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Chapter Text

The first thing I realized when I came to was just how uncomfortable it is to sleep on the deck.  I groaned as I immediately rolled over, trying to find some relief for my aching back before I even began to try and take in my surroundings.  I blinked repeatedly, my eyes finally focusing on what was in front of me.  And what I saw was entirely unfamiliar to me.  While I recognized the painted metal walls, portholes, and cramped quarters as those you’d find on board any ship, exactly what ship I found myself on was as-yet a mystery.  I also noted, with more than a little irony, that I had been laid out right next to a very comfortable-looking sofa.  

With a low groan, I got to my feet and stretched before examining the room I found myself in.  In addition to a sofa, there was also a desk and a chair, although both of those held no clues as to what ship I was on.  Unfortunately, peering out the porthole was likewise a bust, all I saw was a heavy grey fog that obscured everything out past a few feet.  The walls, however, told a different story.  The wall with the portholes, as well as the wall to the right of it was sloped inward, like a pyramid. To me, that ruled out any Eagle Union ship I could think of, as well as most Royal Navy vessels.  That left the Northern Parliament or a Crimson Axis ship, and I had little experience with any of their designs.  

I idly wondered if we’d sailed into a Mirror Sea and been trapped again.  If so, the rest of my fleet should also be on the ship, and I needed to find them.  Clearly, they weren’t in this tiny room, so I began to look around for a door.  It didn’t take me long to find it, and fortunately, it was unlocked.  I took a deep breath, steeled myself, and slowly opened the door.  I could see a small passageway and a t-shaped junction, and the hallway was well lit, but I couldn’t see or hear any signs of life.  Still wanting to keep things quiet in the event the Sirens were lurking about, I slipped out of the room and quickly made my way down the corridor to the room that was next to mine.  

“Washington?” I stage whispered through the door and waited for a moment to see if there was a response.  When none came, I checked the door, and upon finding it unlocked, slowly opened it.  No sign of Washington or any of the other girls, so I closed it and went back to the junction.  Down the one part of the corridor was a shut hatch and two doors on either side.  “Well…may as well clear the space before moving on to the next compartment,” I muttered to myself as I checked the door on the left. 

“South Dakota?” I asked and got no reply.  Again, an empty office room of some type.  Again, I shut the door and moved on to the one across the hall.  

“Dace?”  This time I didn’t even wait for an answer as I slowly swung the door open.  What greeted me this time wasn’t an office space, but some sort of communications room.  I quickly hurried inside and closed the door behind me before I began inspecting the equipment, hoping I would be able to get some sort of signal out.  Once again, though, my bad luck streak stayed with me as it seemed to be completely powered off and seemingly no way to turn it back on.  If there was a silver lining to be had, however, is that everything was labeled in Japanese.  And while I couldn’t read Japanese at the time, it did tell me that this was a Sakura ship.  

While that answered one question, it raised several others.  If this was a Sakura ship like last time, does this mean we’d run into Shinano again?  Would Helena META return to help us out?  If she didn’t, would we run into another member of the Ashes?  While I didn’t like my chances with Code G or Ember, I wouldn’t mind running into Hiryu META again.  She may have decided to stay neutral, but I felt that she would help us escape if we asked.  She and Helena both.  

Just then, a sudden, very unwelcome thought crossed my mind.  What if the Sirens perfected their Mirror Sea technique and I was the only one that was moved here?  Trapped on this ship in a pocket dimension until either someone figured it out, another Ashes member intervened, or…  I shook my head to dispel such morbid thoughts.  This was bad enough without the slow horrific death of dehydration looming over me.  

And the silence wasn’t doing me any favors, either.  Typically a ship, even a kansen’s ship, is abuzz with moving parts, machinery, equipment, creating a background noise that you become accustomed to.  Add in hundreds, if not thousands of people, and you get how loud it can get on a warship, even in port.  When most of the crew’s gone on leave for holidays or major repairs, it can be a bit unsettling.  When they’re all gone, it’s unnerving.  And when everyone’s gone and the ship is dead silent, it’s downright scary.  

Needless to say, I was a bit on edge when I shut the door behind me and faced the only unopened door left in the compartment.  The large hatch was firmly shut, and it took me a few seconds to undog it.  I slowly, carefully swung the hatch open and stepped through it, making sure to secure it behind me.  I didn’t want to leave any sign that I’d been here in case there was a hostile presence on board.  

This compartment consisted of a small passageway, several doors, and most notably, a ladder that led down to the decks below it.  I glanced down it, making sure my path wasn’t obstructed and that there wasn’t any sign of anyone else walking around below me.  I now had an important decision to make.  Do I keep exploring this deck and then come back to the ladder, or do I try and see where it takes me now ?  

After weighing my options, I decided to skip this ladder for now.  It only went down into the ship, and while I may be able to get to the main deck from there, I needed to get my bearings, get some idea of where I was.  And the best way to do that would be from the bridge, which was more than likely up, not down.  

The next room I checked looked like another communications room, with none of the devices in there working either, and again, all written in Japanese.  I quietly shut the door and moved on to the next one, which lead to a large passageway, and, more importantly, a ladder that went up.  This time there wasn’t much of a debate as I slowly crept up the ladder, trying to stay as quiet as possible.  

As I ascended, I idly wondered how many decks I would have to climb before I finally found the one I was looking for.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered the answer was just one.  

The ladder deposited me in another passageway, but this time, I could see something through the portholes.  I walked over to get a better look, and when I peered out, I saw a platform with a large set of binoculars which meant I should be somewhere close to the bridge, assuming it wasn’t the bridge wing itself.  There was a door on the wall to my left, and I opened it as quickly and as quietly as I could, trying to temper my excitement.  

My hopes were not dashed this time, as I had found what appeared to be the tactical planning room, complete with a holotable.  I leaned against the doorjamb and let out a long sigh of relief, glad that something had finally gone right.  Or so I thought.  

As I approached the holotable, I found most of the display to be blank, with just an icon for what I guessed to be the ship in the dead center, surrounded by a sea of nothing.  And much to my growing frustration, all the text on the screen was, as I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, Japanese.  

“Great,” I grumbled, “Just great.”  Maybe the bridge would have a compass that wasn’t in Japanese, or at least some clear indication as to which arrow pointed north.  I made my way outside onto the bridge wing, which was still enveloped in the thick fog I saw out the porthole.  It was like pea soup, with my range of vision restricted to a few feet in front of me.  Combined with the silence, it was becoming nightmarish.  I kept hoping I’d wake up back on base or in Washington ’s stateroom, and that this would all fade from my memory as nothing more than an unpleasant dream.  

Fortunately, I could see the compass bridge ahead and made my way inside.  There, in the center of the room, sat the ship’s wheel, along with a compass…and something else sitting atop it.  At first, I couldn’t make out what it was, but as I got closer, I realized it was a holstered pistol and two clips of ammunition.  

“Well, this is convenient,” I dryly commented as I slid the pistol from its holster and inspected it.  To my surprise, it was an M1911, the same model of sidearm the Eagle Union issued to its officers, which I also know wasn’t standard issue for Sakura Empire officers.  I couldn’t help but feel as if this was the basic tutorial level of a video game.  I’ve learned how to get around, and now I’ve gotten my basic weapon.  “What’s next?” I sardonically quipped, “Jumping?  How about a basic enemy to test my weapon on?”  

As if on cue, I heard a noise from somewhere inside the superstructure and I froze for a moment, my heart suddenly racing.  Was it one of my kansen, looking for me?  Or was it someone else, someone with less than stellar intentions for me?  I quickly slipped the holster around my shoulder and grabbed the extra clips as I looked for a place to hide.   

Aside from the ship’s wheel and compass, which I couldn’t hide behind, there wasn’t anywhere else I could make myself scarce.  The sounds of footsteps were growing louder, though, and I heard the door to the tactical room shut.  Realizing that whoever this was was tracing my steps, I quickly darted to the other side of the bridge superstructure, grateful for the wooden grating on the bridge to help muffle my footfalls.  

Just as I got into position, pressing myself against the superstructure, I heard the approaching footsteps.  Whoever they were, they were taking no pains to tread lightly, nor did they sound like they were uncertainly exploring, instead striding forward confidently.  They continued past me and onto the bridge, the sounds of their steps changing as they went from the metal deck to the wooden grating.  Cautiously, I slowly peered around the corner, trying to get a glimpse of this mysterious stranger.  

The figure was that of a woman, with a white uniform, pleated skirt, and black stockings.  She had long black hair that ran down to her legs, held in a neat ponytail that slowly swayed from side to side as she looked around.  She held a katana in her left hand, and I wondered for a moment if she was trapped here like me or if she was my jailer.  She bore a passing resemblance to Ember, but she didn’t have the same ominous presence as the Ashes kansen.  Her Sakura counterpart, perhaps…Takao, was it?  But was it really Takao or was it a pawn?  Would she notice that the pistol was missing?  I decided not to give her the chance.  

“Hold it right there,” I commanded as I stepped from around the corner, pistol aimed at her.  “Hands up where I can see them.”  

The woman slowly raised her hands, keeping her hold on the sword as she did so.  She glanced back over her shoulder, her golden-brown eyes coolly regarding me.  “ Nani ?” she quietly asked, as if I’d asked her for the time rather than holding her at gunpoint.  

“Don’t move,” I repeated, slowly and calmly as I approached her.  “Name and rank.”

She feigned ignorance as she answered with a question of her own.  “ Nani mono da ?”

I sighed and feared a language barrier may make things even more difficult than they already were.  Distracted by everything that had gone on, I made what could have been a fatal mistake.  Rather than asking her to drop her sword, I moved to grab it, and in doing so, I got too close.  With lightning speed, she spun around and smacked the gun out of my hands with the scabbarded katana, and then jabbed it into my solar plexus.  With that, the breath was knocked out of my lungs, and as I tried to catch my breath, her leg swept me off my feet and onto the hard metal deck.  As I found myself staring up at the roof of the bridge when I heard the ominous sound of her sword being unsheathed and she quickly stepped into my field of view, the razor-sharp point of her blade just inches away from my face.  I tore my gaze away from the instrument that could end my life with just the flick of her wrist and looked her in the eyes.  They were hard and unyielding until recognition bloomed within them and she quietly whispered, “You.”  

In a flash, she returned the katana to its scabbard and held her free hand out to me.  “My apologies, Commander, I didn’t realize it was you.”

The sudden reversal and counter reversal had my head spinning in a way that had nothing to do with the repeated blows I’d just taken.  “I..wait…what?”  

She eyed me with some suspicion, and her hand slowly lowered.  “You are the Commander of Azur Lane, correct?”

“Yeah,” I said slowly as I began to pull myself together.  “Last I checked.”

Her hand raised up again and this time I reached out and took it as she hauled me back on my feet.  “Good,” she answered, her voice strong and resolute.  “I am Takao, first ship of the Takao-class heavy cruisers.  May I ask how you have managed to get aboard my ship?”

I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.  At least now I knew that I wasn’t a prisoner here.  At least, not yet.  “I’m not sure, actually,” I replied honestly.  “I was on patrol with a few Eagle Union girls one moment, the next I woke up on the floor one deck down.”  I paused for a moment, debating whether or not I should mention my experience in the previous Mirror Sea.  Shinano had been there…sort of…but it was hard how much of it she would have been able to relate to the rest of the Sakura Empire, let alone if they would believe her or not.  

In the end, I decided that we needed to pool our resources and work together, and if High Command wants to chew me out for it later, so be it.  “I’ve seen this happen once before, a few months ago.  Same situation, out on patrol, we blacked out, and when we come to, we were trapped in a mass-produced Sakura ship.  But all of us were put on the ship together, locked in the same place, the bridge, and there were no Sakura kansen around.  Well, not physically.”

Takao’s eyes flashed with recognition and one of her eyebrows raised ever so slightly.  “You’ve encountered Shinano.”

“That was quick,” I said in an appraising tone.  “Either you’re making one very big logical leap or there’s something you know that I don’t.”

She smiled dryly as she answered.  “There are many things I know that you do not, Commander.  But yes, in this specific case, I do.  Shinano has been making inquiries about you as of late.”

I have to admit I was surprised.  “Me?” I asked incredulously.  “I wasn’t aware I’d made that big of a first impression.”  

“She thinks you’re a vital part of the Sakura Empire’s future, whatever that may be…”  Now it was her turn to pause, to try and fight the right words.  “While I’m not certain disclosing my orders would be proper, given our current situation…you should know, that we were out here on her orders to find you.”

The surprise I felt at her admission was nearly palpable.  “We?”  I repeated.  “Who else was with you?”

“Just my sister, Atago,” she said.  “We were supposed to find you and observe you from a distance.  There were others, but they had been assigned to other groups in other patrol zones.”  She paused for a moment, her expression thoughtful.  “Who were you traveling with?”

“Washington, South Dakota, and Dace,” I answered without hesitation.  If she was being this free with information, I should at least do the same.  “I was hoping they were somewhere on the ship, but I was trying to get my bearings first before I wound up lost in an unfamiliar ship.  Have you run across them?”

“ Iie ,” she said with a curt shake of her head.  “I awoke in the Flag Officer’s quarters only a few minutes ago, and immediately headed to the tactical room to assess our situation.  When I thought I heard a noise out here, I investigated, and ran into you.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” I weakly muttered, rubbing the back of my neck.  “Didn’t know where I was, if I was here by choice or if I was a prisoner, and I didn’t want to take any chances if it wasn’t a friendly face.”

To her credit, she simply nodded to me in acknowledgment.  I can’t think of many people who would be so sanguine about having a gun pulled on them.  “Understandable.  For my part, I am sorry for deceiving you regarding my ability to comprehend and speak English.”

“My fault for falling for it,” I sighed as I looked to see where the pistol had landed.  Not over the side, I hoped.  “Should’ve realized you were faking it, you put your arms up when I told you.  Still, I appreciate you not slicing me to ribbons.”  

“Of course,” she bowed respectfully.  “Although I must admit, our files on you stated you typically traveled without a sidearm.”

“I do,” I confirmed.  “I found the pistol on board.”

Takao took a half-step back and made a quiet noise of surprise and alarm.  “What?  Where?”

I pointed over to the ship’s wheel and compass.  “Right over there.  Found the pistol, this holster, and two spare clips.  Judging by your reaction, I take it these aren’t standard issue for the Sakura Empire.”

“No,” she firmly denied as she strode past me.  I watched her, wondering where she was going until I spotted the pistol just in front of her.  She picked it up and immediately thumbed the safety on before she turned it over in her hands as she made her way back to me.  “For starters, any weapons on my ship will be in an appropriately secured small arms locker, along with any holsters or spare ammunition.  Not left lying about.”  She handed it back to me with a thin smile.  “And we use nothing like this model of pistol.”

I took it with an appreciative nod and holstered it for the time being.  “So the question is, who put it there and why?”  

Takao took a long look around the bridge, trying to find any clues as to who might have been here before us.  “...someone looking to end the cease-fire.”

“That’s a bold claim to make,” I said, eyebrow raised.  “How do you figure?”

Takao’s answer was meticulous.  “Whoever placed this gun did it in a vital area, a place they would have known any experienced sailor would have gone to try and, as you said, get their bearings.  Considering both of us would have been armed, disoriented, and mistrustful of one another, given the current state of affairs between our factions, it would have been very easy for this to end in bloodshed, even if it wasn’t fatal.  Once that happened, the likelihood of the truce being called off would be all but certain, and we would be at war once again.”  

“Glad we both showed restraint, then,” I said softly, still trying to process all that information.  “More than likely the Sirens.  Given the fact that we’ve been able to focus all our strength against them with the cease-fire in place, the Sakura Empire and Eagle Union returning to war with each other would be a major weight off their shoulders.”  I stiffened up suddenly as a horrible thought occurred to me.  “Does Atago carry a sword as well?”

Takao’s eyes practically flashed as the same unpleasant thought that just ran through my mind ran through hers.  “She does,” she confirmed.  “What about your kansen?”

I shook my head, although it did little to allay my fears.  “Unarmed, but if someone leaves a gun out for them, I can’t guarantee they won’t use it if they feel threatened, especially Washington or Dace.”

She nodded, and I could see the resolve burning in those brown eyes of hers.  “We need to get in contact with them, and quickly.”

“Agreed.  I saw a radio downstairs, but it was in Japanese,” I sheepishly supplied.  

“That won’t be a problem for me,” she answered.  “Let’s get going.”  

I nodded and fell in step with Takao as we headed off the bridge and into what would prove to be quite the adventure…

A/N-And so it begins.  But we’re not done with this week yet.  Come back tomorrow for a special one-shot of Biscuits with Bismarck!  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

“Atago, do you read me?  Atago, this is Takao, please reply.  Sister, can you hear me?”  The silence filled the room, and Takao made a disgusted noise as she dropped the receiver onto the table.  

“Still nothing?” I asked, examining all the dials and displays as if I could actually make sense of them.  Although the silence was a pretty good answer in and of itself, I didn’t want to let it linger in the small space.  

“Not even static,” she confirmed.  “Everything looks correct and it’s powered on, but if I’m transmitting, it’s giving me no sign, let alone if anyone’s receiving.”  She sighed and glowered at the radio unit as if she could browbeat it into submission.  And I have to say, between me and the radio, I’m glad the radio was on the receiving end of that scowl.  

“Alright, so, no radio,” I began, running through a mental checklist.  “And this fog is too thick to try anything like rockets or signal flares.  When you went to the tactical room, were you able to find out anything about where we are?”

“No,” she shook her head, “But I didn’t have much time before I heard you and went to investigate.  Perhaps we should take another look?”

“Agreed,” I nodded with a tight smile as she stepped out of the space and I followed behind.  “So…don’t take this the wrong way, but when you woke up, was it on the bed or on the floor?”

Takao glanced over her shoulder at me, the beginnings of a scowl tugging at the corners of her mouth.  “What do you mean by that?”

“I woke up on the floor,” I quickly explained, hoping to defuse the situation, “but there was a perfectly good couch right next to me.  Just wondering if you wound up on the bed or the floor.”

Her expression softened as she nodded.  “Ah, I see.  The bed.”

“Guess the Sirens like you more than me,” I joked as we headed up the ladder to the next deck.  “Twice they’ve dumped me on the floor, and I can’t say my back appreciates it.”

As we reached the top of the stairs, Takao stopped and turned to face me.  “Of course.  Would you like me to give you a massage, Commander?” she asked, her expression stone-faced and serious.  

For a second, I was trying to figure out if she was coming on to me, poking fun at me, or if she was being completely serious.  When it became clear that she was being sincere, I stammered out a response, feeling my cheeks blush.  “Ah, n-no, no, thank you, Takao.  Just need to stretch a bit, soak in a hot bath when I get back and things should be fine.”

She nodded curtly and gestured for me to follow her.  “A hot bath,” she began slowly, “do you not have hot springs at your base?”

“No,” I answered succinctly.  At first, I thought it was a silly question, but then something occurred to me.  “Do you?”

“Of course,” she said, matter-of-factly, “ Onsen are excellent at relieving both stress and pain.  You should look into building one for your kansen.  And yourself.”

“I’ll keep that in mind for when we get out of here,” I replied as I followed her through the door to the tactical room.  “In the meantime, let’s figure out how to get out of here.”

Takao nodded as she stepped up to the holomap and switched it on.  “Agreed.”
  She tapped a few commands on the console, and I could see the system beginning to cycle through the various sensors as she ran a full sweep.  

While we waited for it to finish, I decided to make some light conversation.  “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s that symbol mean?” I pointed to the two characters next to the model of the Takao .  

“It’s my name,” she stated curtly.  

I nodded slowly as I committed the symbols to memory.  I’d know if something was in her name, at least.  “I see. Thank you.  I’ve tried to learn Japanese for a while, but my duties keep me busy and whenever I go back to pick up where I left off, I find I have to start all over again.  I know a word here and there, but that’s all.”

She fixed me with a stern look and shook her head.  “You should always take time out of your day for something like that, even if it is but a few minutes.  Small strokes fell great oaks, constant drops pierce through rock. Those who train through the most humdrum of days shall seize victory in the most critical of moments. That is my belief.”

I took a second to appreciate her dedication, the staunch faith she had in such an approach.  “A worthwhile belief.  I’ll keep that in mind when I get back.”

She nodded, and the holomap trilled, several screens flickering to life in midair.  While I still couldn’t read the text, the blank screens and growing look of despair on Takao’s face told me what I needed to know.  

“This…this is impossible!” she cried out softly as she leaned forward, rapidly cycling through screens.  “Blank, all of them blank.   Air, sea, visual systems, all of them showing nothing !”

“So…we’re in an open ocean?”

“I don’t know!” she exclaimed, still vainly searching for any clues.  “It’s not that we aren’t getting returns, it’s that the systems aren’t active!  It’s like everything has power, but it’s frozen in time.”  She let out a disgusted snort and turned her back on the treacherous device, her hand clutching her katana tightly.  “We seem to have power, but that appears to be all that we have.”

I let out a long sigh as I leaned forwards and studied the blank images while I tried to plot our next course of action.  Eventually, I spoke up.  “Then I suggest we look for ways off the ship, or at least, try and get a better idea of our surroundings.”

Takao slowly turned back around, eyebrow arched.  “How?  And why?”

“How is easy, we just head down to the main deck and walk the rails, keeping an eye or ear out for something.  Why is…well…what else have we got to lose?  If we can find some clue as to where we are or what’s holding us here, then we’ve got something to go on.  No offense to Shinano, but I’m not the type of person who waits for someone else to save them.  Not if I’ve got the tools to save myself.”  

She eyed me up and down before giving an approving nod.  “An excellent point.  Come then, let’s get started.”  

We headed back down through the superstructure and down to the main deck.  When we got to the hatch that led to the outside, I held my breath as Takao undogged the clamps holding it shut.  Not for what we’d find outside; more fog, I’m sure, but that we would be trapped, sealed in the superstructure instead of simply imprisoned on the bridge.  With a quiet groan, the door swung open and I let out a quiet sigh of relief as I followed her out onto the main deck.  

The first thing I noticed, much to my surprise, was that the deck was neither wood nor metal, but what appeared to be a dark brown linoleum.  I wondered if all Sakura ships had this sort of unique decking, or if it was something specific to the Takao s or Sakura cruisers in general.  The next thing I noticed was the sound of lapping water.  Takao had also heard it and was already at the railing, peering over the side.  I quickly joined her and looked over as well.  

“At least we’re in water,” I mused.  When Takao turned to look at me, I simply shrugged and added, “Right now, with everything that’s been happening, I wouldn’t put it past us to be suspended in some sort of weird fog void.”

She seemed to consider the argument before nodding and looking back down at the clear blue sea.  “On the upside, the sea seems to be quite clear…and shallow, by the looks of things.  I think I can see the seafloor…”

I followed her gaze again and saw that she was correct.  “Yeah…” I quietly confirmed, “I think I see it, too.  No signs of marine life down there, but I definitely see a few rocks.  Maybe…twenty or thirty feet deep.  …how shallow is your draft?”

She paused as she gave it some thought.  “About…six…six and a half meters, depending on the load.”

I ran the math in my head and nodded to myself.  “So she may not be on the bottom, that doesn’t leave us with a whole lot of room to maneuver if we can get going again.  Still, it might mean we’re close to land.  Let’s keep looking and keep our ears open for something.”

Takao nodded and took point once more, leaving me to follow along as I both kept an eye out as well as taking the time to examine the ship.  With the fog obscuring our vision to just a few yards ahead of us, I wasn’t able to get a great look at the entirety of the ship, but what I saw of Takao was still impressive, nonetheless.  Her turrets, while not as modern in appearance as Baltimore’s or San Francisco’s, still looked as powerful and foreboding as the reports I’d read on them suggested.  

After a few moments, I realized I’d been gawking and nearly lost Takao in the mists, and quickly hurried after her.  Just as I came up behind her, she must have heard something, because her ears perked up.  Literally.  I managed to just barely stifle a sudden cry of surprise and alarm as her dog ears lifted up from where they had been hiding in her hair.  

While I’d seen the animal ears possessed by most of the Sakura Empire kansen, Takao’s had blended into her hair so well that I’d just forgotten she likely had them until they raised up.  It was disconcerting to see it up close and in person, but as with so much of my life these days, I imagined I would get used to it in short order.  

“Do you hear that?” she asked, her voice barely above a hushed whisper.  

I strained as I tried to hear anything over the sound of the water lapping against the hull.  “Just the ocean,” I finally answered with a shrug of my shoulders.  “What do you hear?”  

“Waves,” she answered and slowly turned to face me.  “Waves crashing on the shoreline.”

We began to put all the pieces together.  “Shallow water…you can hear waves…have we dropped anchor?”

“Only one way to find out.”

We quickly trotted up the sloping bow to where the massive anchor chain slipped beneath her decks and leaned over the railing.  Sure enough, the anchor had been dropped, the chain dipped into the relatively shallow seas with the anchor resting firmly on the bottom.  In addition to the anchor, now I could barely make out the sound of waves crashing on a beach.  

“We must be close to an island,” I deduced, “Question is, what kind of island and how close is it?”  As I pondered the question, I leaned back over the railing and tried to estimate how close we were to shore.  

As if she were reading my thoughts, she immediately ordered, “Don’t even think about it.  There could be natural defenses or even Siren emplacements on that beach and by the time you realized it, it would be far too late.”

“Yeah,” I slowly conceded before gesturing out into the mist, “But…aren’t you just the least bit curious as to what’s out there?”

“Of course I am,” Takao agreed.  “But I’m not about to just…” her voice trailed off and her face scrunched up adorably as she tried to find the right words, “...leap blindly like some sort of startled pheasant!”  

Her visible frustration was quite cute, and I couldn’t help but smile at her consternation, despite everything.  “Alright,” I conceded, “what would you suggest?”

She continued to glower at me for another moment until I was able to bring my grin under control.  “For starters,” she began sternly.  “We should prepare proper provisions before going ashore.  If we intend to explore for any appreciable length of time, we’ll need food, water, light sources, a way of starting a fire.  Second, we’ll need to see if we can use one of the launches to row ashore, that way we aren’t trying to swim to and from the shore, should we have to return to the ship in a rapid fashion.  And finally, we make sure you are adequately armed for a trip ashore.”

I couldn’t help but feel slightly offended by that.  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Her stern expression faded slightly and she graced me with a small smile.  “My sword does not run out of ammunition, but you only have twenty-one rounds, if I am not mistaken.  Should we run into combat, that will likely exhaust itself very quickly.  You will need additional weapons if we have any onboard.”

An eager grin spread across my face as I wondered what sort of assault rifles and machine guns lay hidden in Takao ’s lockers, just waiting for me to get my hands on them.  “What do you have?”

“A bolt-action rifle?!?” I practically wailed, looking at the firearm Takao had thrust into my arms.  “That’s it?”  

“That is a Type 99 Arisaka rifle, Commander,” she stated proudly as she continued to stack clips on the table next to us.  “It may be bolt-action, but it is reliable and hits hard.  And…” She reached over and flipped up a long sight on the rifle.  “It has a sight for anti-aircraft use.”

I stared down at the sight and decided to simply trust Takao’s judgment on this one.  “Alright,” I sighed as I flipped the sight back down, “but I don’t think the AA sight’s going to be much help with all this fog.  Granted, that’ll help conceal us from enemy aircraft as well.”

“True,” Takao nodded as she placed the last clip on the table, along with a belt equipped with a pair of boxy leather pouches.  “There we go.  Sixty rounds, thirty for each pouch plus another five to put in the rifle immediately.”  

Without further instruction, I grabbed the ammo belt off the table and quickly buckled it around my waist, tugging at it to make sure it was snug and wouldn’t fall off or slip at a critical moment.  Once that was done, I quickly scooped up the ammunition clips and began placing them in the pouches.  With all but one clip safely stowed, I grabbed said clip and opened the bolt on the rifle.  And that’s when I realized I’d never loaded this type of weapon before.  “Uh..” I quietly said, “gonna need some help here…”

Takao nodded and stood next to me, her hand taking mine as she walked me through the setup process.  “Just take the clip, insert it here…there you go.  Now push down.  Good.  Well done for a beginner!”  She looked over at me for a moment, then asked, “Have you had any firearm training?”

I shrugged as I double-checked the safety before slinging the rifle over my shoulder.  “Official training?  Just what we learned in OCS, but I’ve had a lot of practice with firearms over the years.  I’m a decent shot, and I try to get out to the range at least once a week.  Prefer pistols over rifles, but I try not to let either atrophy.”

“Excellent,” she stated with an approving look, “While I would recommend you train every day, I imagine your duties tend to interfere with that sort of thing.”

“They do,” I agreed, then paused.  “Wait, how come you admonished me for not taking time out to learn Japanese, but the shooting range once a week is okay?”

“You can learn Japanese anywhere, anytime.  Firearms training is a much more painstaking, careful process that takes time and a specialized location which you cannot always get to.”  

I nodded at her assessment.  “Fair enough.  Where to next?”

“Let’s see what we’ve got by way of food stores.”  

“Lead on, then.”

While her stores were lacking in fresh foods, we did manage to procure a few ration packs which should get us through at least a day ashore.  With all our provisions and weapons prepared, we managed to get the launch in the water, and then ourselves in the launch.  We each grabbed an oar and looked at each other before we pushed off.  

“Ready?” I asked as I felt my nervousness rising exponentially.  Takao merely nodded and I pushed us away from the ship with the oar before dipping it into the sea.  We rowed for several seconds in silence until it became too much to bear for me.  

“What do you think we’ll find out there?” I asked as I matched her movements, watching as the fog began to swallow more and more of the ship.  

“Hopefully the core to this Mirror Sea so we can escape,” she answered bluntly.  “Or failing that, a way to shut off this fog and contact our comrades.”

I felt a sudden surge of anxiety at the thought of our other forces running into each other, or worse, being placed in a position where things can rapidly get out of hand.  “Yeah, it’d be nice to get the word out, get everyone regrouped.  Still worried about Washington and Dace doing something…rash.”

“Understandable,” she nodded.  “Have either of them had discipline issues?”

I shook my head as I continued to row.  “Not really.  Washington’s pretty diligent, although I’ve yet to see her smile, and Dace’s a little trigger happy, but she knows when to hold fire.  But if they’re put into a situation where it looks like the Sakura Empire is holding them against their will, or worse, that they’re holding me against my will, they may opt for shoot first, ask questions later.  I’d hate to see this fragile truce shattered as a result of Siren manipulation and miscommunication.”

“Indeed,” Takao concurred.  “While I have dedicated my life to train as a warrior, I would much rather prefer to fight against our true enemy.”

That prompted another question, but I let it go as the fog began to part ahead of us.  “Coming up on the shore,” I announced as I pulled the oar into the boat.  Takao did the same, and we let the tide carry us the rest of the way to the shore.  What we saw was nothing short of breathtaking.  

A beautiful beach, covered in white sand quickly gave way to a beautiful jungle island, covered in verdant rolling hills and lush tropical trees.  At the center of the island was a huge stone mountain, wreathed in fog and vegetation, dominating our view.  

