Nagato internally sighed as she watched her sister dump another stack of papers on her floor desk.
"This is the last batch for the day, Nagato-nee." Mutsu informed her with an encouraging smile.
Nagato gave her a smile of her own. "Thank you, Mutsu. You can go ahead and get started with dinner; I'll be there when I'm finished with these."
She was exhausted; paperwork had always been the most stressful part of her job, but lately, it had been piling up even more. It made sense, though, with the peace treaty, the reestablishment of Azur Lane, the transfer of some of the Sakura Kansen to the new joint base, and the never-ending Siren incursions in their territories. She had never been this busy since the Cubes had given birth to her.
Adding to that, her duties as head priestess and the constant meddling of the human officers on base were more than enough to give her multiple migraines.
"Very well, I'll see you later then." Mutsu told her as she walked out of the office with a gleeful wave of her hand.
Her sister had always been the happy and carefree type, and since peace was established between the factions, her mood had only improved. Seeing her happy was one of the things that reminded Nagato that everything she was doing was worth it, even though she had barely enough time to spend with her.
Sometimes she wished she could just drop everything and go to the joint base herself; there, she could be a normal Kansen instead of the Priestess of the Sakura Empire and the guardian of the Sakura Tree. She'd be able to meet with the Kansen from the other factions, make friends without the pressure of titles and ranks weighing her down, and spend more time with her sister.
Furthermore, rather than wasting away behind a desk filling out paperwork, she would be able to do what she was born to do: fight the Sirens on the sea alongside her kind.
When was the last time she had fired her cannons? If she remembered correctly, it was during the parade the government had organized to officially introduce the Kansen to the public, which was too long ago for her liking.
But alas, she had her duties to her nation and the honor that those responsibilities brought along. She only wished that the human officers on base would help her out instead of making it harder for her.
They weren't all bad. Some of them would barely speak to her, too afraid to risk disrespecting the "Priestess of the Sakura," but those who did were too uptight, constantly reminding her of her status and duties; others would just dump all their unnecessary complaints on her, such as the inappropriate dressing habits of the fleet's "bigger" members or the mischiefs of the destroyer girls.
For example, for the entirety of that day, they had been reporting to her several minor accidents, like the disappearance of their bento or their wallet; some of them even claimed to have been haunted by a yokai. The weirdest part was that all these events had one thing in common: they were all immediately followed by the sighting of a large, nine-tailed fox with orange fur.
Of course, they were certain that the culprit was one of the Kitsune Kansen, and they were pressuring her to investigate and punish the perpetrator since they didn't have the courage to do it themselves; most of the foxes on base weren't exactly approachable types, especially certain carriers.
It took her all of her patience and self-control to explain to them that none of the Kitsunes on base had that hair color, that yokai did not exist, and that none of the Kansen on base would ever sully their honor by acting like thieves. Just thinking about it made her blood boil.
…
She was getting riled up over nothing. The humans on base were simply doing their job, but in a port with a fleet that was essentially self-sustaining, with all of the Kansen's in-built necessities at their disposal, and the Sanctuary never seeing any kind of action other than large-scale mock battles, their role on base was reduced to that of guardians and caretakers.
They had too much free time...
After finishing work, Nagato left her office and headed to the private lodging she shared with her sister. When she got in, she was greeted by an intense aroma that almost made her salivate.
"Nagato-nee! Welcome home! You are just in time. Take a seat and let's have dinner! I made omurice, your favorite!" Mutsu spoke up when she noticed her sister approaching her.
Her enthusiastic greeting brought a smile Nagato's face; her sister always knew how to cheer her up even without her saying anything.
"I'm home, Mutsu, and thank you for the thought. It's going to be delicious as always."
During dinner, she was content to let Mutsu talk about her day. She had nothing important to add to the conversation since the only things she could extrapolate from her boring day's work were "paperwork" and "complaints."
"By the way, Nagato-nee, I'm going out with Aoba after dinner."
