Ryan brought a hand to his mouth to hide a yawn.
Since both his office and the small apartment he used as lodging had collapsed, he had spent the night at the Sardinian dorm together with a group of Eagle Union Kansen. Of course, the Sardinian shipgirls had been more than happy to share their living space and food with them, so much so that dinner had turned into a full-blown party. Littorio had used their victory against the Sirens as an excuse for celebration, and knowing her disposition, Ryan should have expected that.
What he also should have expected was to be at the center of attention. The shipgirls had been eager to ask him the details about his affair with Shoukaku, and since the cat was already out of the bag, he had felt compelled to indulge them, if only to explain himself. The fact that their relationship had become public knowledge didn't deter the most forward of them from teasing him like they always did, though. He blamed the alcohol for that, but luckily, it never went further than that, especially because the girls were splitting their focus on someone else.
That someone being Sparviero. The shipboy was also drawing his fair share of attention from the women, mostly because Littorio couldn't help but enthusiastically announce him as a bachelor; the rest was because of the wine. He remembered watching in amusement as the man was literally being smothered by two very drunk Zara and Pola, while they tried to protect him from the crowd of women forming around him. All under the distressed and upset gazes of Aquila and Carabiniere.
In the end, the party had dragged on for longer than expected, and since Ryan had nowhere else to sleep, he had to share a room with the shipboy since he was the only other man inside the building. He was hoping he'd get some sleep after the battle, but right before dawn, Belfast had come to knock on their door.
And now there he was, standing on the docks at the crack of dawn, with the sun barely peeking over the horizon, looking out at the sea with impatience and with barely four three of sleep. Next to him were King George V, Peter Strasser, and Belfast herself. Of course, Sparviero was there too since he was in the same room when Belfast came to wake him up.
"This was long overdue," Peter Strasser declared with a solemn smile as a solitary hull came into view. The warship made its way through the bottleneck entry of the bay and approached the docks. The cruiser slowly came to a stop next to the berths, prompting the small flock of manjuus on duty to begin the mooring operations.
Ryan raised an eyebrow at the unusual sight. Usually, the Kansen aboard a ship would just jump down from the hull to allow their host to recall their vessel, if only to not waste precious time with unnecessary maneuvers, but for some reason, their guests decided to remain aboard this time.
Whatever the case, they were about to get an explanation since the gangplank had already been lowered to reveal the figures of Queen Elizabeth, Bismarck, and Richelieu atop the deck.
"Rejoice, my servant, for your queen has arrived!" Elizabeth spread her arms wide, scepter in hand, as she strutted down onto dry land, followed behind by the other two battleships.
Ryan put on a tight smile and greeted her back with a stiff bow, trying his best to hide the irritation in his voice. "It's good to see you again, Eli- Your Majesty."
Just like all the other flagships, Ryan had first met Elizabeth during the celebrations for the peace treaty. At the time, he expected the Queen of the Royal Navy to be a distinguished leader, a proud but esteemed individual, and an admirable Kansen; he definitely wasn't expecting her to be such a haughty little shit…
He had been glad he didn't have to deal with her more than he needed to since they would part ways to deal with their respective obligations and never meet again after that; he'd only need to hear from her for the eventual transfer of some of the Royal Navy Kansen to Azur Lane, but then the whole predicament with Bismarck and Hood happened.
It happened right after the party. Even if the matter didn't concern him personally, he hadn't wanted that incident to undermine all the efforts made until that moment to achieve peace, so he had done the only thing his new position allowed him to do, which was reach out to all his contacts and connections within the alliance, trying to lower the heat under the pot.
Eventually, Queen Elizabeth, aware of his attempts at preventing the breakout of another conflict, reached out to offer him an accord. She'd use her influence to convince her superiors to drop the charges against the Iron Blood, and in return… he'd become her skivvy.