We sat there for a moment, awestruck by the serene beauty of this place until the spell was broken by the juddering of the boat as it ran aground on the beach.  Both of us grabbed onto one another to make sure the other one was alright.  It was an unconscious reflex, and when we realized what we were doing, we looked down at our arms, then up at each other.  Our cheeks burned red-hot and we quickly parted, sharing a nervous chuckle as we looked away.  Still, I couldn’t deny I was beginning to feel something stirring in my heart…

It made absolutely zero sense.  Here I was, trapped in a Mirror Sea, no idea where any of my kansen are, no idea when or if help will arrive, and here I am, starting to feel a fluttering in my heart for someone I just met.  And not only someone I just met but a woman who, just hours ago, nearly killed me with a single stroke of her sword!  To say nothing of the fact that she’s from a faction I’m technically at war with.  I sighed as I wondered just how much of this would make it into the official after-action report…

I was roused from my emotional dilemma when Takao gently nudged me, her gaze still avoiding mine.  “We should get the boat up on the shore so it doesn’t wash out with the tide.”

I nodded and leaped over the gunwales, landing in the knee-deep surf.  “Assuming this place even has a tide…”

We managed to get the boat to what we felt was a safe distance from the water’s edge and grabbed our packs before we turned back to face the mysterious island.  “Well,” I began as I surveyed the terrain once more, “at least we have some visibility now.”

“Mmm,” Takao responded from behind the pair of binoculars she was using to take a better look at the topography.  “And there may be a reason for that.”  She lowered the binoculars and held them out to me.  “Take a look at the mountain.”

Wordlessly, I accepted the binoculars and peered through them.  As I examined the sheer rock face, wrapped with the occasional green vine or lone bush or tree, I wondered what exactly she wanted me to see.  I was about to give up and ask her when I saw it: the fog.  The fog that looked like it had been simply wrapping around the mountain was, in fact, coming from it.  There was a man-made opening the fog was coming out of, wrapping around the tower before blossoming out and over us.  “Looks like that’s our end goal,” I muttered.  “Get in there, and deactivate or disable the fog generators.”

“Agreed,” Takao nodded as I handed the binoculars back to her.  “We have our goal, we’ve got supplies, and we’ve got weapons.  Let’s see how far that gets us.”

“Hopefully all the way to victory,” I grinned as I set off in the direction of the mountain.  When I glanced back, I could have sworn I saw the corners of her mouth tug upwards ever so slightly in a faint grin before she started after me…

A/N-The fog parts, but the mystery deepens!  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

We had been walking for about fifteen minutes when I decided to break the silence with some light conversation and to ask the question I was going to ask right before we’d come ashore.  “So, what do you like to do to relax?”

“Relax?” she repeated as if it were a foreign concept to her.  

At first, I thought it might have been a language issue, that she somehow missed the word when learning English.  “Yeah, relax.  Unwind, cut loose, release some stress, something to do when you aren’t training, that sort of thing.”

“I am familiar with the word, yes,” she said, a faint hint of annoyance in her tone.  “But it is something I do not partake in.  I am simply too busy training.”

I came to a dead stop and turned to give her an incredulous look.  “You train all day?”

“Of course not, Commander,” she said with a soft smile as if I’d just asked her a supremely silly question.

I let out a quiet sigh of relief.  “Oh, okay.”

“I have to take breaks to eat and sleep.”

That sigh of relief became one of frustration.  “You don’t have any hobbies or interests outside of combat?”

“Of course I do!” she protested, “But I train for those as well.  Do you not do the same for your own hobbies?”

“Well…no,” I said, somewhat confused by her line of thought.  “Why would I?”

Takao sighed softly and scowled slightly.  “What do you do to relax?”

I shrugged and fidgeted slightly under her hard gaze as I answered.  “Read, take a walk around the base, target practice.”

Her eyebrow raised slightly and she asked, “And when you do these things, are you just doing them haphazardly, with no real effort, or are you doing them to improve yourself in those aspects?”  

“I-” I stopped short as I realized where she was going with this.  “I’m trying to improve, or at least, maintain, my current skill level in those things.”

She nodded once and declared, “So you are training.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I sighed.  I saw her logic, although I didn’t quite agree with it.  “It just doesn’t feel like training, though.  I am working to improve myself, but it’s at my own pace.  When I’m training, I’m working towards a specific goal and I’ve got to hit that goal.  Fleet readiness at seventy-five percent, reaction times below three minutes, that sort of thing.  If I don’t make three bullseyes when I’m out on the range, well, I’ll do better next time.  It’s more about clearing my head, shutting out the distractions and noise of the outside world, and centering myself.”

“I see,” Takao said slowly, and I could see the understanding beginning to blossom in those beautiful golden-brown eyes of hers.  “I know the feeling of which you speak.  When I train with my blade, I get the same sense of peace.  We call it zen, a sort of…calm attentiveness where we let our hearts guide ourselves rather than our conscious minds.”  

“Now I get it,” I replied with more enthusiasm this time.  “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m talking about.  So aside from swordplay, what else gives you that that sort of zen calm?”

“Calligraphy.”

I arched an eyebrow at her, not sure I heard her correctly.  “Calligraphy?” I repeated.  “With the fancy pens and everything?”

She laughed softly and slowly shook her head.  “That’s western calligraphy.  I practice Sakura calligraphy, which uses brushes and fresh ink we make ourselves.”

While I should have realized that Takao would have been the type to make her ink from scratch, I was still surprised by it.  “You guys make your own ink for calligraphy?  That’s impressive.  How do you even make it?”

“To begin-” Her instruction is cut off by the sound of high-powered cannons firing, and we both hit the deck.  Yellow bolts of energy crackled over our heads and struck the ground only a few yards behind us, gouging out huge craters and showering us with dirt and burnt plant matter.  

“Sirens!” I unhelpfully announced as I dared to poke my head up, looking around for the distinctive glow of the enemy.  It didn’t take long to spot it.  A single unit, a humanoid Tester hovered above the ground at the edge of a wooded grove, her guns already powering up for another salvo.  “Three o’clock, two hundred yards,” I called out to Takao.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to take her with what we’ve got, not with her rigging on,” she shouted back as she gathered her legs beneath her, ready to leap into action.  

“Only one way to find out!” I said as I unslung my rifle and took aim.  As I sighted down the barrel, I slowed my breathing as best I could, slowly exhaling.  Time seemed to slow for a moment as I aimed directly for the Tester’s head, right between those crazed yellow eyes.  

The crack of the rifle shot echoed across the field as the weapon bucked in my hand, and Tester’s head snapped back, the ominous glow of her cannons faded.  My heart leaped into my throat and I held my breath as I waited to see if she would drop from the sky.  It promptly sank into my stomach when her head slowly rose back up, the bullet held just millimeters in front of her forehead by a shimmering blue shield.  The Siren reached up, plucked the bullet from the air, examined it for a moment, and tossed it aside with a wicked grin as her guns began charging up again.  

“ Crap ,” I swore as I looked around the battlefield for something, anything that would give us an advantage.  I saw a small outcropping of rocks off to our left and got an idea.  I ducked back down and turned to Takao.  “I’m going to create a distraction.  When I give the signal, you strike.  We’ve got only one chance at this, so be ready.”

Takao nodded, a determined look in her eyes as she clenched her sword tightly in her hands.  “Good luck, Commander.”

I took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and nodded to her.  “Thanks.”  With that, I scrambled to my feet, taking a single shot at Tester as I ran.  While I had no expectation of damaging or even hitting her, I did want her full attention.  And I got it.  The Siren slowly rotated towards me as her guns began to reach full power.  I quit looking at her and shouldered my weapon as I sprinted towards the rocks.  Sounds became muted, the world around me greying out as I focused solely on those rocks.  I could hear the blood thundering in my ears, the ragged breaths leaving my lungs as my legs pumped as fast as they could carry me.  Was this the end?  Would I even feel it, or would it all go blank?  

I was vaguely aware of something thundering behind me, and my legs faltered for a moment as I struggled to maintain my balance.  But I managed to stay upright and moving, so I didn’t worry about what injuries I may have sustained for now.  With only a few feet left, I slid into cover, digging up a massive chunk of earth with my boot heel as I went.  Now safely behind the rocks, I cycled the bolt of the rifle and popped back up to fire another shot.  When I popped up from behind cover, however, it was clear my goal had been achieved.  Gliding down towards me like an angel descending from heaven, Tester closed the range with me, her gun barrels silent, and her hands free of their controls.  I continued to play my part defiantly, emptying the clip, one shot at a time, the bullets harmlessly bouncing off of her shields.  She glided over the rock outcropping to tower over me.  

My weapon now empty, I charged at her, swinging the rifle like a club.  With effortless ease, she batted it aside with one hand while her other grabbed my throat.  With agonizing slowness, she began to squeeze the life out of me, and it was all I could do to keep from blacking out.  My hands wrapped around her arm as my feet kicked at the empty air as she lifted me from the ground.  I knew I had seconds left to live as I felt my eyes bulging out, my lungs burning for air.  

Tester knew it, too, as she fixed me with a triumphant smile.  “Any last words, Mister Lee?”

Her grip lessened just enough for me to get in a final word.  I needed her to ease her grip further, to get in just enough air to last long enough for Takao to do her part.  I had one chance, and in a desperate attempt to throw her off, I gasped out, “Harder mommy.”

Her reaction was immediate and exactly as I expected.  She faltered, her grasp weakening as she tried to make sense of what I said.  “What?” 

I took the opportunity to suck in another lungful of much-needed air before I replied.  “What?” I groaned back, trying to act innocent.  Tester snarled as she realized I was just playing for time, and if she had another second, she probably would have snapped my neck.  But she didn’t.  

From behind her came a cry of “ Aku Soku Zan! ” and I saw Takao leap up onto Tester’s manta ray rigging, her blade flashing in the light.  Before anyone could react, she brought her blade down hard, plunging into the Siren’s clavicle and deep into her chest.  Sparks flew from the wound, and Tester slowly turned her head to look at the sword embedded into her.  

“Bastaaaaaaa…” her voice crackled and broke up like a fading radio station as the light left her eyes and she collapsed into a heap on the grass.  I fell to my knees, gasping and coughing as I fought to catch my breath and blink the stars from my eyes.  

Takao quickly scrambled over the now haphazardly strewn rigging and rushed to my side, helping me to my feet.  “Commander!  Commander, are you okay?”

I nodded as I tried to suck in as much air as I could, still coughing occasionally.  I grabbed onto her shoulder as she got me back on my feet and coughed one last time to clear my throat before was able to answer her.  “Yeah,” I gasped.  “But let’s not do that again.”

Satisfied that I was out of any imminent danger, Takao promptly took me to task.  “Are you out of your mind, Commander?  What were you thinking?  You could have gotten killed!”

“Comes with the job,” I half-joked with a wry smile.  “Besides, you needed an opening and I wasn’t going to do anything to her with my rifle, so I did what I could.  Got her to pay attention to me so you could get in position for a killing blow.  Which, by the way, was really impressive.  What did you say as you jumped on her?  ‘Ack sock zen’?”

“ Aku Soku Zan ,” she repeated, emphasizing each word so I could hear and repeat it more clearly this time.  “It means ‘swift death to evil.’”

I smiled softly at her zealous choice of battle cry.  “Short, sweet, sounds impressive, in both Japanese and English.  I like it.”

Her stern expression vanished, replaced by an awkward, embarrassed look as her eyes darted away, her cheeks flushed.  “Y-yes, w-well…thank you.”  There was an awkward pause before she tried to change the subject.  “I…I should go and collect my pack.  Although I have to say, it was impressive to see you move so fast while still wearing yours.”

For a second, I didn’t understand what she meant until I realized the weight I felt wasn’t just from the lack of oxygen, it was the pack I’d forgotten to take off!  “Oh!  Uh…I, uh…sort of forgot it was there,” I admitted sheepishly.  “Must’ve been all the adrenaline.”

She smirked, then the smirk became a grin, and the grin became a smile as she chuckled, then giggled, and then finally laughed, tears in her eyes as she laughed so hard.  I found myself laughing with her, unable to help myself as the tension was broken.  After a minute or two, we managed to compose ourselves, and Takao ran back to grab her gear and I went to pick up the rifle.  Once she had reclaimed her pack and I made sure the rifle was still in good working order, we set out once more towards the mountain.  

But we didn’t get far.  

We hadn’t gone more than a few feet before Takao’s ears perked up and she put her hand on my forearm.  I quickly came to a dead stop and unslung my rifle, ready to take aim at whatever this new threat may be.  “What is it?” I whispered to her.  

“Movement in the trees,” she tersely answered.  “Headed this way.  Doesn’t sound like a lot, but they’re trying to stay quiet.”

“More Sirens?” I asked as I took a knee, still staring intently at the treeline.  

She shrugged.  “We’ll know soon enough.”

Not long after, I heard the rustling myself and the underbrush parted to reveal a figure in a white uniform that looked very similar to Takao’s.  The figure stopped when she saw us, then waved eagerly.  

“Takao!” she called out as she began to break into a run towards us.  “Takao- chan !”

I glanced up at Takao, whose face was currently warring between relief and anger, suddenly barked “Halt!”  The figure came to a sudden stop and put her hands on her hips in what appeared to be a playful manner.  Now that she was closer, I could see dog ears atop her head and a sword clutched in her left hand.  One of Takao’s sister ships?  Atago, perhaps?  But if it was, why the sudden hostility?  “Identify yourself!”

“It’s me, silly!” came the light-hearted reply.   “Who else would it be?”

“How do we know you aren’t a Siren pawn?” Takao countered.  I was impressed, I hadn’t considered that possibility out here.  “Tell me something about myself!”

“Your favorite drink is lemonade!”  Again, I glanced up at Takao, surprised at this revelation.  

“Everyone knows that!” she countered.  “Tell me something only the real Atago would know.”  Ah, so it was Atago.  Or at least, something that looked like her.  

There was a pause, and then Atago called back, “Remember when you started training in the morning?  I went out there to make sure you stayed hydrated and refused to take even a single sip of water while yelling something like ‘ my burning spirit shall sustain me! ’ until you finally passed out in the middle of a combat drill.”

At first, I thought it was completely made up until I looked back up at Takao and saw her slowly turning beet red.  I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow and ask “Seriously?”

“I…I…it’s nothing!” she stammered.  “I was…rash and inexperienced, that’s all!”  She let out a long-suffering sigh as she waved Atago over.  “I should have realized that’s the story she would have gone with…”

I chuckled as I got to my feet and slung my rifle over my shoulder.  “At least you know it’s her though.  Also, I may be overstepping my bounds here a bit, but that story about you is kinda cute.”

Her face flushed crimson again, and she stared intently at the ground as she brushed aside an errant lock of hair.  “Th-thank you, Commander…” she murmured.  

Atago trotted up to us, her warm smile growing brighter as she looked between us.  “So good to finally see you again, sister, and it looks like you’ve even found help.  It’s…”  Her voice trailed off as she recognized me, and I took an unconscious half-step back as her eyes locked onto me, then flashed with recognition.  “Oh, you found the Commander !  Thank you for keeping my sister safe.”

I fidgeted slightly and took another unconscious step, this time to Takao.  “Ah, it’s been more of the other way around, actually,” I nervously demurred.  

Atago’s grin became bigger and she strode towards me, her arms outstretched.  “Oh dear,” she cooed, “Let big sister Atago reward you for your troubles, then.”

“No, I’m really-mmmf!” Whatever objections I had were muffled as she wrapped her arms around me in a tender embrace, pushing my face into her shoulder.  

“There, there,” she soothed softly, her gloved hands gently stroking my hair.  “You’re safe now…big sister is here…”

While I had to admit it did feel soothing, being smashed into her shoulder made it hard to breathe, and I was in no hurry to repeat the previous experience of having my oxygen supply cut off again.  I gently tapped on her shoulder, and when that didn’t work, I anxiously gestured towards Takao with my hand.  

Fortunately, she got the gist of my subdued flailing and stepped forward to gently pry Atago’s arms off of me and give me some much-needed breathing space.  I nodded my thanks to Takao, and she nodded in return, a look of empathy and understanding in her eyes.  

“Thank you for the gratitude, Atago,” Takao said, quickly distracting her sibling before she could embrace me again, “It’s good to see you.  Have you encountered anyone else on the island?”

Atago shook her head before she answered.  “No, but I’ve only been here a few days and-”

“A few days ?!?” I exclaimed, cutting off Atago and startling both cruisers.  I grimaced and held up my hands to apologize.  “Sorry, sorry.  Just…we’ve only been up…what, a few hours at most?” I looked over at Takao, who confirmed with a curt nod.  

Concern crossed Atago’s face as she glanced over her shoulder, presumably to where her ship was anchored.  “A few hours?  I wonder what else was different.  Was your ship not working, Takao?”

“Correct,” she nodded.  “We had power, but we had nothing else.  Nothing seemed to function, and all of my sensors were just…blank.”

Atago nodded thoughtfully and turned to me.  “And what about you, Commander?”

I quickly realized how Atago was going to interpret my answer and I felt a blush creep across my cheeks as I stammered.  “I-I, uh, I woke up on, ah, Takao.”

“ Ara ara ,” she purred as she grinned mischievously, “Commander, I was unaware you were so…intimately acquainted with my sister…”

Both Takao and I repeatedly and vociferously voiced our protests, although it come out as a mishmash of sounds and vocalizations rather than anything close to a rational explanation.  Atago giggled at our embarrassment and shook her head.  “It’s alright, I know what you meant.  You’re both awfully cute when flustered, you know…”

“Atago…” Takao warned, and her sibling held up her hands in surrender.  

“Alright, alright,” she grinned before looking back at me.  “So, how did you come to find yourself on Takao’s ship?”

“I don’t know,” I shrugged.  “One minute I was on patrol with Washington, South Dakota, and Dace, the next I found myself on the floor of one of Takao ’s offices.  Started looking around, ran into Takao, and after a…brief misunderstanding…we started trying to find our way out of this mess.  You didn’t happen to run into any of my girls on the Atago when you woke up, did you?”

“I’m afraid not,” Atago said with a sympathetic look.  “But…why would you wake up on a Sakura Empire vessel?  Why not one of your own ships?”

Takao and I shared a look, and I took a deep breath before answering.  “We think it was meant to be a setup.”  

“What do you mean?” Atago asked as she looked between us.  

When Takao looked my way, I nodded and began to explain what had happened.  “When I woke up, I began to search the ship.  Eventually, I found my way to the bridge, and when I did, I found this waiting for me…”  I pulled the 1911 from its holster and held it out for Atago to examine.  

She leaned in and looked at it closely, her brows furrowing together.  “That’s not one of ours.  It looks more like a sidearm for the Eagle Union…”

“It is,” I confirmed as I returned the weapon to its holster.  “But I wasn’t wearing one when I was on patrol.”  When she shot me a curious look, I shrugged.  “No point,” I elaborated.  “A pistol won’t do anything to a Siren, mass-produced or otherwise.  So this one wasn’t mine, but it was left somewhere I’d find it.  And given I was on an unknown vessel, presumably against my will, I was prepared to fight my way out if the need arose.”

Atago’s face fell and she placed a hand over her chest.  “Oh, no, Commander…did you…?”

“I didn’t shoot!” I quickly volunteered.  “But I…did pull the gun on Takao when she came onto the bridge.”

She fixed me with what I can only describe as a scolding pout and placed her hands on her hips.  “Commander, Commander, Commander,” she tutted, “I hope Takao showed you the error of your ways.”

I nodded and cast a glance over my shoulder at the cruiser, who gave me a slight smile.  “She very much did.  Almost took my head off for it, too.”

“Takao!” Atago chided.  “You knew we were looking for him!”

“I hadn’t seen his face until I’d disarmed him,” Takao said defensively.  “And he’s perfectly fine!”

“But if one of us hadn’t been quite so disciplined,” I interjected, “This would have looked very bad once we got out of here.  With blood shed between the Sakura Empire and the Eagle Union, the cease-fire would stop and we’d be back in a shooting war.”

“Which would delight the Sirens to no end...” Atago said thoughtfully.  “In any case, I’m glad you two managed to work things out!  Although…if you two worked out your differences on the ship, what was all the shooting I heard?”  

Takao and I both stepped aside to give her sister a clear view of the dead Siren still laying in a heap a hundred feet back.  Her eyes went wide and she let out an amazed gasp.  “You both managed to take down a Siren without rigging!  I am so proud of both of you!  I knew your training would pay off, Takao, and you, Commander, have lived up to the reputation we’ve all heard about…”

“Takao was the one who did all the work,” I said, deferring the credit to the one who actually slew the Siren.  

“Nonsense!” Atago declared as she looked over to Takao.  “Did he help?”

I glanced over at Takao and saw a look of surprise on her face, like a deer caught in headlights.  Eventually, she slowly nodded.  “He…lured the Siren into a position where I could take it out.”

Atago looked back to me with that merciless, proud gaze.  “See?  Now, you two have earned yourselves a special treat, and I know just what it’s going to be…”

As Takao and I both protested, she took both of our hands and began dragging us off to her camp and I began to realize that I was about to get a lot more than I’d bargained for…

A/N-Fun fact about Takao: she had a lemonade stand when she was built in 1932(The blueprints were translated as “lemonade factory” and “lemonade stores”).  Shout to Sopkanam for bringing up the resulting headcanon that lemonade is Takao’s favorite drink.  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

It didn’t take long for us to reach Atago’s camp, and I have to admit, I was certainly surprised by what we found.  She’d managed to set up a rather nice campsite just at the entrance to a large cave, with several tents, a well-maintained fire, and several crates of rations. She must have somehow had fresh ingredients as well, as she had a pot suspended just over the fire, something bubbling away inside it.  As the savory aroma wafted over to us, my mouth began to water and I immediately realized just how hungry I was.  How long had it been since I’d eaten anything?  There were dried rations in my pack but compared to the heavenly scent coming from that pot they may as well have been blocks of sand.  

Atago turned around and must have caught the hungry look on my face because she giggled and called me out.  “Looks like someone’s already a fan of big sister’s cooking.”

“S-sorry,” I stammered as my cheeks flushed.  “Haven’t eaten in a while, we’ve been…ah…busy.”

Her smile grew wider and more mischievous and I quickly realized I’d picked a poor choice of words.  “‘Busy’, huh?” she teased, “I had no idea you moved so quickly, Takao…”

Both Takao and I loudly sputtered and stammered out our protestations, our words jumbling up with one another’s, much to Atago’s glee.  “Oh, that’s too precious,” she laughed and shook her head at our embarrassment.  “You two turn the exact same shade of red.”

Takao and I glanced at each other, saw our flushed cheeks, and immediately blushed harder and looked away.  “I-it’s not like that’s something we can control!” she barked at her sister.  “A-and you know we’d never do something so improper after we just met!”

Atago and I had the same question running through our minds, but she was the only one to voice it.  “So you would do something improper with the Commander eventually?”

Judging by how red her entire face was, I was certain Takao was only seconds away from rupturing a blood vessel.  “Atago, you-!”  she began, then caught herself, closed her eyes, and took a deep, calming breath.  Most of the redness had begun to fade from her face when she opened her eyes, although a light blush remained.  “You know that’s not what I meant.  Now, if you will please get serious.  I see you’ve set up a rather impressive-looking base camp.  Have you found anything of note yet?”

While Atago’s smile stayed on, it lost much of its mischievous nature as she nodded.  “I did!  I’ve been trying to find a way into the mountain through an underground passage, rather than through the jungle, and while I haven’t found one that leads into the mountain, I did find something else in this particular cave.”

“What is it?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.  “Weapons cache, data storage, fresh food?”

She shook her head and excitedly answered, “Hot springs!”

I was incredulous.  “Hot springs?” I slowly repeated, not sure if I’d heard her correctly.  

“Yes!” she happily confirmed.  “I’ve already made sure it was safe and put it to good use, so you can use it if you wish, Commander.”

While it was certainly tempting to try out the restorative properties Takao had been praising them for earlier, I wasn’t exactly comfortable stripping down and hopping into a bath in the middle of hostile territory, especially with my other shipgirls still missing.  “I…ah…I don’t think now’s a good time…” I haltingly declined.  

Atago firmly shook her head, her hands on her hips.  “Nonsense!  You’ve just come from a hard battle and you both deserve to get some much-needed rest and relaxation.  Besides, it’s going to be dark soon and there’s no way we’ll be able to make any sort of progress at night.  So go on and enjoy!”

“I, ah, I don’t have a towel,” I said, making another feeble excuse.  

“Oh, I’ve got one right here!” she smiled as she pulled a pair out and thrust them into our arms.  “Actually, I’ve got two, so here you are!”

I was now running out of reasons and so I played my last card.  “I’m not sure how we’re supposed to use one,” I said, continuing when Atago looked at me like I’d gone crazy.  “I-I was talking to Takao about hot springs and mentioned we didn’t have any back home and she said there’s a proper way to use them and since I’ve never been I don’t know how it is so I don’t want to mess things up.”

When I finished rambling, something twinkled in Atago’s eye and she nodded slowly.  “Well, in that case, she will just have to go along with you, then!”

Immediately, both Takao and I began objecting strenuously, and it’s a wonder the Sirens in the mountains didn’t hear our protests as Atago began pushing us towards the cave entrance.  She thrust a lantern into Takao’s hand and gave us one final shove into the darkness before she waved goodbye.  “You two get some rest, and don’t come back until you’re feeling all better!  I’ll know if you’re trying to leave early!  Oh, and careful with that lantern, it’s the only one I’ve got!”

We stood there for a moment, watching, dumbfounded, as she continued to wave for another few seconds before moving back to the camp, presumably to finish whatever she was cooking.  As she walked off, we looked at each other, still red-faced and flustered.  

“What are the chances we could wait her out and just say we did it?” I asked as I glanced towards the darkness ahead of us.  

“None,” Takao said with a tired, resigned sigh as she hefted the lantern and began heading off into the cave.  “It would honestly take us longer to try and argue the point with her than it would be to just to go through with it.  And we may still lose the argument anyway.  My sister can be remarkably stubborn.”

“Seems like a common trait with your class,” I lightly joked as I kept pace with her.  The last thing I wanted was to be lost in a cave without a light source.  “Are your other sisters as stubborn as you two?”

Even in the dim light, I could see the surprise and indignation on her face.  “I am not stubborn,” she huffed.  

“You tried to push your body past the limits of dehydration through sheer willpower,” I countered with a grin.  “That’s pretty damn stubborn.”

She harumphed daintily and averted her gaze.  “Well, if you must know…Maya, definitely, Choukai is driven, but not to the same extent that the rest of us are.  Probably because of her history…”

For a second, I wasn’t sure what exactly she meant by that, but then it clicked.  “Oh!  You mean Savo Island?”

I could barely make out her head nodding in the dim light.  “ Hai .  She won a great victory for the Sakura Empire, but the rest of us have yet to win such glories ourselves.  Atago is happy with her status, but for Maya and I, it drives us on to fight harder.”  

I nodded, then realized she may not have been able to see the gesture and said, “I see.  And it would appear we’ve arrived at the hot spring.”  In the darkness of the cave, the only real sign was the light reflecting off the water and the steam coming off the surface.  I sighed and set my pack down, pushing all of my gear to the side as I unbuckled my ammo belt and holster.  And then I had a sudden revelation.  “Uh…how are we going to…?”

I glanced over at Takao, and saw she was thinking the exact same thing.  Despite still fully clothed, she clutched her towel to her chest as though it would keep her covered.  “I…uh…I’m not sure…I don’t want to-”

“Right!” I finished for her, not wanting to strip down in front of a woman I’d met just a few hours ago.  “Me either.”  I looked around and saw my gear lying on the floor, half of it still in the cave’s shadows, and an idea came to mind.  

“Alright,” I began, “how about this: We’ll face the opposite way and take a few steps until we feel like we’re in shadow, then get changed, and then one at a time, we’ll slide into the hot springs.  If we leave the lantern where it is, it should be light enough to see where we’re going but not light enough to see beneath the water.  Or we could just slip in with the towels on.”

“No,” Takao sternly corrected me.  “Even though it may seem uncomfortable, one never wears clothes or brings towels of any kind into the waters of an onsen .”

“Oh.”  I had only been half-joking when I said I was unaware of the customs, but it appeared there actually was something I needed to be aware of.  “Is…is there anything else I should know before getting in?”  

There was a moment of silence, and I saw Takao running through a mental checklist.  “A few things,” she finally answered, “Most of which don’t apply.  The ones that would apply are no swimming in and no getting your hair wet.”  

“How are you going to keep that out of the water?” I asked, gesturing towards her ponytail.  

She reached up and tugged lightly at the bow in her hair.  “I can tie it up into a bun using this.”

“Alright,” I nodded and looked around for a moment.  “We ready to do this, then?”

Takao nodded once and set the lantern on the ground.  “I will let you know when I am ready to enter the hot springs.”

“Understood,” I nodded back and with that, we turned and headed off to our own darkened section.  I began to unbutton my shirt and draped it over where I thought my pack was in the darkness.  Hopefully, we’d be able to find our clothes in the dark.  I unbuckled my pants and slid them off before I picked them up and carefully folded them.  Just as I set them down, I heard a frustrated sigh from Takao’s side of the cave.  

“Everything okay?” I called out to her.  

“Yes!” she snapped, and I was taken aback slightly at the level of hostility in her voice.  There was a pause, and then I heard a soft sigh.  When she spoke again, her voice was calmer, her tone apologetic.  “No, I’m having trouble with this bow.”  

While my next question certainly carried risk, I felt it was better to at least ask it rather than leave her struggling on her own.  “Would you like a hand with it?”

There was another long pause before her voice echoed back.  “...fine.  I trust you are decent?”

“Yeah, I’ve still got boxers on.  You?”

“Y-yes.  Just be quick, please.”

I carefully padded across the stone floor, the sound of my footsteps echoing through the cave.  I could see her skirt was still on, but she’d already removed her jacket, leaving her bra as the only article of clothing protecting her modesty.  Her back was to me, and she glanced over her shoulder as she lifted her hair up into a bun with one hand and handed me a silk cloth that must have been her bow with the other.  “Here.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled as I took the strip of silk and carefully tied it in a new bow that would hold the bun in place.  I hoped.  “There, all done.  I’m gonna go and uh…finish changing.”  

She said nothing, but glanced over her shoulder and gave me a nod.  As I was walking back to my side, I heard her say, in a voice barely above a whisper.  “Thank you.”

I paused, glanced over my shoulder, and gave her a nod.  “Anytime.”

Back on my own side, and certain I was sufficiently in shadow, I slipped off the last vestige of my clothing and wrapped the towel around my waist.  “I’m ready,” I called out over my shoulder, still facing the wall to keep from getting an accidental glance.  

After a moment of silence, Takao called back, “As am I.”

When neither of us volunteered, I spoke up.  “So…who’s going to go first?” 

There was another pause before Takao finally answered.  “I will.  I have to make sure my hair is in place, which will take longer.  I will let you know when I am ready.”

I nodded, then realized she wouldn’t see the gesture and replied, “Understood.”

There was a quiet pause, then the sounds of her own footfalls on the stone floor, followed by a slight splash of water.  I tried not to picture what was happening behind me as I heard her slip into the water and let out a soft sigh of relaxation.  

“Stay calm, Thomas,” I muttered to myself.  “Just getting into nature’s hot tub with a beautiful naked woman, no big deal…”  I took a few deep, calming breaths as I waited for Takao to finish…adjusting whatever she needed to adjust.  

“I’m ready,” Takao announced, sending my heartrate rocketing back up again.  “I shall close my eyes until you are…situated.”

“Alright,” I said, managing to keep my voice calm and casual.  “Heading over.”  I took one last deep breath and turned around.  

