"Hey, what's a gal like you doing somewhere like this?" Thorson joked lightly, finding California on prisoner guard duty when he arrived with a tray of food for Jintsuu. She smiled brightly at his appearance, standing to salute briefly as he drew close.
"I never hear you talk like that to my sister," California teased, resting a hand on his forearm. "It's cause I'm cuter, right?!"
He acknowledged her not so subtle play with a smile. "I'm not going to say anything that would get me killed, but you are cute. Maybe it's the same reason Houston feels so comfortable around Fredrick, they have the same home," the Commander postulated. "Us California types need to stick together all the way out here."
"Hey, what's with that tone Commander? We won the fight," California recalled, tilting her head as Thorson frowned. She didn't know him very well yet, and wouldn't have claimed to understand him as her sister seemed to, but it was apparent enough that he was a good man. That alone made it worth checking up on him.
"Veni, Vidi, Vici," Thorson murmured in reply.
"What's that?" California wondered in her usual buoyant voice. Like the sunshine of her namesake, she was hard to bring down.
"The words of Julius Caesar, I came, I saw, I conquered. I feel like we got the first two done and then…got stuck picking up the pieces. What an absolute mess. Sims was destroyed, Hammann is distraught, Lexington is out of commission for months at this rate, Yorktown is damaged, and worst of all those two carriers got away from us."
"I suppose we did miss out on the conquering bit, but we did save Lexington!" California reasoned happily. Thorson nodded.
"You're right, I just can't get her face out of my head. If we had left a little earlier…"
"You don't know that's true, Commander. I can't claim to know what it's like to lose your sister, but Hammann wasn't fair to you. Do you want to talk about it somewhere private?"
"No it's…it's not because of you," Thorson clarified quickly as California frowned. "I should give Jintsuu her meal and you should take some time to be with Tennessee and the others. Thank you though, I might take you up on that offer later."
"It would be good to spend some time with them all together. You're sure you'll be alright by yourself? I hear from the Sakura she's a skilled fighter," California worried. Thorson patted his hip. "I see, I see! Alright then Commander, I'm off!"
"Uh, Cali?"
"Yes?" She asked, seemingly happy again given he'd referred to her by a nickname.
"The mess is that way," he gestured over his shoulder with his head. A faint blush graced her cheeks.
"Right, right. This Sakura hull layout is super disorienting. Oh well, maybe I'll be flagship next time? I hear there are...benefits to that," she simpered as she walked by him. Thorson coughed loudly. "Don't be too surprised, Commander. Everyone talks, and Yamashiro says only good things. Besides as you said, I'm a California girl. You can share the sun and the surf…why not love?"
With that proposition the blonde battleship took her leave with a confident sway of her hips. Thorson couldn't fault her easy-going nature, and it bolstered him for what was to come next. "That's definitely one way to look at it. Wonder how our most headstrong prisoner is doing today?"
As the door to the otherwise unused crew quarters opened, Thorson found her easily enough, her bright blue fur and elegant, suggestive clothing standing out against the drab background as she rested on a cot with her back against the wall. She turned her eyes to him but didn't move.
"Human…"
"No, I'm not here to mock you. I'm here to feed you," he preempted her casually, strolling over to her chosen bed and resting her tray at the foot of it. She gave the shepherd's pie a scathing glance.
"And yet you somehow managed both anyway," she murmured.
"It's the same thing we all ate upstairs. Take it or leave it," he grunted.
"Why did you come here?"
"So that my fleet could have some time together without having to spare someone to watch over your obstinate ass," Thorson provided. "What, you think I came down here to gloat about how we stumbled upon the first true carrier action in history and did nothing more than damage control?"
Jintsuu glared his way but said nothing, satisfied that he was not there to play games. She eyed the gun on his hip, but his eyes followed her own and she moved to begin eating her dinner instead. For barbaric cuisine that looked like someone had vomited onto a plate, it did not taste horrible. She found that distressing. "Are you seriously going to-"
"Yes. You think I haven't seen someone try to use a fork and knife as a weapon before?"
"Yes," she called his bluff with a cocked brow.
"Whatever, I'm sure the same country that bayonets newborns is capable of using a fork to kill me." Thorson was not prepared for Jintsuu to take the dull knife she'd been given between her fingers and hurl it at him like a kunai. He just barely managed to duck out of the way, rolling to his feet with his pistol out. The look on her face was somehow more furious than he'd ever seen before, and he knew he'd provoked her more than once.
