A/N: I think my exact words were I would try to get back to a normal uploading schedule last time I stood before you.

Last updated on Christmas really doesn't look good on my part.

But with work suddenly deciding to try and burn itself to the ground and just life in general, coupled with the fact I underestimated just how much 100 would drain me, I vanished for a few months.

Onto happier and grander things, welcome to those that found this story in my absence and welcome back to those who've been around here before. Or twice. Or thrice.

Or a dozen times.

I know who you are.

Cheers and here's to not so long till we talk again.

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"Norman! Watch those torps!" Royalist yelled as she surged through the smoke before her, gunfire flying about over head. The Cruiser made out the sound of a shell flying past her head. It startled her to a degree, but she knew she couldn't let it distract her. As her guns elevated within the smoke, she burst from the stuff as she immediately locked her gaze to one of the only still fully functioning Abyssal light cruisers.

"Roger!" Norman called back over the radio as more fire sounded off. From the sounds of it, it sounded like Norman, Nizam, and Nepal were finishing off one of the Abyssal destroyers, which suited Royalist fine for the moment. Her attention drew back to the cruiser before her, which was already turning it's attention back towards her, preparing to fire it's guns. But Royalist didn't give it the chance as she opened fire on the Abyssal.

It returned fire in retaliation, Royalist taking enemy fire to her bow and front turret. But the damage was negligible and no where near in the same ballpark as the damage that she herself came away with as Royalist's own salvo met contact, her shells not exactly sinking deep, the few that did meet the cruiser. But those that did sang their songs as they burned flesh and steel alike as the Abyssal cruiser was rocked by the impact.

Today found the light cruiser and her four destroyer charges patrolling Japan's western coast, notably not to far off from Sammi. Of course, they weren't out here alone, but their immediate patrol group was expected to handle themselves unless they met heavier than expected resistance. Which in turn meant they'd have to turn and flee Southwest towards the nearest heavy hitters, which checking her logs, would be the New Mexico sisters for the next three hours until Nevada and Oklahoma rolled in.

But that was thirty miles out and Royalist had no intention of messing up her first stint in any sort of flagship Capacity, even if it was a minor role such as the leader of a destroyer squadron. Twenty miles and forty miles respectively north east along the coast would find her the support of Bellona's and Helena's fleets, but once more, she didn't want to be seen as the weak link here. This was her time to shine.

The Abyssal cruiser screamed, or whatever it's monstrous equivalent was, as pain rocked it's body. But Royalist refused to grant it mercy as she opened fire again at the cruiser, refusing to relent, refusing to stop. She would sink it, and this would be her victory.

Only for the Abysaal cruiser to eat three torpedoes, quietly followed by the sound of giggling coming in from over the water's surface from the general direction of her four destroyers, Nepal watching her with both a sheepish and joyful expression. The Royal cruiser scowled as she watched her mark list hard to the side, flopping into the water helplessly as it began to sink. Further to her chagrin, she felt as her fairies marked down the kill for Nepal. Verdun tossed her arms into the air in victory as Lion offered the destroyer a fist bump, with both of them having bagged a destroyer too boot.

Royalist refused to be irked that the seven Abyssals they'd encountered thus far had all ended up as tallies for her destroyers.

"Did we do good!?" Verdun asked innocently over coms. But with the speed and force the question was asked in turn, it was more akin to an interrogation proper rather than a simple question. But Royalist, as agitated as she might have been under the surface at happenings, couldn't be mad. The four of them had preformed admirably, even with Nepal and Norman not being entirely new to this. Her concern, she admitted, had been Lion and Verdun. While she herself had strived to garner more water time between when she'd been granted her rigging, Verdun and Lion, nor any of the French destroyers had really pushed for more time on the water more than that had been required of them by the already established leadership of the fleet, that being the likes of Arizona or Nagato.

In the sum of all things, Royalist wasn't sure how she felt about the fact that the main leadership didn't have British membership present or included. Sure, it wasn't likely to be Argus or Dreadnought. But as far as she knew, they'd not approached Ark with any ideas.

She pushed that out of her mind for the time being though, as she offered her four distant destroyers a smile at the question presented to her.

"You preformed remarkably." She told the four of them, which turn resulted in the four breaking into cheering. As they did so, Royalist turned away somewhat as she briefly switched channels, onto what was now considered to be the main communication channel. Giving it a moment just to make sure everything was clear and no one was in the middle of talking, she opened up. "Johnny, you there?" She asked over the radio.

"Hold Royalist." The destroyer replied. "Sendai, what's her condition?" She asked. Royalist held somewhat as a pained breathing overcame another end of the line, distant fire and gunshots filtering through Sendai's end of the line.

"Her arm's not salvageable." Sendai replied. "Bastards hit her like a freight train. Johnny, please tell me we've got support incoming." The light cruiser demanded as what sounded like incoming fire splashed down around the cruiser. Already, Royalist could feel her heartbeat rising and her pulse racing. What the hell had they found over there? But Johnny, to her credit, stayed as calm and collected as ever.

"Louisiana and her fleet are five miles out." Johnny replied. "Pull back South by Southwest." Came the order. Sendai made a noise of affirmative before she turned off the channel. A moment later, Johnny spoke up again. "Royalist?" She questioned. "Still there?"

"W-what? Oh, y-yeah I am." She uttered. "Uhh, what was... what was going on there?" She asked.

"Battle off the North." Johnny said. "A fleet came across a pocket full of battleships. Carriers are already hitting them but Louisiana's the first battleship we'll have over there for support." She said.

"O-oh. Is there anything we can do to help?" Royalist questioned. Johnny made a noise of negative at that.

"Unless you and yours can make it to the other side of Japan in the next hour, no, there's nothing you can do. Don't worry though, it's under control for the most part." She told her, the destroyer's voice calm and level. Royalist nodded somewhat at that, it seeming to be all handed from where she was standing. After a moment though, she paused.

"Sendai said someone was hurt?" She questioned. Johnny made a noise that sounded like it could be agitation, and after a moment, she replied.

"Shropshire's arm took the brunt of a battleship." She informed her. "From the reports, it's barely hanging on sides from a few strings of muscle and fat." She told her. "But Shropshire won't return or retreat to a safe distance, even with the battleships." She told her. Royalist nodded somewhat, more caught off guard with the fact that Johnny was discussing all of this so casually. This wasn't the first day they'd had Johnny flexing her new position, this being second of third, but hearing a destroyer lay something so horrific out for her so calmly was an odd change to adjust to. "Royalist?" John Finn asked after a moment. The cruiser snapped to attention.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Did you actually need something or were you just checking in?" She questioned. Royalist's mind spazzed somewhat before nodding.

"Confirming the destruction of seven Abyssals, one Light cruiser and six destroyer designs." She reported. "Is there anything of needing importance that we should give response to?" She asked, almost hoped. John Finn made a noise of understanding at that.

"If you want to link up with either Helena's or Bellona's fleet, it wouldn't be a bad thing to push further away from the coastal waters, if only a smidge. See what else has nestled itself a home in our absence." She said. Royalist hesitated somewhat.