True to her word, Takao’s eyes were shut tightly, although I could see her ears perked up and listening attentively as I carefully made my way to the water’s edge.  Fortunately, my theory on the lantern in the darkness of the cavern was correct.  The light reflecting off of the water, combined with the steam coming from the onsen , was doing a good job of concealing any part of Takao that was submerged beneath the surface.  Even so, my heart still raced at the thought of her being so close to me when we were both so exposed to each other.

Now at the edge of the onsen, I sat down and gently lowered myself into the water, gingerly at first, but faster as I got a feel for both the depth as well as the relaxing warmth that was enveloping my legs.  I couldn’t help but let out a quiet groan of relief as I lowered myself in, feeling the heat immediately beginning to work on my sore muscles.  

“Oh, wow,” I sighed as I felt myself hit the bottom of the hot spring and leaned back.  “This feels wonderful…”  When Takao smiled but kept her eyes shut, I added, “You can open your eyes now.”

One eyelid peeked open, just to make sure I wasn’t trying to pull one over on her, then then the other followed suit as she visibly relaxed and nodded.  “I told you they were excellent sources of healing and relaxation, did I not?” she smiled.  

“You did,” I nodded and smiled back at her before I leaned back to stretch and enjoy the sensation of all those aches and pains slowly melting away.  While my body was beginning to feel completely relaxed, my mind, however, still wouldn’t let me be at ease.  “I hate to spoil the mood,” I reluctantly sighed, “but something about this is still bothering me.”

Takao immediately straightened up, her eyes alert as she turned her gaze to me.  “What is it?”

If there was something I always respected about Takao, it was her no-nonsense approach to addressing any concern I’ve ever had.  She never made a witty quip or toyed with me if she saw I had serious doubts about something.  She simply listened attentively and calmly addressed the issues, if she could.  “We haven’t seen any wildlife and all the plants and vegetation out there looks pretty generic,” I began as I sat back up to look her in the eye.  “Just…stuff you’d put out there to disguise that this island is more than likely some Siren command and control base.”

“I would agree with that assessment thus far,” Takao nodded, waiting to see where I was going with this.  

I gestured at the hot spring we were sitting in.  “So why is this here?”

She opened her mouth to answer, then stopped and shut it again as she tried to work out the answer.  “That is…an excellent question, Commander.  I’m not sure.”

“Exactly,” I declared as I leaned forward, feeling the warm water lapping gently against my chest as I spoke.  “I get vegetation, hills, mountains, everything you’d expect to see on an island if you were looking at it from a distance.  But this is a hot spring tucked away into a cave where nobody would ever see it.  So why put it here?”  As we both pondered the question, I cast my gaze back towards the cave entrance.  I kept my voice low as I glanced back at the cave entrance.  “Are you sure that’s your sister?”

Takao nodded emphatically, trust and confidence written on her face.  “Absolutely.  Nobody else knows about that story but her.  Well, the whole story, anyway.”  

If Takao was convinced, then it stood to reason that I should trust that this was her sister as well.  “Alright,” I conceded with a sigh.  “Still, the question remains, what the hell is this thing doing here?  Just have this little worry in the back of my head that this is to lure us to someplace where we’re vulnerable and then capture us.”  

My bathing partner pondered the information for a moment before she shrugged and leaned back against the stone.  “Atago will guard us, and I trust her with my life.  And if she is beset by an overwhelming force, we shall not go without a fight.  But there is no point in worrying about it.  There is nothing we can do to prepare, nor can we train for such a fate at this moment.  It is best to enjoy the moment, relax, and let the water wash away your fears, Commander.  Know that I am here, and I will keep you safe.  I promise.”

As I gazed into her beautiful brown eyes, I saw her sincerity and earnest devotion, and I knew that she meant what she said, that I would be safe with her.  Not just here and now, but for as long as we were together.  That fact helped ease the last of my fears, and I gave her a soft smile as I nodded appreciatively.  “Thank you, Takao.  And I will do the same to keep you safe and get you home.”  

She smiled and nodded before she shut her eyes and enjoyed the relaxing soak, and I watched her for another second before I did the same.  We sat there and simply let the heat ease our tired muscles and enjoyed simply being with each other until we began to feel our fingers starting to prune.  

“I think it’s time we get out and towel off,” I announced with a sigh.  “How do we want to do this?  Ladies first?”

Whether she didn’t get the quip or was simply too much of a straight arrow to appreciate it, I’ll never know, but she earnestly nodded and answered bluntly.  “I’ll go.  Go ahead and close your eyes.”  

I shut my eyes tightly and listened as she climbed out of the hot spring, droplets splashing back down into the water or pattering lightly on the stone.  I could hear her footsteps quickly move away from me, echoing further off into the cave until she called out, “You can get out now!”

I opened my eyes and looked around, barely making out the faint outline of Takao as she toweled off.  Even in the dark, I could make out her shapely curves, and I quickly averted my eyes lest she catch me staring at her.  I slowly and carefully climbed out of the hot springs, reaching for my towel as I padded back to my own side, already drying myself off as I went.  

After I felt I had dried myself off enough, I quickly got dressed and re-equipped myself.  As I slung the pack over my shoulder, I felt a gentle tap on my back and I turned to find Takao standing there, dressed and ready as well.  

“Shall we go?” she asked, and I smiled and nodded.  

“Lead on,” I gestured towards the cave entrance, and we set off together.  As we walked back out, something compelled me to speak.  “You know, in spite of everything, that was really enjoyable.  It was nice being able to relax and just talk with someone for a while.” I shook my head and corrected myself.  “No, not someone.  You.  It was nice spending time with you, Takao.  Thank you.”

“O-oh,” she stammered, blushing again as she looked away.  “It was nothing, Commander.”  She shook her head, just as I had seconds before.  “It was nice spending time with you, as well, Commander.  Once the awkwardness wore off.”

“Fair enough,” I chuckled.  The cave entrance loomed large before us now, and the dim light of the setting sun illuminated everything enough for us to see without the lantern.  Along with the light, something else had made its way into the cave.  Something savory.  “Smells like your sister’s cooked up something delicious.  Hopefully, she made enough for all of us.”

“I’m certain she did,” Takao confirmed as we stepped out of the cave, blinking as our eyes adjusted to the light.  When it did, we saw Atago sitting by the fire, doling out whatever was in the pot into three bowls.  

The younger sibling looked up from her meal preparations and smiled broadly as she saw us.  “Ah, there you two are!  And you look much better, much more relaxed.”

“We are,” Takao nodded, “Thank you for…insisting on us going in there.  I…we…enjoyed it a great deal.”

Atago nodded, and while I expected more teasing from her, I was somewhat relieved and greatly surprised when she let the opportunity pass us by.  Instead, she smiled warmly at us as she beckoned us to come closer.  “Good!  And now that you’re relaxed, I’m sure you two are famished.  It’s not much, but I was able to make some seafood ramen.”

Takao took one of the proffered bowls and handed it to me, which I accepted with a grateful nod and examined its contents.  The broth, still steaming, was filled with a generous portion of noodles, along with some chopped green onions, along with several large shrimp and scallops.  

Takao and I looked at our respective dishes, then at each other, then back to Atago.  “Where did you find these ingredients?” she asked, awe in her voice.  

Atago gave her sister a confused look.  “I always keep fresh food on hand, Takao, you know that.  Well, frozen.”  She glanced between the two of us, who still looked concerned, and asked, “Didn’t you have this on your ship?”  

We both shook our heads.  “All we found were a bunch of ration bars,” I offered. “Nothing fresh or frozen on board.”

“Perhaps it was to further drive a wedge between us?” Takao suggested.  “With such a small food supply, and none of it fresh, whoever placed us together was hoping that if an immediate conflict did not arise, that one would occur as a result of insufficient food stores.”

The argument had merit, and it was supported by the delicious evidence in front of us.  “Damn,” I muttered, “They really wanted us to kill each other.”  I looked over at Takao and gave her a playful smirk.  “Glad we didn’t give them the satisfaction.”  

Takao’s cheeks flushed ever so slightly, but she smiled softly back at me.  “Agreed.”

“Alright, alright you two,” Atago playfully scolded us.  “We can figure this mystery out after dinner.  For now, let’s eat.”

I felt my cheeks grow red, matching Takao’s as we both nodded and tucked into our food.  As I ate, I wondered what the night would bring…

A/N-So far, so good, but will they stay that way for long?  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

By the time we’d finished our meal, the light was rapidly beginning to fade and I checked my watch.  Sure enough, assuming nobody had tampered with it, night was approaching.  Looking at both Atago and Takao, I could see they were thinking the same thing, so I decided to ask the question we were all thinking.  “So, who’s going to take first watch?”  

“I will!” Atago quickly volunteered.  “You two need rest after such a long day.”

“Wasn’t that the reason you sent us into the hot springs?”  I asked, giving her a playful smile.  

She giggled and shook her head as she relieved us of our empty bowls.  “That was for your muscles, now it’s time to give the rest of your body a break, Commander.”  As I opened my mouth to object, she quickly interjected.  “If you’re so eager to take watch, you can take the midwatch.”

I glanced over at Takao, who nodded her assent and I turned back to Atago.  “Very well,” I agreed as I got to my feet.  “In that case, I should probably get to sleep.  Any suggestions as to where I can lay down?”

Atago gestured to the tent set up on the other side of the small camp.  “You can use mine.  It’s big enough for two, so you and Takao can both comfortably get some rest while I’m on watch.”  

My eyes flicked between the tent, Atago, and Takao, and to my surprise, I didn’t see the awkward embarrassment I had been expecting in the elder sibling’s eyes.  At least, not to the extent I was expecting.  Knowing full well that an argument would be a waste of time, I simply bowed to both women.  “I’ll see you in four hours then.  Good night, ladies.”

“Good night, Commander,” Atago replied.

“Sleep well, Commander,” Takao said with a faint smile.  I smiled back, bowed again, and headed off to grab what little sleep I could.  

It felt like my head had just hit the pillow when I felt someone gently shaking me awake.  My eyes snapped open and my body tensed up as I looked around, trying to figure out what would wake me up so soon.  It didn’t take me long before my gaze focused on Atago as she leaned over me, a soft smile on her face.  

“It’s time for your watch, Shikikan ,” she whispered, and I nodded as I relaxed somewhat.

“Be right out,” I whispered back, and she smiled again before leaving the tent.  As I sat up, I tried to collect myself as I looked around the small space.  Much to my surprise, I saw Takao sleeping on the other side of the tent, using one of the towels we had taken into the hot springs as a blanket and the other one as a pillow.  I wasn’t about to let that stand, not for the woman who’d just saved my life hours before.  Carefully, gingerly, I removed the towel from her body and gently draped the blanket that I had been using atop her.  The pillow was a trickier matter, however, and the best I was able to do without waking her was to slide it next to the rolled-up towel so it would better support her.  

Now assured that Takao was sleeping a bit more comfortably, I checked to make sure I still had everything on me and then exited the tent.  Outside, it was pitch black, the only illumination coming from the small lantern that was beside Atago.  I carefully made my way over to her and tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.  She jumped slightly but smiled when she saw it was me.  

“Sorry,” I muttered apologetically.  “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s alright, Commander,” she said with a shake of her head, “I just…don’t like the dark.  Reminds me of a few scary movies I’ve seen.”

“Has it always been this dark?” I asked as I took a seat next to her.  

“Mhm.  And this quiet.”

It took me a moment to realize she was correct.  It was absolutely silent.  No real breeze to speak of to rustle the trees, and with no wildlife, everything around us was as silent as the grave.  “That’s…unsettling.  How’d you get through the first couple of nights?”

She gave me an uneasy smile as she shrugged. “Stayed in the tent, kept the light as low as possible and my ears open.  The nice thing about the quiet is that you can hear someone coming a mile away.”

“But you haven’t heard anyone before us, right?”

“Mhm,” she confirmed.  “Not a soul.  And you two ran into that Tester fairly quickly.”

“Yeah,” I sighed, “That’s what worries me.”

She peered at me in the dim light, trying to follow my train of thought.  “You think you’re being tracked somehow?”

“Or monitored,” I added, staring out into the blackness as if I could somehow scry the future from that dark void.  It was damn unsettling as if the world around us had simply…ceased to exist.  “Not a fan of staying put for very long, not if they know where we are, but you were right.  We needed to rest, regroup, take a breather.  Hopefully, we’ll find some way to get into that mountain and shut down this fog.  Or cut through all the jamming, at least.”

“You’re worried about your fleet, aren’t you?” Atago asked softly.  

“Of course I am,” I all but exclaimed, “What sort of leader would I be if I didn’t care about the people under my command?”

She paused for a moment, still looking at me.  “And the ones who aren’t under your command.”  When I turned back to look at her, she smiled and said, “When I first appeared and she told me to halt, you immediately took up a defensive stance.  You were ready to protect her in a heartbeat.  That tells me a lot about you.”

It felt as though the temperature had jumped up several degrees, and I tried to play things off as casually as I could.  “O-oh?”  I stammered.  Smooth.  “What did you learn?”

“That you’re brave, for starters.  Even after that fight with the Siren, and how outmatched both of you were, you were ready to do it all again if you had to.  It tells me you care about us, even if we’re still technically your enemy.”  Atago leaned in close and began walking her fingertips up my arm as she spoke her next words.  “And it tells me that I think you two have something together.”

At this point, the Sirens clearly began experimenting with the artificial island, raising the temperature and humidity to near unbearable levels.  It’s the only reason I could’ve felt so hot and flushed.  I sputtered and stammered as I tried to come up with words to explain the situation.  “I mean…it’s just…and then…”

Atago continued to smile mercilessly at me, her eyes boring into me.  “Go onnnn…”

I turned my head to avoid her laser focus, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath.  “I don’t know if it’s because, for a second, we felt like we were the only two people left on the planet, or if there’s an actual attraction, but…yeah, I think there’s something between us.  Or at least, I think I have feelings for her.  Or might.  I dunno.  But…” I sighed as a smile crossed my face, “she’s smart, driven, adorably stubborn at times, and damn cute when she’s flustered.”

When she didn’t immediately, reply, I slowly turned back to her, almost too afraid to see the look I was sure she was giving me.  The broad, if somewhat mischievous, smile on her face was a huge weight off of my chest.  “I thought so,” she cooed triumphantly.  “You can’t hide something like that from your big sis…”  She leaned back and sighed happily.  “And I wouldn’t worry too much about the feeling being mutual, Commander.  She thinks you’re pretty cute, too.”

My heart leaped into my throat as I stared at her incredulously.  Infuriatingly, she simply gave me that same smile she’d been giving me the past couple of minutes as she stood and stretched.  “Well, I should get some sleep as well.  Good night, Commander!”

“W-wait, you can just drop a bomb like that and leave me alone for four hours to stew on it!” I hissed as she waved and walked away.  “Atago!  Atago, get back here right now!”

She turned, gave me another playful wave before she disappeared inside the tent, leaving me alone, in the dark, with the realization that Takao also seems to have feelings for me.  I sighed as I picked up my rifle and prepared for a long watch…

Standing watch when everything’s quiet is unbelievably tedious.  Moored in port, everything shut down, is akin to watching paint dry.  You’re there to make sure that nothing happens, and for the vast majority of the time, nothing will.  Standing watch at night is worse.  Now you’re alone, and the chances of running into anyone still awake are about as likely as something happening.  On top of being bored, you’re also fighting sleep.  

Now add into the mix unsettling darkness, an unnatural quiet, and a sudden relationship issue that won’t go away and you’re starting to get what a nightmare those four hours were for me.  I tried everything to get my mind off Atago’s words that still rang in my ears.  But when your light source only extends about forty feet and you don’t want to make too much noise for fear of attracting unwanted company, there’s not much you can do.  I checked and rechecked my pistol and rifle, which took all of ten minutes.  I tried walking it off, but again, limited space.  I tried staring into the inky blackness that surrounded me, but when I started imagining things in the dark, I decided against it.  

Every now and again, I heard a quiet shuffling noise from the tent, followed by a soft murmur.  I wondered if it was Takao, if she was alright if she was getting a good night’s rest and dammit, I was doing it again.  As much as I wanted to keep my head clear, I just couldn’t stop thinking about her.  I checked my watch and saw I still had three and a half hours left, so with a heavy sigh, I sat down and turned my thoughts inward.  

What was it I found so intriguing about Takao?  I had to admit, a part of it was, in fact, due to our situation.  Being forced to rely on one another, and where she’d saved my life, did a lot to endear her to me.  However, there was something more.  Not just her beauty, either.  South Dakota had saved my life numerous times and was just as beautiful in her own right, but I didn’t feel the same attraction to her as I did with Takao.  I wanted to know more about her, her hobbies, her dreams, her fears, all of them.  I wanted to see her calligraphy, I wanted to see how she made her own ink and watch her practice her form by the light of dawn.  I wanted to just be with her, no matter what we were doing.  Well, maybe not trapped on a deserted island surrounded by a mysterious impenetrable fog, but most other things.  

I still, however, could not figure out why, though, and then something an old friend said to me popped into my head.  “Tom,” he’d said, all those years ago when he told me he’d gotten engaged, “Sometimes, the heart wants what the heart wants.  No rhyme or reason to it, things just click when you find that person.”

At the time, I thought he was nuts, but now, as I faced the wants of my own heart, I understood what he meant.  And with the knowledge that Takao, at least on some level, felt that same desire for me, I felt a bit more comfortable.  My spirits buoyed, I checked my watch to see how much time had passed.  

Thirty minutes.

With a long sigh, I settled in for a long three hours…

It was still dark when I went to wake up Takao for her watch, although, if the island continued to keep on the time of the outside world, things would begin to lighten up while Atago and I slept.  As I pulled back the tent flap, I saw both of them sleeping peacefully, Atago with a soft smile on her face, and Takao with a serene expression.  I quietly reached out to her and gently tapped her on the shoulder to wake her up.  When that didn’t work, I softly shook her shoulder.  Her brown eyes snapped open as she looked around, her hand going to her sword immediately.  “E-enemies?!” she whispered until her eyes focused on me and she relaxed.  “Oh... It was you, Commander? Apologies, my eyesight isn't the best.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I smiled reassuringly, “I woke up the same way when Atago got me.  I’ll be waiting for you by the lantern when you’re ready.”

Takao nodded solemnly and I closed the tent flap as I got back to my feet and headed over to the lantern.  I hadn’t gotten five steps before I heard a rustle behind me and turned to find her already exiting the tent, ready for watch.  

“That was fast,” I remarked.  “All set and ready?”

She nodded dutifully as she surveyed the surroundings or lack thereof.  “Always.  Anything to report?”

I shook my head.  “All quiet the past four hours, and Atago said much the same for her turnover.”

“Good,” she said as she finally turned back to me. Her usual calm, serious self was gone, replaced by quiet anxiety, her cheeks red, even in the dim light.  “Did…did you two discuss anything beyond turnover?”

Ah.  I suddenly understood where her anxiety was coming from, and I felt my own cheeks color slightly.  For a second, I wondered if I should fully disclose my conversation with Atago, but in the end, she hadn’t asked me to keep it in confidence so I decided to be honest.  “She talked about me…and you…and, uh, that you thought I was…” I self consciously cleared my throat. “...cute.”

“O-oh,” she said, her whole face turning bright red.  I half-expected steam to come out of her ears at this point.  “A-and you?”

I thought about joking with her, teasing her a bit, but seeing how vulnerable she looked, how anxious she was for my answer, I decided to be straight with her.  “I think you’re pretty cute, too,” I admitted.  “Hell, I think you’re amazing.  You’re strong, brave, steadfast, and I just…there’s something about you that makes me just want to be with you.  I-if that’s what you want.” 

To my eternal relief, her anxieties melted away, replaced by a genuine smile.  “It is,” she confirmed with a brief nod.  “A-at least to see how things work out.”  Her smile faded as she gazed out into the darkness.  “Speaking of, how would we even see each other?  We are on opposing sides, ceasefire notwithstanding.”

I followed her gaze into the night and sighed as I weighed my options.  None of them were promising, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t try.  “After this, I’m not sure.  There’s no way I could go to the Sakura Empire.  Naval HQ would give themselves an aneurysm if I even suggested it.  You could…come with me, though.  We could try and explain it as an officer exchange or something.  I mean, if your mission is to find out about me, I can’t see your superiors objecting.”

I looked over at her, studying her face as she gave it some thought.  She cast a furtive glance back towards the tent where Atago was presumably fast asleep.  Even though I didn’t have siblings of my own, the look in her eye was unmistakable.  “I don’t want to leave Atago behind…”

“I’ll…see what I can do,” I hesitantly said.  “She’s clearly important to you, and given the fact that she’ll have helped us escape, I think will help me convince Naval HQ.”  If I could convince them .  

She smiled again, this time more timidly as she nodded.  “Thank you, Commander.  I…I hope they listen to you.”  

“I hope so, too.  I’m not sure if a long-distance relationship would work out too well,” I joked weakly.  She laughed softly, then paused.  

“As much as I would prefer your company for the rest of the night, Commander,” she sighed.  “You need your rest.”

As much as I wanted to protest, I knew tomorrow would bring new challenges that would require me to be at my best, and that included being as well-rested as possible.  “Yeah,” I slowly conceded as I got to my feet.  “Have a quiet watch, and I’ll see you in four hours.  Good night, Takao.”

“Good night, Commander,” she replied with a bow.  As I turned to leave, she called out to me.  “C-Commander?”

I stopped and turned to face her.  “Yeah?”

Her face flushed as she avoided my gaze, fidgeting nervously as she tightly gripped her scabbard.  “I-if it would not be improper, may…may I know your name?”

“Thomas,” I smiled.  “It’s Thomas.”

“Thomas,” she repeated slowly, then nodded once.  “Thank you.”

“My pleasure.  Good night.”  With that, I crawled back into the tent, grabbed the rolled-up towel, and closed my eyes.  

Later that morning, I awoke to the sounds and smells of someone making breakfast.  I sat up and looked around to find the tent empty.  After stretching a bit, I checked my watch and saw that it hadn’t quite been four hours yet, which would explain why Takao hadn’t roused me.  Now that I was up, however, I had best get out there and at least lend a hand with breakfast.  

I lifted the tent flap and was greeted with the soft light of the sun as it filtered through the fog.  Atago was by the campfire, tending to the pot again, along with a small grill she had set out next to it.  Takao stood next to her, diligently watching as her sister cooked what looked like some sort of fish and rice.  

Ever vigilant, Takao over at me first and graced me with a thin smile.  “Good morning, Commander,” she greeted me.  “You’re up early.”

“We were going to let you sleep a bit later,” Atago chimed in.  “At least until breakfast was ready.”

“Couldn’t sleep with that delicious aroma wafting in the tent,” I grinned.  “But I appreciate the gesture all the same.  Is there anything I can do to help?”

The sisters shared a glance before Takao spoke up.  “It’s alright, Commander, you don’t have to-”

“I know,” I preempted her, “but I hate sitting around and feeling like a fifth wheel while you guys do all the work.”

Takao slowly nodded in understanding and Atago gestured to a group of boxes off to her right.  “If you want, you could grab us a few bowls from over there, Commander.  It’s almost ready!”

“Smells delicious,” I said as I began rifling through the boxes.  “What is it?”

“A traditional Sakura breakfast: miso soup, rice, and salmon,” she called back.  

After another several seconds of searching, I found the bowls in question and brought them over to Atago, who had just extinguished the small campfire.  “Excellent timing, Commander,” she smiled up at me.  “It’s done!”

As she portioned out our meals, I inhaled the wonderful aroma again.  “Can’t believe you’ve made something this good with just a few simple utensils.  Always wanted to try Sakura cuisine, but I never got the chance.”

“You have?” Takao interjected as she took a seat next to the campfire.  

“Mhm,” I nodded as I sat next to her.  “I’ve always had a fascination with the Far East, even as a kid.  Managed to become the naval attache in the Dragon Empery for a while, and I had hoped to be assigned to the Sakura Empire next, but…war broke out and that got tossed out the window.”  

“Perhaps we will be able to forge this temporary cease-fire into a more lasting peace,” Takao said softly.  “And you would be able to visit our home at long last.”

I looked over at Takao, gazing into her brown eyes as I smiled softly.  “I’d love to see it one day.”

We held each other’s gaze for another few moments before Atago chimed in.  “ Ara ara , as much as it warms my heart to see you two growing closer by the second, eat up!  We’ve got a busy day ahead of us.”

Takao and I shared an embarrassed smile, our faces flushing once more as we turned to our meals.  Despite everything that happened so far, this may have been the best thing to happen to me in a long time…

A/N-Hope you enjoyed the quiet, because next chapter, it’s Man(and Kansen) Versus Mountain!  What secrets lie within?  What questions will be answered?  What questions will be raised?  Who knows!  …oh yeah, me.  I know.  But I’m not telling!  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

After we finished our breakfast, we gathered up our gear and prepared to move out.  Atago offered to show us the parts of the mountain she hadn’t scouted yet in the hopes that we’d finally be able to make our way inside and shut off the fog, if not destroy this prison entirely.  

“What about scaling up the rockface itself?” I asked as I buckled my ammo belt around my waist and shouldered my rifle.  

Atago shook her head as she finished stowing the mess kit and made sure the campfire was completely extinguished.  “Too smooth to really get a good grip.”  

“Damn,” I sighed as I pondered our options further.  “You know…now that we have three of us here, if we can’t find a way in, we could always try to blow our way in.”

Takao gave me a quizzical look.  “With what?” she asked.  

“Your eight-inch shells,” I answered.  “Well, yours or Atago’s.  I figure we could row back to one of the ships, grab a shell or two, bury it at the base of the mountain and detonate them with a grenade or something like that.”  

She ruminated on the idea for a moment before she shrugged.  “I don’t think it’s likely that the explosion from a single shell would do enough damage to blow open a mountain, and the noise would certainly draw unwanted attention.  However, given the lack of options, it’s worth a try.”

Atago mulled it over as well and nodded.  “I hope it won’t come to that, but if we have to, we have to.  In the meantime, let’s get a move on.”

Takao and I both nodded and we all set off into the jungle once more.  

Within a few hours, we found ourselves staring up at the massive stone monolith, still wreathed in its unearthly fog.  I could see what Atago meant about the rockface, despite its craggy appearance from a distance, it was mostly smooth, and the few handholds were spaced too far apart for anyone to reach.  

“Alright,” I began, “Where haven’t you been so far?”

“Over there, to the north,” Atago pointed off to her left.  “I hope Tester left a door open when she died, or at least, left a sign of one.”

“I doubt she would be…gone…for very long,” Takao added.  “It’s entirely plausible that she’s obtained a new body and returned to the mountain.”

“If she has, I’d rather run into her in there than out here,” I stated, much to the confusion of the siblings.  

“You would?” Takao asked, eyebrow raised.  

“In there, she’s got to worry about collateral damage, or at least, I hope she does.  I doubt they have huge corridors meant for shipgirl duels in there.  While we’re still at a disadvantage, we know we can kill them with your swords, and the tighter confines gives us a hopefully better chance to use them.”  I sighed and looked up at the mountain.  “Personally, I’m hoping this is all automated and Tester’s still trying to get back to the Mirror Sea, but I somehow doubt we’re that lucky.”

“Excellent points,” Takao concurred.  “I prefer to make my own luck, however.  Let’s get going.”  

“Right behind you.”

As we set off towards the mountain, scanning for both Sirens and ways inside, I drew close to Takao and lowered my voice to a whisper.  “Your sister keeps saying ‘ ara ara ’.  What does that mean?”

Her cheeks flushed red and she quietly answered, “It…doesn’t have a direct translation to English, but it is meant as a playful or teasing ‘oh my!’”

“Seems harmless enough,” I said, peering over at her.  “So why are you blushing so hard?”

“I-it typically is used in a more…mature context.”

For a second, I didn’t understand what she meant, and then it clicked.  “O-oh…” I stammered as I felt my cheeks start to burn as well.  “I see.”  I cast a furtive glance back at Atago, who seemed to be inspecting the mountain, although I couldn’t help but notice she had an ear cocked in our direction.  “Then is she…?”

Takao emphatically shook her head.  “She said she would let us see where this took us and wouldn’t make a move.”  She chuckled and glanced over her shoulder herself.  “But that doesn’t mean she won’t stop being a tease, it would seem.”

“Guess not,” I chuckled softly.  “I-”  Whatever I was going to say was lost as I caught sight of something at the base of the mountain.  “...do you see that?”

Partially recessed in shadow by a large outcropping was a large rectangular hole that looked like it had been carved into the mountain.  Takao followed my gaze, saw the entrance, and nodded.  “I do.”  She quickly waved Atago over, and together, we all headed towards it.

As we got closer, we saw it was clearly a doorway, the sides too smooth and clean to be a natural formation.  And once we fell beneath the shadow of the mountain and our eyes adjusted to the lower light, we could see a hallway stretching out into its depths.  

“Well, looks like we found our way in,” I softly stated as I unslung my rifle and snapped on the bayonet.  “I’ll take point.  Unless either of you has experience with secret Siren lairs?”  They both shook their heads and I gave them a wry grin.  “Yeah, me neither.”

“I am right behind you, Commander,” Takao solemnly said, her hand on the hilt of her katana.  “And I will not break my pledge to you.”

“Your big sister will help keep you safe, too!” Atago happily chimed in.  

While I still felt uneasy about going into an unknown situation with little firepower, their reassurances did wonders for my nerves.  I steadied my grip, nodded to both of them, and together, we headed into the serpent’s lair…

The base was a maze of corridors, seemingly with random twists and turns.  I realized getting out of here in a hurry was going to be a huge problem, but with a little luck, if we managed to find the main control room, we should find some sort of map along with it.  Finally, we came across the first door.  It hissed open as we approached, causing us all to press against the walls in the mistaken belief that someone was exiting them.  After a few awkward glances and nervous chuckles, we headed inside.  I took point, rifle ready as I moved in.  

While there weren’t any Sirens or Pawns, there wasn’t anything that looked like something we could use.  Stacks upon stacks of humming machinery, all glowing with an ominous blue light.  

“Anyone have any idea what these are?” I asked as I walked through the rows, hoping to catch a glimpse of a terminal or monitor.  

“If I had to guess, I would say servers of some sort,” Takao offered.  “Or data storage.”

“Impossible to tell without a way to access them,” Atago added.  “Do you see a console anywhere?”

“None,” I said with a shake of my head as I lowered my rifle.  “I’d give my right arm if I could have Ingraham or Saratoga here right now.”

Takao peered around a corner and asked, “Why them?”

“They’re my tech experts.  They’d love to get their hands on a treasure trove like this.”

Atago came around the corner with a knowing smile.  “I think Yuubari would love to get this kind of access, too.  Probably spend all day sorting through the data on one of these towers.”

“Yeah,” I sighed.  “Unfortunately, they’re not here and we don’t have that kind of time.  Let’s keep moving.”

We headed out to the main corridor and continued to explore the base.  We found a few more rooms, although they were all more of the same as the one we found earlier.  I was beginning to wonder if this entire level was just data storage until we came across a hallway with several large windows on the left-hand side.  We quickly pressed ourselves against the corridor as I peeked around the first window to see what was on the other side.  What I saw was very concerning.  

Row after row of Siren fighters and bombers sat in a massive hangar beneath us, robotic arms traversing up and down their ranks, running what looked like readiness and maintenance checks.  Fortunately, they all seemed to be in a powered-down state, but I’m sure that would change once we shut down the fog.  