To say that her proposal weirded him out at first would be an understatement, and whether she did it out of the goodness of her heart or if it was just some kind of political maneuver, he didn't know, but he had to accept it; it was a small price to pay to maintain peace between the factions.
After that moment, she started referring to him as her servant every time they talked over the comms. The derogatory moniker was pretty annoying and humiliating, but the implications of it still escaped him since she had never actually used it to undermine him in any way.
Ryan was starting to suspect it was just some kind of kink of hers. By now, he had gotten used to some of the Kansen's shenanigans, and he wouldn't be surprised if this was also one of them. So what if Elizabeth wanted to address him like a pet slave? It's not like she had any real authority over him.
"George, Belfast, my beloved subjects, tis good to see you after so long," Elizabeth beamed at her fellow countrywomen as the two elegantly curtsied to her, Belfast slightly lifting the hem of her skirt and George bowing deeply to the knee.
Since her attention was entirely fixed on the two Royal shipgirls, Peter Strasser and Ryan took advantage to greet the other two flagships. "Bismarck, Richelieu, I trust the trip went well," he asked, shaking both their hands with a welcoming smile.
Smile that disappeared from the lips of the Cardinal as soon as he finished the question.
"Commandant, I hate to trouble you right after our arrival, but I have an urgent need to see your repair ship," she told him gravely.
Alarm bells started ringing in his head, and Ryan was quick to connect the dots. The concern on her face, the delay in their arrival, and the hull that hadn't been recalled—on board the cruiser, someone was incapacitated.
"Belfast, go fetch Vestal for me, please. We might need her assistance," Ryan turned to address the maid, who acknowledged his request with a serious expression and dismissed herself with another bow.
"Kommandant, what happened here? Has the base been attacked?" Bismarck gestured around. The port was still showing signs of the battle of the previous day. The bulins were fast workers, but filling the holes in the grounds had less priority than repairing the main facilities, so they had to be left there for the time being.
"Yes, Observer showed up with an unregistered Siren, an Arbiter, to be exact. They were after the shipboys, but we managed to fend them off," Ryan explained to the two flagships.
"We've also had multiple encounters with them along the way..." Bismarck frowned and glanced at Richelieu before the two started recounting some of the events from before their arrival.
Meanwhile, Sparviero had been standing on the side, eagerly waiting for the moment his ears would pick up the voices of his brothers.
The sound of more footsteps came from the gangplank—too many to keep track of, but all of them were either too light to belong to a man or accompanied by the distinctive sound of heels clacking. With them, more and more unfamiliar voices joined in formal greetings and conversation, making him feel even more out of place.
"Commander, I'm here; what seems to be the problem?" Vestal's gentle but sleepy voice was heard as the repair ship approached the group, accompanied by Belfast.
"Vestal, go with the Cardinal; they have an injured person on board that requires your attention."
Sparviero's blood ran cold in his veins, and he tightened his grip on his cane. Was that why his brothers hadn't come down from the ship yet? Were they injured? If so, how bad? With the new feelings of worry swirling in his mind, the shipboy tried to pick up on the conversations taking place around him.
"Miss Belfast, it's been so long," Hermione greeted her fellow maid with a smile as she curtsied to her in respect.
"Indeed, Hermione, I'm delighted to see you again. Though you seem a bit tired, have you been taking care of yourself?" Belfast inquired, noticing the bags under her eyes.
"Don't worry, I just didn't get much sleep last night," Hermione reassured her.
"Neither did we," Warspite quipped after descending from the gangplank, barely holding back the annoyance in her voice.
Belfast tilted her head in confusion, but before she could ask for clarification, August spoke with an amused tone, "Were we being too loud? If so, I apologize; we got a little carried away."
"A little?! Your wails could be heard from across the whole deck! Is it too much to ask for some kind of decorum?"
"Oh, come on, Warspite, don't tell me you are one of those prudes who can't even stand the thought of getting laid," Scharnhorst came to the defense of her fellow countrywoman.