"Push out? Johnny, we don't even have a heavy cruiser. Our firepower would be relatively light." Royalist offered her concerns. "If we run into a battleship..." She trailed.

"I know. But that being said, Mississippi and Idaho are heading in your direction, Nevada's squad just entered the Western oceans. And there's a fishing convoy with Cabot, Independence, and Princeton on deck. It's doubtful they'll stay in the area long while passing through, but they are on hand to provide strikes if needed for the time being." She said. "And, Akagi and Enterprise will be on deck for sustained CAP within the next hour. Your options are far from limited." The destroyer offered.

Royalist weighed the information that had been presented to her, her gaze briefly landing on the destroyers apart of her formation and thought for a moment on who Helena and Bellona had with them. If she remembered correctly, Bellona had Asashio, Arashio, Laffey, and O'Brien. Helena was currently leading Vega, Violent, Z-25, and Z-27. After a moment though, she sighed as she made up her mind, getting in contact.

"Bellona, are you there?" She questioned. If anything, her sister's voice would make her feel a little better. But still, the idea and threat of pushing out into open ocean did not sound appealing. But if they could bag a few more Abyssals for the day, that's a few more Abyssals they wouldn't have to worry about later. Maybe.

"Yep." Bellona replied as the sound of her guns firing in unison briefly overtook Royalist's radio room. "What's up?" She asked.

"You find more Abyssals?" Royalist asked, now becoming somewhat worried at the prospect of her sister fighting their foes by herself. After a moment, Bellona offered an answer of affirmative.

"Just a few more destroyers." Bellona offered. "The destroyers are handling it. I'm just making sure the bastards can't get a chance to get a solution on them." She said. "You need something?" She asked. Royalist nodded.

"I'm going to link up with Helena and her squad and we're going to push further out from the coast." She said as she glanced back at the coast in question. "Letting you know because in terms of backup should we need immediate response, you're it." She explained. Bellona offered a sigh in response before answering in a short affirmative at what she was being told. With that being told and confirmed, Royalist finally got in touch with Helena a moment later.

"Royalist?" Helena questioned once Royalist asked for her.

"Are you and yours in position to meet up with us?" She questioned.

"I mean, yeah sure. But why? Aren't we supposed to be holding the Coast and it's waters?" She asked. Royalist hummed in response.

"Command wants us poking out just a little bit, seeing if we can stir just a bit more out of them before we pull back." She said. "Bellona's acting as our support for the time being, until we get a few carriers in the area." She informed her. "We don't know what might be poking around, so it's best to play this all safe."

"And if we run into battleships? You and I aren't the most heavily armored ship girls around." She told her.

"Mississippi and Idaho are on course to pass through the area and Nevada and Oklahoma will be passing through with their fleet before too long either." Royalist informed her. It took a few moments, a little too long for the British cruiser's liking and patience. So much to the point that she thought that the connection had been lost, eventually Helena did respond.

"Fine. We'll Unrep when we meet up and after that, I'm assuming you're coming up with a plan for this move." She said. "We'll see you in a few." The cruiser told her before the connection ended. Royalist took that moment in time to send a quick message back to Johnny to let her know their next move before turning to her four destroyers.

"Fall in." She called. Immediately, her four destroyers began to make way for her, interrupting their former game of tag in turn as they fell in formation behind her, the two of them lining up with their sisters as they looked to Royalist for orders.

"We're linking up with Helena and her four and then we're gonna push out and see if we can't raise some other Abyssals from their hiding holes." She told them as she began to make way in the direction she knew Helena to be. The four destroyers accompanying her nodded in turn as Norman looked to the British cruiser.

"Are we gonna get carriers?" She asked. Royalist arched a brow at that.

"You mean carrier support or are we gonna bag ourselves a carrier?" She questioned. Norman thought about it a moment, trying to figure out which one she either wanted to happen more or so before she shrugged, apparently not having been able to make a decision. Royalist sighed somewhat at that, before shaking her head, Norman giggling somewhat. "There's going to be a handful of carriers in the AO at any one time. But the first group will have their own objective, so we shouldn't try to rely on them too heavily. Enterprise and Akagi are on their way here as we speak so we might get lucky somewhat." She said. "But as for bagging ourselves a carrier, to answer your question, I don't know. If we find a light carrier, maybe. But we're not going to engage if it's anything heavier than that." She told her.

"Can we not take a carrier on?" Lion questioned from behind her as she watched a wave topple another wave.

"Preferably, by ourselves, no." She said. "Even if I was confident in our Anti Air capabilities, taking on a carrier with two light cruiser and eight destroyers is not nor has it ever been ideal. Because they're more than likely to have some form of either heavy vanguard or escort. So no, we will not be actively hunting a fight with a carrier." She said.

"Let's say... hypothetically-"

"No." Royalist returned.

"But-!"

"No."

"You don't even know-!"

"I'm not discussing hypotheticals with a destroyer." Royalist said. "I've heard enough of how the Fletcher class operates to make me permanently weary of the entire ship type." She said as she pushed the pace a little bit, intending to meet up with Helena as soon as possible. Norman huffed at the shut down as the three destroyers tailing along atop the water alongside her only laughed, Nepal in particular collapsing into a giggle fit. Norman only huffed at that as the four followed along after Royalist.

A little while later, they watched as Helena and her four destroyers slipped over the horizon. Immediately, Vega and Violent made to rush for Royalist with wide smiles on their faces, they were stopped when Helena put up a hand. Realizing their mistake, the two British destroyers immediately fell back into formation with the cruiser as they covered the last bit of distance between the two groups, Royalist chucking somewhat. Helena only dragged a hand down her face somewhat, groaning as she did so before nodding to the two as the groups met up. Immediately, Vega and Violent rushed for Royalist, hugging the cruiser tightly as Helena shook her head.

"You'd think they hadn't seen her for years." Helena remarked. Z-27 only chuckled somewhat at that as she looked up to the American cruiser standing there.

"What? Sad the destroyers of your own country won't greet you like that?" She questioned. Helena grunted at the sheer idea of that as she shook her head.

"More than thankful actually. The moment any of the Fletcher class comes around offering hugs and high spirits, I'm running the other way." She said. Z-27 cackled at that as the light cruiser clapped her hands. "Alright, Royalist, let's get them fed and refreshed and we'll move out." She said. Royalist nodded at that as the two cruisers began to reach into their stores, retrieving the items either set aside or requested by the eight destroyers. Which wasn't hard because the three cruisers had the foresight to keep their options limited.

This in turn mean that for the most part, the two cruisers were pulling Chocolate, Strawberry milk and apple juice in addition to a variance of snacks. The eight destroyers lined up behind the two cruisers as they handed out their snacks and the like. Once that was done, they fished out their own snacks and such, Helena immediately munching down on an apple as Royalist elected for a sleeve of crackers. As the cruiser fished one into her mouth, she had her fairies shoot another update back to base.

Once their snacking was done and gone, the trash and such cleaned up and packed away for the moment, Royalist looked to the horizon. "I'm planning on pushing no further than fifteen miles. So far, there's been no heavies or brawlers of their numbers hidden in this area of the Pacific. But I'm not willing to push that luck either." She said.

