[A/N]: You all waited so patiently,and here it is! I hope y'all enjoy this chapter. It is sadly a little shorter than normal, however we've both been incredibly busy.

As always Goodalwayswins98 has written the Canadian's perspective, and I've written the American's perspective.

If you like what you see, and have any possible ideas for the story, leave a review letting me know!

As always, enjoy!


Jack Schumer

September 27th, 0726,

Location: Yokosuka Naval Hospital,

Status: Waiting for Danielle Schumer's awakening following emergency surgery.

The first hint that I get that we have visitors is when the door is opened. I stand up quickly and face the door just as an Asian guy sticks his head in, removing a Captain's hat as he enters. Behind him enters a blonde guy and a caveman who is obviously not a morning person, judging from the way he's dragging his feet.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" I ask in Japanese, unsure if these are Japanese academy students.

"Uhhh… We're acquaintances of hers." The captain answers in English, "Just cause I look Asian doesn't mean I'm Japanese eh?"

"How long ago did you guys meet her, where, and if you know her then give me her assigned ship designation number and name." I challenge in English, wary of the new arrivals. "And I wasn't trying to lump you in. You just never know these days."

"A few days ago, near Iwo Jima, and DD-726 USS Meredith." The captain responds in clean English.

"...Alright. I'm Flight Lieutenant Jack Schumer, flight lead for two-foxtrot of the USS Monterey, and her older brother." I introduce myself while I sit back down.

"I am Captain Kinh-Luyên Huynh of the HMCS Rainbow. This is Albert Gendreau, and Remi Chagnon. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"HCMS Rainbow? What is that, a frigate?" I ask uncertainly. "And what kind of gay ass name is Rainbow?"

"I'll have you know that the Rainbow is a Tench-class submarine, and a damn good sub at that tabarnak!" Al bristles, taking a step towards me with a finger pointed in my direction. Next to him, Kinh cracks his knuckles while Remi's eyes narrow and his face contorts into a snarl. A low growl could be heard from the caveman-like boy.

"Wait, is your sub's designation SS-75?" Call it a hunch, but I think I've come close to meeting these guys before. It's also a way to change their focus before we all get kicked out for fighting in a hospital.

"Yeah, why?"

"Was it you guys that got buzzed by a flight of Hellcats at the beginning of the year?" I try my best to contain my amusement, and after the captain responds in the affirmative I lose it, roaring with laughter.

"That was my flight that buzzed you!"

"Mon ostie de tabarnak!" Kinh shouts as he clenches his fists, "You know how much trouble we went through because of that?!"

"I gotta give you canucks credit though, that was a pretty fast dive for a bunch of rookies." I chuckle, ignoring his question.

"Mmmmnnnnnn…" Danielle groans, grabbing the undivided attention of everyone in the room, myself included.

I pivot in my seat and grab her hand, giving it a squeeze as her eyelids start to twitch. Then when she opens her eyes she looks at me. "Would it kill you to shut up once in awhile?"

I stare at her for a second before laughing. "I was going to ask how you're feeling, but I guess you're fine."

"Sorry about that," Kinh apologizes loudly. Al glares at him for being too loud.

"Good job man!" says the blond before scolding his friend in French.

"Hmmm…? Oh hell, where'd you guys come from?"

The two Canadians quit their bickering before sheepish looks appear on their faces.

"In all seriousness though, how do you feel?" I ask.

"My chest feels a bit tight, and my ribs ache, but otherwise I feel fine." She mutters, starting to try and sit up before I put my hand on her shoulder and gently push her back down.

"Yeah that's not happening. Stay or I'll get a nurse and she can tell you off."

"You should listen to your brother," Al suggests but Kinh cuts him off.

"We avenged your ship though!" he says with a wide grin. "Don't worry, I didn't vaporize the enemy cruiser with a full salvo. We just blew her steering and propellers off."

Remi had a smug look on his face at that statement.

"Yeah, I did a very good shot." he said gruffly with his head held high and a hint of pride in his voice. A rough grin appeared on his face.