I leaned back and explained to Takao and Atago what I’d seen.  “Looks like they’ve got two squadrons each of fighters and bombers in there.  No sign of any Siren overseers yet, but they’re going to make getting out of here really interesting.”

“Maybe we should prioritize shutting down whatever’s suppressing our riggings,” Takao suggested.  “Give us an edge up on firepower.”

I gave her idea some thought, but in the end, I decided to stick with our original plan.  “I’d like to get this fog shut off first.  Hopefully, it’s a two birds, one stone situation, but if we find the fog generator, and aren’t discovered, we’ll look for the rigging suspension after that.  Assuming this base doesn’t have a giant, helpful self-destruct button.”

“So how are we going to get past this window?” Atago asked.  “Is it safe to walk by?”

“I didn’t see any Sirens, but I have no idea if they have any kind of monitoring set up in there.  Let’s just stay low and move quickly.”

One by one, we crouch-ran past the windows, each of us waiting for an alarm or other noise to signal we’d been spotted.  After Atago, who had taken up the rear, made it past the last window, we paused, then relaxed when that alarm never came.  

We continued down the hallway and rounded a corner to find a large room just off to our right.  Again, I took point as I slipped inside and quickly waved the two sisters in after me.  “Ladies, I think we found what we were looking for…”

It appeared to be a massive control room, with various monitors and consoles scattered around the space.  We each took a station and began searching for a way to shut off the fog, contact Washington and South Dakota, blow this place sky-high, or any combination thereof.  

Takao was the first to find something and called out from her station.  “I can shut down the fog from here!”

Atago was next.  “And I found the way to remove the rigging suppressors!”

Meanwhile, I was still combing through the database, looking for anything that looked like a self-destruct command or a way to overload the reactor that powered this Mirror Sea.  In the end, I found neither, but what I discovered was far more important and utterly terrifying.  

“Nothing on my end, just a lot of logs from ‘Observer’, looks like she was the one who grabbed us and put us here,” I announced over my shoulder.  I heard footsteps behind me as they came to look over my shoulder.  “Looks like she filed a few reports…doesn’t say to who, sadly…”

When I tapped on the report to bring it up, a small hologram of Observer flickered to life above the console.  Even in miniature, her smug grin, wide eyes, and constantly slithering tentacles unnerved me.  

“We have successfully captured the Sakura vessels we’ll be using for this experiment and are beginning to test their suitability.  Once a specimen has been chosen, we will then procure the Commander and several Eagle Union kansen.  The island has been set up, and the fog already in place.  In the event that either kansen or human escape their vessel and make it to the island, we’ve set up a small cave that should offer sufficient shelter from the elements, and we’ve added a hot spring inside the cave to further entice any survivors to set up camp there.  That should keep them away from the mountain at first and give Tester an excellent starting point to hunting them down if they make it off the ship.”  

The image flicked off, and we all glanced at each other before I finally spoke up.  “Sounds like our theory was correct.  They grabbed us and tried to set us up to kill each other.  Also explains why that hot spring was mysteriously there.  Let’s see what the next log is…”

Again, Observer flickered back to life as she gave her report.  “The first Sakura kansen, Atago, was unsuitable for our needs.  Chances of her engaging in combat against the Commander are thirty-two percent.  The second shipgirl, Takao, is much more promising, at seventy-nine percent.  We have isolated Takao on the southern shore of the island and will keep the Eagle Union fleet on the northern shores, near Atago, when they arrive.  When hostilities erupt, this will increase the chances of either side achieving decisive hits.  We’re also going to allow Washington, South Dakota, and Atago to awaken earlier than the Commander or Takao to increase their overall stress levels.  This should assist in them being much more willing to open fire on one another.”

Atago and I looked over at Takao to see how she was handling this sudden revelation.  I have to admit, she hid it well.  Her face was her usual stoic, impassive mask, but her eyes…her eyes told a different story.  In those brown eyes of hers, I could see the pain and regret that was flowing through her.  

“Hey, Atago, could you go check on the rigging suppressors for me, make sure they’re ready to go down?” I asked in a soft, nonchalant voice.  Atago nodded knowingly and patted her sister on her shoulder before she left to give us some space.  

Takao placed her hand atop Atago’s and watched her go for a moment, not saying anything until she was sure she was out of earshot.  “C-Commander…Thomas…I…” she began, the raw emotion flooding her voice.  

“Hey, hey,” I soothed, taking her hand in mine.  “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not,” she hissed turning to face me, fear and pain and grief in her eyes.  “They took us, abducted us, ran tests on us like we were animals .  What else did they do to me?  What did they take from me?”

I didn’t have the words for her at first.  I struggled to find them, to say something that would make the pain go away, that would reassure her she was still who she was.  After a few long seconds of soul searching, I simply shrugged and answered.  “I don’t know what they took, what they did or might have done.  But what I do know is that you are a strong, beautiful woman, and you are going to survive this.  You’ve put your training to excellent use and I owe you my life.  I wouldn’t be here without your bravery and skill, and we are going to escape this, together.  And once we’ve shown them you can’t be stopped, no matter how foul their tricks, we’re going to make them pay .”

Takao nodded slowly but stayed quiet.  I could see her turning the words over in her head, letting them sink in. Finally, she looked up at me, the resolve and determination blazing in her eyes.  “Thank you, Thomas,” she whispered. 

“Anytime,” I smiled softly back at her, giving her a brief hug.  As I did, I felt her tense up and I immediately let go of her.  “Sorry,” I quickly apologized.  “Too soon?”

“N-no,” she stammered, looking away as her cheeks flushed once more.  “Just…just unexpected.”  Her eyes nervously darted to me, then away again.  “You…you can do it again if you want.”

I smiled warmly and pulled her into a gentle embrace.  This time she didn’t tense up, instead, relaxing as she wrapped her arms around me in turn.  After all the stress and uncertainty we’d been through, just having her in my arms felt like a massive weight off my shoulder had been listed, and I think Takao felt the same way.  What was meant to be a brief hug turned into a somewhat longer embrace.

A little too long, apparently, as Atago chided us.  “Time for romance later, as cute as you two are, we need to get out of here!”

Our blush deepened and we stepped back with a nervous chuckle.  “You should probably get back to shutting off that fog,” I said as I self-consciously rubbed the back of my neck.  “I’m going to see if I can pull up a map on this thing, help us get out of here faster.”

“R-right,” Takao agreed, trying to keep her expression stoic as she headed back to her terminal.  She almost succeeded.  

I watched her go for a moment before I turned back to my own computer.  Just as I was about to close out of the data logs, something caught my eye.  It was simply labeled “Route”, and it was dated the day I left on patrol with Washington and the others.  Part of me brushed it off, dismissing it as Siren recon on the patrol route.  But another part refused to let it go.  I opened it, and what I found was utterly devastating.  

At first, I thought it was a mistake, that I had been reading it wrong.  This wasn’t possible, it just couldn’t be true!  But it was.  I checked and rechecked the text before my eyes.  It was our route, alright, but it wasn’t Siren reconnaissance as I’d thought.  It was the patrol plan I had filed with Naval HQ right before I left.  I recognized the codes attached to the message: they belonged to Naval HQ itself

“This…this isn’t right,” I muttered, still trying to will it out of existence.  “This…can’t…they…wouldn’t…”  Disbelief gave way to anger, a fury that slowly boiled over until I slammed my fists down on the terminal with an anguished cry of “ You bastards !”

Takao was back at my side in an instant, looking at my screen, trying to determine the cause of my outburst.  “What is it?  What happened?”

“Naval HQ,” I managed to rasp, my voice thick with emotion.  “They betrayed us.  Look.”

I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders as Atago came up beside me, and glanced at her and Takao.  The worried, empathetic look in their eyes helped steady me as I pointed at the screen.  “That’s the patrol route I filed before we left port.  But see these codes at the end?  We put them at the end of each transmission to authenticate that the message is legitimate.  But those aren’t the codes that I attached.”

Takao glanced up at me, then back down at the screen.  “So whose codes are they?”

“Naval HQ.”

Silence filled the room until Takao spoke up again.  “You mean to say Naval HQ directly transmitted the patrol route you submitted to the Sirens?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

We all looked at each other, then down at the glowing monitor.  I felt one of Atago’s hands lift from my shoulder, replaced shortly by Takao’s.  I glanced over at her to see a faint blush on her cheeks, but her attention was still focused on the screen.  

“What do we do with this?” Atago finally asked.  

“Save it, if we can.  We’ve got a traitor in Naval HQ that we need to flush out.”  

A/N-Well, well, well, the plot thickens!  Questions answered, but many more remain.  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

“So how do we save this?” Takao asked, looking around for a drive port or some sort of other portable storage we could use.  

“Wish I knew,” I grumbled as I checked my pockets.  “Don’t have my phone on me so I can’t take a picture.  Let me guess, they confiscated yours, too?”

Both women nodded and frowned, and we got back to checking for additional ways to save the data when something started happening.  The folder closed itself, and one by one, to my utter horror, the data files started disappearing.

“Shit!” I exclaimed as I tried in vain to recover the files or to halt whoever was in the system.  “Quick, you two shut off the suppressors and kill the fog before whoever’s in here locks us out!”

They dashed back to their stations, and alarms began blaring throughout the base as the Sirens became alerted to our presence.  The data began disappearing from my terminal faster and faster until there was just a blank screen, leaving me frustrated and empty-handed.  Now I know there’s a traitor in Naval HQ, but I’ve got no way to prove it.  If I simply alert them, it gives the traitor a chance to go to ground, hide their tracks.  Assuming it was just one person.  The very real and unsettling possibility is that it may be all of them.  Naval HQ had been making some strange calls as of late, almost as if they were actively trying to break the cease-fire.  

In any case, it would have to wait.  With one last disgusted snort, I smashed the monitor with the butt of my rifle and turned back to the two sisters.  “How’s it coming on your end?”

“Rigging suppressors are down and I’ve even found a map!” Takao shouted over the klaxons.  “We’re not too far from an exit onto the north side of the island!”

I gave her a thumbs up in response.  “Excellent!  Atago, you need any help?”

“Almost…there!” she announced.  “Fog’s shut down!  Now we just have to-”

“-nder, do you read me?” Washington’s voice suddenly filled the room, flooding me with relief.  “Does anyone out there read me?”

“Washington?” I called out.  “Can you hear me?”

I could hear the relief in her own voice as she responded.  “Commander, thank goodness!  We’ve been trapped out here for days, and now the fog’s lifted and we can summon our rigging again.  I see a Sakura cruiser anchored off our starboard bow…”

“Do not engage the Sakura ship!” I hastily and emphatically ordered her.  “I say again, do not engage!  They were trapped here just as we were.  They’ve actually been helping me out a great deal.  But now it’s your turn to help, Washington.”

She wasted no time with her reply.  “Aye aye, sir.  Washington at the ready.”

“Do you have a fix on where this transmission is coming from?”

There was a brief pause.  “Yes, sir.”

I glanced over at Takao.  “How long do you think it’ll take for us to get out of the complex?”

She glanced down at the map and frowned thoughtfully.  “...about…two to three minutes, but we’d have to be sprinting the entire way.”

“Thank you,” I nodded to her before I took a deep breath and kept my voice as even and calm as I could.  “In five minutes, unless you hear from us, I want you and South Dakota to level this mountain.”

There was a silence on her end for a few moments, and I knew this had to be hard for her.   “But sir-”

“I know,” I acknowledged.  “But if we’re not out of this mountain in five minutes, we’re not going to make it out, period.  You have your orders, Washington.  Carry them out.”

Even through the blaring alarms, I could hear how subdued her voice was.  “...aye-aye, Commander.  And…good luck, sir.  Washington out.”

While I didn’t hear the channel click off, I knew she would’ve cut communication to prepare for bombardment.  Part of me wanted to take another few moments, try and get more information.  But we were out of time.  “Takao, take point.”

Takao nodded solemnly, tightly gripped the hilt of her blade, and darted out of the room.  I quickly followed, with Atago bringing up the rear.  As we navigated the maze of corridors once more, we sprinted past the hangar windows.  Within, I could see warning lights flashing as the Siren aircraft were beginning to warm up their engines, getting ready for launch.  

“How much time do you think we have before they’re airborne?” Takao called back over her shoulder.  

“About two minutes!” I shouted back as best I could without running out of breath.  

She didn’t reply, but I was sure she was thinking the same thing: those would pose a problem for us.  I hoped Takao and Atago would be able to handle them, but that was a problem for later.  The next two minutes were a blur of corridors, my legs pumping, my lungs burning in my chest as we tried to beat the clock and get far enough away from the mountain before Washington and South Dakota turned it into a smoldering crater.  

As we rounded the last corner, I saw the daylight, no longer muted by the fog, streaming in through the entrance.  We gathered our energy for one final sprint as we charged into the light.  

The bright sunlight blinded us, but we kept going on, running as fast as we could, ignoring the tree branches and vegetation until we couldn’t go on anymore.  Almost at once, we collapsed onto the jungle floor, gasping and panting, blinking as our eyes finally adjusted to the daylight.  After nearly twenty-four hours without the full light of the sun, it was almost painful.  I glanced back up at the mountain to see it still looming over us, and I knew we still weren’t far enough away.  We were out of immediate danger, yes, but when that thing went up, I couldn’t be certain we would be safe from debris.  

Slowly, unsteadily, I got to my feet and staggered over to Takao, who was still catching her breath.  She took my hand as I helped her up, each of us making sure the other was alright.  Despite the small tears on her uniform, and the twigs and leaves stuck in her hair, she still looked okay.  She was similarly inspecting me, and the way she quietly nodded to herself as she looked me over did much to reassure me that I wasn’t hurt badly.  When her eyes met mine, I gave her a shaky smile and a thumbs up, to which she nodded before glancing over my shoulder.

“Atago, are you okay?” Takao called out to her sister as she made her way over, helping her back onto her feet.  

Somehow, Atago seemed remarkably untouched, not a hair out of place, not a rip or tear anywhere on her clothing.  She got to her feet with ease and brushed off the bits of vegetation and smiled at both of us.  “I’m fine!”

“Good,” I replied, sparing a glance at my watch.  Four minutes had passed.  “We still need to get as far away as possible.  To the shoreline would be best where we can link up with Washington and the rest.  Speaking of which, can you two summon your rigging?”

They paused, looked at each other, and then the air around them shimmered and flared.  When it faded, their rigging had materialized around them, and they both let out an audible sigh of relief.  

“Takao standing by,” she smiled proudly, “What are your orders?”

I grinned back as I glanced up at the sky, trying to get my bearings.  “Let’s get to the shoreline as quickly as we can before those aircraft find us and start to pin us down.”

“Understood, Commander,” Atago piped up.  “Just leave it to Takao- chan and Big Sister!”

“Let’s get moving then,” I said, putting words into action.  “I want to get out of here before-”

“Before what, Mister Lee?”  

A cold, familiar voice boomed out over the jungle, and we looked behind us to confirm what we’d all just heard.  Sure enough, Tester had returned in a new body and was descending from the mountain peak, her weapons slowly charging up.  

“You thought you’d get away so easily?” she sneered, a cruel smirk on her face.  

“You’re still not angry about the whole ‘harder mommy’ thing, are you?” I grinned up at her.  

“Harder mommy?” Atago whispered behind me, and Takao quickly answered her with a hushed, “We’ll explain later.”

Tester’s grin faltered, replaced by an angry scowl.  “You’ll pay for that!  No more tricks this time!”

“No, just a fair fight!” I called out before ducking down and behind the two kansen.  “Takao, Atago, open fire!”

Both women opened up with a full volley from their main guns, the deafening roar and shockwave flattening the jungle in front of them.  Tester moved to dodge, and while she managed to avoid some of the shells, many still connected with her, sending her tumbling from the sky.  

I knew that wouldn’t be the end, however, it would only buy us a bit of time.  “Quickly, to the shore!  Fighting withdrawal!” I shouted as I began sprinting through the jungle, stopping to make sure they heard my order.  

They were falling back, supporting each other with practiced ease.  One would begin to fall back, then stop, turn, and begin firing salvo after salvo at Tester, trying to keep her off balance.  Then once the other had turned and begun firing, the first would fall back.  It was perfectly choreographed and just as beautiful as any dance I’d ever seen.  

But it wasn’t enough.  Eventually, Tester centered herself and unleashed a devastating barrage of energy beams at us.  I threw myself down on the ground and covered my head, hoping she was aiming high.  I felt the heat from the blast pass over me, along with an explosion further ahead as the beams connected with the ground.  Once I was sure it had passed, I quickly scrambled to my feet, only to find Takao in front of me, her rigging braced before her, smoldering and steaming.  She’d taken the full force of the blast to shield me.  

“Commander, are you okay?” she called back, fighting through what looked to be a great deal of pain.  

I was stunned.  She’s the one who just took an energy lance to the face, but she’s asking me how I am.  At that point, my heart went out to her.  “I’m fine, but what about you?” 

She shook her head defiantly.  “Don’t worry about me.”

“Like hell,” I snapped, placing my hand on her shoulder.  “We need to keep moving, and I need you with me.”  She looked back at me, matching my stern gaze with one of her own.  In the end, she relented and broke eye contact as she nodded.  I turned to Atago, who, while still smoldering somewhat, seemed to be in better shape.  “Atago!  Keep falling back!  Gonna take this right to the sea!”  

Atago gave a thumbs-up as she loosed another salvo, the shells causing Tester’s rigging to erupt in flames.  The Siren shrieked and fired another barrage of energy beams, but this time all she was able to do was scorch the treetops.  

We continued to fall back, guns blazing the entire time.  But out of the water, both Tester and the Takaos were deprived of the heavy punch of their torpedoes, and so it became a slow, grinding war of attrition.  At least, it would have.  

In between the sounds of the energy blasts and thundering cannons, I faintly heard a staccato thumping from the ocean.  I didn’t recognize what it was until the base of the mountain erupted into pillars of fire.  Rock and stone were hurled in all directions, with several large chunks landing worryingly close to us as we were peppered with pebbles.  The gunnery duel ceased as we all turned to look at the utter destruction wrought on the monolith.  While it was still standing, it had nearly a dozen large holes blown into it, and I could already tell that it would only take another few salvos to bring it down.  

Tester looked back at us, fire blazing in her yellow eyes.  “You think you’ve won?  You think this will change anything?  I’ll kill you all! ”

She immediately put words into action as she fired another devastating salvo, and it was only through Takao’s brave sacrifice of putting herself between me and harm did I manage to survive it.  “I think we made her mad,” I quipped.  “Time to pick up the pace!”  

“Understood!” Takao called over her shoulder as she and Atago began to fall back, faster this time.  Tester charged forward after us, that smug grin now replaced by a furious snarl.  Just as she surged forward, we heard the familiar whine of jet engines in the distance.  The Sirens had unleashed their aircraft.  

Even if it was just a few of them, between the fighters and Tester, we’d be overwhelmed and I would certainly be killed.  While self-preservation was certainly a high priority, my more pressing concern was the chaos that would be unleashed should I die here.  The Sirens could frame the narrative however they liked, and I was certain they would use it to shatter the cease-fire.  The Sakura and Eagle Union would be at war once more, our hold in the Atlantic would slip, and all that we had fought and bled and suffered for would be for nothing.  I wasn’t afraid of dying in the line of duty, but I was terrified of my death being used to undo all that we’d accomplished.  

Takao must have reached this conclusion as well as she glanced between Atago and me.  Her sister nodded and gave her a thin smile before she turned back to face me.  “Do you trust me?” she asked, something hidden behind her eyes.  

I was taken aback by her question, but with no time to argue, or even to ask why, I simply answered, “Yes, but-”

It happened so quickly.  Takao didn’t wait for me to finish, instead darting forward as she drew her sword, casting aside the scabbard in one fluid motion.  Atago likewise sprung into action, racing towards me as she tossed her own katana to her sister, who deftly snatched it from the air.  I could only watch in dumbstruck horror and cry out her name as Takao brandished both blades and leaped towards Tester.  As I tried to go after her, Atago quickly intercepted me, holding me back as she scanned the skies for the approaching aircraft.  

The Siren grinned madly and counter-charged Takao, Sakura steel clashing against alien metal as the kansen rained down her first series of powerful, sweeping strikes.  Despite her arms being connected to the rigging above her, Tester still managed to deflect the blades with the arm guards and her cannon barrels, sparks flying as each strike was parried.  While she had no sword of her own, the razor-sharp whip-tail of her manta ray rigging was no less lethal, and it stabbed and swiped at Takao, looking to find its way through her defenses.  

In a dazzling show of grace and speed, Takao nimbly danced away from it, leaping back and skidding to a halt, her katanas at the ready.  Tester glanced at the sky, smirked, and stood there.  While she didn’t say a word, her message couldn’t have been clearer: she could wait all day, but unless Takao killed her, those Siren aircraft were about to bomb us out of existence.  

To punctuate her point, the sound of jet engines was growing louder, and I could see the dots of Siren fighters and bombers circling around from the other side of the mountain.  Most were heading out to sea, likely to try and stop Washington and South Dakota from finishing their work, but at least a half dozen broke formation and headed directly towards us.  

Almost as if it was a brutal counterpoint to Tester, the staccato thumping echoed off the ocean, and once more the base of the mountain erupted in fire and stone.  More debris was hurled out, and with a horrifying crack, fissures began to travel up the stony face of the monolith.  Its fate was sealed.  Even if Washington and South Dakota were somehow silenced, there was no way it could be repaired before it collapsed in on itself.  One more volley would be all that was required to completely bring the structure down immediately.  

But there was no more time for gawking.  “Commander, get behind me,” Atago ordered as she slipped around me as best she could with her rigging, preparing to fight off the aerial assault as best she could.  I skirted around her and pressed my back against her rigging as I drew my pistol.  Despite knowing it was one step above harsh language, I wasn’t about to go down without a fight.  If I was to die, I was going to die on my feet, guns blazing.  

As the roaring of the aircraft got closer and closer, I spared a glance over at Takao.  She was staring down Tester, sizing her up as she slowly shifted her stance and tightened her grip on her katanas.  Tester licked her lips as her rigging’s tail whipped back and forth behind her, waiting for Takao to strike.  She didn’t have to wait long.  

Takao charged in with a fierce yell, stabbing a single katana forward towards her foe.  Tester took the bait, her tail wrapping around the blade and jerking it aside.  But rather than putting Takao off-balance, the kansen immediately released the sword, her hand quickly moving to her other sword hilt as she brought it up in a sudden upward slash.  

With her arms still locked into her rigging, and her whip-tail now out of position, there was no way for her to block the blow.  And she was far too close to dodge.  The Siren had only one option, and she fulfilled it to the best of Takao’s abilities: die.  

For the second time in as many days, she collapsed into a heap on the island ground.  Hopefully, for the last time.  As much as I wanted to cheer for Takao, however, we didn’t have time.  The Siren bombers were nearly upon us, and Atago had just started to open up with her AA guns.  Takao added her own fire to the mix, and the sky rapidly filled with the black puffs of flak and the dashes of tracer fire.  The effect was immediate as the enemy formation scattered, breaking off into individual fighters to make it harder for them to be brought down by concentration fire.  It wasn’t enough for two of the bombers, however, who got caught in bursts of flak and tumbled from the sky in flames.  

Another pair took several tracer rounds and wobbled unsteadily before they tried to break left.  The wind resistance, combined with the damage already done to the airframes, caused one of each of their wings to shear off from the rest of the bombers, and they, too, promptly fell to the ground.  

The last two, however, formed up practically on top of each other and dove down, practically at treetop height as they made their attack run.  Takao, in an amazing display of gunnery, paused, sighted her targets, and fired a single salvo from her forward turret.  Each shell found its mark and promptly obliterated the pair, who crashed into the jungle canopy.  Bits of flaming wreckage scythed through trees, buried themselves into the earth, and otherwise destroyed the landscape.  All but one.  

The fuselage of one of the bombers, no longer in flames but still smoking, exploded out of the treeline, spinning end over end as it headed right for Takao.  She got her rigging in front of her to act as a shield just as the wreckage slammed into her.  

“ Takao! ”

A/N-We’ve got more chapters, don’t worry, but will Takao still be in them?  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

“ Takao !” I shouted as I ran towards the smoldering wreck, hoping against hope I hadn’t just seen the woman who’d repeatedly saved my life crushed by falling debris.  Holstering my pistol as I reached the wreckage, I reached out to try and pry part of it up, but as soon as my hands got close, I felt the heat from the metal already starting to scorch the skin.  I drew back for a half-second before I grabbed my rifle and tried to leverage part of the fuselage off.  

“Takao, can you hear me?!?” I screamed, still trying in vain to move the wreckage off of her.  I could smell the metal burning the wooden stock and I could hear it starting to splinter, but I didn’t care.  I’d rather lose the rifle than the woman I was growing quite fond of.  

Fortunately, Atago was right behind me, and she gently nudged me aside before she effortlessly lifted the wreckage and tossed it aside.  My breath caught in my chest as I saw Takao laying there unconscious, her rigging in front of her like a shield.  I knelt beside her head, lightly tapping her on the cheek to try and wake her up.  

“Takao?” I asked, my voice catching in my throat.  When she didn’t answer, I reached out with trembling fingers to try and find a pulse.  I let out a shuddering sigh of relief when I felt one, fast and strong, and I grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her more vigorously.  “Takao, we gotta go!”

That did the trick.  Her eyes snapped open and with a deep gasp, she awakened, immediately looking around.  “What…what happened?”

Atago and I both let out a huge sigh of relief as I helped her sit up.  “You were awesome, is what,” I said.  “But we’re running short on time.  Can you move?”

Takao nodded as she gathered her legs under her.  “I…I think so, but I may need some help.”

We got her up on her feet, with both of us on either side of her, her arms draped across our shoulders.  No sooner than we had gotten into a relatively comfortable position, we heard the sound of the guns firing again.  “...oh, hell,” I muttered to myself before I glanced over at the two sisters.  “ Run! ”

Behind us, I could hear the shells hitting their mark again with a deafening roar, the rumble of their passing staying around longer than the previous volleys had.  And then I realized, that wasn’t the echo of the explosions, it was the mountain.  I spared a look over my shoulder to see the massive edifice beginning to crumble and cave in on itself.  The base was imploding, and if we weren’t careful, it could very well take us with it.  Almost as if it were reading my thoughts, a massive cloud of debris billowed out from the base of the mountain as it fell, headed straight for us.  

We ran as fast as we could while carrying Takao, all of us trying to ignore the wall of destruction that was rumbling behind us, getting ever closer and closer.  As we raced through the final patch of jungle before we came across the ocean, we could hear trees being uprooted and knocked down by the force of the shockwave, pushing us to go harder and faster than we thought possible.  Finally, however, we exploded out of the trees and onto white, sandy beaches, where we found an unexpected rescuer.  Dace stood on the deck of her submarine, which was anchored as close to shore as she could possibly get without beaching herself.  

“Commander, this way!” Dace shouted as she waved us over.  With the last of our strength, we waded out into the shallows towards the sub.  Thoughtfully, Dace had already thrown a cargo net over the side, and Atago and I helped Takao climb up onto it.  Once we were sure she was making headway on her own, we started to clamber up it ourselves.  Almost as soon as we began to climb up, Dace shouted “Hang on!” and began backing the submarine off the beach.  

As it turned out, that warning wasn’t just for Dace getting underway, but for the debris cloud as well.  With a thunderous roar, it engulfed us, a hot, dusty wind that blotted out everything except whatever was in front of us.  I shut my eyes and pressed my face into the crook of my arm to try and avoid breathing in as much particulate matter as possible while holding on as tightly as I could to the cargo netting.  I hoped Atago and Takao were doing okay, but until this passed, there would be no way to check.  As the wind died down and the dust began to settle, I finally opened my eyes and looked around.  For a second, I thought we’d re-entered the fog when I saw the thick grey clouds surrounding us again.  Then I realized it was just the dust from the mountain suspended in midair.  

I glanced to my left to see Takao looking around, and I caught her attention and shot her a concerned look.  She smiled softly in return and shook her head, giving me a thumbs-up before she resumed making her way up the cargo netting.  Atago was nowhere to be seen at first, nearly giving me a heart attack until I heard footfalls on the deck above, and saw she’d climbed the netting before the rest of us and was now helping her sister aboard.  I waited for Takao to climb up before following suit, and as I hauled myself onto the deck, I saw Atago gently easing her sister down against the conning tower.  

Summoning the last bit of my waning strength, I made my way over to them, looking down at Takao, then to Atago.  “She okay?”

Takao gave me another thin smile and waved her hand dismissively.  “I just need to catch my breath, Commander.  I’ll be fine.”

“You just fought a one-on-one duel with a Siren then took an airplane to the face, Takao,” Atago scolded her, “You need to get checked out by a repair ship.”

“I’ll have Vestal take a look at her when we get back to base,” I offered.  They both shot me a look of surprise, and I shrugged self-consciously.  “What?  I would be remiss if I just let you go back to the Sakura Empire in your state.  Besides, I thought we discussed this.”

Takao’s cheeks flushed and she looked away as a broad smile spread across Atago’s face.  “Takao- chan , you didn’t tell me you were planning on running away with the Commander!  You weren’t thinking of eloping, were you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” she protested, her entire face now beet-red.  “Even if we have feelings for one another, eloping would be entirely improper!”  She calmed down slightly, her indignation fading to a mere mild embarrassment.  “…he just…offered it and I said I would think about it.”

I made a mental note to plan for a big wedding if it ever came to that as my cheeks began to grow hot.  “Yeah…well…I’d feel bad if this is where we left things off, with the two of you out here and with you in your injured state and all…and I figured since you gals were out here fishing for information about me, I could give you that while you rested up.”  I glanced around and made sure Dace wasn’t within earshot before I leaned in and added in a lower tone.  “Besides, you two are also the only ones I can trust right now and I’d rather not be left on my own out here.”  

“You don’t trust your own ships?” Takao asked with more than a hint of disbelief.

I sighed and shrugged.  “I do, but if you asked me two hours ago I would’ve told you I trusted Naval HQ with my life, too.  I just…I don’t know how far they’ve gotten their tendrils into my base, and until I can find out, I need to keep this to as few people as possible.  Which, right now, is you two.  You’re also the only two who can corroborate my story so I need to keep you safe, and I can do that a lot easier if you’re at the base instead of off in a country I can’t even approach.”  When they continued to peer at me, I felt my blush intensify.  “Alright, and I want to spend more time with you,” I admitted.

Takao again looked at Atago, who gave her sister a thin smile and nodded once.  The elder sibling nodded back and looked to me.  “Very well, Commander.  We will return with you.  Although I don’t know how this will be received back home…”

I furrowed my brows as I shot them a confused glance.  “I thought your mission was to find out information about me, wouldn’t they be happy that I’m voluntarily giving you exactly what you asked for?”

She and Atago shared another nervous glance as she answered.  “To begin with, it was always implied that we would get the information and get back within a few days, maybe a few weeks at most.  This our absence wasn’t planned to be long term.”  She took a deep breath and slowly added, “...and it was something that wasn’t exactly done with the full knowledge of the entirety of some of our leaders…”

That shocked me to my core.  What on earth was going on in the Sakura Empire?  “How do they not know?  Why don’t they know?  And if I report back that you two are my guests recovering from your injuries, how are they going to take it?”  