"T-this has nothing to do with me! It's a matter of etiquette!" Warspite retorted, blushing and stuttering a bit.
"Big sis Illustrious, what are they talking about?" Unicorn questioned the other carrier. "Did something happen tonight?"
"Nothing to worry about, Unicorn. It's just grown-up talk," Illustrious replied, patting her head with a smile. The previous night, when August and Leviathan went at it like animals in heat, Illustrious subtly plugged Unicorn's ears with some makeshift earplugs she had made with cotton and wax while she slept; thus, she had managed to protect the little carrier's innocent ears and her own sleep from the sound of debauchery coming from a few cabins away.
As the group of shipgirls kept arguing, Javelin excitedly grabbed Unicorn's hand. "Come on, Unicorn, let's go say hi to the others; it's been so long since we last saw them. You too, Spee; I can't wait for you to meet them."
"W-wait, Javelin, it's too early; maybe they are still sleeping," Spee tried to reason with her, but the destroyer had already set off for the dorms. The heavy cruiser could only run after the excitable destroyer as she dragged the light carrier away with her.
As the three shipgirls departed for the dorms, Vestal came down from the ship pushing a stretcher upon which the motionless form of Dunkerque was laid, helped by Jean Bart and the other Vichya shipgirls, all of them with apprehension adorning their faces. Now that the battlecruiser was out of Emperor's glass coffin, where she had been kept in stasis the entire time, her condition was inevitably worsening by the minute, and Vestal had to be quick if she wanted to prevent the worst from happening.
Luckily, the bulins had already repaired the hospital. It was obvious that the repairs would prioritize the medical bay over the other buildings, but Vestal wasn't expecting to have to put it to use so soon.
As the stretcher was pushed away, from atop the deck appeared the last two members of the fleet.
"Easy there, brother," Leviathan told Emperor as the former helped the latter down the platform, holding his wobbling form steady by the arm.
"Hehe, I did it. Three days of nonstop usage of my Wisdom Crafting; I can't wait to see the expression on Kurama's face when I tell him," Emperor chuckled under his breath, trying his best to hide the exertion in his voice. His signature tricorn hat was back atop his head.
"Master, you don't have to push yourself. You can stay on my ship and rest some more if you wish," Hermione offered upon seeing his weary expression.
"I'm sorry, Hermione, but I won't go back to sleep until I've seen the others with my own eyes," Emperor replied with a tired smile.
"She's right, brother. No one will blame you if you take it easy for a while," Chaser intervened, supporting the maid's suggestion.
"Guys, is that you?"
The two male Kansen perked up at the familiar voice, and Emperor let go of his hold on Leviathan as his tired gaze settled on the figure of the blind shipboy patiently waiting for them on the side of the group.
Forgetting his weariness, Emperor made a beeline for Sparviero, throwing his arms around his neck and letting out a long sigh of relief.
"You have no idea how relieved I am to see you safe and sound, brother," Emperor's voice slightly cracked as the Sardinian carrier hugged him back, and all the concern and apprehension that had built up melted away.
Soon, Leviathan joined the embrace, hugging them close with an arm around each of their shoulders.
Seeing her lover engaged in such an open display of affection was rare for August, so the Iron Blood woman couldn't help the warm smile that came to her lips. Around her, those present did the same, though they all felt compelled to give some privacy to the trio. Richelieu, who stayed behind to discuss things with the Commander, did the same, her heart clenching in a fit of longing, with the words spoken by Emperor the previous night still fresh in her mind.
"Hey, August, are you listening or not?" Warpsite tried to call the attention of the carrier back to her scolding.
"Hush, Warspite; we wouldn't want to ruin such a heartfelt moment, would we?" August remarked under the furious glare of the battleship.
After a few more seconds, Leviathan broke the hug first. "Where are the others, Sparviero?"
"Still sleeping; Freedom was first, and Kurama arrived yesterday," the carrier replied.