"I am not like them!" She screamed. "I am not! Insinuate such things again and I will surely kill you even if I die in the process. Akagi did not burden herself as she did for the sake of a game. She delivered us from that rot!"
"Into the waiting arms of the sirens," Thorson spat, meeting her fury. "And my friends and comrades died for her 'honor'. Why do you still do their bidding then?"
"So that when our empire is the only empire, the people will see who truly delivered the Sakura to its most glorious victory. And if honor means nothing, you did not have to fight," Jintsuu mocked him. Thorson cocked his firearm.
"Where does honor end and love of America begin? Where does my desire to kill every last siren fall in your estimation of honor? The decision to bloody my country was the decision that sealed Akagi's fate. Keep serving her and you'll find only an honorless, nameless grave waiting for you."
Jintsuu was no doubt ready with another scathing retort when the rusty hinges of the door to the crew quarters betrayed whoever was trying to make a stealthy entry into their presence. Thorson spun on his heel, keeping his pistol trained on Jintsuu, though he quickly changed his target to the unknown entity that had frozen in place, seeming to have realized the gig was up.
"Shoot it! Shoot it now, Shikikan!" Jintsuu screeched.
"Since when am I Shikikan to you?" He demanded as a scantily clad, cloaked body of chocolate skin and white war paint seemed to consider its options, the cowl of its hunting cloak missing one very important piece: the head it was supposed to shelter. Despite the missing head, the garment was a thing of simple beauty, a deep, earthen color with white trim and red, triangular markings on the outside. It sported a brown furred cowl around the shoulders and the inside was done in white and teal, evoking a sea-hawk or some other bird of prey. Jintsuu was more than capable of answering his question as to her sudden shift of allegiance.
"Since we are in the presence of a demon! I know which side I'm on when it's the living versus the dead!" Jintsuu declared fearfully as laughter rang from just outside the doorway. The body's second arm finally came into view as it adopted a non-hostile stance, standing before them with hand on hip. Held comfortably within that position was its head, a beautiful face with ruby eyes, ashen hair, more white warpaint, and deep copper skin. Her long ponytail hung to the floor, and the position of her head made it impossible for Thorson not to notice the curve of her undergarment's straps that circled high on her hips and framed her trim abdomen. If South Dakota was made in the image of some sort of matron or female chieftain, the Indian woman before him could only be summed up in three words: primal sex appeal. Even Thorson couldn't help a shiver of fear as the mouth opened and spoke in an upbeat voice far too similar to California's to be real.
"Finally found you, hunter! When are we going after those cranes?"
Thorson turned his head slightly, glancing down at her head. "I'm sorry, what now?"
"Those two carriers that attacked us, when are we going after them? You're the guy who's been doing all the fun stuff with us lately, right? I know South Dakota is here too," the unknown woman, who he supposed had to be a shipgirl, explained. Thorson pursed his lips and blew out a breath as he tried to come up with some sort of answer. He was 'saved' by Kasumi and Cleveland, who could be heard in the hallway just outside.
"Are you sure about this, Kasumi?" The light cruiser asked. "A monster on board?"
"Foo is quite certain she is already with Shikikan; we are almost there," the snowy fox insisted, causing their footfalls to change from a brisk walk to a run until Cleveland barged through the doorway with guns drawn. She immediately lowered them and smiled at the new addition.
"Yo Minnie! What the heck are you doing here? Decided to join the good guys and be a Knight of the Sea?" The strawberry blonde tomboy inquired animatedly as Kasumi chuckled happily, waving to Thorson.
"What a scary ship! Kasumi is glad she doesn't seem hostile. How do you do that thing with your head?"
Minneapolis' disembodied head rolled its eyes. "Cleveland, Hunters and Knights are completely different classes, but I sure wouldn't mind fighting with you if you work for this guy."
"Ah yes, I work under- with! I work with Commander Thorson!" Cleveland yelped, mortified at her own freudian slip as Jintsuu finally calmed down enough to return to her dinner, silently shaking her head and going about the motions of staying alive.
"And the little foxy?" Minnie wondered.
"Oh, this little cutie is Kasumi! She's actually the owner of one of the destroyers out there escorting you lot back to Australia. Wait…how did you get aboard anyway?"
"I swam," the Huntress offered as though it were obvious. "What, like it's that hard?"
"Commander, can we just give her rigging already?" Cleveland laughed.
