believe it was working long enough for me to create an opening during a training exercise. I'm so sorry, Yamashiro. Without Shikikan Thorson's intervention my actions would have condemned you to death."
"Mmm, but nee-san, everything's fine now. See, I can still form my rigging and everything!" The little sister declared happily.
"Wait, Yamashiro!" Fusou cried, barely just snatching the tea set from her lap as the girl's massive rigging took shape in the form of a full command tower and four turrets with two barrels each. Thorson was displaced and knocked off his knees to the floor while Yamashiro herself seemed taken aback by the change in weight and began spilling her tea. Her subsequent overcorrection had her lean slightly to the left, the weight of her guns and tower doing the rest as she squeaked and fell over. She deactivated her rigging at the last second, landing squarely atop Thorson as their tea cups rolled away on the floor. He caught her easily, acting on instinct as he wrapped her in his arms. While she wasn't naked, her kimono had not been tied while in bed, resulting in the full, bare weight of Yamashiro's breasts resting against Thorson's chest. They looked at one another. He nodded. She smiled at him.
"Hmm hmm, thank you tono-sama!" Yamashiro said happily, adjusting herself to rest a bit more comfortable atop him. Thorson swallowed heavily. She was soft, everywhere.
"I…you're welcome," he replied quietly as Fusou quickly retrieved their cups and began scolding her sister lightly.
"Yamashiro, you have to be more careful. We've spilled tea in one of Akashi's new rooms and you almost hurt tono-sama, to say nothing of this indecency!"
"It's alright," Thorson cut in, waving from beneath the curvy kitty. "Was an accident, right Yamashiro."
"Mmhmm! I'm a bit clumsy sometimes, tono-sama," she said without embarrassment before raising her head with a look of consideration on her face as she sniffed the air around them. "Oh, tono-sama, tono-sama! You're very warm. It's really nice. And you smell good too! Hmmm," Yamashiro declared, resting her head against the crook of his neck."
"Yamashiro!" Fusou shouted, developing a healthy blush of her own.
"Aww, nee-san!" The shrine maiden protested, lifting herself off of Thorson only to give the Commander a full view of her breasts. "Tono-sama, don't stare so much!" She requested softly, finally covering herself and tying her sash firmly around her waist. Thorson remained flat on his back, processing a few things. The short haired neko didn't seem upset at all by their contact.
"I'm so sorry, tono-sama. Yamashiro tends to be a bit clumsy at times, as she said," Fusou apologized.
"It's fine," he eventually replied before sitting up and shaking his head. "As long as that doesn't extend to misfires at sea it's...oh, right. I suppose there is a bit of a crater in the forest out there."
"It won't happen again, tono-sama. The voices telling me to kill you are gone!" Yamashiro reassured him. Fusou and Thorson looked at one another in horror.
"The sirens?" He demanded.
"Yes."
"Understood. Either way it won't be an issue for now. The Yamashiro is at the bottom of the Pacific. Tennessee blew her to pieces," Thorson recalled. "We did manage to salvage the Fusou, but the battle damage is immense. I've asked the head of our maintenance crew to give me an estimate by the end of the day as to whether she should be scrapped. And then of course we have no more cubes to make more ships," Thorson lamented, having explained the situation to Fusou prior to visiting Yamashiro.
"I am sorry, tono-sama. I should have warned you of the possibility, but I didn't think Kaga would actually send Kirishima after us."
"Who?"
"She is the most skilled of the Sakura kunoichi. Many of us practice with blades and other weapons but a few master the art of subterfuge above all else. I suppose it could have been another of Kaga's, but she is the most competent when operating without her ship. We will assist in any way we can."
"I see. You have my thanks then," Thorson replied. "For now, any assistance you can give me with the three little ones, Kisaragi, Mutsuki, and Mikazuki would be appreciated. To my knowledge no girls like them exist in the Union. We're at a complete loss in terms of what to do with them. I know there's an abandoned school building and library down at the docks, near the fountain."