Nagato wasn't surprised about that. Lately, the two had been getting closer and closer; she suspected Aoba was trying to get her sister to spill some juicy details about the private life of the Priestess of the Sakura for the next installment of her magazine. She had tried to warn Mutsu about it, but she just brushed it off; after all, they both loved gossip and rumors.
"I see. Give her my regards when you see her."
"We've been trying to hunt down the yokai that's causing all that ruckus down at the port, but we haven't found anything yet."
"Seriously?" Her chopsticks stopped midair. "Not you too, sister…" She thought to herself.
Mutsu answered with a glint in her eyes and the biggest smile on her face. "Yeah! If we catch it, not only she gets a big scoop in her hands, but those nuisances will finally stop pestering you with their bothersome demands." She declared with a hint of annoyance in her voice at the end, clearly referring to the complaints she had received from the officers.
Nagato was astonished. Mutsu was never this mean when talking about others… Well, seldom, so it was always a surprise when it happened, but this time, she was doing it for her; her little sister was worried about her, and it made her heart flutter with pride and affection.
"Very well then, if you have finished your meal you can go. Leave the dishes to me, and don't make Aoba wait."
"Really, Nagato-nee? You are the best!" Mutsu jumped to her neck and hugged her, nuzzling her cheek with her own.
After that, she bolted out of the front door, shouting, "I'm going out, Nagato-nee!"
"See you later."
The door slammed and the room went suddenly quiet with her sister's departure.
"Looks like I have some time for myself tonight."
Shodo was what she found solace in. After a hard day of work, the two sisters usually spent their nights in their shared bedroom, Mutsu reading a novel on her futon and Nagato painting kanji on a scroll with a brush.
She breathed a sigh of fatigue, inhaling the smell of the ink coming from the inkwell. She was looking forward to spending the night with Mutsu, but this time her sister decided to do it by chasing around an imaginary ghost. She did not like that notion, but since Mutsu wasn't acting out of malice, she decided to let it slide this time.
tonf
Her ears perked up at a soft noise coming from the hall.
"Mutsu? Is that you? Did you forget something?" She called out, assuming it was her sister coming back too early.
No response.
"Who goes there?" She tried again.
Nothing.
She got up from her pillow and headed to the door of the room.
The only other one who was allowed in their lodgings without notice was Kawakaze, but if it was her, she would have already announced herself; and if it wasn't her, then who could possibly be enough of a fool to barge into the house of the Priestess of the Sakura (and a Kansen with unmatched firepower) uninvited? One of the human officers? Another Kansen?
"Identify yourself!" She raised her voice.
Still nothing.
"Don't make me repeat myself!"
"So, you are the Nagato of this world…" A voice came from behind her, startling her as she turned around in a flash.
A Kitsune stood in front of her, a Kansen then, but not your typical Kansen. It was a man.
"I must say, I'm rather unimpressed," the stranger added.
Nagato was shocked, and time seemed to stop for a second.
He was tall, very tall, even for someone of her height. He was standing between the window and the tatami table she had been sitting at until one minute ago, arms crossed over his chest. His piercing red eyes were looking down at her, judging her, keeping her feet glued to the floor.
He had short orange hair and big, pointy fox ears. Nine massive tails of the same color were swaying around behind him, which made his appearance even more imposing; the fur seemed to light up on fire at the touch of the light coming from her lamp.
Nagato was able to recover from her shock and finally found her voice.
"W-who are you? How did you get in here and what do you want?"
This man was dangerous; she could feel it. If he really was a Kansen, then he had enough strength to hurt her if he wanted, and not only that, but he managed to infiltrate the base and sneak up on her undetected despite her superior hearing sense.
But since he gave up the element of surprise, it meant that he was not there to hurt her… hopefully. She really didn't want to tear down her home by summoning her rigging to defend herself.
"Calm down. I'm not your enemy, and I'm not here to fight."
He took a step forward, and she took a step back, her eyes shining brightly, ready to call upon her rigging.
But the man stopped at the table and slowly sat down in front of it.
"Let's have a chat, Priestess of the Sakura."
Nagato had decided to accept the mysterious stranger's request, and the two foxes were now sitting at the low table, the shipgirl kneeling on her pillow, the shipboy sitting in front of her with his legs crossed.
