Hello again all! Back again a little sooner with a longer chapter this time as well! Have some more time off than I expected to get for the next month so I plan on working on this story a little more in the coming days so stay tuned, and I truly can't begin to thank you all enough for the support this story has gotten. Despite being a VERY rusty writer, I'm overall happy how it has turned out thus far, but as always suggestions, reviews, PMs and the like are always welcome. Thanks again guys, and Blue Skies!
InfantryGrunt94
Chapter 5: The Start of Something
Zuikaku was dreaming again.
She knew that the pilot known as David Parsons had gotten her off the island she and him had been trapped on after a previous battle, but after losing consciousness, she had no recollection of what had happened next.
As she surveyed her surroundings once again, she now noticed she was again on an empty airfield.
The airfield she noticed this time was located right next to a large pier.
Docked at that pier however was an aircraft carrier, one that looked very similar to her own hull.
The difference however is that this one was much larger and had an angled flight deck and appeared more upgraded and high tech.
She noticed movement on the flight deck and saw a fighter jet rolling into position on what looked like a catapult of some sort.
As the fighter got into position, a blast pad raised up and contained the white hot exhaust spewing from its howling twin engines.
The fighter then was rocketed off the flight deck at a high rate of speed. It had no sooner gotten off the deck, than it raised its landing gear and made a beeline for her.
Zuikaku ducked as it sped over her head and she was able to get a good look at the fighter.
It had swept wings, a long nose, and a dual cockpit.
It made an overhead break into the traffic pattern for the airfield she was standing on, and eventually touched down.
It then taxied over to where she was standing and she was able to clearly see the full shape of the aircraft.
It was large, intimidating, and looked fast and well-armed.
Most notably however, she noticed the red and white markings on the jet, similar to her own clothing and rigging.
She then saw the canopy open, and the pilot, his eyes still obscured by his sun visor, unlatched his oxygen mask.
His smile though told her in an instant who he was.
"Dave…." She breathed.
The pilot smiled wider.
It was then that she noticed a ladder had magically appeared to the second seat in the airplane.
The pilot then reached his hand toward Zuikaku.
"Ready to end this war Z?" he asked.
Zuikaku's eyes were wide.
End the war?
But how?
With this airplane?
What could this airplane possibly have that could totally end the war!?
But somehow she knew, that it wasn't just the plane.
It was a combination of the pilots and plane.
Looking back at David, she smiled back and simply said, "Yes."
She began to walk toward him.
She had nearly reached the top of the ladder and touched Dave's hand when she began to regain consciousness…
Azur Lane Base Hospital Ward. Two weeks following engagement. 1015 hours.
Zuikaku blinked before fully opening her eyes to what appeared to be a white room with a window pointing out to the sea.
She realized she was lying in a hospital bed and her wounds had been bandaged and treated.
Looking around more she noticed some flowers on a nearby table, her IV and monitoring equipment, and a strange woman with flowing white hair and a blue overcoat sitting near the window reading a book.
As Zuikaku stirred the woman looked up and smiled.
"Well, good to see you finally awake." The woman said as she made her way over to the bed.
"It's certainly been a rough few weeks for you I'm sure." She finished.
Zuikaku rubbed her head before asking the obvious, "Where am I? What happened?"
"To start, you're in the hospital ward of the Azur Lane base. You were brought here by the Eagle Union Navy after they rescued you from an island you were stranded on." The woman explained.
Zuikaku recalled the island, but her eyes went wide after a moment.
"W-What happened to the pilot I was with? Did he get off too?" she asked.
"Oh you mean Lieutenant Parsons? Yes of course he did! You should count yourself lucky he was there too. Our doctor said it was a guarantee you wouldn't have made it if it hadn't been for him." She replied.
Zuikaku nodded and breathed "Yokatta…"
She knew she owed David a tremendous debt, and she made a vow to herself she'd repay it somehow.
"Also, in case you were wondering, you've been here about two weeks now. Our repair ship Vestal did an emergency surgery on your leg, but you're expected to make a full recovery. Overall, I think you're going to be alright." She said warmly.
"Thank you. I'm….I'm not really sure how to thank you all." Zuikaku said.
"No thanks is necessary." Said a shorter woman wearing what looked to be a nun's outfit of sorts as she walked in.