"Awwwww, come on!" Violent protested, Vega trying to shush her cries to no avail. "We can take on a battleship! No! Even two battleships!" She insisted. Royalist sighed, somewhat shaking her head as Helena chuckled, crossing her arms.

"Please. Explain to her that we can't." She told her. Royalist paused at that as she took a second to look to the destroyer, before pausing as she glanced back to Helena with a cautious look.

"You've given it a try?" She asked.

"Yes." Helena told her.

"Repeatedly." Z-27 supplied. Royalist sighed somewhat at that as she looked to Violent.

"I wish this didn't fit your name so well, but no, we are not going looking for a battleship. More so than that, should we encounter one, we are turning for retreat towards our own battleships." She told her. Violent only threw her hands up in the air in rebuttal, looking at the cruiser like she'd gone crazy. "Violent, are aren't ready to take on-"

"We have torpedos!" Violent told her.

"Torpedoes are not the end all, be all solution!" Royalist fired back.

"They could be if you weren't such a coward!" Violent returned. Royalist paused somewhat at that a moment before frowning, wheeling on the destroyer as Helena advanced to the lead, corralling the other seven destroyers with her. With Royalist having been aptly distracted by Violent, someone needed to make sure they weren't going to be blindsided.

"C-coward!?" Royalist demanded, Violent nodded in confirmation. "I am not a coward!"

"Coward!" Violent repeated. Royalist's cheeks puffed up in response as she waved a fist at the destroyer.

"I am not a coward!"

"Royal's a Coward! A coward! A coward!" Violent began in what Royalist would simply describe as a gremlin chant. Royalist only scowled as Helena chuckled from her new place at the head of the fleet. Hopefully the two wouldn't be too long.

—:—:—/::\—:—:—

Johnny paused somewhat as another message came in, putting what she was dealing with on the back burner as her fairies brought her the report. When she read over it, nodding at what Royalist had sent back to base, her fairies filed it away as she looked back to the plethora of screens before her, in total numbering in at seven.

She had two rows of three and one extra off to the side as she looked over them in a rapid fire fashion, looking over for any new updates. And as another update came in from her fairies, one coming in from Blücher's fleet, who was currently deployed to the northern most waters of Japan, she nodded as she began to mark down what she'd been informed of. Three light cruisers, a heavy, and a pocket or two of destroyers all sent to the bottom. Just today, the fleet as a whole had bagged forty hostiles with another thirty either spotted or forced to retreat. At the moment, with Royalist's fleet pushing to new territory, that meant four deployments were actively pushing to a new zone. She wasn't sure how that was gonna go, so she had her fairies keep an ear out for any sign that they needed reinforcements or something was going wrong.

She worried more so about Royalist than anyone else however, given their options for support were relatively light on the west side of Japan. Other than what she'd named off for the cruiser earlier, there wasn't much they were going to get at the moment. She paused somewhat as she once again looked over Akagi and E's fleet before tearing away her attention from that as she turned it back to Sendai's fleet and their current troubles.

Sendai's fleet actually had a battleship with them in the form of Scharnhorst. But from the way Sendai was laying things out, one singular battleship wasn't going to cut it. Which was why Johnny had recommended Louisiana's fleet make haste for Sendai. Sendai's fleet wasn't in too bad of shape, but Johnny didn't want to push that sort of luck any further if she didn't have too.

For a moment, she looked away from Sendai's fleet as well as she took a moment to look over the general situation. So far, aside from Sendai's fleet, no one had run into an Abyssal fleet proper. And with over twenty five various fleets or squads deployed at current moment, that was saying something. Though as she glanced at the two fleet's just leaving Yokosuka, she figured that was fixing to change given that those two were fixing to launch themselves straight into the Pacific.

The idea of the water, the idea of once again touching the water with her own person popped into her head. And for a moment, for a brief single moment, the idea seemed calming.

And then that night surged to the forefront of her mind and suddenly, her hands wouldn't stop shaking. Johnny scowled as she looked to her hands, willing them to cooperate, willing them to stop. But her hands wouldn't, her body wouldn't let her forget. The fire, the pain, the blinding lights. No matter how much she closed her eyes, no matter how much she tried to snuff it out, the feeling of her children losing their lives, the feeling of them being snuffed out aboard her refused to relent, refused to relax.

She took a moment as she clamped her eyes shut, willing everything to stop for a moment. But all it did for her was surge the memories to the forefront of her mind. She shuddered as the thoughts and feelings of that night surged to her side, the destroyer now shaking somewhat.

Her eyes snapped open as what sounded to be laughter echoed through her mind.

John Finn grit her teeth as her hands wouldn't stop shaking, the destroyer looking down at them in both resignation and defeat.

Her fairies watched her in a worried manner, those that could see her staring up at her in concern. With her rigging finally arrived, they'd been a great help to the destroyer. But in turn, they themselves had learned just what their ship, and by extension themselves, were going through.

John Finn just wanted it all to stop.

But she knew better than that.

Even now, when she didn't go anywhere near open ocean.

Johnny was so consumed in her own issue, in her own problem, she didn't even notice the door behind her open. So focused on her source of agitation, she didn't take note of the door briefly pausing before the person standing there in the doorway slowly closed it before walking for the destroyer. Placing one of the items in their hand on the side of the desk, that same hand found Johnny's head, nearly scaring the destroyer to her wit's end.

"Sorry, Kiddo." Anya laughed somewhat as the destroyer looked up to her in a flurry. Johnny stared at her a moment before frowning up at the Admiral, the destroyer's cheeks puffing up at her. Anya arched a brow for a moment before laughing somewhat, ruffling the girl's hair. A moment later, she reached for the bottle she'd brought with her originally, letting the now somewhat upset ship girl focused on it. "Peace offering?" She questioned.

"What is it Cap-" She paused. "Admiral." She finished. When Anya arched a brow at that brief interaction, she realized and only offered a small smile. "Sorry."

"No, no. It's alright." She told her as she once again presented the bottle, flipping open the lid for the destroyer. "Chocolate milk." She explained. Immediately, Johnny's eyes went wide at the promise of the treat. And upon glancing to the woman once more, who simply nodded in turn, Johnny all but snatched the bottle from the woman. Anya laughed somewhat as she sipped at her own beverage, a tall bottle of ice water. "Don't drink that all in one gulp please." Anya partially pleaded as she watched the destroyer make way to tip it into her mouth. "I promised Liz it would last you more than 30 seconds." She explained.

Johnny paused a moment at that before nodding gratefully, slowly bringing the bottle to her lips. Anya watched a moment before taking a seat next to the girl. "You doing alright?" She asked.

"Hmmm?" Johnny questioned as she swallowed what she'd gotten from the bottle.

"Your hands." Anya said. "I'm guessing things still aren't great?" She asked. "With the nightmares and all?"

Johnny paused a moment before shaking her head, lowering the bottle from her lips as she shook her head. "I'm getting... more sleep, I guess. M-Ms. Kitty Hawk's really nice and lets me sleep with her, so that's good. Right?" She questioned. Anya nodded at that as she ruffled the destroyer's hair again.