Now that they were so close, she was able to take a better look at her "guest." He had a youthful face with a severe expression and sharp features. She couldn't say if he was as young as he looked; after all, guessing the age and seniority of a Kansen based on their appearance was a delicate topic, she knew it very well.
She did catch a glimpse of his other peculiarities, like the black spots of fur on the tips of his ears and tails or the scars peeking out under the collar of his green haori.
On his part, he was staring at her, puzzled as to how such a small person could become the highest-ranking officer in port, and the key figure of an entire nation's faith. He knew it wasn't fair to judge a book by its cover, but he also knew how humans could be, and he still couldn't help but wonder…
"Are you done checking me out?" Nagato asked with a hint of indignation in her voice.
"I could say the same about you; you are looking at me as if you've never seen a man in your entire life," he retorted.
"I've seen plenty of men, but I've never even heard of a male Kansen before; you'll have to excuse my lack of manners," Nagato rebutted. The shock that had gotten the better of her earlier was slowly giving way to irritation.
"And what makes you say that I'm actually a Kansen?"
"Are you not?"
"I won't deny that."
Now her irritation was beginning to show; one of her ears started twitching on its own as she sucked in a deep breath. "First you barge into my house unannounced, lurking around like a ghost, and when I agree to your request, you start acting like a presumptuous prick, trying to mislead me with your words. In the first place, just with your unauthorized presence inside a military base, you are violating an insane amount of rules. Now tell me why I shouldn't summon my rigging and blast you out of here this instant when I have all the rights to do so. I may look like a little girl, but I'm still a proud Kansen of the Sakura Empire, and I will not have you disrespect me by not taking me seriously!" The amount of stress accumulated in the last few days and the latest development of the night had broken the lid to the box of her patience, and it came out flooding like a torrent.
Silence fell inside the dimly lit room; he wasn't expecting such an outburst from such a petite body, but he knew it wasn't uncalled for. He had finally established contact with the head of the base after investigating from the shadows for the entire day, so he'd better take this seriously; he was in desperate need of assistance, after all.
"Very well, I apologize for my uncouth behavior, Nagato-sama," he said, slightly bowing his head to her. "But you have to admit that walking through the main gate, announcing my presence to the entire base, and declaring my intentions to converse with you would have stirred up too much of a ruckus, so I opted for the safest approach."
Nagato scoffed; she was starting to suspect who the culprit behind all those weird cases was. "You are telling me that sneaking around the base unnoticed, stalking the officers, and stealing their belongings is your idea of a safe approach?"
"I've been gathering information about the place while also trying to put something in my stomach. It is how I got to know about you and decided to reach out; besides, they deserved it, they were being mean to the little ones…"
She didn't react to the last part but made sure to take note of it; at least he confirmed her suspicions.
"And how exactly did you find my home?" Nagato inquired.
"I was hiding nearby when I heard someone shout, 'see you later, Nagato-nee!' and came to investigate, which led to the situation we currently find ourselves in."
Nagato sighed, knowing she'd have to lecture Mutsu about her tone of voice later... again.
"Let me make this clear, Nagato-sama," the shipboy started, slightly leaning over the table. "As I've already said, I'm not your enemy, and I don't wish to fight. I harbor no ill intentions towards you, your sister, or your base; the only reason I tried to reach out to you specifically is because you are the highest-ranking Kansen in this base, and you are the only one who can help me."
Back to the serious matter, then. "And what if I decide your plea is not worth listening to?" Nagato asked.
The man in front of her narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brow; it was just a second, but she could swear that his red irises had gained a much more menacing hue. One second it was there, and the next it disappeared.
He leaned back and took a deep breath through his teeth. "In that case, I'll take my leave, get out of this port, and take to the sea, where I'll go looking for my brothers on my own." He narrowed his gaze at her, he had to show some of his cards here if he wanted to grab her attention. "I'll never show my face around here again, and you won't have to worry about me intruding into your house ever again."
Luckily for him, it worked.