"And in doing so you probably also blew a massive fucking hole in the bottom of the ship, causing massive flooding and possibly breaking the back of the ship. Way, to, go." I rattle off that information before slow clapping.

"Not really… Remi and Al are math geniuses and I had them set the torpedo to hit the rear of the ship not to mention that the Blue Mermaids found the USS Brooklyn dead in the water off Iwo Jima with her propellers blown off and her rudder all fucked up." Kinh explains with a smile.

"You guys are either a lot better than I thought or super fucking lucky. The last time anyone tried something like that in our school they ended up blowing the bottom out of an Argentinian cruiser. A hair off nine-hundred pounds of explosives ain't exactly a precision weapon." I sigh back, shaking my head.

"Eh you can't argue with results now can you? The crew's getting treated for the RATt as soon as possible from what I heard. Also that was the one exercise with the Brits right?"

"Well, being a pilot I'll argue that you could, but our margin for error is much bigger than yours, so whatever." I shrug my shoulders. "What doesn't make sense to me is that we were vaccinated for this before we came over here. So why the hell did they get it? And yeah, I got to know some chicks aboard the Ark Royal."

The Canadians look at each other in puzzlement. Their silence and general expression simply say "No idea."

"Perhaps I can answer that." A familiar voice speaks up as the door is slid open, revealing instructor Gleaves.

"Eh?"

I bound to my feet, snapping to attention in a manner expected of pilots. "Instructor!"

The submariners also snap to attention. Even if Gleaves was American, she still outranked them.

"Relax Jack, sit down. I'm here unofficially. You boys don't need to do that either, I'm not your instructor."

"Sorry but old habits die hard Instructor Gleaves."

'Ahhh… good old cliche Canadians…'

I sit back down and pull out the other seat, offering it to the instructor. "Good to see you ma'am. So what's the deal with the rodent problem?"

"It would appear that this is a different strain. Just from what the Blue Mermaids have told us it's a mutated strain of what they fought a few months ago."

"Figures," groans Kinh before a deadpanned Remi adds, "Viruses evolve."

Al is in deep thought before he speaks up again.

"What about the crew of the Brooklyn then?" He asks with a mix of annoyance and worry.

"They've all been quarantined until we can get a working antivirus. Same with the crew of the Myoukou." She pauses and looks at me. "Speaking of crews, you have a new captain."

"I do? What did Sierra do?" I ask, genuinely confused.

"She used the false excuse of having orders to disguise cowardice. She told the other captains that she couldn't return to the battlefield because she had orders to stay where the Monterey is currently anchored. I did not give her any orders to do so."

"So who's the captain now?"

"The previous First Mate."

I smile and nod in satisfaction. "I can live with that."

The various submariners look out of place as they follow the conversation.

"Good, because I also moved the flights around. Your flight is now one-India."

"W-wait, really? We're first on launch priority now?"

"You should have been in the first place given your performance last year."

Kinh let out a whistle.

"Not bad man," he says with a grin before slapping me on the back with enough force to knock the wind out of me. His companions roll their eyes in annoyance.

"Fuckin'A! Could I keep my lungs please?!" I cough out roughly.

"Ooh shit… really don't know my own strength. Fuck, sorry about that eh." Kinh replies sheepishly though judging from his friends faces, he's not telling the truth. Something Al confirms.

"Ta yeule! You always do this you fuckin' idiot."

Remi snorts.

"Oh come on ostie! That's how Real Men do it! Yeah!" he roars boisterously before high-fiving Kinh with a ridiculous amount of force. Both sound like a pair of cavemen.

"Gentlemen, might I remind you there are two women here, neither of whom appreciate hearing your vulgar displays." Instructor Gleaves scolds us. I hang my head and mutter an apology.

"You understand our swearing?" Remi grunts with a raised eyebrow.

His captain is a bit faster on the draw with his apology though not by much.

"Oh fuck! Sorry about that!"

Al merely looks fazed, his annoyed expression clearly saying "You idiot", before apologizing in a proper fashion.

"Of course I understand your swearing. I was required to learn French so our schools could perform exercises together." Gleaves responds to the caveman's inquiry, whilst glaring at the captain.