Takao fidgeted slightly and shrugged as best she could as the dust cloud around us began to lighten, the rays of sunlight peeking through in places.  “This wasn’t an official assignment from the Combined Fleet HQ, this was more of a…request placed by Shinano and Chikuma.  You’ve been an…interesting contradiction so far, Commander, and the various factions of the Empire have each taken an interest in you.  I believe Akagi was looking for you while simultaneously exploring the Atlantic ocean for Siren technology.”

That sent a shiver up my spine.  I’d encountered her twice in combat thus far, and she’d proven to be a terrifying opponent each time.  I’d rather not run into her again if I could avoid it.  “So…do you think they’ll ask for you back when we tell them?”

She looked uncertain, but Atago quickly came up with a potential solution.  “I think I can work something out with Chikuma,” she interjected.  “And she can convince Shinano to convince the others.  Our people put great stock in her words, so that should be enough to at least temporarily mollify any objectors.  At best, they’ll completely back off.  At worst, it’ll buy us time.”  

I slowly nod as if I even begin to understand the politics of the Sakura Empire.  “Alright then.  So it’s all settled?”

Takao nodded, but Atago held up her hand.  “Wait.  What about getting our story straight?”

“What story?” I asked, unsure of where this was going.  

“The one we’re going to tell Naval HQ.”

“We’re going to tell them the truth,” I said with a smile, much to their confusion.  “We’re just going to leave out the part where we found out one or all of them is a traitor.”

The dust cloud was beginning to completely dissipate, and we were able to make out the imposing silhouette of Washington in the distance.  “And what if they ask us if we found anything of value in there?”

“Tell them no, and if they press us, note who’s doing the pressing and tell them no again.”  I reached down and helped Takao unsteadily get back on her feet.  “But in all honesty, it’ll probably be just me they talk to.  I’ll keep you in the loop, though.  I hate lying and I’ll need someone to talk to.”

“We’ve come this far with you, Thomas,” Takao declared, her hand squeezing mine, “We will stand with you until the end.”

I smiled softly at her and nodded my thanks.  At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to lean over and kiss her, but I knew she wasn’t ready for that, and I don’t think Washington and South Dakota would take it well if I disappeared for a few days only to come back lip-locked with the enemy.  Definitely not Washington.  

Speaking of Washington, she called out from the deck of her ship as she waved at us.  “Commander!  Thank god you’re back!  Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I called back.  “But Takao’s been injured!  Any communications with the outside yet?”

“Not yet, sir!”  She answered as she and South Dakota prepped the gangplank as Dace came alongside.  “You think we’re still in the Mirror Sea?”

“I do!  I’ll give orders as soon as I’m aboard!”

As soon as the gangplank was down and secure, Atago went first, with Takao in the middle and me bringing up the rear just in case Takao needed a hand.  Fortunately, she didn’t, and we all made it aboard Washington safely.  Washington herself, however, looked less than pleased that a Sakura ship, let alone two, were now on her deck.  While South Dakota kept her stoic, impassive gaze that she always had, Washington was practically shooting daggers from her eyes at the two cruisers.  Their shared history probably didn’t help matters.  

“Washington,” I greeted her with a bit of extra steel in my voice to subtly get the point across.  “I’ll get these two seen to, but I want you and South Dakota to continue the bombardment of those coordinates.”

The white-haired kansen continued to glare at Atago and Takao for another two seconds before she tore her eyes away from them and looked at me.  “Yes, sir.”  She nodded to South Dakota, who nodded back before she leaped off the ship and sailed away to a safe firing position.  “I’ll be up on the bridge when you’re finished with them, sir.”

“Duly noted, Washington,” I coolly replied as I ushered the two sisters past her.  “Good hunting.”  

“Uh-huh,” she sardonically replied as she strode off, her turrets already beginning to stir.  

“She seems somewhat perturbed that we’re on her ship,” Takao noted as Atago and I escorted her back to the infirmary.  

“It takes her a while to warm up to people,” I explained.  “And I’m sure it hasn’t been a picnic out here for her, either, trapped on her own ship for days on end, then ordered to fire on her own CO.  But she’ll come around.”  I hope .  

Takao nodded, then faltered as she began to fall forward.  Both Atago and I reached out to steady her, but she managed to catch herself before she completely toppled over.  Her eyes shut for a moment as she took a deep breath, paused for a moment to regain her bearings, and then straightened up.  “I’m okay,” she softly announced.  

I smiled reassuringly at her as I kept my hand on her shoulder, just in case she started to pitch forward again.  “If it’s all the same to me, I’d like you to rest up until we get back to port, okay?”

She eyed me up, and when she saw the determination in my eyes, slowly nodded.  “As you wish,” she sighed, her hand going to her waist.  When she didn’t find what she was looking for, her eyes went wide, and she began to look around frantically for something.  

Atago, ever the vigilant sister, must have known exactly what she was looking for, as smiled and held out her sword.  “I’ve got it here, Takao -chan ,” she said soothingly.  When Takao gave her a puzzled expression, she continued.  “I grabbed it while the Commander was trying to rescue you.”

Takao continued to stare down at the scabbarded blade for a moment before her hand slowly closed around it and she brought it up to her chest.  Her eyes closed and she let out a contented sigh.  A sense of calm and peace passed over her, then her eyes opened again and focused on me.  “Thomas,” she addressed, her voice solemn.  

The air around us had changed, and I felt as though something important was about to happen.  “Yes?” I answered as I straightened up, almost coming to attention.  

“While I must recover from my injuries, I cannot guard you as I swore.  I would instead ask that you take my blade, that it may protect you in your stead.”  Slowly, with great reverence, she held her sword out to me.  

Even though I knew next to nothing about the Sakura Empire’s warrior culture, I had to assume this wasn’t something she did lightly.  And judging by the awestruck expression on Atago’s face, I believe I was correct in that assumption.  With equal reverence, I reached out and grasped the scabbard, holding it tightly as I looked into Takao’s eyes.  “I promise you, I do not take this lightly, and with the utmost respect.  I solemnly swear I will care for this and return this to you the second you’re back on your feet.”

Takao smiled softly and nodded as she finally relinquished her grip on her katana.  I pulled my hand back as well, and glanced around, unsure of what to do next.  “Uh…so…is it okay if I wear this or do I just hold it or…?”

“Here,” she volunteered as she stepped forward, “Allow me.”  Her gloved hands guided mine as she slid the katana through my ammo belt with the curved side up.  I watched as she diligently assisted me, suddenly feeling very self-conscious when I realized just how close the two of us were.  I tried to focus on her hands, but my eyes kept darting to her face, admiring her steadfast expression and beautiful hair.  

The spell was broken as she stepped back, snapping me back into the present as I glanced down again at the sword.  “I wear it curved side up?” I asked as I placed my hand gently on the hilt.

“It is easier to draw the blade curved side up,” she answer matter-of-factly.  “Unless you plan on wearing armor.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” I shrugged.  “Don’t have a lot of samurai armor back home.  Or any, really.”  Suddenly, I found myself picturing Takao wearing samurai garb, clad in the lacquered armor of her homeland that was painted a striking red, black, and gold, and I had to admit, it was a rather pleasing image.  

Atago must’ve seen it written on my face as she giggled.  “You’re picturing her wearing it right now, aren’t you?”

My cheeks burned as I sputtered like a fish out of water for a good minute before I shrugged and sheepishly muttered, “...maybe.”

It prompted more giggles from Atago, and Takao had now turned a deep shade of crimson as well.  “Maybe if you play your cards right, one day, Commander…” Atago teased.

“Atago!” Takao huffed, “This is hardly the proper time or place…!”

A warning klaxon sounded a few times, alerting us that the guns will begin to fire soon.  “Washington’s going to start bombardment in a few here, so you two better get inside.  The infirmary is just down the hatch and to the left there, if you don’t mind getting Takao settled in, please Atago.”

Her teasing grin faded, replaced by a warmer, friendlier smile.  “Of course, Commander.  She’s in good hands.”

“I didn’t have any doubts,” I said with a nod before giving Takao a reassuring smile.  “I’ll be back down to check on you once we’re out of this Mirror Sea and safely headed back to port.”

Takao hesitated, then smiled softly back as she gave me a single nod.  “I will hold you to that, Thomas.”

“I know you will,” I grinned.  “See you later.”

As Atago ushered her sister into the ship, I took off in the other direction, towards Washington and the awkward conversation that was going to ensue…

A/N-Takao samurai skin WHEN, Yostar?  WHEN??  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

I made it up to the bridge just as the final warning alarm sounded, slamming the hatch shut behind me and dogging it down tightly.  There was a colossal thunderclap that reverberated throughout the ship as the view out the bridge window vanished in a cloud of smoke.  Washington was at the holomap, watching the shellfire fall relatively on target, the devastating rounds followed shortly by South Dakota’s strikes.  The bombardment continued to bury deeper and deeper into the complex, but the fact that we hadn’t been snapped back to our world told me that the reactor at its heart was still operational.  

After surveying the damage, I could hear rumbling deep within the ship as Washington prepared another salvo before turning to face me.  While she still looked perturbed, a thin smile crossed her face.  At least, what passed for a smile from her.  She was getting better at it, though.  

“Welcome back, Commander,” she greeted me.  “You had us all worried there for a while.  Try not scaring the pants off of us like that again, okay?”  Before I could answer, her eyes flicked down to the sword tucked into my ammo belt, then narrowed.  “Not like you to take spoils of war, sir…”

And here we go , I thought to myself as I self-consciously cleared my throat.  “It’s not a ‘spoil of war’, I’m holding onto it for Takao because she asked me to.”

Her clear blue eyes went back to the sword, then to my face.  “And you just decided to grant prisoners' requests?”

I quickly realized this was about to become much more complicated than I originally thought, but I definitely needed to nip this in the bud before this misunderstanding went any further.  “They’re not prisoners,” I explained.  “They’re our guests for a little while.”

“ What ?!?” Washington exploded.  “Sir, I know you’re a big fan of the Far East, but have you lost your mind?  We may have a cease-fire agreement with them, but they’re still the enemy!  What did they do to you out there?”

“She saved my life!” I snapped back.  Even if I didn’t need Takao to help unravel this conspiracy, I would’ve defended her just as strenuously.  “If it wasn’t for her, I’d be dead at least twice over, if not more.  She was injured trying to protect me, so we’re going to help her get back on her feet.  Is that clear?”

Those last three words, and the tone behind them, left little room for doubt as to which answer was the correct one.  Washington’s expression slowly softened, and while she still looked displeased, she looked considerably calmer.  “...alright.  Sorry, Commander” she softly apologized before she eyed me up again.  “She really left an impression on you, hasn’t she?”

I chuckled softly and nodded.  “You have no idea,” I grinned wryly at her.  

Washington raised an eyebrow as she peered at me.  “So…what the hell happened out there?  You were gone four days and now you’re back, half your gear is from the Sakura Empire, you’ve got Takao’s sword, and we’re supposed to be bringing them back to base.”

The warning claxon sounded and I waited for the next volley to thunder before I answered her.  “It’s a long story.  For starters, Takao and I have only been awake for…two days, now?”

Washington reeled back in surprise.  “Two days?  What was going on the rest of the time?”

We watched as the shells from Washington and South Dakota landed on target once again, continuing to dig deep into the island.  As the smoke began to clear, though, we could see the glowing reactor core of the Mirror Sea.  One more volley should do it.  I glanced over at Washington.  “The Sirens captured Atago and Takao in order to put me and one of them in a situation where we would either wound or kill each other, breaking the cease-fire and giving the Sirens an advantage.”

“Damn,” Washington muttered.  “So…how’d you guys figure it out?”

I patted the pistol strapped into my holster and smiled.  “I found this on Takao ’s bridge, along with two clips of ammunition for it.  Just sitting on the compass for anyone to see the second they entered the space.”

Washington peered at the weapon and raised an eyebrow. “Sakura ships don’t carry Colt 1911s…and come to think of it, neither do you.”  

I nodded.  “Exactly  Someone left that for me to find.  Two people, from an uneasy peace, both of whom are now armed, are trapped onboard a non-functioning vessel with no idea of how they got there.  They put us in a powder keg and a zippo for a light source.”

She shook her head and grinned ruefully.  “Damn lucky you two didn’t come to blows.”

“Yeah…about that…” I chuckled nervously.  

Washington’s face fell.  “Commander…”

“I didn’t start it!” I protested.  “...sort of.”

“Commander!” 

I threw up my hands as I tried to defend myself.  “Look, I was in an unfamiliar space, I didn’t know if she was a Pawn, or a Siren illusion or what, so I took steps to make sure she didn’t get the drop on me.  I didn’t pull the trigger or try to harm her.  Only disarm.”

That seemed to placate Washington a bit.  “So what happened.”

I looked away and quietly, sheepishly muttered, “...she got the drop on me.”

“Commander!” she admonished.

“I know, I know!” I shouted back, shaking my head.  “I made a stupid mistake and I got punished hard for it.  Fortunately, Takao pulls her punches.  Or sword strikes.  Once she realized who I was, we came to an accord, teamed up, made it to the island, and discovered the Siren’s hidden lair.  Which you are about to destroy by the looks of it.”

Washington smiled, that genuine, predatory smile, not her forced, awkward-looking rictus grin she sometimes puts on and turned back to the holomap.  I followed and stood beside her as the ship’s guns thundered for hopefully the last time on this trip.  We watched as the shells arced over the beaches, the now torn apart jungle, over the spot where Tester’s body lay motionless before slamming into the reactor core.  It began to shatter and crack, white light pouring out from within as South Dakota’s shells finish the job.  There was an explosion, and the holomap blinked out as the shockwave rushed toward us in a blinding light.  We both shield our eyes, familiar with what’s about to happen next.  The light engulfed us, and there was a sudden feeling of disorientation as if the entire ship had been spun about like a child’s toy, and as we got our bearings again, everything flickered back to life.  

Washington ’s communications systems began flashing immediately, on nearly every priority and emergency channel we had, the board lighting up light a Christmas tree.  “Well, nice to see we were missed,” I quietly quipped as I began filtering through the channels to find the highest priority message.  

It was from what appeared to be our would-be rescuers, led by Hornet.  As I pulled it up, her voice filled the bridge.  

“To any members of Patrol One One One Three, this is Hornet, please respond.”  There was a pause, and I could hear the roar of planes in the background.  “...c’mon, Commander, where are you?  Repeat, this is Hornet calling for Patrol One One One Three, please respond.  If unable to break radio silence squawk twice.  …dammit.”  

The line went dead, but by then I was already opening up a channel to her.  “This is Patrol One One One Three to Hornet, do you read me?”

Hornet’s response was immediate and relieved.  “Commander!” she excitedly answered.  “Where the hell have you been, we’ve been worried sick about you!”

“I know, it’s been a rough few days,” I empathized as I tried to find where the Mirror Sea had spat us out at.  To my surprise, we were only a few hours away from the base.  “But we’re heading home, best speed along return route…one alpha.  Be there in a few hours.  And tell Vestal to prepare the drydock, we’ve got an injured guest coming with us.”

There was a moment’s hesitation, and when she spoke again, I could hear the confusion.  “...a…guest, sir?”

“Yes, a guest,” I confirmed.  “I’ll tell you more back at base.  Patrol One One One Three out.”  I cut the channel, thought about it for a moment, then turned to Washington.  “How do you think the other girls will take it when we get home with those two?”

She eyed me up and down, shook her head, then walked away, laughing softly to herself.  

“...that good, huh?”

By the time we’d returned to base, there was a rather large crowd gathered at the pier already waiting for us.  I could see Vestal at the head of that crowed, distinct in her religious garb, with Perseus beside her.  As we pulled into dock, I could make out more and more faces in the crowd.  Most, if not all, of them had been in combat with the Sakura Empire and more than a few in personal combat with the Takaos.  I wondered how they’d react.  While I wasn’t exactly expecting them to be welcomed with open arms, I was hoping it would be with less…hostility than Washington had implied.  

While Washington was getting us docked, I headed down to the infirmary where Atago was helping Takao get to her feet.  She looked a lot better than before but still worse for wear.  Atago, meanwhile, still looked like she’d stepped out of her apartment, everything perfectly in place.  I’m pretty sure I looked like I’d been run over by a truck or two, and I was also sure I’d feel like I’d been run over by a truck or two tomorrow.  

“How are you feeling?” I asked Takao with an empathetic smile.  She smiled back, her eyes meeting mine for a half-second before they darted to the floor, and blush colored her cheeks.  

“I am well, but somewhat sore,” she admitted.  “However, I think some rest would be sufficient to get me back up to full strength, Commander.”

“Well, that’ll Vestal’s decision,” I reminded her, much to her disapproval, “But if you’re feeling better already, that’s a good sign.”

The ship shuddered as it was towed into position, causing both women to glance at the door.  “I take it we’ve just arrived,” Takao deduced.  

“Correct,” I confirmed with a nod.  “I came down here to escort you two off the ship and to give you a heads-up: There’s a pretty big crowd on the docks.”

The two siblings shared a worried glance.  “Is it because of us?” Atago asked, the worry evident in her voice.  

“I don’t think so,” I shrugged, “I’ve been missing a few days, and all I said was that I was bringing back a guest.  They don’t know I’m bringing home Sakura girls.”

The look on Atago’s face went from worry to playful mischief.  “Ooh, Commander,” she cooed, “I had no idea we were your dirty little secret .”

“Y-you’re not!” I protested as I tripped over my words.  “I didn’t want to tell Hornet I was bringing back two Sakura Empire kansen over an unsecured channel!”

She giggled, and I knew she’d played me yet again.  “Goddammit,” I swore under my breath.  

“It’s alright, Commander,” she smiled as she placed her hand on my forearm.  “I only do it because you look so adorable when flustered…”  She turned and glanced back at Takao, who gave her a perplexed look.  “Almost as adorable as my sister…”

Takao immediately flushed red and sputtered a moment before she crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from both of us.  Atago giggled again, patted my forearm, and stepped around me.  “Well, we’d best not keep them waiting..”

As Atago opened the hatch, I looked over at Takao, who was still staring intently at the wall.  I stepped closer to her and took her hand in mine, giving it a brief squeeze.  That seemed to snap her out of her reverie and she turned to look at me.  

“You okay?” I asked, peering into those beautiful brown eyes of hers as I saw the uncertainty and anxiety within them.

“I…will be fine, Commander,” she said slowly, taking a deep breath.  “I am simply…uncomfortable with crowds.  So many people staring…”  Her voice trailed off and she looked away, her cheeks flushed once more.  “..but…if you are with me…then, I will be fine.”

I smiled reassuringly at her and gave her hand another squeeze.  “As you promised me that I would be safe with you on the island, I give you my word you will be safe with me here.”

Her gaze slowly returned to mine, her eyes full of admiration and affection.  “...Thomas,” she sighed as she moved closer to me.  I felt inexorably drawn to her as I moved closer as well, pulled by an unseen, but not unknown force.  My hand cupped her cheek and our lips brushed against each other.  We hesitated, pulling back in uncertainty before we both decided to seize the moment and dove in, our lips meeting in a tentative, but tender kiss.  

As we broke, still staring deeply into each other’s eyes, we became faintly aware of the sound of clapping behind us.  Slowly, I craned my head around as Takao leaned to the side so we could both stare at the source of the applause: Atago.  

“It’s so precious!” she practically squealed with glee.  “I wish I could have gotten a picture!”

“ Atago !” we both shouted in unison, our faces a matching shade of red, I’m sure.  

With an infuriatingly amused giggle, Atago gave us a playful wave as she slipped out the door.  “Don’t keep us waiting, lovebirds,” she teased as she closed the hatch behind her.  

For a moment, we didn’t say anything, continuing to stare at the door and avoiding eye contact.  Eventually, we began exchanging furtive glances, shared embarrassed smiles until we were able to hold each other’s gaze without all of our blood pooling in our cheeks.  

Takao spoke up first, her voice soft and meek.  “...was…was it good?  I…I never trained for it.”

I stared at her for a moment, incredulous as to what I’d just heard.  “First off, yes, it was very good,” I answered, wanting to allay her fears before moving on to the more pressing subject.  “Did you just say you…never…trained…for a kiss?”

She nodded, a short, sharp, embarrassed gesture as she averted her eyes in what seemed like shame.  “There was no way to...appropriately train, should I ever find someone I…I’m attracted to.”

My heart went out to this beautiful woman, so vulnerable and shy, and my hand cupped her cheek, lifting her face until her eyes met mine.  “There are things in life you just can’t train for.  You just have to trust your gut and do what feels right.”

Her eyes peered into me, searching for something, as she whispered, “It…it felt right to me.  Did it feel right to you, as well?”

“It did,” I answered softly.  We spent another moment, just basking in the nearness of one another before I sighed and gestured to the door.  “As much as I would love to keep doing what we both feel is right, we should get out there, lest your sister and the crowd get curious and decide to check on us.”  

The thought of us being discovered colored her cheeks an even deeper shade of red and she nodded eagerly.  “Let us be off then.”

I looked her up and down, sizing her up.  “You sure you’re ready?”

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and exhaled slowly.  When she opened them again, I could see the resolve and stoic calm in her eyes once more.  “I am.”

I smiled and nodded, giving her gloved hand one last squeeze.  “Good.  Let’s go, then.”  

Together, we opened the hatch and stepped out into the sunlight.  Much to my surprise, Atago was by the door, patiently waiting for us, that mischievous, teasing smile still on her face.  

“I’m surprised you’re out so early,” she grinned playfully at us.  

“Didn’t want to keep everyone waiting,” I replied with a polite smile.  “Also didn’t want anyone to get concerned and interrupting us.”

Atago’s smile changed from playfully mischievous to proudly surprised as she lets out a little gasp.  “Commander!”

“C’mon, let’s go,” I grinned back, and we strode down the length of the ship.  As we made our way toward the gangplank, I kept glancing at the crowd.  By this point, I was able to make out individual faces, and I was sure they could see who was with me at this point.  There was a noticeable murmur rippling through the crowd and my heart began to beat faster.  Hopefully, this wouldn’t cause too much of an uproar.  I’d already had enough on my plate trying to figure out who was selling us out.  

I nodded to Washington as I passed by her before disembarking, making sure to stop and salute the ensign before heading down the ramp.  I took point, with Takao and Atago right behind me, the two battleships behind them, and Dace bringing up the rear.  

Vestal was the first to greet us, looking between the six of us.  “Welcome back, Commander!  Who requires my aid?”

I stood aside and smiled warmly as I guided Takao forward.  “Takao’s taken some hits and I’d like her to get checked out as fast as possible, please.  Atago, if you could go with her.”

“Of course, Shikikan ,” she smiled back as she linked arms with her sister.  

Vestal kept that professional smile on her face, but I could see in her eyes that she wasn’t quite expecting this.  “Would you like any…escorts for them, Commander?”

Well, there was no time like the present to rip the band-aid off, so I decided to just announce it here.  Word would get out quickly either way.  “They’re going to be staying with us a while as our guests, so no.”  Another murmur went through the crowd and I looked around, trying to judge their reaction.  Most seemed shocked and surprised, although a few, like Northampton and Prince of Wales, seemed rather nonplussed.  

“Aye, sir…” Vestal slowly said before she put her professional smile back on and turned to face Takao and Atago.  “If you’ll come with me right this way.  Oh, would you prefer a wheelchair or stretcher, Miss Takao?”

Takao vehemently shook her head.  “No, I can still stand on my own.”

“Of course.  This way…”  

As Vestal led them away, Takao looked over her shoulder at me one last time.  I gave her a reassuring smile and quietly said, “I’ll check up on you soon.”  

Her fears somewhat assuaged, she nodded and followed Vestal, Atago at her side.  The crowd parted for them and I watched them go for a moment before the crowd reformed in their passing, leaving me surrounded by several dozen worried kansen.  

“Alright, alright,” I said, addressing the elephant in the room.  “I know some of you may not be happy about this, but they saved my life out there.  If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here.  I’m not asking you to like this, but I am asking you to at least try to welcome them for the time being.  Am I clear?”

The assembled throng generally nodded their assent, even if some did so reluctantly.  “Good.  Now back to work…and has anyone seen my secretary?”

As the group dispersed, Bremerton cut through them, her bright pink hair standing out amongst the other shipgirls.  She reached out and gave me a big hug, leaning back slightly so she could take a selfie with me.  “...lemme just post this to Juustagram real quick,” she muttered, her arm still around my shoulders.  “...and done!  So glad you’re back, Commander!  You gave us all quite the scare!  And what’s with the sword?”

I glanced down at the sword still tucked into my belt before looking back at Bremerton with a sheepish smile.  “Oh, uh, Takao asked me to keep it for her until she’s back on her feet.”

“Ooh, intriguing!” she grinned.  “I bet she wouldn’t give that to just anyone.  Got an interesting story behind it, Commander?”

“Very,” I said with a tired grin.  “But first thing’s first.  I need you to find Atago and Takao quarters, I need a shave and a shower, and then I have to make about half a dozen phone calls…”

A/N-Oh thank god, we’re FINALLY back at base!  Now the real mystery begins!  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

After finally getting a hot shower, a shave, and a change of clothes, I felt infinitely better than I had just a few minutes prior.  I didn’t feel as fatigued, and my mind was clearer.  Which was good, because I had a lot of tough decisions to make.  The first is what to do with this pistol?  The ammo pouch, once emptied, would go into the closet until I could find a better place to put it.  The ammo would go into the gun safe just in case.  But the pistol…the pistol confounded me.  

On the one hand, it could go into the gun safe here in my quarters with the other firearms where it would be safe for later.  On the other, it could be a valuable clue.  The serial number was still stamped into the side of the gun, meaning it could be traceable.  Of course, running a trace on it could alert whoever gave it to the Sirens.  Not to mention who would run the trace.  

It was inevitable that I’d have to bring someone else in on this, I couldn’t solve this with just Takao, Atago, and myself.  They were going to draw far too much attention as it was, and I didn’t want them acting suspiciously to increase that.  No, they were here to corroborate my story and to get to know me, that’s all.  So who else could I bring in?

I must admit, the revelation that I may have been betrayed by the people I put supreme faith in had left me shaken, and it was hard to objectively assess the dilemma.  Washington and South Dakota were likely safe, as was Dace, given the fact that they could have killed us at any point once the fog had been lifted.  They could have dropped the mountain on us or fired on Atago when she was anchored nearby, and then made up whatever story they wished.  Blame the Sakura Empire and start the war someone seems to desperately want.  Bremerton was extremely diligent, always ready with a smile or a kind word, but she also had access to my itinerary and she knows me better than most.  

I let out an audible groan of frustration.  In my heart, I believed, or wanted to believe, that everyone under my command wouldn’t betray me.  But without some kind of proof, I had a hard time trusting them.  Normally, I’d talk to Bremerton about this, but…therein lay the problem.  I needed a sounding board, someone I could talk to about this.  That left Atago, Takao, Washington, and South Dakota.  And since I was already headed that way…

With a sigh, I placed the gun into the safe with the rest of the Arisaka ammunition, closed and locked it, grabbed Takao’s katana, and headed out.  Time to check on our guests.

The hospital was quiet, which I always enjoyed.  Quiet hospitals meant everyone was doing well, a busy hospital meant I had made a mistake somewhere along the line.  I caught Vestal as she was exiting one of the rooms, and she smiled when she saw me.  

“Commander, just the person I was looking for,” she beamed as she waved me over.  “I just finished looking over Takao and Atago.”

“Ah, good,” I smiled back as I strode over, looking down at the chart in her hands.  “Good news, I hope.”

“Both of them are in good condition,” she confirmed.  “Perfectly fine, although Takao’s a little beat up.  I wouldn’t put her back into combat for the next few days, maybe a week, tops, but she’s cleared for everything else.”

“That’s great,” I replied, but kept my relief in check for now.  “And Atago?”

Vestal nodded and flipped her chart to the next page.  “Perfectly fine.  All vitals are within normal limits.  Two perfectly healthy Sakura shipgirls.”

“You’re sure?” I asked.  “No signs of Siren tampering or anything like that?”  Vestal gave me a quizzical look and I elaborated.  “The Sirens had captured them and run some tests.  I wanted to be sure they hadn’t…added or altered anything.”

She frowned and shook her head as she glanced back at her chart.  “No signs of any mental or physical trauma between the two of them, beyond the damage sustained to their riggings, and as I said, that should be fixed in a few days.”  She shut the chart and smiled up at me.  “Ship-shape, Commander!”

I let out a sigh of relief and smiled back at her.  “That’s wonderful news, Vestal.  Thank you.  Is it okay if I see them?”

She nodded and gestured to the room she’d just left.  “Absolutely.  I was actually going to get started on discharging them, so once you’re done, they’re free to leave.”

“Excellent, thank you again.”  I gave her a little wave and we parted ways; her to her office, and me to the hospital room where the two women were.  I knocked on the doorjamb and peered around the corner.  “May I come in?”

Atago leaned in and smiled at the sight of me, beckoning me in.  “Of course, Commander!  Come to check up on us?”

“I have,” I answered as I slipped inside.  Atago was standing by an empty bed while Takao was facing away from me.  Judging from the frantic motions of her arms, I guessed she was hastily buttoning up her jacket.  “How’re you two holding up?”

“Doing well,” she smiled as she glanced over at Takao.  “Just ready to get out of here and see the sights.  What do you say to a guided tour, Commander?”

I laughed politely at first, then gave it some thought.  “Actually, that may not be a bad idea,” I answered as I checked my watch.  “I’ve got a half dozen reports to file, and we need to get you two your visitor badges so you can get in and out of a few places.  But the reports can wait a couple of hours and it’ll take time for Bremerton a bit to get you guys logged into the system.  Before we get to all that, though, if I could have a moment alone with Takao?”

Atago grinned like a Cheshire cat as she sashayed by.  “Looking to finish what you started?” she playfully purred.  “How long do you think you two will need?”

“Get your mind out of the gutter!” I admonished her as I shooed her out.  “Just want to talk to her about a few things.  Non-lewd things. ”

“Spoilsport,” she giggled as she shut the door behind her.  

With an aggrieved sigh, I shook my head as I turned back to Takao, who had now turned around, her jacket now buttoned up.  There was a faint blush on her cheeks as she struggled to keep her expression neutral.  “What do you wish to ask of me, Commander?”

I slowly pulled her sword out from my belt and held it out to her with both hands.  “Well, for starters, I’m here to give this back to you.  Vestal cleared you for most things, and your rigging will be back up to full strength in a week at most, so I wanted to return this to you.”

Her eyes gazed upon the katana resting in my hands, and I could almost sense the hesitation emanating from her as she stared at it.  For a moment, I thought she might refuse the blade, or that I was somehow insulting her by returning it so quickly.  Eventually, however, her gloved hand closed around the scabbard and she lifted it from my grasp.  She clutched it to her chest and looked at me with an expression I couldn’t quite grasp.  Longing?  Anxiety?  Trepidation?  “No matter how badly I'm injured, I will make sure to always return to your side,” she said, her voice whisper-soft but solemn.  “So... Commander, could you always stay with me as well?”

She held out a gloved hand to me, and without a moment’s hesitation, I reached out, taking her hand in mine.  “Of course,” I smiled at her, and the look on her face shifted to one of relief and joy.  She smiled back softly and nodded once.  

“Good.”  She let out a long breath before she continued, regaining her stoic air.  “What else is on your mind, Thomas?”

I gestured for her to take a seat as I pulled up a chair next to hers.  “I need someone to talk to about this…conspiracy thing.”