"It's nice to finally meet you Zuikaku. My name's Vestal, the local repair ship. I've been taking care of you and will be making sure you continue to heal well." She said.
"Nice to meet you." Zuikaku said in her best English.
"And you are?" she turned to the silver haired woman.
"Oh! Excuse me for not introducing myself! CV-5 Yorktown. It's a pleasure to meet you!" she said warmly.
Zuikaku froze.
She knew very well that she and her sister had seriously hurt her as well as the carrier Lexington in a previous engagement and she was afraid of what grudge she might hold against her.
Her fears were dashed when Yorktown spoke again.
"Before you say anything Zuikaku, please know I don't hold anything against you or your sister for the Coral Sea. That's history, and what matters is now." She said simply.
"B-But, what about recently? Aren't you here because of me and Shoukaku-nee?" she asked.
"No, I sustained injuries from a battle with your Second Carrier division. Vestal here has been taking care of me as well." She explained.
Zuikaku was about to speak again, but Yorktown spoke first.
"I forgive you Zuikaku." She said.
"Ehh!?" Zuikaku said confused.
"I forgive you," Yorktown repeated.
"I hold nothing against any of you. I only wish for everyone to make peace with one another now. It's my hope you'll be able to do the same with everyone else….my sister included."
Zuikaku asked confused, "Who is your sister?"
Yorktown's gaze dropped.
"CV-6, Enterprise." She said.
Zuikaku's brow furrowed.
"Grey Ghost…." She mumbled.
Both Yorktown and Vestal frowned.
"I know your injuries are a result of your last encounter with her. But I would ask as her sister that you cease open hostility with her during your stay here." Yorktown said calmly.
"But you're still in no condition to go anywhere yet, so do try and rest until we can get your leg properly healed up." Vestal added.
Zuikaku let out a deep breath.
"Your request is acceptable….and…thank you both for being so kind to me though I am an enemy….." Zuikaku said.
Vestal smiled warmly and said, "That's just what we do. If we can't take care of our own kind, how are we any better than the Sirens?"
That made Zuikaku smile.
"Dave said that to me when we were on the island. I'd asked why he chose to save me instead of put me out of my misery, and that's more or less what he told me." She said.
"And he's exactly right." Yorktown agreed as she gazed out the window towards the ocean.
"It's beautiful out there today, isn't it?" she asked nonchalantly.
The breeze blowing in made her silver hair flutter and her blue eyes glimmer, and Zuikaku caught a faint image of her sister in a similar pose back in the Sakura Empire.
"You…you somehow remind me of my sister….just a little bit…" Zuikaku admitted.
"She would always say similar things about the ocean and the Sakura trees." She said reminiscing and beginning to get teary eyed.
"I…I wonder if…..if she even knows I'm alive? What if she thinks I….." she stopped before beginning to sob.
She covered her face in her hands before she felt someone embrace her.
"There, there." Yorktown said while attempting to comfort the crane girl.
"I'm certain she's still clinging to the hope that you're alright." She said reassuringly.
"How do you know?" Zuikaku asked.
"I'm an older sister like she is, we just have a way of knowing things." Yorktown said with a wink.
Zuikaku smiled slightly.
"You really do remind me a lot of Shoukaku-nee…." She said.
Azur Lane Airbase. Two weeks following engagement. 1300 hours.
"OUTLAW 25, cleared for the overhead, report left downwind." Came the call from the control tower as David piloted his F/A-18 for the first time since his rescue.
"Cleared overhead, report downwind, 25." David repeated his instructions.
He expertly flew directly overhead the runway and once he was directly over his intended point of touchdown he rolled sharply left bleeding off speed and reported his downwind leg to the tower.
He then lowered his landing gear and first notch of flaps as he eyed his touchdown point.
Judging his speed, altitude, and approach angle he easily touched his fighter down perfectly on his intended point of landing.
"Haven't missed a beat 25, contact ground on point-three for taxi instructions." The tower radioed.
David smiled.
"Thanks a ton tower, ground on point-three." He replied.
As he finished the rest of his taxi into his parking spot, he thought of the weeks past.
Immediately after being lifted into the helicopter, he had aided the flight medics in stabilizing Zuikaku who had lost consciousness.
Thankfully, she was immediately taken into the kansen's sick bay upon their landing and the repair ship Vestal had seen to it that she would make a full recovery.