"But hey," Al says looking at Danielle, "You ok?"

"Yeah! I'm fit as a horse! I think." She responds cheerfully with her usual innocent smile.

"That's good to know!" Kinh says with a smile, "I don't think you know this mother… I mean my Torpedo Officer." He then points to the ape-like boy next to him. "This is Remi Chagnon."

"Hello," he grunts.

"I believe this is the first time we've met. Nice to meet you Remi."

"Sure," he grunts flatly, his face showing no emotion.

"Yeah, he doesn't talk alot," adds Al, "I stopped trying to make him socially acceptable a long time ago."

"Whatever, fuck you tabarnak." he shrugs and rolls his eyes.

"So kinda like Jack, just more antisocial." She giggles before grabbing at her side, sucking air through her teeth. Kinh visibly looks awkward at the situation.

"Easy sis, you've only been out of surgery for a few hours. You break any stitches and I'll make sure they keep you in here until you're healed." I warn, grabbing the manilla folder off the bedside table and handing it to Gleaves. "Her X-rays."

She instantly tears open the envelope and looks through the x-rays with an intensity in her eyes that I've never seen before. "Oh my… and she had this injury for how long before relinquishing command?"

"According to what I've heard, roughly sixteen or seventeen hours." I respond, looking down at my sister, who nods dejectedly in response.

"I see…" Gleaves finishes looking over the x-rays and puts them back in the folder before standing up. "I've got some meetings to hold. Jack, you've still got my work number I presume?" I nod in response. "Good. Call me if there's any updates."

"Aye Ma'am."

"We gotta go and take care of things on the Rainbow but once that's done, we'll go chat up your crew and see how everyone's doing eh." Kinh says with a smile before he and his crewmembers salute and take their leave, following the instructor out.

"So… what do you think of them?" Danielle asks me after the door is closed.

"I think I need to buzz them again."

"Seriously? That bad?" She scowls at me, and I can't help but laugh.

"Nah, just for the hell of it."


Kinh-Luyên Huynh

September 27th, 1130,

Location: HMCS Rainbow's dock, Yokosuka

Status: Undergoing basic maintenance and inventory

The familiar sound of steps clanging against the metal floors of the Rainbow could be heard as her crew busied itself one last time before shore leave.

Looking over a clipboard, Kinh was checking off boxes.

'So far so good'

Their food stockpiles were good and miraculously nothing had been damaged in their run-in with the rogue destroyer. He couldn't wait to get everything done.

A familiar voice broke him out of his musings.

"Everything's done sir!" reported Oliver, "Lindbergh just reported that everything's good in the engine room."

"Excellent, as for our food supplies, cook says everything's good. We're gonna more torpedoes obviously." Kinh replied with a smile, "Radio and sonar are good as well. At the rate we're going, we should be able get off soon. Olson's gone off to meet with the other instructors. Anyhow… let's get back to work. The crews from the other ships are getting here soon."

"Other ships?"

"The gang from the Meredith as well as one of the Japanese destroyers."

The sound of someone coming down from the conning tower signalled Al's arrival.

"I heard we were meeting the Harekaze girls as well as the gang from the Meredith," he said with a grin. Meeting cute girls was always a good morale booster for the boys of the Rainbow.

"Well then guys," Kinh exclaimed, "Let's wrap this up and meet some cute girls!" He and his fellows got back to their remaining tasks.

After 20 minutes of work, the captain announced over the intercom that all work was done and that it was time for shore leave to start. Hollers of joy were heard throughout the boat. The crew were heading back to their quarters for a change of clothes and began one by one to leave the Rainbow.

Kinh was the last one to climb out of the conning tower. Sporting a white polo covered by a well worn ranger vest and a pair of jeans tucked into his boots, he took a deep breath and sighed happily. It felt good to be back on dry land. He adjusted his cap slightly to shield his eyes from the bright sunlight. He could see that his crew was having the same thoughts as him. Everyone was enjoying their free time and warm weather. As he made his way down to the dock, Kinh began whistling a familiar song.


It's a Long way to Tipperary

Play?