"I will make use of whatever we have and be sure to keep them out of your way, tono-sama," Fusou agreed easily. "May I request you allow Yamashiro to serve you directly?"
Thorson looked at the younger sister, who was kneeling politely next to her futon and fixing a large hairpin in the shape of a cat's mask to her black hair. She smiled at him as her ears perked up again. "I will do my best for you, tono-sama!" She was too cute by half to deny.
"You might not be that happy after you see all the paperwork that's been building up over the last few weeks. Shiranui is incredibly thorough in her inventory management. In any case, until you two can fight again I thank you for your assistance around the base. Hmm, what is it?" He asked, watching Fusou's tail wave about behind her animatedly. She was avoiding his direct gaze.
"This may be presumptuous of me, but I have a request, tono-sama."
"I'll hear it," he replied politely. "You can always ask me anything. I might not say yes but I'm not a fan of my ships getting pent up over things. Tennessee is hard enough to deal with as is."
Fusou laughed politely at his joke. "Thank you, tono-sama. It's truly wonderful to see that Akashi has been given the ability to build a dormitory for us in the style of our country and, well, I was hoping you might authorize construction of a shrine to the gods if we find a suitable spot for it, to keep our old ways alive. I know you do not share our faith, but I believe it would bring great comfort to our sisters."
Thorson hummed and cradled his chin in consideration, recalling how all of the Sakura ships on the island seemed to gravitate towards the shrine maidens. There was power in symbols, he figured. "So long as it doesn't impede the military operations of this base, I'm happy to authorize it. What would you require?"
"Wood, paint, and stone primarily, tono-sama. Do not worry. If Akashi can manage this dormitory I'm sure we can handle a shrine. Should such a location present itself I will come to you to seek authorization," Fusou promised. He nodded.
"Then I see no issues. I'd best be going, however, as I need to speak with my other ships. Perhaps we can speak after lunch, Yamashiro?"
"Of course, tono-sama! I look forward to serving you! You are much nicer than the first carrier division!" Yamashiro replied happily. Thorson's face hardened.
"Those two have a lot to answer for."
"It really isn't that many cubes," Akagi said, looking down at the crate that had been moved into the sanctuary's vault. It smelled of human.
"To our stores, of course not. But imagine having none," Kaga replied, kneeling to examine the cubes individually. Many had yet to be touched. "Nachi's is not among them."
"That barbarian probably used her for one of his fleet's hulls," Akagi snarled.
"You don't know that, sister. The sirens said the Creator did not consume her soul. She was put to rest."
"Those loathsome imperfections, claiming to speak for the Creator," the brown haired kitsune fumed.
"It chose them as its messengers, Akagi. We must live with that reality."
"You know as well as I do that we should be assaulting that base, not them. They dishonor us."
"I prefer to think of it as free intelligence," Kaga replied as the two of them left the vaults. "If the sirens destroy them, they were not worth our time. If they survive, perhaps we will finally receive a worthy foe in this war, one that will fight us head on."
"That damned Ghost. She knows no honor!" Akagi raged anew, having received report after report of Union airstrikes against peripheral Sakura islands and territory, even as they consolidated their forces for a concerted push on Midway and beyond.
"Her time will come sister, just as it will for this human 'Knight'," Kaga assured her with a predator smile. "I'm sure the smoke is already rising."
"Heya Commander!" Downes called, welcoming Thorson to the Union table. With no guests to serve there was an amicable division of forces within the mess hall for lunch. The Sakura, minus Shiranui who was on radar duty, occupied one large circular table and the Union another. Shiratsuyu had prepared a dish she called 'torpedo tempura', and Thorson found even Tennessee digging in as he joined his original fleet. "Good thing they didn't snatch that last cube, eh?"
"I'll say. That poor girl works hard enough," Pennsylvania agreed.
"She looks happy though," Portland added, seeing Shiratsuyu chatting happily with Yuugure and Hatsuharu.