David had checked on her from time to time when he had a free minute, but his schedule had been full of checkouts by his own flight surgeon, debriefings with intel, and finally getting a re-currency flight in before being cleared for duty again.
His friends, both pilot and kansen, had also kept him rather occupied in the past two weeks.
Caveman and Gooney had welcomed back their comrade with many rounds of whiskey and bear hugs while Chicago and Brooklyn had opted for less of the whiskey but more of the bear hugs.
Even Hamman when she had approached with Enterprise and Hornet had said slightly teary eyed, "I-I guess it's a good thing you didn't die. I mean…I really didn't want you get hurt. WHAA!? I-IT'S NOT LIKE I WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU OR ANYTHING!"
All had a good laugh at the tsundere destroyer's antics, but it was Hornet that alarmed David the most.
She had barely left his side since he had been back, and she was getting particularly pushy when it came to the topic of love.
Then there were the damn dreams.
They still hadn't subsided.
What was worse, was now he was having a completely different dream.
Every night it was the same: He found himself strapped into the cockpit of what looked like a highly modified F-14D Super Tomcat and positioning it onto the catapult on a carrier he didn't recognize, but also felt very familiar.
From there he would launch, climb away while raising his landing gear, and eventually land on a deserted airfield next to the pier where the carrier was anchored.
Finally, upon touchdown he would taxi to a girl standing alone on the ramp.
The girl was the all too familiar Sakura girl that he had recently gotten to know on a certain island.
Just before he would wake up he always extended his hand to her and asked, "Ready to end this war Z?"
These dreams baffled David to no end, but he knew that this had to be no coincidence. There was definitely some kind of connection between him and Zuikaku.
Upon reaching his ops building, David debriefed his recurrency flight and headed back to the pilot common room.
Upon entering Caveman greeted him. "How was getting back in the saddle?" he asked.
"Great!" David responded.
"Didn't miss a beat, and I'm ready to bring the pain again!" he said joyfully.
"Well perfect timing, because we just got tasked for a recon mission later this week!" Gooney said.
"What kinds of stuff are we spying on this time?" Caveman asked.
"Word is a really sacred place in the Sakura Empire. They call it the 'Sanctuary' or something of that nature." Gooney said.
"Well whatever it is, they must be hiding something there." David said.
"Hey Dave?" Caveman asked.
"Yeah?" David responded.
"Did that girl you were stranded with ever say anything about that place? I figured being a carrier and all she might know something." Caveman asked.
"She almost said something about a project of sorts their First Carrier Division was working on. She stopped short of it of course, but I reported everything I knew to intel during the debrief." David said.
"First Division, that's those crazy fox eared girls!" Gooney said.
"Yeah, also the ones that shot me down the last time." David recalled.
"Well, maybe this recon'll give some insight into what the girl was talking about. Hopefully what we find will give us an edge in this war." Caveman said.
All agreed and headed out to the mess hall for lunch.
It wasn't long however before David felt his eyes being covered from behind and an ample chest pressed against his backside.
"Guess who!" said a voice David knew all too well.
"C'mon Hornet, this is the twentieth time this week!" Dave said jokingly.
"Aww, you're no fun Dave!" Hornet said pouting as she released her grip.
"Well you did make it pretty obvious!" David shot back.
"Yeah, good point I guess! So how'd the flight go?" Hornet asked.
"Great actually, thanks!" Dave replied.
"Good enough to get him back on the schedule too!" Caveman added.
"That soon? Even after he was just shot down?" Hornet asked worried.
"That's just wartime I guess. We all gotta do our part." Gooney said.
"You sound like my sister!" Hornet chided.
"It's really alright Hornet, I didn't wanna stay out of the fight too long anyway." David said in response.
Eventually the four made it into the chow hall and sat down to eat.
They talked about what all had been going on recently as well as the upcoming mission to recon the location known as "The Sanctuary."
"I wonder what'll come of it if we find something there. I mean, with a name like that they've gotta be hiding something important right?" Gooney said.
"Who knows? The Sakura Empire has always been kinda shrouded in mystery since the beginning, and this Sanctuary probably won't be any different." Caveman added.
"Whatever you guys find I just hope it helps to end all of this soon. Twice is more than enough for me." Hornet said with her hat low whilst referring to both her time as a warship and now as a kansen.
David however had been quiet the whole time.