He saw Al and Remi talking to each other and waiting for him. After catching up to them, the trio began walking alongside the deck. There were various supply crates, barrels as well as various carts of munitions. Above them, large cranes stood idly, awaiting the day's work. Ships, -mainly destroyers- were docked, though there was a large ship bearing the flags of the Deutsche Marine. The Rainbow was the only submarine around however.

"Feels good to be back on dry land hein Kinh?" Al asked in French.

"I'll say." the captain answered, "Feels great having solid ground under our feet."

'As solid as it can get… most of Japan's cities are floating ones...'

Looking around, he could see new people arriving. He recognized the familiar officers' uniforms from the Meredith along with what he presumed was their crew but he also saw groups of girls mostly wearing white shirts and blue dresses.

"Those must be Japanese girls," Remi grunted, "They're tiny."

Kinh merely rolled his eyes.

"Goddammit Remi…"

Remi let out a small snort.

"It's a fact."

Al shook his head with a grin on his face.

"I'm in the best position possible right now," he chuckled. Kinh raised an eyebrow at this, wondering where his friend would go with this.

"How come?"

"There's no cute girl that can talk caveman..."

"Fuck you tabarnak," Remi interrupted with an irritated look.

"And you're gay right Kinh?" Al added cheekily before laughing. Remi seemed to lighten at this and let a short, deep laugh.

"Oh va chier man!" shouted the captain, "Anyhow, let's go meet some new people ok?"

The trio made their way towards the gathering crowd where the various crewmembers were starting to mingle when Kinh heard a voice call him by his rank.

"Captain Youwin!"

Turning his head towards the source, he noticed a group of girls on the side of the dock heading towards him and his friends.

"Alright, which one of you girls called for me like that?" he asked.

"I did. That's how your name is pronounced, right?" An athletic brunette responded, throwing a small backpack up onto the deck of the Harekaze.

"You totally messed up but no worries," the captain said nonchalantly, "It's pronounced H-winh. Just call me Kinh"

"I'm Allison Meyers, ex-first mate of the USS Meredith. Pleased to meet you."

Kinh bowed his head.

"Pleased to meet you and my condolences for your ship," he replied solemnly, "I visited your captain this morning and met her brother. Looks like a fun guy."

"Oh, Jack? Yeah, he's uh… quite the character."

"But where are my manners though!" the Canadian exclaimed as he pointed to his friends, "This blonde here is my watch officer Al and this ape here is Remi. Don't let his looks fool you, he's a whiz with torpedoes."

Remi had a feral grin on his face.

"I hope you guys liked my handiwork," he boasted proudly before getting a death glare from Al.

"Your handiwork? Fuck you ostie! You wouldn't have hit shit if it wasn't for me!" Al shot back.

The brunette just shrugged. "Didn't see what y'all did. We were a tad bit busy. Nice to meet you gentlemen."

"We're the ones that put a torpedo in the Brooklyn and stopped her dead in the water." Kinh added with a smile.

"Oh. As I said, I didn't see anything. I was too busy holding a wound closed."

The three Canadians all had awkward looks on their faces at hearing this.

"Anyway, we just got done checking out the Graf Spee and were coming to collect you fellas. The captain of the Harekaze wanted to meet you." After looking around quickly Allison leans in and talks in a hushed voice. "Between you, me, and the torpedoes, I'm pretty sure our Bosun has the hots for one 'a y'all."

"Eh?" grunted Remi.

"Pretty sure it's not you Remi," Al snorted, "Don't think she ever saw a caveman." He looked over at Kinh, "You either cause no."

"Whatever. Don't get cocky man." Kinh replied casually, "Let's head over to the Harekaze then. Lead the way miss."

"Follow me, it ain't far. Case you can't tell."

"Ight," answered the trio as they began following Allison before Kinh turned to the crowd, "Oi guys! We're being invited to the Harekaze. Haul your fucking asses there!"

He saw his crew nod in approval before they started following him. Kinh heard someone run up to him.

"Wait for me sir!" shouted Oliver, out of breath. Remi looked at him rather with a dumbfounded look while Al had an eyebrow raised.

"Yo relax Oliver," the watch officer said, "We're on dry land now."