"Of course it is." She told her in confidence. "The more sleep you get makes me feel better." She said. "Of course, that only means so much when it feels like every other day, another of you girls is having troubles getting proper sleep, but I guess this war is one battle at a time." She said, prompting Johnny to smile. "Boring I know." She offered with an exaggerated eye roll. "But that's our hand and the house holds advantage." She told her. "And I'm certainly not the house."

"Well... why not?" Johnny asked.

"Because it's apparently been made my job to make sure Shiratsuyu doesn't go around gulping down Monsters in her free time. Takes a lot of energy you know." She reasoned. Johnny only laughed at that in return, Anya smiling somewhat at the sound. "Things won't be easy, I know. But you can talk to me about them anytime, you know that right?" She asked. Johnny nodded somewhat at that.

"Yeah." She said. After a moment though, after making sure there was nothing major that the fleets needed right at that moment, she looked to the woman. "Admiral... have you lost people in this war?" She asked quietly. But Anya didn't even need to think about it.

"Yeah." She answered simply. "My family's one of the lucky ones I suppose, but I've lost friends and people I knew. People I went to high school with. Those I went to the Academy with, I've lost people all around." She told her.

"Do... you remember them?" She asked. Anya offered a small pause at the question, before giving the girl a small nod. But the motion came with a question.

"Are you afraid you'll forget them?" Anya asked, already suspecting of where this conversation was fixing to turn to. It took a few quiet, still moments. But the nod that eventually pushed Johnny into moving to answer, Anya simply nodded in return. "You won't." She said.

"B-but you don't-"

"I don't know." Anya confirmed. "And you're right. There's a hell of a difference between you and me. You've got a crew, properly trained and the like and I've... well, I've kind of become a living barracks it would seem." She said. As if on cue, a Saratoga fairy poked it's head out of Anya's collar, waving at Johnny with a dopey smile upon her face. Anya however only shivered somewhat at the unfamiliar feeling against her skin as she carefully but easily removed the fairy from her collar, depositing the being ontop of her head. Johnny giggled at the sight despite herself, despite the topic of their conversation. Anya watched the destroyer a moment and offered a small smile as she placed a hand on the girl's head. "Tell me, when I was your commanding officer, did you ever forget me?" She asked.

Johnny seemed to pause somewhat at the question before shaking her head.

"Did you ever forget any of the crew that served under me?" She questioned further. It was a moment longer before Johnny shook her head again.

"No." She answered. Anya nodded at that.

"Then why are you so convinced that you're going to forget your crew that served with you to the end?" She asked. "If anyone, I'd assume they would stay on your mind longer than anyone else." Anya told her. "And remember, if you're ever really concerned with this, you're on base with a couple hundred girls that could relate to you better than anyone else." She said. "While my words are for support, given that I never had a crew, they're kind of hollow at the end of the day." She told her. Johnny nodded, her mind trying to come to terms with everything she'd just been told or asked. But the destroyer pushed it to the wide as Anya furthered her own thoughts. "So? How are we doing today? In terms of the fleets?" She questioned. Jonny briefly paused somewhat at that before nodding as she turned her gaze towards the computer screens.

"Well enough. We haven't bagged more than a handful of their heavies, but their destroyers and cruisers have been going down in droves." Johnny said. "Either they were sacrificial pieces or they simply weren't expecting this kind of expansion so soon." She reasoned.

"That's likely the case." Anya reasoned. "Up until now, it's been them coming to find us. I can only imagine how a shift like this is going to effect the flow of the war. Have we bagged any of their carriers?" She questioned. Johnny shook her head at the question.

"We haven't found any of their carriers, even on the lighter side. At least from these pockets we're dragging up." She told her. "The heavier classed girls are assuming that they come straight from whatever the Abyssals call bases or staging points." Johnny told her, gesturing to a various collection of reports on the table before her. "And amongst the couple dozen Abyssals that have met their end thus far, it's holding up." She told her. Anya nodded at that as she took a moment to look over the map before them once again, looking over the areas that Johnny had marked down where Abyssals had been killed or sunk.

"Then it's all too likely that their carriers are valued by their side as well, even with the number they have." Anya offered. "Damnit, I was hoping that wasn't going to be the case." She said.

"Well, don't we value our carriers?" Johnny questioned. Anya nodded at that.

"There's a fair difference though." Anya told her.

"Is there?" Johnny questioned in response. Anya opened her mouth to respond a moment before pausing somewhat, taking a moment to think it over. After a few seconds of pondering the question, Anya's lips pursed somewhat.

"I think?" Anya replied eventually.

"You think?" Johnny chirped. Anya shook her head.

"I guess I don't really know considering I myself am not in charge of any sort of Abyssal fleet, lest I am unaware of their Carrier doctrine. I guess it just feels that they've always got their carriers at the forefront of every single engagement they're present In. It doesn't give one the image that preserving their carriers is high on the priority list sometimes." Anya reasoned. Johnny paused somewhat, going over this line of thought a moment before nodding somewhat at the explanation. There was logic in it.

"But they typically won't just show up in a normal sortie. Or at least, they haven't been." Johnny offered as she looked to the reports. Anya nodded at that as she glanced over the girl's shoulder, reading the info for herself a moment.

"I mean it's possible they're playing it careful, what with our new strategies here, but that's awfully fast to adapt an entire doctrine adjustment." Anya said. Johnny shrugged as she sipped at her new reward.

"We don't exactly know how they communicate or how efficient it is." She said. "They have a lot of territory, most of the major oceans and a good portion of the smaller, sub waters. They have to have a way of communicating or coordinating that we're not seeing." Johnny reasoned as she looked to the Admiral. Anya nodded somewhat at that as she glanced to Johnny.

"Don't suppose there's a way that you could learn a way to intercept their lines of communication?" Anya asked in a joking nature, although somewhat serious. Johnny only smiled somewhat at the question before shaking her head, Anya offering an exaggerated sigh of defeat. But a moment later, Johnny frowned somewhat.

"Admiral?" She asked openly.

"Hmm?" Anya returned.

"Would it... be possible to speak with her? The Captain?" Johnny questioned. Anya paused somewhat before shrugging.

"I don't see why Captain Algerona-"

"No, not her Admiral. The Captain... my Captain." She told her further. Anya paused somewhat at that, her mind wandering somewhat. She didn't know how Captain Young was doing or what condition she was in. She doubted it was great or that she was even conscious at all, and there'd been no news that had come reaching for her. She glanced at the destroyer another moment longer before shrugging.

"I won't tell you no, Johnny. But I'm going to have to see what the situation is first. Again, not a no."

"But... not a yes." Johnny concluded. She only offered a sigh as Anya offered the destroyer a pat on the head, a movement the destroyer made no attempt to move away from.

Anya smiled.

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She watched as embers of her cigar floated ever so gently to the ground, where she promptly stepped on them, even giving her boot a twist as she extinguished it. She took another drag of the cigar as she did so, standing on the end of the pier as the wind blew along ever so casually.