Nagato's ears perked up at his statement. "Brothers? You're telling me there's more like you out there?"
He suppressed a smirk. The conversation was going in his favor. He was suspicious when he first arrived and saw that all the Kansen in the base were female, but Nagato had already confirmed it: there were no male Kansen in this world, just as there were no female Kansen where he came from. He didn't know why; he certainly wasn't an expert in Wisdom Cube research and Siren engineering. He could only take advantage of this fact and hope that Nagato would accept his request and help him find his missing brothers.
"Yes, there are six of us, including me," he started with a forlorn expression. "We were out to sea when we got ambushed by a Siren fleet and got dragged inside a Mirror Sea. It wasn't easy, but we were able to defeat them. Unfortunately, when the Mirror Sea expired, we got separated. When I woke up, I found myself stranded in the middle of the ocean, alone and with no idea of where I was. I could only head in a random direction and start looking for my brothers without any leads. After a while, I stumbled upon this base and infiltrated it with the goal of speaking with someone of a higher status, like you, that is."
He wasn't lying, but he wasn't exactly telling the truth either; after all, the best way to tell a lie is to hide it behind the truth. Nagato was well aware of this; she was all too familiar with politics and sly tongues. Unfortunately, she couldn't tell the difference between the two, but of one thing she was certain: his anguish was genuine; he was deeply concerned about his brothers.
She could empathize with that. If she were in his place, alone and helpless, she'd be ready to do anything possible to ensure her sister's safety, but she wasn't sure she'd be able to keep her cool like he was doing at the moment.
Or maybe he wasn't. Maybe that's also just a facade.
If she were someone else, she'd probably agree to help him immediately. His posture wasn't helping either. His ears were flat on his head, his tails had stopped swaying and were lying motionlessly on the floor behind him; but she had duties and responsibilities that took priority over her desire to help someone in need.
"I understand…" She decided not to pry any further, for now. She knew where this conversation was going, and if she guessed it right, she would have plenty of time to interrogate him later.
But first, she had to see how far she could push her luck with him.
She readied herself and put on her best business face. "Now tell me, if I agree to help you in this endeavor, what's in it for me, nay, for the Sakura Empire? Why would we give you our valuable time and resources when our coasts are being constantly harassed by the Sirens? When we are fighting a war with the entire world at stake, what can you offer me to make the effort worthwhile?" She knew that she was being pretty harsh on him, but this was the moment of truth; it was time to test his determination and see how far he was willing to go for his kin.
The man in front of her already knew what to say. Only two things mattered the most to him in life: the well-being of his brothers and the extermination of his enemies. Luckily, her being a Kansen meant they shared the same kind of enemy.
His head and ears slowly perked up as he gathered his resolve, and his tails came back to life, swaying behind him in an erratic pattern. He closed his right hand into a fist, brought it to his chest, and looked her straight in the eyes.
"I will provide you with all the information that you may be lacking about the Wisdom Cubes, and you will have my eternal gratitude and my unconditional loyalty until the day I die or every single one of our enemies is dead."
Nagato smiled; a soft but determined smile. "It looks like we'll have to find a way to introduce you to the fleet; I don't want the higher-ups to make a fuss about your presence yet." She was already thinking of what to do to start searching for the other shipboys, and she only needed to contact their newfound allies.
His eyes widened, relief washing over his face as he smiled. "I have no words to express my gratitude, Nagato-sama. Thank you," he said, bowing his head atop the table with his hands on his knees.
She bowed back to him, then realization struck her, a minor detail that had slipped her mind but was still important in its own way. "By the way, you still haven't told me your name."
"It's Kurama, my lady."
AN: Kurama is an actual ship called JS Kurama. It was the second destroyer of the Shirano-class, and it belonged to the JMSDF. It was ordered in 1976, launched in 1979, commissioned in 1981, and decommissioned in 2017 (thanks to Xcepter for the heads-up), but that's not where the inspiration comes from. I'll talk about him later.
Some of the other OCs will also be inspired by real-life warships; others will not. You'll see what I mean and why later on.
Next Chapter: Outshining Performance