"Cleveland, I can't just go around stealing shipgirls from their respective captains," Thorson protested.
"Why not?" Kasumi wondered. "They seem to like you better."
"Ah...ok," Thorson said in lieu of a proper reply. "So you're Minneapolis then? New Orleans class?"
"And she's the black sheep by a country mile," Cleveland added. "No idea how Astoria and the rest came out so normal while she went full Indian, but the thing with the head is cool, right?"
"Cool is one word to describe it," Thorson agreed. "Minneapolis, your ship and crew?"
"Won't miss me a bit. I don't blame them though, mind you. The whole head body disconnect never went over well with them. They never said it to my face but bad omen, you know?"
"What sort of omen involves you losing your head?" Thorson demanded, slowly lowering his weapon and returning it to its resting place at his hip.
"Who knows!" Minnie shrugged. "Also what do you mean I lost my head? It's right here. I'd never lose track of something so important," the Huntress insisted, pointing at her cranium with her free hand. Mildly conditioned to 'Indian humor' by South Dakota's membership in his fleet, Thorson took the joke in stride.
"I can see that. I'll still have to radio the Minneapolis. Cleveland, any chance you could watch her?" Thorson requested, pointing at Jintsuu. The cruiser fashioned a sharp salute and flashed a winning smile.
"Anytime, Commander! Just promise me we can spend a bit of time together in the baths when we get back?" She requested, the barest hint of uncertainty in her voice.
"I'd like that," he assured her as Minneapolis shifted her head to her other hand and cocked a brow at them. Kasumi giggled.
"Foo, you are not allowed to peek! Adults deserve privacy when they're in love!"
"Seems a certain Knight has forsaken her vows?" Minneapolis teased her suddenly flustered comrade.
"You know what, don't knock it until you try it!" She insisted. Minnie tapped a finger against her lips.
"Maybe I'll do just that sometime? My cubes seem interested. You mean mating, right? Like animals?"
"That was only the second time!" Cleveland screeched. Minneapolis seemed unfazed.
"Huh, I guess I'll figure the rest out later then. Good to see you, Cleveland. Things are getting crazy out there…too many foxes, rabbits, and cranes to hunt. Oh, don't worry little one," Minneapolis insisted, noticing that Kasumi promptly hid behind Thorson as she mentioned the hunting of foxes. "You're with us, right?"
"She is, Minneapolis," Thorson replied seriously.
"Then you're safe with me. Shall we?"
"And what if I told you that even if we were to abandon our escort duty immediately and head north on their last known heading that we'd never catch them? Two Shoukaku-class carriers can outrun Penny and the other battleships," Thorson explained.
"But you're going to go after them someday, right?" Minneapolis asked.
"Of course."
"Then I'll be working with you," she concluded, not seeming to care that he had the final say in the matter.
"Cleveland?" Thorson requested her perspective.
"The more the merrier if you ask me!"
Thorson nodded. "Alright, let's go then."
After a surprisingly amicable conversation with the captain of the Minneapolis, who wished his shipgirl the best of luck at her new post without any semblance of complaint, Thorson conferred a shard to her, securing her rigging. It was unique as far as he could tell, not attaching to her body anywhere. Instead she held a compact version of her hull, turrets and all, as some sort of imposing battering ram or underslung cannon. She explained that it would make it easier to hunt. He saw no reason to doubt her. After informing her that he would be saving the remaining three cubes he possessed from the battle's aftermath until returning to base, Minneapolis was dismissed to go introduce herself to her new comrades. She shifted her head so she could shake his hand, smiling up at him. From the close distance he could see that some sort of metallic plate with unknown runes covered her neck. He much preferred that to whatever else might have been possible. Her hand was warm and her handshake firm.
"Welcome to the fleet, Minneapolis."
"Pleasure, Commander Thorson. I'll be off then," she replied calmly, striding off the bridge with light steps for a heavy cruiser. He supposed the hunter gig wasn't just for show, patting Kasumi on the head as she departed for her own ship as well. He'd only taken but a few minutes to peruse naval charts and maps of the area, contemplating his next move, when Yamashiro screamed so loudly that he figured half the fleet heard it. Thorson didn't stop sprinting until he skidded into the mess hall, finding Yamashiro cowering in the corner as Minneapolis looked around in confusion amidst a disrupted post-dinner cleanup. Yuugure and the other kitchen staff were taking shelter behind Fredrick, who had his firearm pointed at Minnie.