"Aboot time A finally figurit oot where ye are." Someone said from behind the woman. The woman pulled the cigar from her mouth with a gruff chuckle thrown in, turning to face the woman somewhat, watching her approach.

"Why is it every time I turn away from you for thirty seconds, your whole fuckin Accent just thickens?" The woman asked. The white haired woman approaching her waved her arms in a wide gesture before her, her fur lined collar fluttering in the breeze.

"A don't know momi. Why don't ye tell me why ye can't stay i ane place for more than ten fuckin minutes." Ska demanded, stopping just before her fellow Titan. Momi only laughed at that as she took another drag of her cigar, Ska crinkling her nose at the motion. "Can't decide who's more unattractive. The blondie fuckin yer girl or ye wi aw this smoke."

"Says the waking Alcohol encyclopedia." Momi offered in retort. Ska snorted at the comeback. "And don't be bad mouthing Blondie. At least not to my face. That's when we're gonna have a fair share of a problems, all of them on your end." Momi told her. Ska put a hand on her hip as she smirked somewhat, another ocean breeze fluttering the fur on her clothing.

"Well i'll be. The brute has found someone thon she actually gives a damn aboot thon isn't ane o her wee girls. This is the day the universe comes tae an end." She offered in suppliance, standing next to Momi a moment. Momi in turn took another drag of her cigar before turning to Ska and blowing her a face full of smoke for her troubles. Immediately, the white haired woman wheeled on the woman, fury incarnate immediately building in her eyes. Momi dodged out of the way at a moment's notice as Ska went to reach for her, the woman laughing as she did so.

"Why are you here anyways?" Momi asked as she finally tossed the Cigar away, the item simply fading away as it hit the water. "You've got kiddos here, sure. But I figured you'd stick with the majority of them, back on the other side." She told her. Ska offered the woman a shrug as she calmed herself, a hand going to her hip.

"Well A can't very well juist leave thaim wi ye, now can A? they're supposit tae be representin their kintra an it seems tae me thon whenever ye leave yer kin aw alone, they end up hurtin themselves more than they dae the bad guys." Ska told her matter of factly. "Plus i'd rather no leave thaim tae test fate wi the ane shaggin yours, no thon she coud properly handle ane o thaim anyways." She told her. Momi rolled her eyes at that as she took another drag of her cigar.

"You make it sound like Blondie goes for everyone. Maryland's got her right where she wants her." She told her. "And besides, I don't really think what goes on between them is any of your business." Momi offered. "They're my concern."

"Funny hou for bein yer concern, ye learnit o't throuch another juist like A did. A think A can remember yer face whan koko rollit around an let ye know. Kynd o the same face ye were wearin when-" Ska pushed, but Momi snapped her finger in her direction, narrowing her eyes as she looked to the woman.

"Continue that statement and I promise, you will be kissing the ground." She told her. Ska smirked at that as she shook her head a moment, but she didn't follow it up with anything for a second. giving Momi time to cool off for a brief period. If there was one thing Ska knew how to do, it was to push the woman's buttons. Even if they were large and quite obvious. Few things would get Momi to snap in this day and age, but the ones that would, Ska liked to pick like low hanging fruit. She adored doing it, even prided herself on finding new ways to do so.

"A swear tae god, ye make this ower easy." Ska told her, her laughter being held away for the moment. Momi rolled her eyes at that as she put her hands on her hips as she looked out over Tokyo Bay, returning to stand next to Ska a few moments later.

"I don't like it." Momi told her, Ska nodding ever so quietly at her declaration. "They've hit some bumps, sure. But I don't like this. Too easy." Momi said with a kind of certainty that told Ska if she were to fuck around right now, she would most definitely find out.

"Thare isn't really a whole lot ye can dae tae change thon much now is thare?" Ska questioned.

"Still don't like it." Momi offered. "They've had to too easy up to this point. Something's going to give at the wrong time and people are going to pay for it." She told her. Ska shrugged as she cocked her hip to the side, glancing to the woman.

"War is war. It's aye been thon way an aye will be. Ye an A know thon better than most an will tak it wi us wherever we gae. They know it ower, they may juist have tae repeat a lesson for it." Ska told her. "Ye watchit arizona gae doun. I've watchit ower many gae doun. At this point, A wad say it's inevitable." Ska Offered. Momi rolled her eyes as she glanced back at the woman she would dare call a friend.

"You're doing a real shit job at the support role right now, you know?"

"Oh for fuck's sake, gin A wantit tae play the support here, micht an aw juist pull the girls oot an flash ye here an now? wad thon dae it? wad thon strike yer support role?" She demanded. Momi shrugged, her broad shoulders moving her coat up somewhat.

"Might help a little bit." She told her with a smirk in tow.

"Go fuck yourself."

Momi's booming laughter sounded off across the water, doing a good job at filling the air with noise around them. But of course, noise would always attract more.

"Must the two of you always be a blight to every place you visit?" A voice asked from behind the two. Ska turned first, a hand on her hip as she rolled her eyes as Momi looked back as well, the two of them focusing their gazes on the newcomer. Momi only rolled her eyes as Ska fully turned to face the woman.

"Must ye aye act like you're the hichest power o the land? push it ower much further an we'll throw ye intae the bay. Now that'd make a guid joke." She told her. The dual horned woman that had appeared before them. She reached up, brushing some of her hair behind one of the horns that rested on the side of her head, scowling somewhat as she stood before Ska. Albeit a smidge shorter than the white haired woman before her, Momi knew that letting the two of them go at it wouldn't be the best choice for anyone.

"Down, Ska, down." Momi offered, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder. Ska made no noise of agreement, but she didn't make any move to move on the new woman either, Momi deciding to count that as a small blessing as she looked to the newcomer. "What is it Koko? Something else gone wrong?" She questioned.

"Not since I had to watch yours going at it like attention deprived rabbits." Koko offered as she put a hand on her hip. Her black and gold uniform peeked out from under her white cloak. Momi rolled her eyes as Ska chuckled in an amused fashion, glancing to the woman.

"Oh? Has the normally quiet Koko gone wild on us?" Momi questioned with a chuckle. Koko only huffed in an irritable way as she looked to Momi with venom in her eyes.

"We weren't having this problem when it was just me and mine." She told her. "Everything was quiet, peaceful. And now we have the Blonde banshee making herself known at the worst times!" She told her. Momi only rolled her eyes as Ska scoffed.

"A think you're ower exaggeratin here. Sure, she micht be a handful, but i'm no sure whit you're tryin tae sell wi the banshee thin." She reasoned. Momi nodded at that, raising a finger as well as she looked to Koko.

"And I hate to burst your bubble here, but Blondie and Mary are both American. They're my concern." She told her. "And you wouldn't have a noise problem if you wouldn't go around listening to them." She reasoned as a smirk spread across her lips. "Pervert." She said in simplicity. Koko narrowed her eyes as Ska chuckled in her own little way.