His thoughts ranging from his recurring dreams and also pondering on how Zuikaku had been.
"Dave?" Caveman asked.
"You alright man? You've been kinda quiet this whole time. Not thinking about that Sakaura girl again are ya?" he elbowed his wingman.
David blushed a bit before saying, "I mean yeah, just a little. I heard she'd finally woken up."
"Well I'm going to see my sister after this. Maybe you should come with me!" Hornet offered.
David perked up at the idea. "Yeah, maybe I should." He said.
"Hmmm? That was pretty quick Dave. Eager to see her or somethin'?" Hornet chided.
Immediately David was red again.
"N-No! It's not like that!" he protested.
"C'mon man, we're just teasing! We know you guys probably got close though. Anyone who survives together like that is bound to." Caveman said.
"Well, let's go then!" Hornet said as they all finished their meals.
"We'll catch you back at Ops Dave!" Gooney said as he and Caveman left Hornet and David to head towards the medical ward.
Eventually the pair made it into the medical ward where the first room they stopped at happened to be Yorktown's.
Much to their surprise, it was empty.
"W-What!? HOW!?" Hornet shrieked.
"Calm down Hornet, I didn't go far."said Yorktown as she approached with a book in her hands.
Hornet launched herself at her sister, visible relief flooding her eyes.
David smiled in spite of himself and thought about reuniting with his own family.
Pushing that thought aside however, he smiled and greeted Yorktown with, "Good to see you up and moving Yorktown. I guess you made a full recovery?"
The silver haired carrier smiled back pleasantly having been released from Hornet's grasp and replied, "Yes, thank you for asking Lieutenant. I've still got a few exams from Vestal to do before I'm cleared for duty again, but I feel fit as a fiddle."
"Well don't you go wanderin' too far away from me or Enty this time big sis! You really scared us ya know?" Hornet said.
"Don't worry Hornet, I promise I'm not going anywhere." Yorktown responded.
"Oh! Lieutenant, I believe the girl you were on that island with would like to see you. She woke up this morning and while I was spending some time getting to know her, she mentioned wanting to thank you properly." Yorktown added.
David smiled. "Sure, I'll go see her then."
Yorktown smiled in return before turning to Hornet.
"Come on then Hornet, lets go chat a while in my room. Hornet?" Yorktown asked her younger sister who was looking worriedly at David.
"Big sis, that girl Zuikaku, she's tried several times to sink Enty. I don't trust her." Hornet said folding her arms under her bust.
Yorktown for her part nodded in understanding. "I know you are worried both for Enterprise…..and for David" Yorktown added with a smirk which caused Hornet to blush.
"But when I spoke with her this morning, she made me a promise that she would cease open hostility with her while she is here. I sensed no malice in her words, so I believe we can trust her at least for the time being." Yorktown finished.
Hornet lowered the brim of her hat. "I hope you're right big sis…but if she hurts Enty or Dave….I'll never forgive her…." Hornet said before following her elder sister into her room.
David approached the door to Zuikaku's room like he had done many times before, but he now felt nervous somehow.
He hadn't really spoken to her since their last day on the island obviously due to Zuikaku passing out, and he was unsure about Zuikaku's feelings of being more or less a POW now.
But he then recalled Yorktown's words.
She had wanted to thank him properly.
What did that mean?
Shoving these thoughts aside, he knocked on the door before hearing the voice of Vestal saying, "Come in!" from the other side.
He took a deep breath before turning the knob and was met with the sight of Zuikaku sitting on the edge of her bed in a hospital gown facing Vestal who was seated on a rolling stool examining her leg.
"Good afternoon Lieutenant Parsons! Coming to check up on Zuikaku again?" Vestal asked.
Zuikaku for her part met David's eyes and he noticed the shy but grateful smile she gave.
"Y-Yeah." David finally said.
"I had heard you had woken up so I wanted to come and see how you were feeling?" David asked now turning his attention to the crane girl.
Zuikaku smiled gratefully and responded in English, though still heavily accented, " I'm recovering well, thank you. Your repair ship has taken very good care of me, and….it's obvious I have you to thank for being alive today."
David nodded and responded, "Like I said before Z, I just did what I felt was right at the time. But your welcome, and I hope you'll be up and moving soon."
"Actually, we were just about to see if she's able to put weight on her leg." Vestal replied.