"Maybe we should go wake them up; we have so much to talk about," Emperor said, completely forgetting about his exhaustion.
"Yes, let's go," Sparviero declared, unable to hide the excitement in his voice and the smile from his face. "And now the only one missing is Lenin. I can't wait to be all together again."
Emperor stiffened and averted his gaze at his words, the atmosphere becoming heavier all of a sudden. Of course, the sensitive carrier immediately noticed the mood shift.
"W-what is it? Why aren't you saying anything?" The carrier inquired as an ominous feeling crept over him.
Leviathan glanced at Emperor's distraught expression and took it upon himself to change the topic.
"Let's go to the others first."
"Signore, you are as dazzling as a ray of sunshine!" Littorio spread her arms wide as she strutted along the garden of the Royal Navy dorm. Elizabeth, who was sipping on a cup of tea, grumbled in annoyance.
"Oh, Littorio, it's been a long time; how have you been?" Illustrious giggled at the boastful display.
"Much better now that I can bask in your magnificent presence, Signora Illustrious," Littorio approached the table at which the group was sitting, produced a rose seemingly out of thin air, and offered it to the carrier in a flaunting manner.
"My, I see you haven't lost your charm," Illustrious stifled a laugh behind her hand before graciously accepting the gift as the Sardinian representative took a seat right next to her.
"So, on what occasion have we gathered here today?" Littorio asked the group.
"None whatsoever, Littorio. Tis just a casual gathering to catch up with comrades," Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at her. "One that I would have preferred to keep between associates."
"Don't be like that, Elizabeth; after hearing about your arrival, I couldn't pass up the chance to come by and say hello," Littorio waved her off, nodding a thank you to Belfast as the maid deposited a cup of tea and trays of snacks on the white table right in front of her. "Besides, Signora Bismarck is here too."
Bismarck had to clear her throat at being called out in such a blatant manner. Sitting at the round table, having breakfast, were some of the Royal Navy senior Kansen stationed at the base—King George V, Howe, Ark Royal, and the entirety of the Royal Navy delegation: Queen Elizabeth, Warspite, Illustrious, and Chaser, minus Javelin and Unicorn, who were somewhere around the base, probably gone to look for their friends. Hermione was helping Belfast serve at the table, and then there was the Iron Blood flagship, sticking out like a sore thumb.
"It's Your Majesty to you," Elizabeth grumbled. Suddenly, she realized why she didn't like Emperor; the man reminded her too much of the Sardinian battleship. The two were made of the same paste and shared the same attitude, although the shipboy was of the more sassy, laid-back type. "And Bismarck is here for personal reasons," she added.
"Mmh? May I be bold enough to inquire about those reasons?" Littorio let off a devious smile. She knew exactly what Bismarck was doing here—everybody knew for a fact; she just didn't understand why that reason hadn't shown up yet.
As if on cue, and before Bismarck could respond in kind, the door to the building opened to reveal the limping figure of Hood. The battlecruiser was leaning over her cane, her serene gaze scanning the surroundings before settling on the Iron Blood leader, who stiffened in her place with eyes wide.
Hood began graciously making her way toward them, maintaining the sort of elegance the Royal Navy was known for even with her limping gait. Bismarck sprang to her feet to go help her, but Belfast beat her to it; the maid was already flanking the battlecruiser, helping her down the few steps of the porch.
Seconds ticked agonizingly slowly for Bismarck as the battle cruiser came to a stop right in front of her, and silence fell over the group.
"Hood, I-" Bismarck started, but Hood interrupted her.
"Will you walk with me, friend?"
"O-of course."
The battleship grabbed the arm offered to her by the woman, and the two started awkwardly walking away, under the silent gazes of the other shipgirls.
"Are you sure about this, Your Majesty?" George asked Elizabeth once the two women were out of earshot.