Takao smoothed out her skirt as she sat down and crossed her legs, her katana laid across her lap.  “Of course.  What specifically do you wish to talk about?”

“We’re going to need help,” I bluntly stated.  “There’s only so much I can do on my own without my own kansen taking notice, and I can’t ask you and Atago to go poking around sensitive areas for a number of reasons.  This means I’m going to have to ask someone on base to help and I’m just…”  I leaned my head back and sighed “...I’m getting a little paranoid.”

Her ears were perked up as she listened intently, nodding along as I spoke.  After I fell silent, she seemed to weigh my concerns before she replied.  “I can definitely understand how being betrayed by your own high command would engender feelings of doubt in anything that you’ve trusted, but if I may ask, what does your heart tell you?  Who do you know, in your very core, would never betray you?”

I sat back and pondered the question.  In the end, I shook my head and answered.  “None of them.  I would trust any one of them with my life.  But-”

“No buts,” she cut me off, a stern look in her eyes.  “If you trust them, then trust them.  They have placed their trust in you, it is only right you place your trust in them.”

I tried to come up with an argument, some reason to continue, but I could tell by the look in her eyes that she would brook no refusal.  “Alright,” I relented with a sigh.  “I guess I’ll start putting together a team to start working on this.  I still want to keep this small, though.  The fewer people know the less likely word about it will leak out.”

“Operational security is paramount, of course,”  Takao agreed.  “How may Atago and I help?”

“For now, just sit tight, and keep a low profile.  Once I get a team together, probably have you and her go through a debriefing, see if we can’t glean any more clues.  Washington, South Dakota, and Dace, too.”  I glanced over at her.  “Anything you need to train?”  

She shook her head and patted her blade.  “Just a large enough space to safely wield my katana.  A sword has no eyes, and I would hate to injure someone because they did not have enough time to see me.”

After giving it a moment’s consideration, I offered, “I think the courtyard overlooking the harbor should be big enough for you to practice.  And it’s pretty deserted at sunrise if you like to get an early start to the day.”

“I do,” she bowed her head appreciatively.  “What about you?  Do you start early?”

“Yep,” I confirmed.  “Like to get up at dawn and get my morning run around the base in.  It’s really beautiful and quiet that time of day when everything’s just waking up.  If you do practice in the courtyard, I’ll probably see you.”

That faint blush returned and she nervously nodded.  “I…I would like that very much, Thomas.”

“I look forward to it,” I smiled, “It’ll be a nice change of pace to see you under normal circumstances.

“As do I,” she answered.  “Do you often accompany your shipgirls into battle?”

“Sometimes,” I shrugged.  “I was there for most of Operation Siren, and I occasionally take out a patrol.  But I can’t be away from the base for too long before the paperwork gets to be too much when I return.”

She seemed to think about my answer for a moment before she responded.  “If you had it your way, would you stay at sea more often?”

That one caught me off guard, and I leaned back as I thought it over.  “Good question,” I murmured before I answered.  “I’m…not entirely sure.  On the one hand, I love the sea.  It’s beautiful, vast, and mysterious, capable of inspiring awe and terror in equal measure.  And there’s something about the power of a warship that I can’t quite describe.  But at the same time, even a kansen-operated ship is at a serious disadvantage compared to a shipgirl with her rigging activated.  So when I go out, I’m effectively sidelining one of my own so I can indulge myself when I can just as effectively command from here.”  I sighed and shrugged helplessly.  “If all things were equal, I think I would, but since they aren’t, I stay here.”

Takao stared intently at me, sizing me up before she nodded slowly.  “It can be hard, having to sacrifice something for duty, but it speaks great volumes about what kind of Commander you are.”

“And what about you?” I asked, leaning in closer to her.  “Would you stay at sea more often if you were given the chance?”

A thin frown crossed her lips as she shifted uncomfortably.  “I am…not sure.  I was made to train and fight, to defend the Sakura Empire.  I cannot imagine a life that does not in some way, shape, or form, revolve around that.  But as much as I am called to duty, I still want to spend time with my sisters, to practice my calligraphy, to train.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” I smiled softly.  “As long as you can strike the right balance.”

“Agreed.”  Takao glanced at the door and sighed.  “We’d best be off before Atago begins another round of salacious teasing.”

I chuckled as I got to my feet.  “As if she wasn’t going to anyway.”

“True,” she sighed.  “I love my sister, but she can be trying at times.”

“What’s family for?” I grinned, and Takao fixed me with an intense stare.  

“Do you have family, Thomas?”

“Of course,” I answered, trying to keep my demeanor casual, but feeling suddenly put on the spot.  

“You haven’t spoken of them,” she stated bluntly, and that feeling of being put under a microscope elevated substantially.  

“Well, we really haven’t had the chance,” I said more defensively than I intended.  “We’ve been so busy with everything else, I think the only real downtime was when we were in the hot springs.”

Takao’s cheeks flushed at the mention of the onsen and her eyes darted away.  “A-ah, yes…” she quietly said.  For a moment, she stared at the floor before her eyes lifted back to mine.  “I…I did enjoy our time together in there, though.  Perhaps…we…could…” her voice trailed off, then came out in a rush, “...doitagainsometime?”

As adorable as her embarrassment was, and despite the urge to tease her just a teensy bit, I decided to allay her fears.  “I’d love to,” I said with a smile.  “Of course, there aren’t any around here so we’d have to wait until I’m finally able to come home with you.”

“Oh!” she blurted out as she perked up, the sudden change in demeanor taking me by surprise.  “It shouldn’t be hard to build one.  Even if Atago and I are here for a short while, I’m sure the rest of the kansen on base would enjoy it after we’ve gone.”

While I was always glad to add any creature comforts for my shipgirls, I decided to focus on the first part of her statement. “Really?  You can just build an onsen just like that?”

“With the right sort of building kit, yes,” she answered matter-of-factly.  “It wouldn’t take more than a day to get set up, even using manjuu.”

I was a little surprised at just how easy she was making it sound, but decided to go with it.  “Huh.  Well, alright,” I shrugged, “If you want to help pick out a spot while I’m showing you and Atago around, we’ll get started on it tomorrow morning.”

She bowed slightly, her cheeks flushing once more.  “Thank you, Commander.”

“Anytime,” I smiled as I jerked a thumb towards the door.  “C’mon, let’s get that tour.”

As we made our way around the base, I pointed out various points of interest to them such as the mess hall, commissary, and exchange.  Inevitably, however, the conversation inevitably turned to me.  

“Commander,” Takao spoke up as we walked past the base exchange, “I would like to speak with you about your family.”

“Yeah, we’ve kinda danced around that a couple of times now, haven’t we?”  I chuckled as I glanced over at her, admiring her straightforward approach.  “What do you want to know?”

“Do you have any siblings?”

“Nope,” I shook my head.  “Just me and my Dad.  Been that way for as long as I could remember.  Mom died when I was real little, I don’t even remember her, just…a few old photos of me as a baby in her arms.”

“Thomas…” Takao said softly, eyeing me with a sympathetic expression.  “I’m…I’m sorry.  Are you and your father close?”

I nodded slowly, letting out a long sigh.  “Yeah.  He taught me everything I know.  From how to tie a tie to how to hunt, fish, shoot, you name it.  We still keep in touch, as much as we can, what with the war on and all, but yeah, still really close.”

“And what would he say about his son dating a girl from the Sakura Empire,” Atago asked playfully.  

“A-Atago!” Takao sputtered as her cheeks colored once again, “We haven’t agreed to something like that yet!”

I grinned over at my red-faced companion as she stared daggers at her sister.  “Yeah, you’re right.  Come to think of it, we haven’t been on a real date.  Guess it’s time we change that.  What do you say?  Tomorrow night?”

Her blush intensified, and she fixed me with a look of shock and surprise.  “Tomorrow?”

“Why tomorrow?” Atago cut in, smiling like the proverbial cat that had eaten the canary.  “Why not tonight?”

“ Tonight?!? ” Takao exclaimed.

“Because I don’t know about you two, but I’m beat.  We’ve been through a lot in the past forty-eight hours and if I’m going to take someone out on a date, I want to be able to do it right.”  I hesitated a moment before continuing with a rueful grin, “That and I need a bit more time to think of someplace to go on said date.”

Atago’s grin grew wider, but she nodded approvingly all the same.  “A good answer, Commander.”

“Thanks,” I smiled back as I looked over at Takao, who was giving me a pensive look.  “You okay?”

She started slightly and then shook her head.  “Sorry…I was just…thinking.”

“About what?”

“That…how…” she stopped and took a deep breath to compose herself.  “How much I appreciate that you not only wish to do things properly ,” she emphasized, shooting Atago a stern look, “but you also want to take the time to make sure it is done well.  That means a lot to me.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her as I reached out and took her hand in mine.  “Anytime.  Now let’s go pick out that hot springs site.”

A/N-A bit more settling in, but we’re moving forward!  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

“There’s a good spot,” Takao stated, pointing to a large, empty patch of grass just off of the dorms.  I followed her gaze, but I wasn’t sure if I followed her logic.

“Here?” I asked, glancing around.  “Are you sure?”

She nodded confidently, but she looked to her sister all the same.  “Atago?”

The younger sibling smiled and nodded in agreement with Takao.  “Perfect spot,” she declared.  “Not too far from the dorms, good open space to lay the foundations down, but it’s quiet enough back here to simply enjoy the peace and quiet.”

I looked around yet again, wondering what I was missing.  “But, uh…isn’t everyone going to see…?”

“We put up walls, silly,” Atago giggled, “It’s open-air, but we still have walls up to protect everyone’s privacy.”

“Ah,” I said, the last piece clicking into place.  “In that case, I’ll check our inventory for one of those building kits you mentioned, and if we don’t have one, I’ll see if we can get one from Akashi.”

Both women’s heads snapped around to look at me with incredulous eyes.  “ Akashi ?!?” they both cried out in unison.

I looked between the two of them, wondering what landmine I’d accidentally stepped on. “Uh…yeah…we’ve had some dealings here and there, mostly with resupply during Operation Siren.  She can usually get what we need, for a price.”

Takao and Atago shared a concerned glance.  “And you’re sure that’s what her name was?”

“Absolutely,” I nodded.  “Akashi.  Green hair, repair kansen, cat ears, loves money.”

Both of them shared a resigned look.  “That’s Akashi alright,” Takao sighed.  “She hadn’t mentioned she’d had dealings with Azur Lane.”

Something just clicked and I held up a hand.  “Hold up.  Akashi works for the Sakura Empire?”

They both stared at me as if I’d asked a question with an obvious answer.  “Of course,” Atago answered.  “Who did you think she worked for?”

I simply shrugged and said the first thing that came to my mind.  “Money.”

Takao and Atago shared another glance as the younger sibling giggled.  “Well, you aren’t entirely wrong, Commander.  She’ll use this cease-fire to get as much as she can from any side now that we’re not at war.”

“Now that doesn’t surprise me,” I chuckled.  “And with any luck, this cease-fire will grow into something a bit more permanent.”  

“I’m sure you’re saying that strictly in the interests of world peace, Commander…” Atago grinned slyly.  

I smiled as innocently as I could and shrugged.  “Not gonna lie, it’d also be nice if I didn’t have to figure out how to avoid an international incident every time I wanted to see Takao.”

Takao blushed and looked away, “S-sorry,” she muttered, to which I shook my head and took her hand in mine.  

“Don’t be,” I said softly.  “We’ll figure this out.  Eventually.”  Her eyes lifted up and met mine, and she gave a soft smile.  “In the meantime, now that you’ve gotten the tour, and we’ve got the spot picked out for the onsen, let’s go get you two your visitor badges and I’ll have someone show you to your quarters.”

“Lead on, Thomas,” she smiled.  

We made our way back to HQ and through the halls until we reached my office.  Just as I was about to knock, Bremerton swung the door open, a broad smile on her face.  “Heya, Commander!” She happily chirped, “Wonderin’ when you'd get here.”  Her eyes flicked to the two Sakura women flanking me and her smile grew.  “And you brought them along, great!  Got two visitor badges for them right here.  Here you go…and here’s yours,” she said as she handed out the badges to each of them in turn.  As they clipped the badges to their chests, Bremerton continued.  “Now, these’ll get you into low or no-security areas, but if you see a badge scanner colored yellow, orange, or red, not only will you not be able to get in, it’ll log the attempt in the system.  So try and stay out of those areas, okay?”

Both women nodded, Takao’s expression solemn.  “Understood.  We would never wish to betray the trust the Commander has placed in us,” she answered.  

Bremerton gave a thumbs up and a wink as she stepped to the side.  “Awesome!  Now if you don’t mind, Alabama here will show you two to your quarters.”

The laid-back battleship strode forward, nodding to me as she passed.  “Alright,” she drawled, “Y'all come with me and I’ll make sure you get settled in and real comfy-like.”  Takao gave me one last look as she followed Alabama down the hall.  I smiled and gave her a little wave before I headed into the office.  As the door shut behind I could’ve sworn I heard Alabama ask, “So…y’all like stuffed animals?”

No sooner than the door shut behind me than Bremerton’s smile had vanished and she pointed over at the couch in the corner of my office.  “Couch time, sir.”

My own smile rapidly died and I leaned my head back and let out a long groan of frustration.  “Now, really ?”

“Yes, really!” she snapped back.  She sighed and gestured to the couch again.  “Commander, you’ve been gone for four days, imprisoned by the Sirens for part of that time, working with girls we were at war with until a few months ago, and you came back wearing a samurai sword.  We need to talk about that, and now, while it’s still fresh in your mind.”

As much as I didn’t want to, as base counselor Bremerton had the authority to request a counseling session at any point.  …and as much as I didn’t want to admit it, she was probably correct.  I more than likely needed to sit down and talk all this out, even though I didn’t want to.  “Alright, alright,” I grumbled as I sat down on the couch, getting as comfortable as I could.  “So…where do you want to start?”

Bremerton pulled her chair from around her desk and sat down as she pulled up the notepad on her phone.  “Well, for starters, let’s talk about being missing for four days.  How did the Sirens keep you there for so long?”

I took a deep breath as I calmly answered.  “I was unconscious for most of it.  The last thing I remember was Washington, South Dakota, Dace, and myself on patrol, just a routine mission, and the next, I’m waking up on the floor of one of Takao ’s officer cabins.”  

Bremerton kept her expression neutral and her tone professional as her thumbs tapped out her notes.  I hated it when she did that.  She was always so bubbly and cheery, when she switched to her professional counselor demeanor, I always found it a little unsettling.  “Mhm.  What about the rest of the fleet?  And Takao and Atago?  Were they unconscious for the same length of time?”

“Takao was, but the rest were unconscious for a shorter period of time,” I replied, feeling the nervousness and anxiety beginning to build.  

“Why Takao?”  she asked softly as she leaned in.  

“The Sirens placed she and I together because they had determined she was more likely to initiate combat or respond with deadly force in the event of an altercation between us.”

“And how did they determine that?”

“...they ran tests on her and Atago,” I said softly, fidgeting uncomfortably.  “Wanted to see who was more conducive to violence against me.  Since Atago was deemed to be the lesser candidate, they moved her over to the other side of the island, nearer to Washington and the others.  That way if things escalated, it would be more likely that the two sides would not only engage, but get hits in.”

Bremerton nodded again and made a few notes before she looked back up at me.  I’m sure she could sense my discomfort, and she kept her tone soft but pressed on.  I don’t blame her, she had to know.  “So…the Sirens captured all of you, ran tests on Atago and Takao to see which one of them would be more likely to kill you, and then put the two of you on a ship, isolated from everyone else?”

“Correct,” I confirmed, then added, “Oh, and they made sure to arm us, too.  She had her sword and I found an Eagle Union pistol just lying on the compass up on her bridge.”

Bremerton frowned as she leaned back and typed a few more notes.  “Where did she get the pistol from?”

“She didn’t.  She denied having it, and her small arms locker didn’t have anything that looked like a Colt.  It was all Sakura Empire pistols and rifles.”

“So how did it get there?”

“Best guess, Sirens put it there.”

She nodded a few more times and made another note.  “And that’s when you and Takao began cooperating with each other, I take it?”

“Correct.”  I braced myself for the inevitably uncomfortable conversations we were about to have.

“You seem like you two are close.”  

I sighed and nodded reluctantly, “We are.”

“Would you say that it’s a result of your circumstances or is it something more?” 

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly.  “It could be either or at this point, we’ve only known each other for two days.  I hope it’s something more, but that’ll take time to find out.”

“Is that why you brought them here?”

“No,” I emphatically denied with a sharp shake of my head.  “For starters, Takao was injured saving my life, and the least I could do is make sure she’s okay.  That…and for something else…”

When I didn’t elaborate further, she pressed the issue.  “And what would that be?”

I stayed silent for a long while as I wrestled with how much to tell her.  Part of me wanted to tell her everything, to get it all off my chest and let it all out.  To share this burden with someone beyond myself, Atago, and Takao.  But that last little bit of paranoia was holding me back.  

Then Takao’s words came back to me, cutting through those doubts as if they were paper.  “If you trust them, then trust them.”

She was right.  But first, I needed to make sure this stayed as quiet as possible for now.  I fixed Bremerton with a steely glare and declared,  “What I am about to tell you cannot leave this room.  That is a direct order.  I don’t care about what your job as base counselor says, what regulations are, I am telling you that this information stays here .  Do you understand?”

Bremerton nodded solemnly and sat up straight.  “Yes, sir.  You have my complete confidence.”

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and let the truth set me free.  “We were set up.  During our escape, we came across a transmission that someone had sent to the Sirens that gave them our patrol route.  It was the same patrol route I filed with Naval HQ the day we left.  And the ID codes attached to the transmission showed they were from Naval HQ directly.  Someone at Naval HQ sent the Sirens my patrol route.”

Bremerton couldn’t have looked more shocked if I’d grown a third arm and started juggling chainsaws.  Her mouth fell open, and she stared at me in utter disbelief and horror until her phone slipped from her hands and landed on the floor in a clatter.  She jumped, startled back to the present as she quickly retrieved her device.  “That…that’s impossible…they wouldn’t…” she began, trying to find the words.  “...why?”

“I have no idea,” I sighed as I collapsed back on the couch.  “It’s clear that the Sirens wanted us to fire on one another, to break this tentative peace, but I have no idea how that benefits Naval HQ or even an individual person.  But the evidence was there, plain as day.”  

“How do you know it wasn’t left by the Sirens to sow confusion and chaos among our ranks?” Bremerton asked as she dusted off her phone.  

“Those codes are changed every few days using a new cipher,” I began.  “If the Sirens had cracked them, it strikes me as odd that instead of using it to issue false orders, or otherwise disrupt command and control, they bury it in a message that I might never see.  Think of how many convoys they could’ve ordered into Siren ambushes, or sent the wrong shipments to the wrong places.  With the codes to Naval HQ, they could have crippled our logistics within days.  That alone could’ve given them the edge in the North Atlantic they needed.”

She nodded slowly, her brows furrowed in thought as she digested this new information.  “Then why didn’t they just give the Sirens the codes themselves if they’ve already got someone on the inside?”  

“It would draw too much attention,” I quickly answered.  “If they use those codes, we’re going to see how they broke them or if someone handed them off.  We’d find the traitor, and the Sirens would’ve gotten a victory, but it would’ve cost them the mole in high command.  But if I wander into a Mirror Sea, a tragic misunderstanding leads to bloodshed and suddenly we’ve got a war back on our hands, nobody’s going to suspect anything.  The Sirens get their war and they get to keep the spy in their pocket.  Win-win for them.”

Bremerton leaned back as she tried to think of some other way to explain away Naval HQ’s codes being there.  In the end, she shut her eyes and shook her head.  “Dammit,” she sighed.  “Who else knows about this?”

“Just Takao and Atago.  They were there when I found the files.”

“Did you manage to recover the files?” she asked hopefully.  

A hope I dashed with a sad shake of my head.  “I’m afraid not.  Once the Sirens realized we were in their database, they purged it.  Those two are my only witnesses, and even then, they can only attest that I saw what I believed to be those codes.”

She looked grim for a second before it was buried beneath her cheery, can-do resolve.  “Well then, I guess we’ll just have to figure out this mystery ourselves!  What’s the plan, boss?”

For a second, the sudden mood swing took me by surprise, but her smile was infectious and I found myself relaxing in her familiar enthusiasm.  “For starters, we need to start building a…counter-conspiracy, for lack of a better word.  I want to keep it as small as possible.  Even if we trust everyone on base, the more people who are involved, the higher the chance HQ will catch wind of it and we lose our mole.”

She grinned and gave me a thumbs up.  “Can do.  So right now, it’s you, me, and I take it we’re including Takao and Atago?”

“Correct,” I nodded.  “Although what they can do is going to be limited for now as to not draw any additional attention to themselves.”  Washington’s response from earlier popped into my head, and I asked, “Do you think anyone’s going to have a problem with them?”

Bremerton thought it over for a moment before she slowly shook her head.  “Not enough of one to actually cause a scene or defy orders over it.  I think some people aren’t going to be happy about it.  Prince of Wales looked pretty put out by it, and I don’t think Northampton and Hornet are gonna be pleased, either, but they’ll get used to it.  Or at best tolerate them.”  

“Good, good,” I murmured.  At least I shouldn’t have to worry too much about that, then.  “As for the rest of our little cabal, I wanna bring in Washington and South Dakota.  They already have some idea of what’s going on, considering they were kidnapped with me.  They also need a debriefing, so this’ll be a good two birds, one stone situation.”

Bremerton began to make a note on her phone before she quickly deleted it, put it aside, and reached for a notepad and paper.  When she caught my quizzical look, she grinned and said, “Ain’t ya ever seen a spy movie, Commander?  Nothing is ever really deleted from electronic devices.  Paper still burns pretty good, though.”

“Fair enough,” I conceded with a smile.  

“So who else?”

I exhaled slowly as I thought it over.  “I think we’ll need at least one more person, someone who’s good with research.  And who’s running our small arms locker right now?”

She stopped scribbling on the notepad to glance up at me.  “Oh, uhhh…Brooklyn, I think.”

“Perfect,” I smiled at the thought of the hyper-efficient and straight-laced cruiser.  “We won’t need to tell her everything that’s going on, but she’s just who we need for the first part of the plan.  In the meantime, I’ve got to get some reports filed and messages sent while you go ahead and get started on bringing in Washington, South Dakota, and…who’s going to be our researcher?”

She gave me an enigmatic smile.  “I have just the person for it…”

While Bremerton was out rounding up our fellow conspirators, I finally sat down behind my desk and got to work on compiling my reports.  As much as I wanted to call Naval HQ, to see who balked at my presence, who would react to certain things being left out of the after-action debriefing, and who would press for more information, even under these circumstances, it didn’t warrant a phone call.  The mere act of me requesting one would’ve likely tipped my hand.  So I would file my report and wait for a response from Naval HQ.  

In the meantime, we weren’t going to wait for someone else to make the next move.  We had the gun, and that was as good a place to start as any.  Find out where it came from and we may be able to trace it back to its source.  

And of course, there was the matter of Takao and Atago.  I needed to get word to Chikuma, to apprise her of what was going on without alerting her superiors.  Whether Takao and Atago wanted to stay may be rendered moot if a higher up like Akagi got wind and demanded their return immediately.  I could argue the point, but given how fragile this peace is, I’d likely lose and they’d be shipped off back home.  

Part of me wondered what would be harder to stomach, losing key witnesses or having to cut off contact with Takao.  Somehow I doubted we could start video calling each other once she was back in the Sakura Empire, at least until this cease-fire became a more permanent truce.  Normally, I liked to take things slow, but to be honest, before she left once more, I would want to know if this was going to be something serious, or an adrenaline-fueled infatuation.  Which also meant I’d need to figure out a good first date.

With a sigh, I put my head down and got started.  I had a lot of work ahead of me…

A/N-Conspiracies, dates, so much to do, so little time!  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

The sun had begun to set by the time Bremerton had assembled our little cabal.  Washington, South Dakota, Bremerton herself, along with Shangri-La, whom she had picked as our researcher, all sat in the conference room adjacent to my office.  As everyone got situated, they all shared glances with each other, trying to figure out what they’d been summoned for.  

“Good evening, ladies,” I began with a thin smile.  “Before we go any further, what I am about to say can go no further than this room.  You are not to discuss this with anyone outside of this office.  Not your sisters, not your shipmates, friends, colleagues, or close acquaintances.  If anyone is uncomfortable with or unable to abide by these orders, you’re free to go.”

I waited a second as they all looked around, wondering who, if anyone, would leave.  In the end, they all came to the same conclusion and turned their gaze back to me.  “Good,” I nodded as I leaned forward.  “We have a serious security leak, and unfortunately, the leak is somewhere above us in the chain of command.  Someone in Naval HQ is working for the Sirens.”  

After dropping that bombshell on them, I gave them time to process that information.  Like Bremerton before, they looked shocked, glancing at one another as they tried to comprehend what I’d said.  Shangri-La was the first to speak up.  “I trust you’ve ruled out any other possibility, sir.”

“I have,” I nodded ruefully.  “It had to be from Naval HQ.  But I don’t know how many are involved and how deep the corruption runs.  That’s our job.  To find the traitor or traitors and expose them for what they’ve done.  Currently, the only people who are aware are all of us, plus Atago and Takao.”

“What?!?” Washington exploded.  “You told them before you told us ?”

“They were in the room when I discovered it,” I shot back.  “They’re also the only corroborating witnesses to what I found, so part of our job is keeping them safe if they’re ever needed to testify.”

“But won’t the Sakura Empire want them back at some point?” Shangri-La spoke up as she pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose.  

“More than likely,” I confirmed, “I’ve bought us a week, maybe two, but at some point, they are going to have to go back and we’re going to lose them.  So we need to work fast.  The first order of business is assembling the entire picture.  For that, I need your help, Washington.  South Dakota, too.”  

To her credit, Washington straightened up, ready to assist.  “Anything you need, Commander.”

I took a deep breath before I began to lay it all out.  “Alright.  So, here’s what we know so far, both from discussions I’ve had with Takao and Atago, my own personal observation, and what information I recovered from the Siren’s computers.

“Some point during our patrol, Washington, South Dakota, Dace, and myself were abducted by the Sirens and moved to a Mirror Sea.  About a day prior, they had abducted Takao and Atago and moved them to the same Mirror Sea to run psychological tests on them.  Once they determined which one of them would be more likely to injure or kill me in a close-quarters encounter, which was Takao by the way, they moved the Takao to the opposite side of the island, and the remaining Eagle Union and Sakura ships grouped relatively close on the other side.  Not close enough to see each other through the fog, but close enough that if the fog was lifted and shooting started, both sides would likely score critical hits.  They then awoke everyone except Takao and me, to heighten tensions.  During this time, Atago made it ashore and set up a base camp on the island.

“Once everything was set up, they left a Colt 1911 pistol on Takao ’s bridge where I would find it and awoke Takao and myself.  After our initial run-in and…altercation, we teamed up, headed ashore, and were attacked by Tester.  Thanks to Takao, we survived that fight and ran into Atago, who took us back to her base camp for the night.  The next morning, we found an entrance to the mountain, which was the source of the fog, and shut off the fog and jamming equipment, along with the traitor’s initial message.  From there, I ordered Washington and South Dakota to destroy the base, which they did.  During the escape, Takao was injured, and we all managed to return to base.”

My summation complete, I turned to Washington and South Dakota.  “Did I leave anything out, anything that you saw or heard that I didn’t cover?”

Both women shook their heads.  “No, sir,” Washington answered.  “That about sums it up.  When we awoke, none of us could see or hear the other, and the ship was overall unresponsive to our commands.  We had full run of the vessel, but we couldn’t see or hear anything beyond that damned fog.”

South Dakota leaned in and spoke up.  “I had a question, Commander.”

“Speak your mind,” I replied.  

“How did Atago realize there was an island there, let alone get to it?”

“Those ears are apparently more than just show,” I answered with a small grin.  “Because the Takao s are shallower on the draught than a battleship, they were closer to the island.  When Takao walked up to the bow of the ship, she was able to hear the sounds of the waves on the beach.  I couldn’t, but sure enough, we took a launch out and rowed ashore.  My guess is that Atago did the same.”

Shangri-La was busy writing notes in her journal, but as she finished she looked up.  “If I may ask, what happened to the pistol you found?”

“It’s in my gun safe in my quarters.  My next course of action was to try and run the serial numbers on the weapon, see if we can’t hunt down where it came from.”

“Assuming the history is legitimate,” Washington muttered.

I understood her hesitation, and on some level, agreed with her.  “A valid concern.  Why I wanted someone who was good at research with us.  Shangri-La here should be able to dig through the system and see if it’s genuine or not.”  

The bespectacled carrier nodded as she pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose.  “Indeed.  It may take some time, but I will get to the truth.”

That last bit worried me, and I eyed her warily.  “How long is ‘some time’?”

“A few days,” she casually answered, and I let out a brief sigh of relief.  

“Good, good.  A few days is fine,” I said with a nod, “But as I said before, we are on a time crunch here.  At some point, the Sakura Empire is going to want Atago and Takao back, and we’ll have lost the only two people who can corroborate what I saw.  Their recovery is a convenient cover story, but that’s going to give us a week, two at most.”

Bremerton was the next one to speak up, keeping her tone cheerful.  “So what’s the plan, boss?”

The assembled group glanced at Bremerton, then back to me.  This time, however, any confusion and shock was gone from their eyes, replaced by an impassioned determination.  “First thing’s first,” I began, “We need to run a trace on that gun.  As soon as the weapons locker opens in the morning, I’m taking the pistol down there to have Brooklyn run a trace on it.  Shangri-La, if you’d be so kind as to meet me there so we can get you started on following up with whatever she comes up with.”

“Yes, sir,” she acknowledged.

I turned my attention to my secretary.  “Bremerton, if you would be so kind as to debrief Washington, South Dakota, Dace, Atago, and Takao tomorrow as well.”

Her smile faltered slightly.  “I can…but who’s going to fill in for me?”

“Alabama should be free, correct?”

She glanced down at her phone and flipped through a few screens before she nodded.  “Yep!  I’ll go ahead and let her know now.”

“Washington, South Dakota, once you’ve been debriefed, I want you two to just keep an ear to the ground.  Anything suspicious, any odd requests, let me know.”

The two women nodded, and I looked around the table one last time.  “Excellent.  I think that covers everything.  Dismissed, and I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

As everyone filed out, Bremerton made her way over to me, a sly grin on her face.  “I know you’re probably about ten minutes away from heading home and getting some rack time, but I just thought you might like to know there’s a concert out in town you and Takao might be interested in.”  

“A concert?” I repeated, unsure what she was getting at.  “You think she’d be into that sort of thing?”

“I think she’ll love this one,” she smiled as she held up her phone to my face.

A smile I shared as I read the words on the screen.  “Oh, I think she will…”

The next morning I woke up feeling rested, albeit sore in about a thousand different places.  Despite that discomfort, I was resolved to get my morning run in, if for no other reason than to visit with Takao.  After slipping into my workout clothes and quickly stretching, I shut the door behind me and headed off for my jog.  

There was something about running in the morning that I found very relaxing.  The base was mostly still asleep, and even the birds were still silent, leaving me alone with the pre-dawn stillness and quiet.  Something I rarely got once things got going and this place became a buzzing hive of activity.  The soft sounds of my sneakers on the pavement and the rhythmic noise of my breathing helped put me into an almost zen-like trance, clearing my mind so I could be better prepared for the day.  At least, it normally would.  