"Alright, alright," the first mate replied reluctantly, "I can't wait to meet the Harekaze girls as well."

Kinh looked at him with a goofy grin as they walked.

"Can't wait to meet your waifu?"

Oliver looked at him with daggers in his eyes.

"My what?!"

"The girl you'd crawl through hell with broken knees for, simply because she looks gorgeous in your eyes. The one who you'd gladly live out the rest of your life with." Allison explained over her shoulder, walking up the staircase onto the Harekaze.

"Textbook definition there Allison," Kinh said while letting out a whistle.

"What can I say? I've got my love for anime too." Allison responds with a look over her shoulder and a toothy grin.

"Not much of an anime fan but Al here is eh?"

The watch officer nodded with a smile.

"Yeah yeah."

By now the Rainbow's captain and his fellow subordinates along with their friends from the Meredith had reached the gangplank of the Harekaze. Standing at the other end was a short girl with blue eyes and light brown hair in twintails while next to her was a taller one with black hair tied in a ponytail along with two long tails on the side of her head and red eyes.

The shorter one had a captain's hat that covered her head but she wore the same white and blue uniform as her colleague.

"Welcome aboard the Harekaze!" she greeted, "I am Captain Akeno Misaki. This is Mashiro Munetani, Deputy-Captain!"

Kinh, Al, Remi and Oliver saluted the two before the captain introduced himself as he walked with his right hand outstretched.

"Pleased to meet you Captain Misaki! I'm Captain Kinh-Luyên Huynh of the HMCS Rainbow."

The girl giggled for a second.

"Rainbow, it's such an adorable name for a submarine." she said enthusiastically. The Rainbow's officers' faces had various looks of embarrassment mixed with annoyance. Low groans were also heard. Kinh had daggers in his eyes.

"The Rainbow is a lot of things but she's not "adorable"." he replied dryly as he shook her hands "Anyhow, I appreciate the hospitality and the invitation. These gentlemen are Albert Gendreau, Watch officer, Remi Chagnon. Torpedo Officer and Oliver Archer, my First Mate."

The boys shook hands with Akeno before Kinh turned his attention to the Harekaze's first mate.

"Pleased to meet you Deputy-Captain Munetani."

She briefly nodded as she shook his hand.

"The pleasure is mutual Captain Huynh," she said politely and seriously, "I welcome you aboard the Harekaze as well."

"Thank you ver-" Kinh began, but was interrupted by the droning sound of a plane engine, accompanied by a distinct high-pitched whistling. "What the Fuck?!"

Turning his head over, he saw a diving Hellcat heading towards the docks. Cries of surprise were heard as well from his crew and the Japanese destroyer's before everyone started hitting the deck.

"INCOMING!" shouted Kinh as he shoved Mashiro. He forgot his surroundings for a moment and underestimated his strength. He barely registered her cry of surprise and the following splash.

"MON TABARNAK!" he cursed at the offending fighter at the same time that he was waving his middle fingers. The plane gained altitude and circled around. Some of his crew had gotten back on their feet and were swearing as well as waving their fists. Meanwhile around them on the nearby American ships the Americans all cheered like it was a sports game.

"Va chier mon crisse!" (Go shit you fucker!") the Canadian captain shouted one last time as he saw the Hellcat disappear. Turning back to his crew, he called out.

"Everyone all right?"

Various angry affirmatives answers were heard. The captain blew out a sigh of relief. More fear than harm.

"You dumbass, you pushed Mashiro over!" Allison yelled, running for a life ring and glaring daggers at him. Kinh looked at the water next to the Harekaze and saw Mashiro bobbing in the water.

"Oh fuck! You ok there!?" he asked.

The girl had a look of resignation on her face.

"I'm so unlucky," she groaned audibly. Kinh merely rolled his eyes at this.

"No you're not! I'm a walking lucky charm for everyone around me. If it were a real air attack, you'd be safe right now!"

The girl checked her pockets and pulled her cellphone.

"... Except you just fried my cellphone."

"Wha?" asked an incredulous Kinh, "Why didn't you get a waterproof one? Geez."