"I'm doing this for Hood, George. Not because of some ulterior motive," Elizabeth replied, taking another sip of her tea. "Besides, she'll have to face her demons eventually, and the sooner the better."
"Are you talking about Hood or Bismarck?"
Elizabeth didn't answer.
It was late morning, and the five shipboys were inside the room Freedom and Kurama had shared for the night in the Sakura dorms. Emperor and Leviathan, accompanied by Sparviero, had decided to pay a surprise visit to their sleeping brothers.
Their reunion was… animated. In the sense that the three sneaked into the room while the other two were still sleeping, and Emperor all but dove onto Freedom's futon, eliciting a loud cry of pain from the wounded shipboy and startling Kurama into attacking him after mistaking him for an enemy.
Curses, apologies, and laughter were thrown around first before being replaced by hugs and even a few tears of joy as the five got comfortable in the barely furnished room. Sadly, the mood took a quick shift as the newly arrived shipboys opted to tell the others about the fate of their missing brother.
Freedom was sitting up on his futon, Emperor was kneeling at his feet, and Leviathan was occupying the only stool in the room, all with gloomy expressions adorning their faces. Sparviero and Kurama were sitting on the floor next to each other. The voluminous tails of the Kitsune wrapped around the form of the distraught carrier in a comforting manner, clashing with their owner's state of mind.
"Kusoga!" Kurama punched the tatami in anger, leaving a fist-sized dent in the floor. He didn't take it well.
Leviathan had made sure not to mention the part where the shipgirls of the Orthodoxy had failed to retrieve Lenin. Emperor losing his temper was one thing, but Kurama would straight up murder someone in a fit of rage.
"What do we do now?" Sparviero asked aloud.
"We depart as soon as possible and go look for him," Kurama declared, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in anger.
"Don't be hasty, Kurama. This isn't something we can do alone; we need the help of Azur Lane," Leviathan tried to calm him down.
"It's going to take forever just for them to make a decision! We can't just stand here and do nothing while we wait," Kurama snarled in frustration.
"Calm down, brother. Unlike you, Leviathan and I have had plenty of time to think things through," Emperor intervened. "We were told by the Vichya shipgirls that the Sirens who attacked them were rather reticent to hurt Lenin even while he was under their control; furthermore, when they attacked this base, they also tried to capture Freedom and Sparviero, if I understand correctly."
"What are you trying to say, Emperor?" Freedom inquired.
"They need us alive for some reason; maybe they want information. If that's the case, Lenin is their only chance to get them at the moment; I doubt they'll go as far as killing him. For now, at least."
Kurama narrowed his eyes at Emperor. "That's not a good reason to sit on our laurels and letting them have their way with him."
"I don't like the idea of leaving him at their mercy either!" Emperor raised his voice. "But there are only five of us, and coincidentally, only Lenin can summon his ship, which means we won't last more than a few days if we go out to sea on our own! We'd just be handing ourselves over to them for no reason!"
Following his tirade, silence fell over the group.
Freedom laid a hand on his bandaged torso and grimaced. He could use his wings to quickly cover a wide area in search of clues to their whereabouts, but how long would it take? Besides, he hadn't fully recovered from the wound inflicted by Empress yet, and he didn't know how long he could keep up in those conditions. He had never felt more helpless, and he was sure the others were thinking the same.
If only there was more he could do… Wait, maybe there was.
"If they want information, why don't we just give it to them?"
His brothers turned their eyes to him, various expressions adorning their faces.
"Freedom, making a deal with the Sirens is not a good idea, even if these ones are a bit different. It can only end in disaster," Leviathan intervened.
"And what if I told you that I've already done it?"
This time, it was Leviathan's turn to frown. "Explain."
"When I met Ryan and the others, I defeated a Siren called Purifier and took her Cube with me to question her," Freedom began. "She told me about their plans for this world; in exchange, I told her about the Sirens from ours. She seemed very interested in them, as if she already knew about them, but not as much as she wanted; maybe that's what the others want to know about as well."