Today, however, I felt an anxiousness, a nervousness I’d not felt in years.  Not since the Academy when I was dating my last girlfriend.  Takao would be up, and this would be our chance to see each other when we were both truly alone.  No siblings, no Sirens, no imminent danger or ticking clock pushing us forward.  Just her and I.  By the time I rounded the corner that lead to the courtyard, my heart was beating fast for reasons that had nothing to do with exercise.  

Sure enough, true to her word, illuminated by the morning sun, was Takao, katana in hand as she practiced her forms.  When she heard my footsteps, her brown eyes darted in my direction, and I gave her a little wave.  “Morning,” I greeted her as I ran past.  “Catch you on the next lap.”

She simply nodded and returned to her practice, although her cheeks were noticeably redder than when I’d first seen her seconds ago.  As I rounded the base on a second lap, I swung by my quarters and picked up the “gift” I’d bought for her.  I idly wondered if Atago had done the same thing, but quickly dismissed it.  Even if she had, it wouldn’t matter to Takao.  I hoped.  

Once again, I rounded the corner to find Takao there, still training, although she looked a bit more irritated than when I last saw her.  Had someone bothered her?  Was she mad I didn’t stop to talk to her?  I slowed down as I approached her, finally coming to a halt at a respectful distance from her, and watched as she trained.  Her sword flashed in the morning light, a quicksilver blur that moved from one position to the next.  I’d thought about asking her to duel, but I could see that it would take years of practice and dedication before I would even come close to something approaching her skill level.  

I’d watched her for a few more moments, not wanting to interrupt her movements, but I watched her get more and more frustrated until with an exasperated gasp, she stopped, angrily sheathing her blade.  As she looked back up, she noticed me and her cheeks flushed an even darker shade of red.  “S-sorry, Commander…I didn’t see you there.”

“It’s alright,” I smiled softly as I shook my head.  “You looked like you were focusing pretty hard there, didn’t want to disturb you.”  There was an awkward pause and I held out the gift I’d brought her, a sports drink.  “Oh!  I, uh, I got this for you when you were finished with training.  It’s not lemonade, but it is lemon-flavored.  Hope you like it.”  

She looked down at it for a moment, then up to me.  “Did Atago ask you to do this?”

“Nope,” I chuckled at her suspicion.  “But I remembered that story she told about you passing out, and how much you like lemonade and thought you might enjoy this when you were finished.”

“Thank you, Comm-Thomas,” she said, her voice subdued as she took the bottle from my hand.  “My apologies again for ignoring you.  I’ve…I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

“I can certainly empathize with that,” I grinned wryly.  “Would you like to talk about it?”

She glanced around and nodded.  “I would like that.  Although, perhaps somewhere less open?”

I smiled and gestured towards the harbor.  “Sure, I know a spot.”  As we headed off towards the harbor, Takao uncapped her drink and took a big gulp.  I waited for her to finish before I asked, “So, what’s on your mind?”

Takao sighed, casting her eyes down at the sidewalk for a long time, and for a second, I wondered if she was going to answer the question.  “Recently, I haven't been able to keep my composure during training…” she finally answered, almost dejected.  “Just from thinking about you, my form becomes sloppy. If I am like this, would you still want to keep me by your side?”

A thousand questions raced through my head at that moment, and I took a moment to sort them out by priority.  But first, I needed to answer her own question.  “Of course I would!” I replied with a reassuring smile.  “Being with someone isn’t about their form or their skills.  It’s about how you feel when you’re with them.  Also, we’ve only known each other for barely three days, how much training have you done?”

Hearing my assurances seemed to calm her nerves greatly as she answered, her voice much more confident than it had been.  “Just twice so far.  This morning and while I was on watch on the island.  Both times my form was flawless, impeccable, and then both times, you came to my mind and I found it…difficult to focus.  As much as I wanted to put all my effort into my training, all I could think about…was you.”

My cheeks burned as I awkwardly glanced away, looking for the familiar bench that overlooked the harbor and the ocean beyond.  “Oh,” I murmured, trying to find the right words.  “What about when you were fighting with Tester?  You seemed pretty focused then.”

She quickly shook her head, her hands balled up in fists by her sides as her face burned with embarrassment.  “Th-that was different!” she protested.  “You were at the forefront of my mind.  I knew if we did not end the fight quickly, you would be injured or even killed.  If anything, that fear sharpened my focus, pushed me harder than I’d ever been pushed before.”  

Finally, I saw the bench and gently guided her to it.  “Have a seat.  Nobody ever comes this way, at least before breakfast, so we can speak freely here.”

As Takao sat down, she looked up at me.  “Have you had those same thoughts about me, Thomas?”

I sat next to her and nodded as I looked over at her.  “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t,” I confessed.  “I woke up this morning and my first thought was of you.  I was so excited to see you today when we weren’t in mortal danger.  To be able to spend time with you, one on one.”  

I sighed and looked out over the harbor, the sun just barely peeking over the horizon.  “If I’m being honest, I’ve never really been…great with women.  I’ve been on a few dates, had a few girlfriends, but nothing really serious.  Never really…clicked, with any of them, I guess.”

Takao looked over at me, puzzled.  “Clicked?”

“Oh!  Um…” I fumbled for the words.  “Never really felt compatible, natural…there was no spark, no real connection.  But with you, as awkward as this has been sometimes, it feels natural.”  When she looked up at me as if I started speaking gibberish, I took a deep breath as I tried to explain myself.  “You know how when you do something for the first time, even if it’s something you want to do or feel an affinity for, it’s kinda awkward and fumbling at first, but the more you do it, the more you train, the easier it gets, the more natural it gets?  Kinda like that.  It’s not bad, we’re just not used to it.”

I managed to finally stop myself from rambling, and now I waited for Takao’s reaction.  A thoughtful expression came over her as she gazed out at the ocean.  “The more you train…” she repeated softly.  “I think I understand what you mean when you put it like that.  And…I agree.  This feels…right to me, as well.  We just need to train more.”  Her thoughtful look gave way to a curious one as she looked quizzically at me.  “But how would we train for such a thing?”

“The old-fashioned way,” I grinned.  “Spending time with each other, talking with each other, going on dates.”  Bremerton’s suggestion from yesterday popped into my head, and I excitedly added, “Speaking of dates, would you like to go on one with me tonight.  There’s a concert in town that I think you’d love.”

Her brows furrowed in adorable confusion as she looked up at me.  “A concert?  Do you really think that would be something I enjoy?”

“This one I think you will,” I said with a cryptic smile.  “Trust me.”

She mulled it over, and while she didn’t look entirely sure of her decision, she nodded all the same.  “Very well.  What time is this concert?”

My heart skipped a beat and I found myself wishing we could go immediately.  I don’t think I’d been this excited or anxious since my first date when I was a kid.  “Eight tonight, so I’ll pick you up around seven-thirty if that’s okay?”

“Very well,” she said.  “And what should I wear?”

“Oh!  It’s not super formal, so you wouldn’t need an evening gown, but it’s definitely a suit and tie event for guys, so something that would go with that.”  I shrugged helplessly.  “Maybe Atago could help you out with that, I’m not up to date on women’s fashion.”

Takao nodded resolutely and gazed out at the ocean.  “Then I will ask for her help.”  There was a quiet pause, and she turned back to me, a pensive look on her face.  “...thank you, Thomas.  For hearing me out, for…just for being with me today.”

“Anytime,” I whispered, and drew in close to her, cupping her cheeks as our lips met in a tender kiss.  When we parted, we were still blushing, but the color was nowhere near as dark as the first time.  

“...it does feel like that one was less awkward,” Takao muttered with a small smile on her face.  

“Mhm,” I agreed, and I was about to move back in for a second when we heard the sounds of laughter and conversation coming from the courtyard.  Takao immediately stiffened up and I took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.  “Don’t worry, they won’t come down here.  But that does mean I need to go get ready for the day.”  As we both got up from the bench, I pulled her in for a gentle embrace.  This time, she didn’t stiffen up or freeze, wrapping her arms around me warmly.  

“I will see you tonight at seven-thirty, then,” she announced as we pulled away.  “Good day, Thomas, and good luck.”

“Good day, Takao,” I smiled back.  Now it was time for me to see a woman about a gun…

A/N-Ah, more fluff.  And a date!  But first, where’s this gun been?  Do we wanna know?  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

When I approached the armory, I found Shangri-La dutifully waiting for me, her notebook clutched in her arms.  

“Good morning, Commander,” she greeted me with a nod of her head.  “I take it you have the item?”

“Right here,” I briefly held up the holstered pistol for her to see.  “And good morning.  You ready?”

“As always, sir.”

“Good, let’s start digging, then.”  I pulled the door open, held it open for Shangri-La to pass through, and then followed her inside.  

The armory was nearly empty, as I’d expected, with Brooklyn being the only one inside.  She stood behind the desk, a disassembled M1 Garand laid out before her as she deftly cleaned and reassembled it.  When she heard us come in, she looked up, then quickly set her pieces down and saluted smartly.  “Good morning, Commander!  I wasn’t expecting you so early,” she began, gesturing down at the rifle.  “I’ll have this back together in a few minutes if you wanted to take it out for some target practice.”

I smiled as I returned the salute.  “Maybe later,” I deferred with a wave of my hand.  Given my experiences as of late, I probably did need to brush up on my rifle marksmanship.  “Right now, I need you to track a sidearm for me, but I need you to understand this is classified.  You are not to discuss this with anyone beyond me or Shangri-La, understand?”

“Yes, sir,” she confirmed, her tone serious.  “You can count on me.”

“Good.”  I placed the holstered pistol on the desk.  “I want you to run a trace on that serial number for me.  Find out where it’s from, when it was stamped and issued, the whole nine yards.  How long will that take?”

Brooklyn eyed the pistol as she reached out and drew it from the holster, carefully inspecting the weapon.  “That will depend on its service life, sir.  If this is brand new, straight from the factory, shouldn’t be more than a few hours. The longer it’s been around and the more commands it’s been to, the longer the search.”

“Fair enough,” I sighed.  As much as I wanted to tell Brooklyn to pick up the pace on this, I knew she’d execute this with her usual due diligence and speed.  “Once you’ve got the history, hand-deliver it to either Shangri-La or myself.  Any questions?”

“No, sir.”

“Excellent.  Carry on, Brooklyn,” I said with a salute.  “See you later.”

Brooklyn smartly saluted in return.  “Aye-aye, sir.”

As we left, I turned to Shangri-La.  “Once she finishes her trace, how long will it take for you to verify it?”

“Depends on the legitimacy of the history,” she answered as she pushed her glasses back up her nose.  “If it’s a correct trace, then it should be straightforward.  If there’s been a cover-up, it could take much longer to unravel the entire thing.”

“So if this is all over in three hours, we’ve hit a dead-end?” I sighed.

“More than likely,” she agreed.  “Although I doubt we’ll find this weapon has a clean history.”

That was a surprising claim for her to make.  “What makes you say that?”

“Firearms are strictly controlled and logged, therefore, if one was taken from an installation, it would eventually be logged as missing, and flagged in the system.  If this pistol were recovered from your…excursion to the Mirror Sea, then it would run the risk of being re-entered into the system and alerted that it had gone missing.  At that point, questions would arise as to how a gun from an installation other than our base wound up in your hands.”  She shook her head.  “No, if someone were to start pulling on that thread, it could easily unravel the entire thing.  The best way to hide it would be in plain sight.  Give it a plausible reason for being in the Siren’s possession, or falsify the records elsewhere.  That is the truth that we must uncover.”

I had to admit, I was impressed by her logic and deduction skills.  “I look forward to you uncovering that truth for us.  Now if there’s nothing else, I need to get to the office.”

“Of course, Commander.  Good day.”

When I got to the office, Alabama had already settled in as secretary, with the usual paperwork on my desk awaiting my review and signature.  She looked up from her own task with her lopsided smile and a brief nod.  

“Mornin’, Commander,” she said with that slow, southern drawl of hers.  “Bremerton said I’d be fillin’ in for her today.  Daily reports are already on your desk, and I’m drawin’ up the commission fleets right now.”

I smiled back at her as I set my hat on the rack by the door and made my way over to the desk.  “Good work, Alabama, thanks.”

“No problem.”  There was a brief silence as we both got to work, then she spoke up again.  “I've been gettin' along pretty well with the Sakura Empire girls. I thought they'd hold a grudge against me but turns out that wasn't the case at all.”

I looked up from my reports, my eyebrow raised in surprise.  “Oh?”

“Mhm,” she nodded, “They're an interestin' bunch!  Like how Takao’s always trainin’ to be the strongest.  I know what that’s like.  Always trainin’, wonderin’ if you’ll ever be able to prove yourself.  Whatdya think, Commander?  Think I’ll ever get that chance?”

“Your time will come, Alabama,” I smiled, “I promise.”

“I hope so,” she sighed as she looked off into the distance with a wistful sigh.  When she came back to the present, she simply announced.  “I think she’s kinda sweet on you, too.”

For a second, the sudden course change back to Takao threw me for a loop.  Once I realized who she was talking about, I grinned and answered, “Yeah?  I’m kinda sweet on her, too.”

“Good,” she said as she got back to work.  “Least that way it won’t be awkward.”

I chuckled softly to myself as I returned to my work.  If only she knew…

The day crawled by as I eagerly awaited both news from Brooklyn as well as the day to end so I could get ready for my date with Takao.  While I hadn’t heard back from Brooklyn by the end of the day, I took it as a promising sign that we were on the right track.  I hoped my date with Takao would prove to be as fruitful.  

I was practically running for home when I got off work, unwilling to wait another second before we could go on a proper date.  As I got ready, I ruminated on the last time I’d felt this excited to go out with anyone.  Hell, I was downright giddy.  And I realized that…I hadn’t.  I didn’t quite know why yet, but I was hoping that it was because I’d finally found the right woman.  

With that ray of hope in my heart, I straightened my tie in the mirror, grabbed the bouquet of flowers, and headed out the door.  

By the time I made it to Takao and Atago’s apartment, a good deal of that excitement had given way to anxiety.  What if I screw this up?  What if she doesn’t like the flowers?  What if this date idea was stupid?  Sure, I thought she’d love it ten hours ago but I’ve got to get with the times!  

I tried, with mixed success, to push all those feelings down, to focus on the excitement and happiness as I knocked on her door.  I continued to wrestle with that anxiety as I waited for her to answer until I heard the door unlock and my heart jumped into my throat.  It was now or never.  

The door opened, revealing Takao in a stunning Qipao made from shimmering white silk with fingerless white lace gloves and a red flower in her hair.  For a second, it took my breath away.  While I’d always found her beautiful, this was simply a whole other level.  

“Thomas?” she repeated, giving me a concerned look.  “Are you okay?”

I suddenly realized that I’d been so awestruck that I hadn’t heard a word of what she’d been saying.  “O-oh, sorry!” I sheepishly stammered as I nodded.  “I’m fine, fine.  Just…your outfit…the qipao…”

She glanced down at her dress, smoothing out imaginary wrinkles as she looked back up at me.  “Qipao? Atago picked it out, saying you like this kind of outfit. How is it?”

“Atago was spot on,” I answered with a smile.  “You look beautiful in it.”

Her cheeks flushed red and she fidgeted somewhat, but not as much as she had previously.  “Good…I was worried that you might not like it.”

“I love it,” I enthusiastically declared, causing her cheeks to burn further, but her smile grew.  I suddenly remembered the flowers clutched in my hand and I held them out to her.  “And, uh, these are for you.  Dunno if the Sakura Empire does flowers on a first date, but…”

“We do,” she smiled as she took the flowers from me, and I felt a weight lift from my chest as well.  “Thank you, Thomas.  I will leave these in Atago’s care until I get back.”

No sooner than she mentioned her sister, Atago popped out from around the corner, waving eagerly at us.  “You two lovebirds have fun!  And make sure she gets back to our apartment, Commander, not yours!”

“ Atago !” we both exclaimed, our faces beet red once more.  

She laughed as she shook her head.  “Oh, that’s never going to get old!  Have fun!”

With a combined glower and embarrassed muttering, we shut the door and headed off to our date.  

After taking several deep breaths to calm herself, she looked up at me and asked, “So, where are you taking us?”

“Taiko drums!” she gasped as she saw the sign over the theater.  “I had no idea they had traveled out this far!”

“Neither did I,” I confessed with a shrug.  “Bremerton found this somehow and showed it to me and I thought you’d love it.”  

“I do!” she excitedly exclaimed, much to my joy and relief.  I made a mental note to tell Bremerton I owed her big time on this one.  “I love taiko drums.  The training, the discipline required to master them…it’s nothing short of breathtaking.  Have you ever been to a performance before?”

“Never,” I shook my head.  “I’ve never even heard what a full concert sounds like.”  

“Oh, you’ll love it!” she smiled as she grabbed my arm and nearly dragged me to the ticket window.  “I promise, it’ll be an experience you won’t forget.”

She was not wrong.  Watching the company perform was nothing but a work of art.  From the way they stood as they hammered out those thunderous drumbeats to their warlike shouts that echoed throughout the hall, it was truly an impressive display.   Occasionally, I would tear my eyes away from the performance to glance over at Takao to see how she was enjoying it.  To say she was enraptured was an understatement.  

She sat there, totally motionless, her eyes locked onto the sight before us, her ears fully up and alert, twitching in time with the beat.  I couldn’t tell you the name of the troupe who was performing, what songs they played, or even the name of the theater we went to.  But I will never forget how she looked that night.  The last of my worries finally laid to rest, I leaned back and enjoyed the experience.  

When the show finally ended and we made our way back home, Takao surprised me by being the first of us to ask, “So what did you think, Thomas?”

“You weren’t wrong,” I admitted with a broad smile.  “That was an unforgettable performance.  The way those drummers could go from that low, rumbling roll to thunderous hammer blows was just amazing!  And what was that stringed instrument that one guy was playing?”

“A shamisen,” she replied with a smile as her arm tentatively wrapped around mine.  I glanced down at the sudden embrace, noting the soft blush creeping across her cheeks, barely visible in the streetlights, and entwined my arm with hers.  

“I thought it was a really interesting counterpoint to the big drum the other guy was playing,” I said softly.  “Made for really beautiful, but thrilling music.”

“I’m glad you liked it.”

“Hey, isn’t that my line?” I chuckled.  

Takao giggled softly, “Perhaps.  I guess if you want a chance to say it…” she paused, hesitant, then blurted out, “You’ll have to take me on another date.”

Her blush intensified, and I don’t think I’d ever seen her look so adorable before.  “Ah, so that’s how it is,” I teased.  “I guess that means you’ll pick the place next time, then?”

She glanced away, and I thought I might’ve said something wrong until she answered.  “A-actually,” she began softly, “there was a beach party tomorrow morning and Miss Saratoga invited us to come along.  …perhaps you could come as well?”

I vaguely remembered Bremerton mentioning something like that before this whole mess started, and while I was originally planning on skipping it, I suddenly had a good reason to change my mind.  “I would love to,” I smiled down at her.

She smiled back, the relief evident in her face.  “Good.”  We walked on a bit more in silence, arm in arm, until Takao spoke up again.  “I spoke with Alabama yesterday.”

“Oh?”

She nodded.  “She seemed rather laid-back, almost too lax in my opinion, but she certainly has a deep desire to prove her strength.  To which end, she had a rather…interesting proposal.”

My curiosity had now been piqued.  “What was it?”

“She wanted to engage in training exercises with Atago and myself.”

“And who’s she going to bring along?”

“Nobody.”

That caught me off guard.  “What?  So her versus the two of you, no backup?”

“Correct,” Takao confirmed with a single nod.  “She said she wanted to engage in ‘asymmetric combat’ as a way to challenge herself.”

“Didn’t Vestal tell you to take it easy for a week or two?”

“I believe she was referring to actual combat, and not training,” she countered.

I silently pondered Alabama’s strange and sudden request, and while I had my misgivings, I couldn’t think of a concrete reason to deny them this.  “Get checked out with Vestal first, and if she clears you, and you all agree, yeah.  It’ll be interesting to see how this shakes out, I’m looking forward to it.”

“As am I,” Takao agreed.  

Eventually, we found ourselves back at her apartment, as our date had sadly come to its end.  Takao turned to face me as she took my hands in hers.  “This was a wonderful evening, Thomas,” she said softly with a slightly less awkward smile.  “Thank you.”

“I had a great time, too,” I smiled back.  “Can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”

Takao nodded, her blush returning as she quietly muttered, “...there’s…one last date tradition left for tonight, correct?”

For a moment, I was wondering what she was getting at, and then it clicked.  “You mean the good night kiss?” I asked, unable to stop the grin from forming on my face.  She quickly nodded and I continued.  “It varies from couple to couple, but I would like that very much.  Is that alright with you?”

Takao nodded again as she looked up at me, desire and anxiety in those brown eyes.  I smiled reassuringly as I moved in close, our lips meeting in a tender, kiss that grew more and more passionate as it went on.  When we parted, I could see much of the anxiety had bled from her, replaced by relief and joy.  Something I’m sure she saw in my own eyes.  

“Much less awkward,” she stated with a soft smile.  “I will now…go reflect on things and then go to bed.  Good night, Thomas.  I will see you in the morning.”

“Good night, Takao.  See you in the morning.”  

The next morning, I woke up, got all packed up for a day at the beach, and headed down to the ocean.  Despite living by the sea, and despite the girls’ love of any beach time event, I rarely got down to the shoreline.  Part of it was because I was usually so busy with work that making time was difficult.  The other part is that I had nobody to go with.  Fortunately, conspiracies aside, things were relatively quiet for the time being.  My guess is that the Sirens were still recovering from our operation in the North Atlantic and counting on their gambit to spark a war between the Sakura Empire and Eagle Union to keep us weak.  In that scenario, I was more than happy to disappoint.  

As I was making my way down to the beach, I caught sight of Brooklyn striding directly toward me, a manilla folder tucked under her arm.  I changed course and headed towards her, correctly surmising that she had what I’d asked for the other day.  “Morning, Brooklyn” I greeted her with a smile.  “I take it you’ve got news.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied as she held out the folder for me.  “Complete history of the weapon.”

I took the folder with a nod and immediately opened it, skimming through the document.  Most of it was fairly innocuous, part of production batch number blah blah, assigned to crate yadda yadda…exactly the dry as desert sand kind of reading you’d expect from a weapon’s history.  And then I got to the end.  “...this was supposed to be ours ?”

“Yes, sir,” Brooklyn nodded.  “Part of a resupply convoy two months ago.  But that convoy came under Siren attack and was sunk.”

“Any of our kansen escorting the convoy or responded to the convoy sinking?”

Her face fell and she looked somewhat distressed.  “That’s just it, Commander.  I double-checked with our munitions logs, we never had that convoy even scheduled to arrive.”  When I fixed her with a puzzled look, she pointed back down at the report.  “There’s one more thing.  Take a look at the name in charge of the convoy.”

I did, and when I saw it, my eye practically popped out of my head.  “Isn’t that…?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Wasn’t he the commander before…?”

“Yes, sir.”

“The one who nearly ran this command into the ground?”

“Yes, sir.”

“The one none of you cared for.”

Brooklyn’s “No, sir,” was the most emphatic I’d ever heard the cruiser get.  

I shut the folder and handed it back to her.  “Get a copy of this over to Shangri-La and have her get started on this right away.”

She dutifully took the folder, tucked it back under her arm, and strode off towards the Eagle Union dorms.  I sighed as I glanced in the direction of the beach.  I might as well enjoy this time with Takao while I could.  Despite clear skies as far as the eye could see, a storm was brewing on the horizon…

A/N-And I’m back!  Sorry about that, but real life finally caught up with me, and a combination of our cat needing surgery and me needing emergency dental work done(we’re both recovering well) meant I didn’t have a chapter out for last week.  But I’m back, and we’re on the home stretch!  Two chapters now remain which also means a new character poll!  You can find the link pinned to my twitter account(@admiral_fluffy).  Current contenders are Dido, Gangut, Intrepid, AvP, and Chikuma, with Intrepid in the lead.  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

With the revelation that we may have found our traitor still on my mind, I made my way back down to the beach.  Normally, this would have distracted me from any sort of leisure activity, but now, I felt more determined than ever.  I knew once Shangri-Lan had her answers, things were going to pick up, and any chance Takao and I would have at a normal, relaxing time, would be slim.  We had to do this now, while we still could.  

I’d managed to put most of it out of my mind by the time I’d made it down to the beach, following the sounds of laughter and splashing.  As soon as I saw Takao, whatever worries I had left evaporated in an instant, forgotten by her beauty.  She had worn a white, one-piece swimsuit that seemed conservative at first glance, but as I got closer, I could see the middle section was sheer, giving me a view of her toned abs.  A volleyball was tucked under her arm and she was carrying a wooden sword in her other hand as she nervously scanned the crowded beach.  Eventually, her eyes found mine and she smiled and waved me over.

I trotted up to her and smiled back, stopping to eye her up and down again.  Her cheeks began to flush slightly as she nervously fidgeted.  “Commander, even I’ll get embarrassed if you keep staring at me like that…”

“Sorry,” I said with a nervous chuckle.  “You just…look beautiful.”

Her blush intensified and she glanced down for a moment.  “You always say that, Thomas…”

“Well, I always mean it,” I replied.  I managed to tear my gaze away from her long enough to study the volleyball and sword in her hands.  “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s with the volleyball?”

She fixed me with a quizzical look, her ears perked up in confusion.  “Eh? Why did I bring a volleyball? Did you not order me to bring it?”

“No,” I shook my head.  “Did someone tell you I told you to?”

“Saratoga did…” she said slowly, glancing over her shoulder at the petite carrier as she splashed in the surf.  “...I take it this was some sort of prank?”

“Part of one,” I answered.  “Just…be cautious around her.  She’s probably got the second half lined up already.”

She nodded solemnly.  “I will be ever vigilant, Thomas.”

“I know you will,” I smiled before I gestured at the other item she brought.  “And the sword?”

Takao looked down at the wooden blade in her hand, then gave me what I could only surmise to be a playful grin.  “Relax, Commander. I didn’t bring this kendo sword to hit you with. It’s because I heard that someone from the Royal Navy is going to be here.”  When she caught the look of sudden alarm and panic on my face, she giggled and shook her head.  “Heh, just kidding. It’s because Atago is scared of ghosts.”

“Oh,” I said, letting out a sigh of relief before my brain caught up with her last sentence.  “Wait, what?”

Takao nodded solemnly once more as she glanced up and down the shoreline.  “She mentioned there was the spirit of a vengeful maiden that would wander up and down the beach, looking for a beautiful woman to possess and steal her soul.”

Something about that didn’t sit right with me, and I rested my hands on my hips as I tried to figure out where she could’ve gotten such a crazy story.  “I’ve been here for years and while, granted, I don’t get out much, I’ve never heard anything like that.  Who’d she-”  It suddenly clicked as I spotted some of the tall grass moving on its own.  “Sims, get out here.  Now .”

“Awwww,” the destroyer grumbled as she popped up from her hiding place and lifted the ghost mask from her face.  “Spoilsport.  Just having a little fun.”

“Uh-huh,” I muttered as I shooed her away.  “Grab your camera and anyone else you enlisted in this little scheme and get outta here.  And don’t let me catch you setting up further down the beach.”

That took the wind out of her sails as she reached down and dejectedly gathered up her camera before she trudged out of the dunes and away from us.  We both watched her go for another few seconds, making sure she wasn’t trying to pull a fast one on us.  Once we were satisfied that she wasn’t, we turned back to each other.  

“Sorry about that,” I said with a wry grin.  “Gotta watch out for some of the destroyers.  And Saratoga.”  

“I will keep an eye out for more of their trickery,” she said with a nod.  “As well as Saratoga.  In the meantime, now that we are both free, what would you like to do?”

Her question caught me off-guard, and I suddenly felt apprehensive as I overthought the issue.  In the end, I decided to just say the first thing that popped into my head.  “Well, we could just throw down a couple of towels, lay back, and just…enjoy the view.”

Takao seemed somewhat uncomfortable with the idea at first, frowning as her hands clutched her volleyball and wooden sword tighter.  After some contemplation, however, she relaxed and set her volleyball aside.  “Very well, Thomas,” she smiled thinly.  “My sister is always telling me I need to take a break every now and then.  Perhaps you can help me with that.”

“Anything for you, Takao,” I said with an exaggerated bow before I held out my arm to her.  “Shall we?”

She giggled as she took my arm in hers.  “Lead on, Thomas.”

We strolled down the beach until we found a relatively quiet spot, and after unfurling our towels, laid down next to each other.  And while the overall goal was supposed to be to enjoy the ocean, I found myself enjoying another view entirely.  

“Thomas,” she bashfully chided me, “You’re staring again.”

“S-sorry,” I stammered, feeling my cheeks begin to get hot.  “Can’t help it.”

“Do you stare at all the kansen under your command in such a way?”

“No!” I emphatically denied it with a shake of my head.  “Just you.”

Her smile broadened, and she glanced down at the sand before looking back up.  “I am…honored…by your affections, Thomas.  I’ve never had anyone look at me the way you do…”

“Really?” I asked, somewhat incredulous.  “I know you never dated anyone back home, but…nobody showed any interest?”

She shrugged as she leaned back to watch the waves crash along the shore.  “If they did, I did not pay them any notice.  I was always busy training or out on patrol.  If someone felt as you did, they did not make their intentions known to me.”

I nodded as I leaned back with her, turning my eyes to the vast expanse of ocean before us.  “What if they had?”

The crashing of the waves was the only sound between us for several long seconds, and I glanced back at Takao to see her struggling with the question.  “I am…not sure,” she finally answered.  “Perhaps.  It is hard to say without knowing the person who would be declaring their affections for me.  If it was someone I had never met, then no, they would have been rejected out of hand.  But if it had been someone I knew…perhaps.”  She shook her head as if to dispel such thoughts.  “In any case, it is irrelevant now.  I am with you, and…” She hesitated for just a moment.  “And I think you are the one I am meant to be with.”

The words hung in the air, the implications unmistakable.  By all rights, this shouldn’t be.  We’d known each other barely a week, if that, we were both under an unbelievable amount of stress, and yet...her sincerity was undeniable.  As were my own feelings for her.  And by now, I realized that it had nothing to do with the adrenaline rush and shared intense experiences.  If anything, I felt relaxed in Takao’s presence.  Sort of.  It was awkward and halting at times, but beyond that, there was a peace, a familiarity with her that I hadn’t felt with anyone in a long, long time.  

I took a deep breath, nodded, and took the plunge.  “I think so, too,” I whispered, my voice barely audible over the waves.  “I…I don’t know how we’ll make this work, but what I do know is that we will.  Whatever obstacles are in our path, we can overcome them.  Together.”

“Together,” Takao intoned and drew herself close to me.  My arms wrapped around her as our lips met in a passionate kiss.  Whatever lingering awkwardness that remained was banished in that kiss, burned away by our feelings for one another.  The kiss kept growing in hunger and intensity as we held each other tightly, not wanting to break it until our lungs burned from the lack of oxygen.  

As we parted, we each gasped, our bodies desperate for air, but both of us had a broad, bright smile on our faces.  “That was…wow…” I said as I struggled to catch my breath.

Takao nodded wordlessly as she glanced over her shoulder.  “Agreed,” she panted, her ears lifting up and tilting back towards the rest of the beachgoers.  “We should rejoin them at some point, lest they come looking for us.”