"Oh! Yes!" Zuikaku said remembering what the repair ship had suggested before David had entered.
"Just take it slow, and don't push yourself." Vestal cautioned.
Zuikaku nodded before slowly easing herself off the bed and stood.
She then tried walking a few steps.
She winced a few times, but she was once again walking on her own.
She smiled pleased before she nearly lost her footing.
"WHAA!" she said before David caught her and broke her fall.
Their faces both went a deep red upon realizing how close they were, but Zuikaku managed to stand again after David helped her back up.
"A-Arigatou Dave…seems you have a bit of a knack for saving me…" Zuikaku said.
"Ah….anytime!" David responded.
Vestal found it hard to keep from laughing at the two, but regained her professional air when she said, "Well, that's a good sign that you can walk again. We'll try getting you outside tomorrow so you can start getting your strength back. I have a few more patients to tend to, so feel free to stay and chat with Zuikaku a while if you like Lieutenant."
Vestal then exited the room leaving the pilot and the Crane girl alone together.
For a moment both sat in silence unsure of what to say to one another.
Finally, Zuikaku broke the silence.
"So…I'm told you kept your promise…about checking up on me I mean." She said.
David recalled the many times he had come to check on Zuikaku before she had regained consciousness and guessed that either Yorktown or Vestal had told her about it.
"Well, yeah! I told you I would if we ended up back here right?" David said with a smile.
Zuikaku returned said smile before bowing low.
"Arigatou-Gozaimous David-san. I owe you much, and as a Sakura Empire Kansen, I vow that I will repay my debt to you." She said.
David found himself feeling strange at the sight of Zuikaku bowing to him.
He smiled and said, "I appreciate the thanks Z, but you don't have to bow to me you know."
Zuikaku raised her head and smiled back before saying, "This is custom in Sakura Empire when one has done something for you. I would not have done it if you did not truly deserve it."
They both then moved to other topics such as how Zuikaku had been feeling since waking up, how she had met Yorktown, and what she thought of the base so far.
Eventually however, David finally asked about something he'd been worried about since he had begun their conversation.
"Are you being treated fairly well Zuikaku? Not just by Vestal, but other Kansen as well?" he asked.
Zuikaku for her part was surprised.
But then she remembered the promise the two had made on the island to both check in on each other and ensure they were both treated fairly.
She smiled in response and said, "So far, yes."
David breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm really relieved to hear that." He said in response.
"I actually had a pretty nice long talk with Yorktown earlier as well. She's been so nice to me despite what my sister and I did to her in the Coral Sea before…." Zuikaku said.
David raised an eyebrow.
"She said she forgave me. And she asked me in time to be able to forgive Enterprise as well….." she said trailing off.
David nodded.
"I know that'll probably be easier said than done, but I still stand by what I said before Z." said David.
"About what?" Zuikaku asked.
"About you and Enty having more in common than you think. Maybe once you get to where you can walk comfortably again you should meet her in a non-hostile environment and talk things out. Might help you both move past a few things." He replied.
That made Zuikaku think hard for a moment.
Talking to the Grey Ghost one on one?
What would she be like?
What would she have to say?
These thoughts swirled through Zuikaku's mind as she tried to process David's point.
"I…I suppose you may have a point. That Grey Ghost though…." Zuikaku responded tightening her fists.
"I'd still like to duel her…just once….at least for closure." She said.
David understood.
"Sometimes the best way to settle beef is to fight it out, but after its all said and done, you shake hands and move on. At least that what my grandad always said!" he replied.
Zuikaku couldn't help but laugh.
"You certainly have a way of making things so simple. I wish you could meet Shoukaku-nee and Takao…"she said reminiscing.
"Your sister and a friend I'm guessing?" David asked.
Zuikaku nodded.
"Takao is a lot like me in the fact that she trains hard with the sword and never backs down. Shoukaku-nee is so meek and lady-like in comparison to me. She's kind, pretty, and a great cook to boot! That and she's always trying to look out for me. Just this time I….I..I.." Zuikaku began to choke up upon thinking of her sister.
She wiped her eyes feeling fresh tears fall and tried to hide her face from David.
She then felt a hand placed on her shoulder and saw David smiling at her reassuringly.
"I'm sure she's still clinging to the hope that you're alive Z. If she's anything like you, then she's strong, courageous, and determined, and knows you'll hang in there." He said trying to comfort Zuikaku.