"At ease, Mr. Miles, she's with us," Thorson assured him as Yamashiro sobbed and rushed to his side.
"T-t-tono-sama! She…she…save me! Save me please!"
"Hey, it's alright, you're fine, nothing's going to happen to you!" Thorson insisted softly, allowing her to seek shelter in his arms. As he stroked her ears gently, something he knew was greatly comforting to her; he addressed Fredrick in a commanding tone.
"Mr. Miles, tell me what happened here."
"Yes sir," the cook nodded. "That…thing walked in here, introduced itself as Minneapolis, and all hell broke loose sir. It's alright you three," he added as Hatsuharu, Yuugure, and Shiratsuyu all tried to hide behind his far too skinny frame. "She's not made any threatening moves or anything, sir. Unless of course you consider standing here with her head in her hand to be threatening."
"Yamashiro?" Thorson requested her side of the story.
"I just…there's something about her. She's going to kill me!" The shrine maiden insisted, burying her face in his shoulder. Thorson met Minneapolis' eyes as she lifted her head to her neck. The two pieces of her body connected with a small spark, like metal on metal.
"I mean her no harm, Commander," the cruiser insisted, looking just as worried as Thorson felt. Yamashiro was murmuring the same word over and over again.
"S-Surigao. Surigao. Surigao!"
"Isn't that…isn't that the name of a strait in the Philippines?" Hatsuharu squeaked from behind Miles as Minneapolis took a seat on the nearest available bench, offering as non-threatening a profile as she could manage. Yuugure nodded in agreement with her sister.
"It is," Thorson concurred. "But no battles have been fought there, at least not in this war. Yamashiro?"
"She's going to kill me, tono-sama. Please!" Yamashiro pleaded. He forced her chin up gently, looking into her fearful, crimson eyes.
"Send out a pulse to your ship," he whispered. "Link with me."
"H-hai, tono-sama," Yamashiro agreed, following his orders. Thorson grunted as it felt like he was kicked in the stomach by a bull. The calm mess hall of the Yamashiro was gone. Instead it was full of smoke and sparks. She was missing. Sprinting above deck, Thorson's blood ran cold. He could see West Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, California, Pennsylvania, Portland, and Minneapolis leading a veritable armada of allied ships. Around him, ship after ship of the Sakura Empire was slaughtered before his eyes in a hail of gunfire and torpedoes.
"That's not…wait…" he muttered to himself, staring out at two of the battleships he knew best. "That's not how they fight at all." He blinked and suddenly the deck around him was swarming with Sakura sailors engaging in damage control and attempting to fight back against insurmountable odds. Not knowing what else to do and finding himself unable to communicate with or even physically touch any of them, he continued onward and upward to the bridge. He found her there, hugging her knees to her chest as she waited for death. Outside he could see her sister ship, the Fusou, broken in twain and sinking. Another destroyer he knew, the Shigure, slipped away from the battlefield, destined to be the sole survivor. His heart threatened to leap from his chest and shatter his ribs. The Commander dropped to his knees and held her close. "I'm here, I'm here Yamashiro. This isn't real. Come back to me!"
"T-tono-s-sama?" She stammered, drying her eyes and looking up at him. Their world was upended as shells began to slam into the ship below. The screams of men and the smell of burning gunpowder were everywhere.
"We need to leave, Yamashiro. We need to leave now!" Thorson shouted, closing his eyes and thinking as hard as he could of the peaceful mess hall back in his own world, back at Coral Sea.
"Hai, tono-sama," she eventually whispered. "Please take me away from here!" As the horrific figment of war began to dissolve into mist around him, Thorson noticed a simple naval calendar hanging on the wall of the bridge.
"By God…"
"Commander! Commander Thorson?!"
"Yamashiro-san, please wake up!"
"What did you do to them?"
"I did nothing! They did it themselves!"
A groggy Commander Thorson slowly swam back to the surface of his own mind, gasping for breath. He found himself on the ground, holding Yamashiro tightly to him. He checked for a pulse and found one there, strong and steady. With a sigh of relief he waved Fredrick and the others off, assuring them they were alright. The young man could not contain his curiosity.
"What did you see, sir?"