"Speaking of happy, I'm not sure I've ever seen Penny this happy," Tennessee remarked with a glance at her partner. Arizona blushed as Thorson nodded in her direction.
"In memory of those we lost, in honor of those who have returned, and in acknowledgement of Tennessee actually making an attempt at humor, welcome to the fleet, Arizona." Thorson's words had his girls laughing loudly as the other battleships pounded the table and caused Arizona to shrink further into her seat with a blush on her cheeks and a smile on her lips.
"Thank you, Commander Thorson," she replied softly.
"You're lucky you slept through last night though, no offense," Downes added. "I thought this idiot was going to get himself killed at least twice.
"What happened?" Arizona asked with sudden interest.
"Jumped from the top of a Fusou-class bridge like it was no big deal," Indianapolis informed her.
"After boarding the first one with just a rifle," Portland cut in.
"And gave Laffey a big fright," Laffey added, taking a swig of booze. Thorson stared at her.
"Seriously?"
"Laffey drinks to celebrate Arizona. She isn't lonely anymore." The bunny girl received an adoring hug from Portland while Downes pushed her chair back and quickly deposited herself in Thorson's lap.
"What we should be drinking to is the Commander making the moves on Penny," she declared, wrapping her arms around his neck while throwing the Commander a devious smirk. "Still loving the new arm, by the way." Thorson snapped his gaze to Pennsylvania as Arizona let out a small gasp. To his immense surprise, his Valkyrie was blushing. Cleveland cackled with laughter before explaining.
"We couldn't help but notice a bit of a change in her every time your name came up. It was easy enough to pry it out of her," the tomboyish light cruiser described.
"Probably thought she could have you all to herself!" Downes piled on before looking Thorson dead in the eyes. "I warned you, Commander. I warned you this would happen if you kept doing stupid, brave things." The Union table erupted again as Downes planted her lips firmly on Thorson's and refused to be denied. Akashi quickly made sure every Sakura girl watched as well. Fusou only had two hands, meaning that Mutsuki got to watch, open mouthed and wide eyed, while her sisters were shielded from 'adult behavior'.
"Gah, what the-" Thorson began as Downes finally let him up for air. Laffey was standing next to him with an expectant look on her face. The moment he turned to tell her off she gave him a peck on the lips and returned to her seat. "Downes…you can't just-"
"Just shut it, would you?" Tennessee commanded, bringing utter silence to the table as the Union girls braced for another sudden butting of heads between Thorson and his fiery battleship. "Look, Commander. I sure as hell don't understand it but all these thirsty girls here seem to have taken a liking to you. You're too much of a coward or a man to tell them all off, can't tell which. But I will tell you one thing, the moment you start choosing favorites is the moment we stop being your fleet and start being your collection of pretty little things. You made this bed, now lie in it. If you don't want to laugh at my jokes I'll laugh at your stupid face when you get kissed and try to act like you don't enjoy it. I saw you move your tongue."
"Wow," Indy and Portland both whispered excitedly.
"Damn," Cleveland agreed as she brushed her hair from her eyes.
"We can...kiss the Commander?" Arizona suddenly whispered, earning her a conflicted look from Pennsylvania and a conspiratorial nod from Downes.
"You've got more reason to than any of us. C'mon over, he's all yours!"
"You don't get to decide that, Downes!" Thorson yelped.
"You're really going to say no to her?" The destroyer countered, making a show of looking up and down Arizona's now standing form, from her ivory leggings to her conservatively buttoned blue uniform. Thorson felt the words catch in his throat as the destroyer vacated his lap and the battleship walked tentatively up to him. After a deep breath she leaned in and left a soft kiss on his cheek.
"Uh…thank you for saving my life. And for not saying no," she squeaked. He nodded dumbly at her, wishing he could say anything appropriate in the situation his other ships had put him in. Instead they were all interrupted by the base's alarm system followed by Shiranui's voice.
"Aircraft incoming from the northwest, presumed hostile. Prepare for battle."