I leaned up and craned my neck in the direction of the other kansen, laughing and playing down the shoreline.  “Yeah, it’s only a matter of time before they drag you and Atago into a volleyball match,” I said with a grin.  “But they haven’t even gotten the net set up yet.  I think we’ve got a little more time for some more…training.”

Takao gave me a puzzled look for a moment, and then it clicked for her.  Her cheeks flushed, but the smile on her face was far from bashful or innocent.  “Well, we certainly can’t neglect our training, can we…?”

After a morning of passion, excitement, and volleyball, we all headed off to get back to work, once we’d all gotten a shower, of course.  Atago was off to work on the onsen, Takao was going to start preliminary training with Alabama, and I was going to get to the office and get some paperwork done.  Or so I thought.  

By the time I arrived, Shangri-La was waiting for me inside my office, the folder Brooklyn showed me clutched tightly in her hand as anxious an expression I’d ever seen on her face.  

“Not sure I even want to ask with a face like that…” I half-joked as I gestured for her to take a seat.  

She shook her head emphatically, thrusting out the folder to me.  “My apologies, Commander, but…it’s true.”

Whatever glib witticism I was about to make left me, replaced by a cold feeling of dread.  “What are you saying?” I asked as I took the folder and skimmed over the contents one more time.  “The convoy was true or that this was all a phony paper trail to hide the fact that he’d given the gun to the Sirens?”

“The cover-up, sir,” Shangri-La answered.  “I double-checked our records, and the records from San Diego and the Panama Canal.  We have no evidence of a convoy leaving within a week of the date shown in the report.  The only place that convoy exists is within the margins of the original report of loss.”

“Son of a bitch,” I muttered as I shut the folder.  “And you’re sure it leads back to him?”

She nodded.  “He was the one who filed the convoy’s route, he’s the one who filed the missing in action report, and then the confirmation of the loss of the convoy.  The only one.”

Part of me hoped that Brooklyn had been wrong, or the trail led to someone else, anyone else.  “This is going to be tricky,” I sighed.  “This is all circumstantial, we’ve got no direct evidence, and given his…history…with you girls, he’s got a built-in defense that this is all some sort of revenge ploy cooked up by disgruntled former subordinates.”

“We could observe him,” Shangri-La offered.  “Monitor his movements, keep a running log, and then confront High Command with everything we’ve got so far.”

“That takes time,” I countered, “Time we don’t have…”  I let out a groan of frustration and looked up at the ceiling.  “This couldn’t be worse.”  Oh, how wrong I was…

Bremerton burst into the office, startling both Shangri-La and myself.  “Sir…” she panted, her chest heaving.  “...Admiral Mallory’s on his way.”

It got worse.  “What?!?” I incredulously exclaimed,  “When will he get here?”

“An hour-”

“ An hour?!?   Why the hell wasn’t I notified beforehand?”

“I just found out ten minutes ago!” Bremerton shot back.  “I guess he wanted to keep it a surprise.  I’ve got Essex and Hornet headed out now for long-range escort, and I’m trying to get the word out as quickly as possible.”

“Alright, alright,” I relented.  “Just him, or does he have his full staff along?”

“Just one other,” she answered as she held out a piece of paper.  I took it with an appreciative nod and looked at the name, wondering if I’d find the one I was looking for.  

Sure enough, right below Admiral Mallory’s was the same name on the reports I’d just read: Captain Julius Walker.  The previous commander of Azur Lane.  

As I was wondering what the hell I was going to do, Shangri-La chimed in with an excellent suggestion.  “You know, we could use this to our advantage, sir.”

I looked over at her with a curious expression.  “I’m all ears, Shan.”

“We know he’s already lied about the convoy, perhaps it’s possible to catch him in another lie,” she explained.  “Something only the traitor would know.  Once we’ve exposed him as a liar, we can introduce the more circumstantial evidence and hope Naval HQ it more seriously than if we had simply made the accusation.”

The idea had merit to it, and as long as I didn’t look like I was interrogating him, it wouldn’t necessarily arouse the Admiral’s suspicions.  Or Walker’s.  “Good idea, Shan, I’ll keep it in mind.  In the meantime, go try and find North Carolina, Intrepid, and a few other girls to form an impromptu honor guard.”  

“Yes, sir.”

I’d just managed to get changed into my dress whites and make it down to the docks as the Admiral’s ship, an unassuming, mass-produced cruiser, pulled into port.  Shangri-La had succeeded in putting together a decent-sized honor guard, as well, adding Prince of Wales and King George V to the previously aforementioned kansen.  All stood solemnly at attention as Admiral Andrew Mallory made his way down the gangplank, Captain Walker in tow.  Admiral Mallory had always struck me as a likable fellow.  Even-handed, genial, and generally pleasant to be around, with a warm smile and a kind word ever at the ready in that calm, reassuring British accent of his, it often boggled my mind that he picked someone so unlike him to serve as his aide.  Where Mallory was an overall decent sort, Walker was bitter, jaded, sarcastic, and spiteful.  I’d heard numerous stories about him over the years after I’d taken over command of Azur Lane, and none of them ever painted a flattering picture.  

But any further ruminations would have to wait until later.  As soon as the Admiral’s feet touched the dock, I saluted smartly and announced, “Welcome to Azur Lane Headquarters, Admiral.”

Mallory smiled broadly as he returned the salute.  “Thank you, Admiral Lee.  How’ve you been?”

“A little frazzled, to be honest, sir,” I said with a wry grin.  “I wish we’d had a little more warning before you came out here.  I could have prepared a proper escort.”

“Nonsense, Thomas,” he dismissed with a wave of his hand.  “With everything going on, I wanted to keep this a low-profile visit.”

“Not to mention your shipgirls don’t have the greatest track record in keeping high-ranking officers safe, now do they?” Walker cut in with a sneer.  

Before I could reprimand him, Mallory beat me to the punch.  “Now, now, Julius.  Have some manners.  I understand your contentious history here, but Admiral Lee has forged them into a formidable force.  There will be no nay-saying anyone under his command without sufficient cause.”

Walker’s sneer died down somewhat, although I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’d appeared chastened by Mallory’s rebuke.  “Yes, sir.”  

“Good.”  Mallory nodded satisfactorily and turned back to face me.  “Now, then.  I’m here for two things.  The first is to check up on you.  I read your report, and it seems you had quite a time of it out there.  Off the record, how are you feeling, Tom?”

I cracked a slight smile at his concern and shrugged.  “About as well as can be expected,” I answered honestly.  “Still a little sore in a few places, still have some lingering concerns on my mind, but overall, I’m feeling pretty good.  This is the second time they’ve tried to take me out of the fight, which tells me I’m doing something right.”

Mallory peered at me for a bit longer before smiling that warm, jovial smile of his.  “Quite so.  And I trust you’ve proper medical facilities on base in the event something troubles you later?”  

“Of course,” I affirmed.  “Bremerton’s always on-call if anyone needs to talk to her about something.”

His smile broadened. “One of your kansen is the base therapist?  How innovative!  Perhaps we could meet her if we have the time.”

“She’s currently assigned as my secretary, so organizing a meeting shouldn’t be too hard, Admiral.”

“Excellent!  Now, onto my second point, your report mentioned you brought back a pair of Sakura cruisers with you, is that correct?”

“Yes, sir,” I nodded curtly, “Takao and Atago, they helped keep me safe and got me off the island, but were injured in the process.  They’re staying here as our guests until they’re well enough to travel.”  

“Would it be possible for me to speak with them?”  he asked, an almost boyish grin on his face.  

And it was at this point that alarm bells began to sound in the back of my head.  While Walker certainly was detestable for many reasons, he wasn’t the one who’d just snuck out here with the intent of talking to an enemy cruiser.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t think of a legitimate reason to deny Mallory his request, not without tipping my hand.  “I don’t see why not,” I finally answered, glancing over at the ships moored at port, noting there was one missing.  “I believe Takao is currently exercising with Alabama if you’d like to follow me to the training lagoon.”

“Splendid!” His face lit up and he clapped his hands together once.  “Lead on then, Admiral!”

As we headed out to the training lagoon, we could hear the thunder of cannons booming across the landscape, startling the birds each time.  I wondered how Takao was faring, if she’d managed to get close enough, or if eagle-eyed Alabama was able to take her out from a distance.  When we were almost there, the guns went silent and stayed silent.  

“Sounds like we missed the show,” I quipped, glancing over at Mallory.  “Although, this was probably just a warm-up.”

“A warm-up?” he repeated, eyebrow raised.  

“Alabama and Takao had discussed doing some…asymmetric battle training, with Takao and Atago against Alabama by herself,” I explained.  

“Interesting…” Mallory mused, although his subordinate was less pleased.

“Are you aware you’re letting the enemy train to fight our own ships, Admiral?” Walker cut in scornfully.  

“Oh, thank you, Captain ,” I bit back, using his rank as an insult, “I wasn’t aware.  Just as you seem to be unaware that Alabama isn’t an idiot.  She’ll learn things, too, and we’ll be able to disseminate that information to the rest of the fleet.”

“He’s got you there, Julius,” Mallory chuckled, and Walker fell silent again, seething.  

“In any case,” I sighed, eager to get the conversation back on track, “We should be able to catch them in the maintenance bays before they head off.”

We headed down into the large stone edifice that towered over the lagoon and made our way through the stone labyrinth to the maintenance bays.  On the way there, we passed by Alabama, who gave us her usual laconic salute, no doubt infuriating Walker in the process.  

“Hey, Alabama,” I greeted her with a smile.  “How’d it go?”

“‘Salright,” she shrugged, “Just really kinda gettin’ a feel for each other, y’know?  She’ll be a real tough cookie though in a stand-up fight, though, I can tell.”

“Good to hear,” I grinned.  “She still in the maintenance bay?”

“Yep.”

“Good.  Have a good one, Alabama!”  I waved to her as we passed.  She waved back to Mallory and me but immediately stopped as soon as her eyes fell on Walker.  

When we reached the maintenance bay, I rapped on the steel door to make sure Takao wasn’t caught by surprise.  “Takao?” I called out.  “I’ve got a visitor here who’d like to speak with you?”

She came around the corner, her ears perked up and her rigging still attached as she eyed the two newcomers.  “Who are they?” she asked warily.  

I stepped aside to present the two men to her.  “This is Admiral Arthur Mallory, of Naval High Command, and his aide, Captain Julius Walker.  Gentlemen, this is the heavy cruiser Takao, of the Sakura Empire.”

“A pleasure,” Mallory smiled and bowed slightly.  

Walker, on the other hand, rode right past any pleasantries.  “This is the Sirens picked because she was more likely to kill you, right?”

Both Takao and I went rigid at that comment, each for different reasons.  Takao didn’t like it being brought up, and as for me…

“Where did you hear that from, Julius?” Mallory asked as he turned back towards his aide, his bushy eyebrows furrowed in confusion.  “I didn’t see anything like that in the report.”

“...that’s because I left it out of the report,” I answered softly.  Stunned, Mallory turned back to face me.  “I left it out because someone in HQ set me up, set us up…and now I know who it is.”

What happened next was a blur. Walker, realizing his cover had been blown, sprang into action.  He pulled out a pistol, and before any of us could react, bludgeoned Admiral Mallory on the back of the head, sending him tumbling forward.  Involuntarily, I reached out to grab him, and as I did, left myself open for Walker, who grabbed me by the shirt collar and hauled me back up.  His arm snaked around my throat and I felt the cold metal of the gun pressing against my temple.  

“I guess the old saying is true,” he growled, “If you want it done right, you’ve got to do it yourself…”  

A/N-Well, good news/bad news.  Good news is that we found the traitor AND we’ve got a member of High Command who was actually likable!  Bad news is that the traitor just gave said member of High Command major blunt force trauma to the back of the skull and is about to kill our hero!  Tune in next week for the thrilling conclusion.  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

Gun oil.  For some reason, that’s the thing my brain decided to focus on that day.  Not the man with his arm around my neck, nor the feeling of a cold steel barrel pressed against my forehead.  No, it’s the smell of gun oil.  To this day when someone even mentions his name, my mind conjures up the smell of gun oil.  Of course, at the time, I had more pressing matters to deal with.

“Think this through, Walker,” I grunted through the partial chokehold.  “You’ll never make it out of here.  You kill me, you’re a dead man.”

Walker chuckled darkly, and pressed the gun harder against my temple, cutting into my skin.  “Don’t be silly.  I shoot you, then Mallory, and blame it all on Takao here.  My word against hers, who’re they gonna believe?  I’m a member of High Command, and she’s the enemy.  An enemy who started this war with an unprovoked attack on this very base.”

“Member?  Pah,” I spat.  “You’re their goddamned errand boy.  Also, your story has a hole big enough to drive a battleship through.”

“Yeah?” he sneered.  “What’s that?”

As we talked, Takao slowly paced around us, her hand on the hilt of her sword, ready to draw it in an instant.  Walker kept rotating us around, making sure I was always in her way.  My eyes met hers and I could see the worry, the fear in them, but above all, I saw the resolve and determination there.  She would not let me die today, and I trusted in that resoluteness.  

“She look like the type to use a gun?” I asked.  “I get that you don’t care about these girls, but Christ, man, at least do your homework.”

“Shut up!” he barked as he slammed the butt of the pistol into the side of my head.  He didn’t hit me quite as hard as he did Mallory, but my vision swam and I felt unsteady on my feet.  Takao began to dart in, but before she could close the distance, Walker had the gun up to my temple again.  “Ah ah ah,” he warned.  “Don’t want to end this little dance early, do we?”

My curiosity got the better of me as my head quit ringing and I groaned out.  “Since you’re gonna kill me anyway…why’d you do it, Walker?  Why’d you sell out humanity to the Sirens?”

“Sell out humanity?” he repeated, having the sheer unmitigated gall to sound offended.  “I didn’t sell out humanity, I sold out them .  Who cares about these stupid things, anyway?”

“I do,” I growled, much to his derision.

“See, this is why I set you up,” he spat, “You’ve forgotten your own kind.  You think they care about, they love you?  Do you think any of these things can be capable of anything like that?”

My eyes met Takao’s, and despite the mortal danger we were both in, I saw the answer behind those beautiful brown irises.  “Absolutely, Walker,” I answered softly.  “And that’s why I’m able to lead them to victory after victory while you’re not fit to pour piss out of a boot with instructions written on the heel.”

“ Shut up !” he shrieked, the gun digging into my temple.  This time, however, I could feel him trembling.  I was getting to him.  

I pressed on.  “Admit it, you’re just jealous.  All these beautiful women around and you couldn’t even get one of them to like you.  And here I am, dating the one you sent to kill me.  Couldn’t even do that right!”

“ Shut up shut up shut up!  Or I will blow your goddamn head off! ”  By this point, he’d become apoplectic with rage, unable to think straight.  “Maybe you two would have made a very happy couple and maybe one day the two of you would make horrific dog-ship-human babies, but that’s not going to happen because I’m going to shoot you, and pin it all on her-”

And that’s when he made his fatal mistake.  In his rage, he gestured with his gun hand, taking it away from my temple and pointing it squarely at Takao.  It was all the opening she needed.  With lightning speed, she drew her blade, batting the gun out of his hand before thrusting it forward.  Sakura steel flashed past my face, nearly grazing me with its razor’s edge before plunging into its target behind me.  Whatever Captain Julius Walker was about to say, it was forever lost in a horrible, gurgling noise that slowly faded away.  I felt something warm and wet soaking into my shoulder and running down my back as his body went limp.

Walker’s arm around my throat loosened up, and I managed to get free of his grasp as he crumpled to the floor in a heap.  The second I was free, Takao wrapped her arms around me in a much friendlier, much more welcome embrace.  

“Thomas!” she gasped as she held me tight, checking me for any injuries, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” I answered, the adrenaline still making me a little shaky.  “And for the record, I think your form there was flawless.”

She smiled slightly and her cheeks colored.  “Thank you, Thomas.  I’m glad to know I can keep you safe.”

“Me, too,” I eagerly agreed as I looked around the room.  “We’d best get to work.  Go hit that red button on the wall, should summon an emergency response team, and then help me with Admiral Mallory, would you?”

Reluctantly, she let me go and nodded once.  “ Hai .”

As she went over to the wall and the emergency claxons began to blare, I knelt down by Admiral Mallory, first feeling for a pulse, then making sure I didn’t feel any broken vertebrae before I rolled him onto his back.  Fortunately, he was still breathing and it didn’t look like he’d injured himself in the fall, just a rather nasty wound on the back of his head.  I grabbed a first aid kit from the wall and placed a large bandage on the wound, hoping it would staunch the bleeding.  Now all that remained was to wait for the response team to arrive.  

The next few hours were a blur.  Per regulations, Takao was taken into custody pending a full investigation, but she was confined to her quarters with Wales standing guard outside instead of the brig.  She was a damn hero in my book, and I wasn’t going to let her spend one second someplace she didn’t deserve to be. Vestal took Admiral Mallory to sickbay where he was treated for a concussion and kept for several hours for observation.  

Which left me the unenviable task of reporting back to High Command what just transpired.  Needless to say, they were…less than enthused that I had left critical information out of the report, let alone that I was conducting an off-the-books investigation aimed directly at them.  While the dressing down wasn’t one I was keen on repeating any time soon, they did let me off the hook with just that, considering I’d exposed a traitor in their ranks and saved Admiral Mallory’s life.  In addition, they were kind enough to release Takao from house arrest given her role in saving our lives.  I tried to even petition them to give her a medal, but I was rather quickly rebuffed.  Deciding not to push my luck, I didn’t press the matter any further.  

Of course, the sudden flurry of activity caught also caught the attention of the Sakura Empire, who decided to finally call me for a face-to-face meeting.  

Bremerton poked her head into the CIC almost as soon as I was done speaking with Naval HQ.  “Boss?” she called out.  “You’ve got Nagato on the other line wanting to speak with you.”

I sighed softly and hung my head.  This was the call I’d been expecting, dreading all week.  “Put her through,” I reluctantly answered Bremerton before I straightened my tie and adopted a more professional stance.  

The screen flickered to life and I found myself staring at Nagato, flagship of the Combined Fleet of the Sakura Empire.  She wore a tense, but polite smile on her face and she bowed slightly to her camera.  “Good afternoon, Taisho Lee.  I trust things are well on your end?”

“Good afternoon, Lady Nagato,” I bowed in return, keeping the same polite smile on my face.  We both knew the reason she was calling, and what she would ask, but I was determined to see this bit of political theater through to its end.  “Things are busy here, but going well.  And you?”

“Much the same,” she said.  “Although I’ve heard rumors that a member of Naval HQ has paid a visit to your base.”

“It was an unannounced visit,” I said, perhaps a bit more defensively than I should have.  “Caused a..bit of an uproar here, but things have calmed down somewhat.”

“I see…” she slowly said, her eyes narrowing slightly.  “And the incident with the Admiral’s aide?”

To my credit, my jaw dropped only slightly, and I managed to prevent any sudden, immediate outburst from passing my lips.  After self-consciously clearing my throat, I answered, “I, ah, was unaware you had been informed of what happened.”

“In all honesty, Admiral Lee, I just found out about it minutes ago when your Naval HQ sent me a message informing me that they would not be pressing charges against Takao,” she said coolly.  “Imagine my relief and confusion.”  

I took a deep breath and carefully weighed what I was about to do.  On the one hand, I didn’t want to piss off Naval HQ more than I already had, but on the other hand…  “How much did they tell you?”

She shrugged slightly.  “Just that there had been an incident with Takao and an Admiral’s aide and that they were declining to press charges.”

I sighed and took a deep breath.  “That aide wasn’t just some Admiral’s assistant.  He’d been a spy for the Sirens.  He set Takao and us up back in that Mirror Sea, hoping we’d kill each other, or at least attack one another and restart the war.  He tried to kill me again today, but Takao saved me, ending his life in the process.”

While she tried to keep her face an impassive mask, I could still see the surprise in her eyes as I told the story.  “I see…” she repeated, her tone much more thoughtful this time.  “I’m glad to hear you are unharmed, Commander.  However, with all this…excitement going on at your base, I would like to have Takao and Atago returned to Sakura territory as quickly as possible.”

My heart sank and I nodded slowly, trying to keep the pain from my face.  “I understand.  I can have them underway by this evening if that is acceptable?”

“Yes, thank you, Admiral,”  Nagato nodded in agreement.  She paused, then gave me a thoughtful look.  “May I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

She began slowly, haltingly, almost as if she was afraid to speak her concerns aloud.  “Do you think that…perhaps…one day…the Sakura Empire and Azur Lane could work together as we have done once before?”

I wasted no time in answering.  “Without a doubt.  If the rest of the kansen are as honorable and dutiful as Takao and Atago, I think this could blossom into a beautiful alliance once more.”

Her smile was soft and frail, but nevertheless a hopeful one.  “Thank you, Admiral Lee.  Have a good day.”

Her image flickered off the screen and I let out another long, depressed sigh.  Time to give Takao the good and bad news…

I dismissed Wales as soon as I got to Takao’s quarters, not wanting her to be privy to what would almost certainly be a very private, very emotional discussion.  After taking a deep breath, and steeling myself as best as I could, I knocked on the door.  

After a few seconds, Takao answered it, hope in her brown eyes.  A hope that died when she saw the look on my face.  “They are sending us back, aren’t they?”

“I just spoke with Lady Nagato,” I confirmed with a quick nod.  “The good news is that High Command is going to quietly let the entire matter drop.  The bad news is that they told Nagato, who promptly called me to ask what was going on.  And after explaining the situation, she requested that you two head back home for reassignment.”  

Her expression was stoic, but I could still see the sadness in her eyes.  “I understand,” she answered dutifully.  “We both knew this would come sooner or later.”  She glanced away, a wry, sad smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth.  “You know, I often read of samurai who found themselves torn between honor and duty.  I thought it was a silly dilemma, after all, what could be more important than fulfilling one’s obligations?”  Her eyes turned back to me, wellsprings of heartache.  “I now truly understand how they must have felt, how they must have agonized over their choices.  I do not want to leave, but I know I cannot stay.”

“I know,” I whispered softly, my arms wrapping around her waist as I pulled her into a tight embrace.  “I don’t want you to go, either.”  I let out a quiet chuckle as she rested her head against my chest.  “It’s funny.  I’ve known you for barely a week, and I don’t want to imagine another day in my life without you in it.  But I promise you this: I can’t keep you here, but I will always keep you in my heart.   Until the day comes when we can finally be together again.”

She looked up at me, a hopeful expression on her face.  “And I will always keep you in mine, Thomas.  This I swear.  I don’t know when I will be able to see you next or even speak to you, but I will eagerly await that day.”

I nodded, but said nothing, and instead leaned down to kiss her tenderly.  She responded in kind, our arms embracing, grasping tightly onto one another as we shared our feelings for one another.  When we parted, Takao looked back at the clock on the wall.  “When…when are we expected to depart?”

“This evening,” I answered.  

“That’s not much time,” she sighed as she reluctantly released me.  “We’ll need to start getting packed.”

“Would you like me to help?” I offered.

“I appreciate the gesture, but it’s just a few items, and Atago and I can handle it,” she demurred with a smile and a shake of her head.  “But I would appreciate an escort down to the docks.”

I smiled back and gave her a slight bow.  “It would be my honor.”

True to her word, it didn’t take long for her and Atago to pack up and get ready to leave.  We made our way down to the docks, Takao and I holding hands as Atago followed behind, generously giving us some more time with each other.  The fact that she didn’t tease us once told me how seriously she was taking this.  

As we approached the pier where Takao and Atago were moored, I saw a lone figure standing there.  Upon closer inspection, I realized it was Admiral Mallory, his head still wrapped in bandages, his cap perched precariously atop it.  

“Sir, what are you doing here?” I asked him as I saluted, reluctantly disentangling my hand from Takao’s.  “Shouldn’t you be in sickbay resting?  Vestal will find you and lecture you, sir, Admiral or no.”

“It’s quite alright,” the older man chuckled as he returned the salute.  “I got permission from her to come down here, but only on the condition I head right back once I’ve said my goodbyes.  A little birdy told me that our Sakura guests were leaving, and I wanted to personally thank the woman who saved my life.”  His eyes fixed on Takao as he extended his hand to her.  

“I only did my duty, sir,” Takao demurred as she took his hand.  

“That doesn’t mean it isn’t worthy of praise, nor that I’ll soon forget it, young lady,” He smiled warmly.  “Should you ever need anything at all, for as long as this peace lasts between our two sides, please don’t hesitate to contact me.”

That took everyone by surprise, myself included.  “Th-thank you, sir, I will,” Takao stammered, and Mallory chuckled again as he withdrew his hand.  

“I’m sure you still have one final goodbye to say, so I’ll let you get to it.  Safe journey to both of you.”  

Takao nodded and we all took our leave, Atago and I nodding gratefully to the Admiral as we passed.  It was a very short trip to the gangplank, and by the time we got to it, my heart was thundering in my chest.  

“Well…here we are at last,” I nervously announced.  “I am going to miss you so much.”

“Me, too,” Takao confessed.  “I’m not sure how we’ll get in touch with each other…”

“We’ll find a way,” I reassured her.  “I promise.  Perhaps we could use this to forge a more lasting peace between Azur Lane and the Sakura Empire.”

“Perhaps…” she said softly.  “Until then…I will keep you in my heart, Thomas.”

“And I, you, Takao.”  We kissed one last time, tender, loving, passionate, hungry.  And then she slipped from my grasp and headed aboard her ship.  

I watched her go until Atago strode into view, a reassuring smile on her face.  “I’ll keep an eye on her, Commander, don’t worry,” she said as she opened her arms for a big hug.  “But you better keep your promise on this one, or Big Sister’s gonna come back and you won’t like that visit.”

I laughed as I hugged her back tightly.  “Alright, I’ll keep that in mind.  It was wonderful meeting you, and you have a safe trip back.”

“Goodbye, Thomas!” she waved as she practically skipped up the gangplank.  

I watched both of them quietly slip free of their moorings and make their way out of the harbor.  As they departed, I heard someone coming up behind me and glanced over to see Admiral Mallory.  “Thought you had to get back, sir.”

“She’ll keep another minute,” he dismissed with a grin.  “Wouldn’t be the first woman to give me an earful for staying out longer than I was supposed to.”  He looked out at the pair of cruisers sailing away for a moment, then asked, “You left out more than just the traitor in Naval HQ in your report, didn’t you?”

“My feelings for someone aren’t really worthy of an after-action report, sir,” I cautiously answered.  

“Perhaps,” he sniffed.  “Perhaps.  But I can see it in both of your eyes when you look at each other.  You really care for this girl, don’t you?”

I thought it over for a moment, then answered.  “Yes, sir.  Quite deeply, in fact.”

“You know the rest of the brass back home would pitch a fit if they found out you had feelings for someone on the other side of the battlefield.”  There was no judgment or scorn in his voice, just a simple statement of the facts.  

“Keenly, sir.”

He nodded slowly, then clapped his hands together and smiled broadly.  “Well, then, there’s no need for them to know.  At least, not until we’ve gotten this ceasefire hammered out into something more concrete.”

I looked over at him as if he’d suddenly gone mad.  “...sir?”

“I may be old, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know love when I see it,” he grinned.  “And besides, I owe you both a debt of gratitude for your actions earlier today.  Don’t think I won’t forget it.”

“Th-thank you, sir,” I murmured, dumbstruck.  

“Think nothing of it,” he replied as he gestured back down the pier.  “Now, let’s get back to sickbay before your Vestal has something to say about it…”

Admiral Mallory left the next day after being fully cleared by Vestal, this time onboard Alabama with a full escort.  The Sirens were liable to be upset once they found out their mole took a katana to the face.  For my part, I got back to work, losing myself in the daily routine whilst making quiet inquiries as to finding some way to get a message to Takao that wouldn’t constitute treason.  

It had been about a week, and I was in the middle of filling out another fuel consumption report when Intrepid burst into my office.  “Commander, we’ve got two ships inbound.”

I quickly looked up from my paperwork, setting my pen aside.  “Sirens?”

Intrepid shook her head.  “No, sir, they’re broadcasting friendly IFF codes, but…we’ve got no one scheduled to arrive.”

“Could be Naval HQ making another ‘surprise inspection’,” I surmised.  “Go grab Memphis and Boise and head out there to escort them in.”

“Aye, sir!”  

No sooner than she had left than Bremerton poked her head around the corner.  “Commander, Lady Nagato is on the line, says it’s urgent.”

“Never rains but it pours,” I grumbled as I got out of my seat.  “Tell her I’m on my way.”

I quickly headed to the CIC, wondering what Nagato needed to discuss with me so urgently.  Had something happened to Takao?  Was she calling me to tell me to stop making inquiries about how to contact her?  I strode through the doors to the CIC, straightened my tie once again, and turned on the monitor.  

“Ah, Commander,” Nagato smiled politely as she bowed.  “Thank you for coming so quickly.  I apologize that this call is on such short notice.”

“My apologies for keeping you waiting for so long, Lady Nagato,” I replied with a bow of my own.  “How may I assist the Sakura Empire?”

“I wanted to let you know that since the…incident…with Takao last week, we have been in contact with an Admiral Mallory with Naval HQ, working to try and prevent the Sirens from exploiting this fragile peace any further.”  As she spoke, I felt a faint glimmer of hope blossoming in my chest.  

“I see,” I said slowly, not wanting to rush to conclusions, or perhaps, a false hope.  “And I take it you have come to some sort of agreement?”

“We have,” she nodded solemnly.  “While the Sakura Empire currently cannot bring itself to a full truce with the Azur Lane just yet, we have decided to assign a shipgirl to your command, to act as a sort of liaison between our two factions.  To ensure that any future misunderstandings are avoided if at all possible.  She should be arriving at your base within the hour.”

“Within the hour?” I repeated, and suddenly it clicked into place.  “Who did-”

“Good day, Admiral.”  Nagato simply smiled and cut the transmission instead of letting me finish.  As I stood there, dumbfounded, I heard a familiar voice behind me.  

“Takao standing by. What are your orders?”

I whirled around to find Takao standing there, a hopeful smile on her face.  I abandoned any pretense of decorum and ran to her, taking her into my arms and passionately kissing her.  

She let out an adorable squeal of surprise that melted into a content hum as she kissed back, her arms wrapping around me in a welcoming embrace.  “ Shikikan-dono ,” she murmured when we stopped to take a breath.  “I was not expecting a welcome like that, but…I rather enjoyed it.”

“I’ve missed you so much, and I just…I want you to know how I feel,” I sheepishly answered.  “There’s no one else I’d rather have at my side, Takao.”

Takao smiled and nodded, that familiar blush creeping along her cheeks.  “For you to acknowledge me like this, Commander, is the greatest honor. From now on, this blade shall serve only you. Please continue to treat me kindly.”  

I smiled warmly at her and answered, “Always.”

We stayed in the CIC for another few minutes, catching up before introducing her and Atago formally to the rest of the base.  I was sure there would be more bumps and bruises down the road as they got settled in, but as long as Takao was by my side, I knew we would get through it.  Together.  

~ Fin~

A/N-And so ends another story.  Whew!  Don’t forget, the poll is still up until May 31st, you can find where to go to vote on my Twitter page, @admiral_fluffy, which is also where I will announce the winner.  Currently, it's Intrepid in the lead so it looks like we'll be stargazing soon!  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!