"That's hardly fair and you-"

"And now that I think about it, speaking of my kiddos. I allowed them to come through because I figured they'd be safe from any potential dangers, but instead I find myself surprised when your girls start prowling them as if they're some... meal for your girls to enjoy! Please Koko, keep a leash on them! Think of the children!" Momi pleaded in a dramatic fashion. Ska's chuckling broke out into full on maniacal laughter as Koko stamped a foot on the ground, putting her hands on her hips as the two riled her up.

"Oh no! Koko's mad! Whatever will we do!" Momi asked in a dramatic fashion, even though she didn't move as she did so. Ska continued to cackle as Koko made to swing at Momi, but the woman simply put up a hand, blocking the woman's strike with relative ease. Quickly taking her hand away, Momi in one fell swoop, she took the third woman's cap. The horned woman immediately reached for it, but the slight height advantage provided more than enough difference for Momi to toss the cap to Ska, the woman then going to grin down at Koko.

Only for Koko to sock the woman in the stomach with a right hook that Momi hadn't seen coming.

Now, Momi was tall, even compared to Koko who naturally fell a few inches, almost a foot under the woman in height. But that didn't mean that Koko was by any means weak. She never had been.

Momi nearly doubled over, still laughing as the air was pushed from her body in one fell swoop. Ska's laughter was now howling as she held the cap firmly away from Koko, holding her at bay with the other arm.

"Swear A miss the days whan koko wis this sweet little wee lass. Momi, A blame ye an yours for what's happenit tae her!" Ska laughed as she eventually ended up offering the woman's cap back to her, Koko shooting the woman a dirty look before she placed it down back upon her head. The woman shook her head in an irritated fashion as Momi finally stood tall once again, still laughing somewhat.

"Do that again and the next one's going to that fucked up face." Koko threatened with a pointed finger. Immediately, Momi, scarred face and all, made a move to reach for the Cap sitting on the woman's head.

"Ska's right." Momi offered as Koko knocked away Momi's hand in one smooth motion, much to the enjoyment of both Momi and Ska. "You've kind of soured in your old age." She told her.

"Hard tae believe this ane wis the same wee little girl wha wis sae hesitant tae talk tae us." She told them. Momi nodded at that with a grin as Koko rolled her shoulders somewhat before crossing her arms.

"Why the fuck can't you keep your girls under control? I don't need to hear all the bad words the two of them know coming out of them in the course of five minutes!" Koko told her. Momi scoffed at that.

"I'm not in on all the details, but I know Blondie's got more in her than a simple five minute fix. You're just a salty bitch because you can't get any." Momi told her.

"And who the fuck am I supposed to get some from? You? Who bears all the resemblance to Scarface?" She asked. "Or Elsa over here, who can't pronounce Banana without sounding like a loon?" She demanded. Momi chuckled at that as she spied Ska quietly sounding out the word banana to herself a moment, the woman shaking her head a few moments later. "Why the hell are you out here anyways?"

"It's not like they can-"

"That's not my point." Koko told her with a dismissive wave. "Why are you here? In this area? And not just in the Gateway? Why not do your thinking there?" She questioned. "Not that I don't appreciate the compliment." She smugly added. Momi shook her head somewhat.

"She's becoming to lax with all of this." She told them, the amusement slipping from her voice. Ska looked up in surprise somewhat as Koko furrowed her brows.

"Blondie? I don't know-"

"Not fucking Blondie. The one in the Gateway." Momi corrected her.

"Oh." Ska replied.

"What about her? She keeps tabs on the girls for us." She told her. "Keeps them safe, keeps them healthy." Koko told her. Momi shook her head.

"And she's been making a whole lot of questionable moves as of late." She told her. "Let me get this straight, you're gonna tell me that she just goes from letting one Jap at-"

"Watch it." Koko offered in warning. Momi shook her head.

"Goes from letting one Japanese girl at a time to letting twenty three come through the very second they're able. And I don't know what she's got the Gateway thinking, but the smallest my girls ever came through was with two. What the fuck is she playing at?" She asked of no one in particular. Ska nodded in the logic she was being presented with as Koko shrugged, looking to Momi.

"Why are you so worried about it? We've never had an issue before." She told her.

"Because this is gonna get someone fucking killed eventually. Maybe not the groups coming through at once, but the fleet only actually has five commanders. They're stretched beyond thin at this point and she's only making things worse. Someone's gonna miss something and others are gonna pay for it." She told them. Koko and Ska traded a glance with one another at that, silently weighing what they'd been told.

All before a gust of wind blew by them, and the three of them were gone.

—//—\\—//—\\—

She made a noise of distress as she watched her hair clip clatter to the ground at her feet. She watched it a moment, her hands still held in position as if she was willing it to come back to her. But when her efforts went no where fast, she offering only a quiet huff as she let her arms drop to her sides, her hair once again returning to it's normal position as the destroyer bent over to collect the hair accessory.

"Why is this so hard?" The destroyer silently demanded as she put the hair accessory on the side table next to her as she straightened out her hair a moment before sighing, and reading herself to go for it again. And for a few moments, it looked as if she was going to succeed in remaking the braid that she'd had the few nights before now. But it was as if her fingers were actively working against her in her attempts as strands of hair began to slip free of her hold, eventually leading to her entire braid falling apart. Shigure made a noise of defeat before letting her hair drop back down again, her hair accessory still within her grasp.

"Pooooooi?"

Shigure very much jumped.

"Ah!" Shigure squealed as she whipped around, losing her grasp on the item in her hand as she scattered to bring her gaze to the person that had spoken to her. But somewhere in the middle of all of her self-fright, her mind recognized that the voice belonged to her blonde sister. So by the time that the destroyer fully turned to face her sister, she was less so spooked and more mildly annoyed than anything. "Yuudachi!" Shigure exclaimed, standing as she confronted her sister. The Poi-boat for all her worth simply tilted her head, her hair tufts fluttering somewhat as she looked at her sister.

"Poi?" Yuudachi looked to her sister in a quizzical way. Shigure prepared to say something further, before it suddenly dawned on her just who she was getting ready to get into an argument with, and simply let it go. Her shoulders slumped somewhat at the very idea of it, Yuudachi in turn only tilting her head further as she looked to her sister, watching as Shigure began to somewhat look around the room. "Shigure? Like, what are you doing poi?"

For a moment, Shigure found herself too enthralled in her search. Luckily, that didn't last too long.

"Searching for my hair tie." Shigure answered. "My hair tie that you made me throw!" She added a second later, with an air of finality about her tone. It took a few seconds for Yuudachi to respond, Shigure hoping that she'd apologize for it. But her logical mind had always been strong, she thought, and prided herself a little bit on it. So where she wanted to hear an apologize in turn, she'd likely end up hearing something along the lines like-

"Like, why did you throw it, poi?" Yuudachi questioned.

The muscles in Shigure's neck went slack as her head hung low before her, defeat being dealt to her in a simple seven word question. Really? Why had she ever so simply tossed the hair trinket-

"Because you scared me, Yuudachi!" Shigure retorted, throwing her arms into the air as she faced her blonde sister once more. This time, at least Yuudachi had the audacity to tilt her head the other way in turn, her hair tufts doing their little shake as she did so. The blonde destroyer didn't even get a response out to the destroyer's declaration before Shigure's arms simply fell limp to her sides, hanging uselessly there for a time.