"October 25th, 1944," Thorson breathed heavily. "Yamashiro and several other ships of the Sakura navy were sunk by Minneapolis, Tennessee, and a ton of other Union ships. Hey, you're back, we're safe, you're safe," Thorson added, diverting his attention to Yamashiro as her eyes fluttered open. "But something was wrong. Penny and Tenn weren't fighting normally. The Yamashiro was crewed by a full complement. I don't…I have no idea what the hell is going on but it was one hell of a realistic hallucination. I could smell the blood and the smoke. I thought I was going to choke on it."
"Dear Lord Jesus protect us," Miles implored, making the sign of the cross over his body. "Commander, are you saying there's another war?!"
"N-no, it was the same war. It had to be. I just don't…what's today's date? It's May 10th, 1942 right? We're escorting Lexington and Yorktown to Australia for repairs, right?"
"Yes sir, we are," Miles confirmed.
"Alright, thank God," Thorson breathed easier, stroking Yamashiro's short, black hair.
"So what happened, Commander? Did I really kill her?" Minneapolis wondered from the background, earning her a nervous look from Shiratsuyu.
"Not in this world…" a haunting, quiet voice came from the doorway. The rest of the fleet had returned to their ships after dinner, but Kasumi had returned. "The burst of spiritual energy, it was blinding. I came as soon as I could, Shikikan. Foo was very worried about you and Yamashiro. He says you saw another world, another time. Kasumi is jealous of Yamashiro-sama, to have such a powerful cube within her…"
"Hey little foxy, can you come here for a minute? You look pale. Well, more pale than when I first met you," Minneapolis insisted, her keen senses picking up on Kasumi's weakness. The Sakura destroyer willingly accepted the support. "Tell me what you saw, anything!"
"You certainly are quite the huntress," Kasumi whispered. "It was only a glimpse, but I'm glad I am not your enemy."
"I'm not your enemy either, Sakura shrine maiden. We serve the same Commander now," Minneapolis insisted as Thorson helped Yamashiro to her feet. Far too many gears were turning in his head. It made no sense. Fusou and Yamashiro had been around Penny and the others for months with no adverse effects. He shut his eyes tight and grimaced, willing himself to think of anything.
"The sirens…" he whispered. "Yamashiro?"
"Yes, Andrew?" she breathed.
"When you fled the Sanctuary. When they…did those things to you. What did you see? Forgive me."
"I do forgive you, always," she assured him, a tear slipping from behind her closed eyelids and all the onlookers in the room dared not move a muscle. "It was a Nightmare, tono-sama, the end of all things. Without you, I would have been made its instrument. Endless histories passed before my eyes, all of them ending in ruin."
"Fredrick, see them to their quarters if you would? Minneapolis, can you stay aboard one of the other ships tonight?" Thorson ordered quietly.
"Not a problem sir, I'm sorry," the cruiser apologized. He waved her off.
"Don't be. It's been a long time since the sirens made a mistake. Thank you."
Minneapolis looked between him and Kasumi for a moment. The small, fox-like destroyer nodded at her unasked question. "Well, I guess you hunt even greater prey than I. I was right to join you. Goodnight, Commander. Goodnight, Yamashiro."
"G-goodnight," she managed, though Thorson could still feel her shiver as Minneapolis strode from the room along with Kasumi. The rest followed after and the two of them were left alone.
"Here," Thorson insisted, picking Yamashiro up in his arms and beginning the short walk to the Captain's cabin that they shared for the voyage. "Just take it easy…"
With a bit of his help, Yamashiro was able to shake off her trauma and prepare herself for bed. When Thorson joined her, she immediately wrapped her naked body around his, burying her head in the crook of his neck in an attempt to block out the rest of the world save his heat and scent. Though his body reacted as any man's might, he let it be and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head as her chest pressed against his. "I was so scared, tono-sama."
"I know. I was too."
"Thank you for your faith in me, for letting me be your flagship and trusting me to fight."
"You're welcome, Yamashiro. You earned it," he insisted with a whisper, his breath tickling the fur of her ears.
"And thank you for loving me," she added, bringing her tail across their bodies and tickling his stomach.
"Now that you definitely don't need to be thanking me for," he insisted as she finally reached up to kiss him on the lips.
"Please, tono-sama. I want to forget all this," she requested timidly. With a silent nod Thorson rolled over so that she was beneath him. Swearing silently that he would never allow her to fall into siren claws again, Thorson began tending to Yamashiro's body as they drove away the awful things they'd both seen. When they finally drifted off to sleep, slicked with sweat and utterly satiated, a pleasant and calm 'tono-sama' finally set his heart at ease.