Emperor's eyes lit up at his statement, as if a light bulb had gone off in his head. "Wait a minute… The Cardinal told me that Tester—the Siren who attacked them—was looking for one of her comrades' Cube. Maybe we can use this to our advantage."
"What are you suggesting, brother?" Sparviero, who had remained silent for most of the conversation, finally found it in his heart to speak up.
"We use this Purifier's Cube as a bargaining chip to get Lenin back," Emperor stated.
The shipboys perked up at his statement, and a new sense of hope started spreading around the room.
Even Leviathan, initially against the idea, had to relent and accept the proposal. "And where is this Cube now?"
"It was in the Eagle Union dorm at the moment of the attack. The bulins must have recovered it and handed it to Ryan," Freedom mused.
"That's good to know, but we still need to find them if we want to make this happen," Kurama reminded them.
"And that's why we need to wait for Elizabeth and the others to finish their meeting. Whether we like it or not, we need their help; their authority, the intelligence network of the alliance—these are too valuable assets to just dismiss them," Emperor said, shotting Kurama a glare.
"And if they refuse to help us?" Kurama glared back at him.
"At that point, we figure something out on our own," Emperor shrugged.
Kurama rolled his eyes and relented. "Fine, we'll just stay here for the time being and play nice with the shipgirls."
Everyone else nodded, sharing their agreement with the plan. With the thought of their missing brother still lingering in the back of their minds, but with the unpleasant discussion left behind and the notion of having established a course of action to follow, the five men finally found the chance to loosen up a bit.
Leviathan reclined onto the stool, which creaked under his weight, Freedom went to lay back onto his futon, and Sparviero straight up sprawled onto the floor, still enveloped in the blanket of soft, orange fur of his Kurama's tails.
Seconds ticked by in relaxing silence until Emperor felt the need to break it.
"By the way, Leviathan got married."
The aforementioned shipboy lost his balance and tumbled on the floor as his brothers' heads snapped onto him.
"What?! Seriously?!" Freedom let off in disbelief.
"Wow, you sure do work fast, brother," Sparviero deadpanned.
"Guys, don't let him fool you; August and I are not married," Leviathan tried to defend himself.
"Judging by the way she acts and talks about you, I'd say the opposite, darling," Emperor mocked him.
Leviathan averted his gaze in a rare display of embarrassment. "We are not at that point… yet."
"Good, I'd be pretty mad if you got married without telling us," Sparviero added, feigning offense in his tone.
"That's rich coming from you, guys; it's not like you two are any better." Kurama reprimanded the two of them.
"What do you mean, brother?" Emperor asked the orange-furred Kitsune out of curiosity.
"Freedom's already found a girlfriend here," Kurama revealed.
"What?! Seriously?!" Emperor said, parroting mockingly the bronze-skinned heavy cruiser.
"Oh, come on, at least I'm not talking about marriage already," Freedom huffed.
"And you," Kurama turned to the blind man. "Don't think I didn't notice how you act around that blonde destroyer. You couldn't be any more obvious even if you tried."
"L-look, there's nothing between me and Carabiniere; she's my bodyguard, that's all," the white-haired carrier stammered in embarrassment.
"Oh, really? Then, since we are here, she won't need to stick around you all the time anymore, am I right?" The battlecruiser scoffed at him.
"W-what?! No chance, that's not what I meant; she's very important to me!" Sparviero cried out, but it was too late to take back what he just said.
A sly smile made its way onto Emperor's lips as he scooted closer to the carrier.
"Brother, details."
Kurama just sat there and watched with a satisfied grin as the chaos he unleashed unfolded before him.
Especially since he was aware of the presence of a certain Sardinian destroyer right behind the door.
Hood and Bismarck were walking in awkward silence through the backyard garden of the Royal Navy dorm; the former had her left arm wrapped around the latter's elbow, holding her walking stick in her other hand. The rhythmic tap of the cane on the cobblestone path filled the silence.