Shigure knew when she was fighting a losing battle.

No one ever won a battle against Yuudachi.

The Laws of Poi made it so.

Yuudachi watched her sister aimlessly turn back towards the majority of their room, their three deck bed on one side, their large desk on the other, with their table in the middle. Apparently, Shigure had decided, that it had landed near their desk because that's where the destroyer began to turn her attention to the most. Yuudachi watched her a moment before she straightened up somewhat.

"What's it look like, poi?" The destroyer questioned, her gaze landing on her sister. Shigure paused a moment before figuring that having some help searching through their room couldn't be a bad thing.

She'd learn to regret that.

"Like two blue marbles." Shigure answered her as she got on her hands and knees and began to look under the desk. Yuudachi paused at that, committing the description to memory, before nodding to herself. With Shigure searching the right side of their room, she figured she'd check around their beds, already sinking to the floor to check under Harusame's first. Admittedly, she didn't know why Shigure seemed to care so much for one little item, especially when they could just as easily get a new one from
literally anyone in the dorms, but it was important to the destroyer.

And so, it was important to Yuudachi.

However, she never got the chance to start looking for it as the door behind her opened, the destroyer turning to find out who was entering the room. Their third and final roommate was out on Sortie, so it wasn't likely to be Harusame. And it wasn't, Yuudachi realized, as she came face to face with both her oldest and youngest sisters. Shiratsuyu arched her brows as she looked from Yuudachi back to Shigure and then back to Yuudachi. Apparently, she'd not been able to piece together what was going on before her. And that was without Suzukaze moving past her to get her own look into the room. After a moment though, it seemed that Shiratsuyu couldn't piece together what was going on with her sisters by herself and she offered a huff.

"What's with all the noise?" She finally asked.

Shigure paused her search.

Yuudachi cocked her head.

"It's kind of quiet In-"

"Not what I meant." Shiratsuyu retorted, cutting Yuudachi off. The blonde destroyer only laughed in reply as the eldest of their sisterhood turned her gaze in on Shigure. "What I mean is why were you screaming like that? Or why did you scream is a better question." She questioned. When Shigure sighed in response somewhat as Yuudachi's laughter became fuller, and rich in sound at the question, Shiratsuyu pretty much figured it out.

"Did Yuudachi spook you?" Suzukaze asked with a tilted head, voicing Shiratsuyu's inner thoughts. The two focused on Shigure a moment until their sister nodded at the question, Shira smirking in a smug way while Suzukaze only huffed.

"Funny." Shiratsuyu offered. "That still doesn't explain why you're on the floor, but still funny." She reasoned, more to herself than anyone. Suzukaze nodded at that as Shigure sighed.

"I'm looking for my hair tie." Shigure answered with a sigh. "One I had in my hands before Yuudachi scared me and caused me to throw it." She told them. Shiratsuyu nodded at that as Suzukaze took an informative glance around the room.

"You doing that braid again?" Shiratsuyu asked, already figuring it out somewhat. "That's good. I really like that braid on you." She told her younger sister. Shigure looked briefly surprised a moment before looking away in a quick moment, Shira laughing as she did so as she approached the destroyer. "Do you even have any idea of exactly where it landed?" She questioned. It took a moment, but Shigure's shoulders slumped somewhat at the question, Shira nodding in understanding. "Alright. Give me one second." She said as she turned and left the room. Shigure watched her go a moment, curiously gazing to Suzukaze. When her blue haired sister didn't offer or have anything to add for a moment, Shigure turned her attention back to the doorway just as Shiratsuyu walked back into the room.

Approaching her sister with purpose, the destroyer opened her hand for Shigure to reveal a ribbon.

One that she encouraged Shigure to take.

Shigure paused a moment before nodding, taking the red bow from Shira's hand as she looked at it a moment. And then she offered a thankful nod as she took a seat in front of their desk, Shira, Yuudachi, and Suzukaze turning their attention to their sister. But after a moment, after a few quiet seconds of nothing going on, Shigure thumped her head on the desk.

"Shigure?" Suzukaze called, in a somewhat worrying tone.

Shigure mumbled something they couldn't make out.

"What was that Shigure?" Shira questioned.

Shigure mumbled it again, a little louder this time.

"Poi?" Yuudachi questioned.

"I don't know how to braid." Shigure finally got out. Shiratsuyu paused somewhat at that before snorting in amusement.

"Oh. Well if that's all it is." She reasoned as she approached Shigure, taking the ribbon from her a moment as she spun Shigure around. "You want that front braid again, right? Same style you had?" She asked. Shigure nodded, both relieved and excitedly. Shiratsuyu nodded at that as she began to get to work as Suzukaze crossed her arms a moment as she watched her eldest sister get to work while Yuudachi sat by and watched their eldest sister work.

"Ok so wait." Suzukaze finally said. "You yourself don't know how to braid, but you were wearing a braid for a day or two. So who did it for you then?" She questioned. Shira didn't voice her agreement on the question, but her eyes did wander over to meet Shigure's suddenly uncomfortable. Shiratsuyu of course picked up on this immediately and figured that the likely answer was going to make both Shigure uncomfortable and set off Suzukaze in some way or form.

"I know you told me that Arizona had been playing around with the idea, Shigure." Shiratsuyu offered to her sister. "But I can't believe the braid was hers. It was very well done." She told her. Shigure quickly shot a thankful expression to Shiratsuyu in turn at that before they both, or at least Shira, casted a glance to Suzukaze. The destroyer looked agitated that an American had gotten so close to her sister to do something as simple as braid her hair, but on the other hand it was Arizona. Suzukaze didn't exactly like the battleship, but she didn't mind her either. Not compared to some of their other American fleet mates, Shira knew.

But she suspected this went beyond the battleship.

"Hey, Suzukaze, Yuudachi? Would the two of you go grab a table for us at lunch?" She questioned somewhat. Suzukaze seemed to blink at the request a moment, Yuudachi already hopping up at the question, until the blue haired destroyer nodded as the two of them left the room, leaving Shigure and Shira alone.

"Thank you." Shigure offered quietly. Shira only smiled to her sister as she worked on the braid for her.

"I take the quiet to mean that whoever did this braid for you the first time, likely wouldn't be a very popular admission with some of our fellow kanmusu." Shira assumed finally as she glanced at Shigure. The dark haired destroyer met eyes with her eldest sister a moment before she quickly glanced away, as if she were ashamed of the truth, or that Shira would join their fleet in it's thoughts. "You know, you don't have to tell me who it was. I won't pry, I won't try to coax it out of you. But I have to ask, was it someone American?" She questioned.

It took a moment but Shigure nodded at the question, her gaze meeting Shira's again as she opened her mouth to reply. But Shira shook her head at that as she continued to braid her sister's hair. "You don't need to tell me." She told her.

"But-" Shigure tried.

"Let me put this a different way." Shiratsuyu offered after a moment. "Don't tell me. I know they're American. That's enough for me." She told her, glancing to the girl a moment before falling silent, as she focused on braiding Shigure's hair. Shigure paused a moment at that, something about her eldest sister's voice not sitting right with her.