"It was a waterproof one… I'm so unlucky."

The Canadian shook his head.

"Ah...oh… sorry." he apologized, "At least you're not exposed to enemy fire right now I guess?"

She glared at him. By now however, Allison had arrived with a lifebuoy and threw it at Mashiro. Luckily it didn't hit her and landed a few feet away.

During the whole time, Remi was snickering while Al was facepalming himself in annoyance at his friend's antic.

'And you wonder why you can't get a girlfriend you idiot' he thought, looking at Kinh.

"Al!" A voice called from further up the deck as the sound of running feet could be heard.

"Yo?"

Next thing the watch officer knew was that he was engulfed in a massive hug.

"Hey there?" he asked in surprise as he recognized Savannah, the strawberry haired Bosun of the Meredith, with her arms around him.

"Hi! I umm… I may have developed a bit of a crush on you and I uhh… I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime." The girl admitted shyly, still practically hanging off him while nearly beaming with enthusiasm.

"Sure," he said with a wink and a grin, "You look pretty cool."

Behind him Kinh was glaring at him with jealousy.

"Why does he get the cute girl?!" he hissed.

Remi snorted and groaned in annoyance.

"Because unlike the retard that you are, he doesn't shove cute girls into the water."

A hand was suddenly clapped on Kinh's shoulder, followed by Allison's voice. He looked somewhat down.

"Don't worry Seaman, there's plenty of fish in the sea."

"That's what everyone says," he sighed before perking up, "Eh whatever!"

The hand on his shoulder was quickly removed before a hearty slap was delivered to his upper back, stinging like no other. The captain jumped up with a happy smile of his face. "That's the spirit! Now get the hell outta' the way so I can go get Mashiro some dry clothes."

"HAHA! Good idea there."


Jack Schumer, USS Monterey,

September 27th, 1226,

Status: Preparation for flight, accompanied by Alice,

Location: 33.9808, 139.4709

"Yep, departure to the east, then we'll swing over Yokosuka, I'll get my chance to terrorize the hell out of the Canucks and then we'll resume our date. We'll fly over Mount Fuji, then we'll circle back around to land back here!" I stretch my arms above my head as Alice and I cross the flight deck to our awaiting planes, the wings laden with three HVAR's each and a pair of silver drop tanks under the fuselage of both our planes.

"Sounds like an easy flight. I just wish we had a two-seater." Alice hums, taking my hand in hers once I drop my arms. She stops me and spins me around to face her before giving me a gentle kiss on the cheek. She pulls away and gives me a grin before leaning in again.

Thinking she's gonna kiss me again I offer the other cheek, but instead she moves her head up by my ear.

"Last one started buys dinner."

In an instant she separates from me and sprints towards her plane.

"Wait wha- hey no fair!" I yell, sprinting as fast as I can to my plane. I climb up onto the wing and jump into my seat, sliding the canopy closed as I begin my startup procedure, checking my oxygen, then all my cooling systems. Then I check my battery and my magneto's. I open the fuel flow and am just about to start turning the prop when I hear her engine roar to life behind me. I turn the prop while turning on my radio, and once I tune into our chosen channel I activate my microphone. "No fair, you cheated, distracting me like that."

Her mischievous giggle starts out her response. {All's fair in love and war. You let yourself get distracted.}

"Evil woman! But that's why I love you." I joke right before I turn over the engine, leaving it to idle as I fasten my harness.

Pressing a simple button I change over to the traffic control net. "Crossroads, this is Foxtrot India one-one and India one-two, requesting permission to take off for a northern departure from the pattern. Over."

{This is Crossroads, You are cleared from the tower. Wait for the launch officer. Crossroads out.}

I look up at the tower and give a snappy salute to the new captain as he watches us from a balcony. Down on the deck the launch officer steps into his spot by the tower, raising the green flag high above his head before looking across the flight deck, then up at the bridge. Once he's satisfied everyone is out of the way he lunges towards the fore end of the flight deck and drops the flag, giving me the cue to take off.

I drop my flaps to get a little extra lift, then press the throttle forward to the stops, not breaking the wire for Wartime Emergency Power.