Since Queen Elizabeth told her about Hood's presence at the base, Bismarck had spent most of her alone time stressing and mulling over what she wanted to say once they met. But all the preparation she had made in her head suddenly evaporated, leaving her not only speechless but also a nervous wreck in the presence of the British woman.
The fact that Bismarck couldn't figure out what was going through her head wasn't helping either. Hood was the one who approached her first and suggested they speak in private, but she hadn't uttered a single word the entire time, and when Bismarck tried to peek at her gaze, she was surprised to find a contented and relaxed expression on her face.
The Iron Blood leader had come prepared for the worst, and the fact that Hood was even deigning her of attention was more than she could have hoped for; she had to seize the moment and strike up a conversation herself.
"Hood, I-"
"Such wonderful weather we have today, don't you think so?"
"Right, the weather…" Bismarck trailed off as the pair came to a stop in the middle of an open space surrounded by hedges, with a small marble fountain at the center, from which the path stretched out in multiple directions.
"Why don't we sit down and enjoy the sun while it still isn't too high?" Hood offered, gesturing toward a bench right at the corner of the path.
With a nod of her head and a tacit approval, Bismarck guided the limping woman to sit down on the bench. Hood retracted her cane and put it away, straightening her back and folding her hands in her lap as the Iron Blood leader sat next to her, instinctively putting some distance between them.
A few more seconds of silence passed, and Bismarck leaned forward with her elbows on her knees, a forlorn expression appearing under her black officer cap.
"You know, it would be a lot easier if you just yelled at me…"
"But that would be quite unladylike of me, don't you think so?" Hood let out a soft smile.
"It wouldn't be uncalled for in this case," Bismarck said with more steel in her voice than she intended.
Hood frowned at her attitude. "What were you expecting, exactly? That I'd get mad and shout my anger and disapproval at you? Or that I ignore you, haughtily refusing to talk to you, like a resentful noblewoman of old?"
"That's the response anyone else would expect," Bismarck retorted.
"If punishment is what you are after, know that you won't find it from me," Hood declared.
Bismarck stiffened on the spot; it seemed that Hood hit the bullseye. It was just like the battlecruiser said—this entire time she had been looking for someone to judge her. No matter how many excuses she tried to come up with in her head, the fact that she had basically allowed the Sirens to take control of her remained, and it was something she couldn't forgive herself for. The guilt would keep eating at her until someone would actually condemn her for her actions, and who better than the one who suffered the most from them to do so?
But Hood wasn't having any of it.
Bismarck wasn't the only one who had been stressing over their impending meeting. The battlecruiser wasn't holding any grudges toward the Iron Blood woman; she was smart enough to understand the pain the battleship had gone through, but that didn't mean she wasn't afraid of her. When Hood met her gaze earlier, she was reminded for a second of the thousand-yard, soulless stare Bismarck had given her when she had tried to stop her from hurting her comrade inside that cursed Mirror Sea, right before she had tried to kill her.
But then she saw the real Bismarck behind her mortified look and was reminded of her friend's true self. The proud but insecure woman who had trouble expressing herself and who had come to her for advice on how to get closer to her sister. Yes, that's how it all started. Bismarck was sitting on her throne during that fateful event, alone, aloof, and with a very concerned expression on her face. Hood had decided to approach her with purely professional intentions, trying to establish a connection with a rival faction. She didn't remember precisely how, but at some point, she found herself dispensing advice on how to make casual conversation to the flagship, who listened intently to her the entire time, completely enraptured by her speech.
Imagine her surprise when, some time later, Bismarck personally contacted her, happily telling her that her words had helped her successfully break the ice with her sister and that she'd be honored if Hood could gift her some more of her wisdom. The rest was history.
"Besides, I imagine you've already received plenty of chastening from others. I think there's something else you need, my friend," Hood added as the frown on her face was replaced with another smile.