She in return looked at him with a slight blush realizing his compliment and nodded gratefully.
"Thank you David-san. It…It just gets hard to think about when I think of my sister all alone. I want to protect her like she did for me before. I have to protect her from those Sirens!" Zuikaku said.
"I know you will Z. And if I can get a message to her somehow that you're alive I will. My squadron fly's recon missions regularly, so I'll try and come up with something." David said.
Zuikaku went wide eyed.
"You'd do that for me? Even after all you've already done?" she asked incredulously.
David nodded.
"Yes. I can understand that not knowing what's happened to your family is a terrible thing. I can't make any guarantees mind you, but I'm willing to try." He said in response.
Zuikaku then did something that she never would have expected, but she embraced David.
"Arigato…." She said gratefully.
David although surprised, hugged back.
"Y-Your welcome Z" he replied.
Both then realized what they were doing and released their grips on one another.
With both blushing, David spoke back up with, "Well, I need to get back over to Ops. I'll come by again tomorrow and see how you're doing. Maybe I'll bring lunch?" he suggested.
"Oh! Sure! I'd like that…"Zuikaku agreed.
"Great! Well, I'll see you tomorrow then Z."David said.
"See you!"Zuikaku said.
As David closed her door behind him, he couldn't help but remember the feeling of Zuikaku's embrace.
"She was so warm….." he thought to himself recalling the dreams he had been having.
He also thought of the shy but grateful smile she had given him upon entry to her room and recalled how beautiful she had looked.
"Am I….catching feelings for her?" he thought to himself as he returned to his Ops building.
Sakura Empire. Sanctuary and Project Orochi research Grounds.
Shoukaku had followed her First Division elders into the heart of the Sanctuary and had been truly appalled at what her eyes had seen.
The sight of the Project Orochi, a gigantic Siren ship made with data created from black wisdom cubes, was something she could not believe Akagi had helped create.
As Akagi stepped forward, she released the black mental cube which floated upwards and was received by a Siren woman with white hair, yellow eyes, and surrounded by tentacles.
As said woman received it, the Orochi glowed red and then once again fell silent.
"Excellent work Akagi. The data recovered from this cube puts us one step closer. One more should do it." The Siren said whilst producing another black cube and sending it down to Akagi.
Shoukaku could stand no more and stepped menacingly towards Akagi.
"You traitor! How could you betray not only your homeland but the entirety of humanity by working with that thing!?" Shoukaku yelled.
"I was wrong to trust you, and so is Nagato! I will st-AHHH!" she screamed upon being lifted into the air by the Siren's tentacles.
"Oh my Akagi, brought quite the feisty sacrifice have we?" It said observing Shoukaku.
"S-sacrifice!? What is she talking about!?" Shoukaku asked becoming scared.
Akagi simply frowned and replied, "The Orochi must have a sacrifice, one of Kansen blood, in order to live."
Shoukaku's eyes went wide.
Her seniors had double crossed her!
"Just as you Kansen are the manifestations of the will of humanity, so too will you become the will of the Orochi," the Siren said before leaning down to whisper into Shoukaku's ear, "But don't worry, you'll be reunited with your sister soon enough."
Even as Shoukaku struggled she managed to cry out, "I don't believe it! You could never give me back my sister! All you know how to bring is death and destruction! Zuikaku-nee would never be able to come back from your efforts!"
"Oh ye of little faith my little crane, but it matters not now. You'll be the next to last step in helping to fulfill dear Akagi's wish." The Siren said before sending Shoukaku flying into what appeared to be a holding cell of some sort.
"Akagi! Release me! This is treachery! Traitor!" she screamed whilst pounding the door of her holding cell.
"Such is the place for those who are too weak to reach true power." Akagi said before exiting the Sanctuary with Kaga in tow.
As Shoukaku finally collapsed to her knees against the holding cell door, she began to weep.
"Zuikaku-nee…..I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you….."she sobbed.
But something inside her kept telling her that her sister was not gone.
Something kept telling her that she was still out there, and still alive.
Wiping her eyes and steeling her resolve, she resorted to her last resort: a sort of mental connection the Crane sisters had shared since their summoning.
"Zuikaku, please…hear me! If you're alive, please hear me!" she said as she focused on her sister and tried to relay to her what she had just seen and been subject to…