I slowly start to roll forward, the extra fuel in the drop tanks weighing me down, but thanks to decent winds I manage to gain enough lift by the end of the deck to avoid that sickening drop that always drives up the pucker factor for several seconds.

Once airborne, I raise my landing gear and ensure my weapons are on 'safe' as I accelerate away from the carrier, into the clear blue skies. I turn on my cameras as always before looking over my wing to find Alice airborne, chasing after me.

"Crossroads, Foxtrot India one-one and one-two exiting the pattern. See you in a couple hours, over."

{Copy that. Enjoy your date. Crossroads out.}

I switch back over to our channel and squeak my microphone to let her know I'm back while entering a gentle left-hand turn, orienting my nose towards Yokosuka. I throttle back and decrease my rate of climb, then settle in for a nice and relaxing flight.


Almost an hour later Alice and I fly wingtip-to-wingtip, fifteen thousand feet above the ocean below. Over the nose I can see Yokosuka down below, most of the buildings floating atop the water.

I scour the docks until I find the small, narrow form of the Canadian submarine.

"Damn. There's no safe way for me to do this unless I fly under the crane arms… well, this ought to be fun…" I mutter to myself, pressing the channel selection on my radio. "Well, you ready to spook some submariners?"

{Always! How are we going to do this?}

"We're gonna swing 'round so that we can fly along the length of the docks. I'd rate the pucker factor at a solid ten-point-five. You don't have to follow me in if you don't want to."

{I don't know about that… it seems excessively dangerous.}

"I'll be fine, I promise. I take it you'll stay up here?"

{Yeah. Just… be careful.}

"Always."

I neutralize all of my trim and drop the nose, applying a miniscule amount of right rudder to slip under Alice's plane. Once clear of her I check the amount of fuel still in my drop tanks before turning to line up with the small corridor between the cranes and the ships.

Once I'm lined up I angle in, watching my speed carefully as I continuously adjust my position.

"I'm probably going to get an asschewing for this, but whatever." I chuckle into my microphone.

{I'd imagine so. It's not too late to wave off you know.}

"Sure it is! Because I'm not waving off. It's time to put the fear of God in some Canadians."

I hear her snort in amusement before she turns her microphone off, and in the last throes of the screaming power-dive I push up to full power, pulling up to fly into the small gap between the ships and the dock cranes. Going low and fast my muscles all feel coiled, and adrenaline surges through my veins as I fly past the first four ships, one of which being the USS Portland, and buzz the HMCS Rainbow, along with the destroyers Harekaze, Johnston, and Laffey. I let out an enthusiastic cheer as I clear the end of the docks and pull up, climbing up and away before circling back around. On board the Portland, Laffey, and Johnston the sailors-in-training all jump and wave enthusiastically, presumably cheering me on for my ballsy display.

On board the Harekaze however, it looks like a mixed bag. Some wave enthusiastically, jumping with joy, while some shake fists and flip me the bird. Aboard the Rainbow it's noticeably quiet, and I draw the conclusion that those cursing me on the Harekaze are the Canucks.

Chuckling, I turn my microphone back on and break out of my orbit to rejoin with Alice. "All of our students liked it, but I don't think the Canadians like me anymore."

{You're crazy.}

"You love it."

{Yes… Yes I do.} She sighs.

"Well then, shall we start our picnic?" I joke, looking down at the small package of food that's tucked underneath my leg, partially wedged against the seat.

{I think we shall.}

Together, as we fly above the Japanese countryside, passing over ocean and island alike, we continue to talk about anything other than the rodent problem at sea. Then, after we run out of things to talk about, we fly in silence, simply enjoying each other's presence.

And as we fly over Mount Fuji and begin our leg out to sea, I can't help but look at the poem taped to an empty space on my instrument panel.

I have no fear, for in the sky I run.

With my angel, whose job is fun.

It's never dull, and always thrilling.

And I thank my luck he isn't billing.

For when I fly, then I'd always dread.

The flight where I'd turn up dead.

So thanks to you, my white-winged Mister.

Thanks to you, from my younger sister.