Bismarck internally grimaced at the moniker and hung her head in shame; she figured she'd lost the right to call herself that by now, but apparently, Hood wasn't on the same page.
"Elizabeth told me that it was you…" Bismarck began, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Pardon?" Hood tilted her head in confusion.
"I'm well aware of it, Hood. Kommandant Travis tried his best to act as a mediator between our factions, but there was only so much he could do with his influence. Elizabeth was the one who put a good word with your superiors so that they dropped the charges against me… against the Iron Blood, but she would have never done something of the sort just out of the goodwill of her heart," Bismarck spoke in one breath. "She acted per your request; you were the one who convinced her to reach out to the Kommandant. I don't know the details, but they made some kind of deal and worked together to prevent things from escalating. It's only thanks to them that I'm still the flagship… or if I'm still allowed to walk around freely at all."
A soft smile, with the slightest hint of mirth, appeared on Hood's lips. "Ah yes, it was pretty hard to convince Her Majesty. I had to resort to all sorts of flattery to persuade her, but in the end, it was worth it, if you ask me."
Those words spoken with such a casual tone and the smile on her face were giving Bismarck mixed feelings; those mixed feelings were churning in her guts like a spinning top, widening the pit that was forming in her stomach. Fear and uncertainty took hold of her, and she felt as if they were about to swallow her whole. The only thing she could do was spit them out.
"Verdammt, Hood, why are you being so nice to me after everything I've done?!" Bismarck finally snapped. "You almost died because of me, and you won't even condemn my actions. Why?! It's my fault you'll never be able to fight alongside your comrades again, and you are saying you don't feel the slightest bit of hatred toward me?" With her voice trembling, her ever-present stone-faced expression slowly cracking, and her eyes welling up in tears, Bismarck lifted her head to meet Hood's gaze.
Her face told her all she needed to know.
"You are finally looking me in the eyes, Biscuit."
Bismarck's cheeks flared at the nickname, and she was quick to avert her gaze. Hearing it again after so long caused her to completely forget her outburst, and the feeling of dread assaulting her guts washed away from her as a bubbly sensation started taking its place.
"I-I'm sorry Hood…" the dam finally broke, and Bismarck brought her hands to her face, trying to hide the tears that were forming in her eyes. "I came here expecting you to hate me, and I was prepared to accept it, but when I saw how… happy you were… I didn't know how to face you after everything I did."
Hood didn't say anything; she just scooted closer to embrace her, bringing her head to rest on her own shoulder.
"I know, my dear. I was also rather nervous. I didn't know how to address the matter, and I didn't want to make you uncomfortable," she said, trying to comfort her.
"I just wanted to protect those I care about, but I just let myself be swayed by my lust for power; I never intended to hurt anyone… especially you. Gott, what have I done… I'm sorry, Hood, please forgive me…" Bismarck's sobbing had turned into full-on bawling; the poise of the Iron Blood leader was discarded to leave space for all the bottled-up emotions to overflow.
"I don't want you to feel sorry for me, Biscuit," Hood's soft voice graced her ears again as the battlecruiser stroked her long, blonde hair. "That time, I was fully aware of the risks when I put myself in front of you, and if I had the chance to go back, I'd do it again, a hundred times over."
Of course, her declaration only served to intensify the battleship's weeping, but after that, no more words were exchanged between them.
Hood promised herself she wouldn't cry if that moment ever came to fruition, if only not to give her friend reason to beat herself up even more, but she couldn't help the silent streak of tears streaming down her cheeks. At least Bismarck, with her face buried in her blue coat, couldn't see her.
They sat there for a few minutes until Bismarck's weeping slowly came to a stop, and then they stayed like that for a few more minutes, reveling in each other's newfound comfort.
AN: We are almost done with the slice of life stuff. One more chapter, and then we are back to the meat of the matter.
Next Chapter: Slow Ahead