"Shiratsuyu-nee?" She questioned.

"Don't use the nee with my name. Sounds fine with your name, Harusame's name, Yuudachi's name. Don't use it with mine." She told her a moment, her eyes meeting Shigure's a moment before glancing back to her braid. "Sorry. What do you want to say?" She asked.

"Do... you not like the Americans?" Shigure asked, watching her oldest sister for any sign that something was wrong. Her first sign came in the form of Shiratsuyu's fingers briefly pausing their motions in their braiding, before she continued right along as she'd been doing. The second sign that Shigure got was the look of distaste that briefly crossed Shiratsuyu's features in a mortifyingly slow way.

"I don't hate them if that's what you're asking." Shiratsuyu quietly replied, her gaze glancing to her sister a moment. A moment of uncertainty passed briefly over Shigure's features at that admission, her gaze lingering on her sister a moment.

"So do you-"

"I never said I liked them either." Shira told her in turn, Shigure's voice falling away after that.

An uneasy silence settled between the two of them.

"But-" Shigure tried a few seconds later.

"But what, Shigure?" Shira questioned. "What do you want me to say here? That I'm ecstatic to be around the fleet that we faced those many years ago? That I'm overjoyed to be face to face, living side by side with the reason that I know what it's like to lose my sisters? To leave my sisters behind? To leave me knowing that you were the last of us to survive? Do you simply want me to push that all to the side and pretend it didn't happen? So that I can honestly say that, yes, I prefer our base, our base in our own home country being co-opted by those that killed us decades ago? That I prefer them being in walking distance at all times?" She asked as she finally finished with the braid, finishing it off with the ribbon that she'd brought over for her.

"But they're not like that at all! Since I've known-"

"Since you've known them, yes. But you know what the difference is between you knowing them and me knowing them?" She asked.

Shigure paused.

Was there a difference?

"The difference-" Shira began. "Is that you and the other first Japanese girls got to watch as they came in as seven and then stopped. You watched as their proved their willingness to become allies that we doubted we'd get. You got to watch as they adjusted, as they reached out to us. You, Yuudachi, Harusame, you're lucky in that way. But me? Mura? Umi? Sam? Suzy? Kawakaze and Yamakaze? We got to come back to a base where the Americans were already starting to overwhelm those around them. We got to come back to the exact same situation we went down to decades ago." The destroyer told her. "We may be allies, sure. Japan and the United States may be in close relations, but in the end, nothing's changed. The only difference is they're not shooting at us. But after this- after the war- how long will even that last us?" Shiratsuyu asked open endedly. Shigure blanched.

"They would- they wouldn't ever do something like that!" Shigure told her in protest.

"And maybe you're right, Shigure. Maybe you've got it straight on. And I really wish I could think like that, to let go of this building fear that at one point, someway or somehow, you, or Yuudachi, or Suzukaze. This fear that one of you is going to go down because of an American. Maybe even me, I don't know." She told her. Before Shigure could respond, Shira simply waved a hand. "Like I said, this isn't how I want to think about all of this. I want, I wish I could think about all of this as freely as you or Yuudachi do. But as the eldest of us, I have to look at it from a more realistic point of view. And as long as girls like Saratoga or Nevada are on base, I'm terrified that what I don't want to come true will absolutely do just that." She reasoned, more to herself than Shigure. Shigure looked to her sister in a focused manner.

"Shiratsuyu-nee, they wouldn't ever do that! They're our allies! Admiral Johnson is our ally!" She assured her. Shiratsuyu only offered a singular chuckle at that.

"And like I said, Shigure. I really wish I could think like that, I wish I could all of this like that." She told her, standing as she did so. "If anything else though, Admiral Johnson is very good at braiding hair it would seem." Shiratsuyu offered as she began to move towards the door. "Don't wait too long to come to lunch." She told her as she left the room, leaving Shigure in her thoughts.

Shigure idly toyed with the braid as she did so.

——/——\——

"There's been no noticeable change in her condition as of yet, Ms. Sonferi." The doctor told her as she looked to the woman before her. "Her condition is stable though, and her vitals are stable. At this point, we're just waiting on her to wake up. Though, I can't nor should I give an estimate on it." She explained.

Valeria closed her eyes a moment before nodding in response somewhat at that, opening them again as she looked to the doctor.

"You know, we can put you on a call list for when she wakes up if you want. So that you can actually spend a few hours getting some decent sleep." The doctor told her. "Doctor's advice and all that if you would. Even if she wakes up while you're gone, she won't be going anywhere for a good while." She told her. Valeria shook her head at that.

"No, that's not required. I'd prefer to be here when she wakes up. Thank you though." She told her. The doctor nodded, seeming to pause somewhat before relenting completely, her hands going back to her coat's pockets as she pulled away from the woman, soon disappearing around a corner. Valeria watched her go a moment before rubbing her face with her hands, standing there a moment before returning to her seat, the same one she'd been occupying off and on over the last few days. Minute trips to her home allowed her showers and some sleep, but nothing meaningful, nothing of what Sam had in mind when he'd pushed her to leave.

She rested her head in her hands a moment until the sound of a cup being placed on the table before her brought her attention back up. She found a cup of what looked to be coffee placed before her before her gaze traveled up to the person standing there. Taking a moment, Valeria only offered a small amused chuckle as she gratefully took the cup as she nodded to the person standing there, Captain Mann.

"I'm starting to think you're following me."

"Following implies that I have to go more than one place to find you." The older man offered in retort as he settled himself down across from the woman. Valeria conceded the point the man had as she sipped at the cup a moment, noting the man's lack of Military dress.

"They finally decide to kick you out?" Valeria asked. Mann chuckled somewhat at that.

"They still aren't sure what to do with any of us at the moment, not with what happened. And they're not sure trying to move us outside of the Med is a good idea, nor is keeping us in the best idea either. In the end, we're in limbo right now while the higher ups figure out what they want to do." He told her. "So? Any change from the last few days?" He questioned, nodding his head in the direction of the room. Valeria shook her head at that.

"She's stable. But that's the extent at the moment." She told him. Mann nodded at that as he sipped at his own drink a moment.

"I've heard some stirrings that New Jersey and John Finn have already made their return over in Japan. You know if it's true?" He questioned. Valeria scowled somewhat.

"That's supposed to be under wraps." Valeria replied in turn. Mann shrugged at that as he leaned forwards, holding the cup with both hands a moment.

"Didn't know that for sure. But people tend to talk when a Vice Admiral is suddenly moved to Japan for an unknown posting, a Vice Admiral mind you that's young enough to be my own daughter." He told her. Valeria looked surprised a moment before looking to the man.

"You know Admiral-"

"Don't know her, not personally. Know of her, know that she was in San Francisco when the Abyssals came knocking. And I've got enough buds in the Army and Air Force to know of her parents. Makes you wonder when we'll have a General Johnson in the Marines." He told her.

The surprises kept coming it would seem.

"Would they allow that many people from the same family in such high ranking positions scattered among the branches of your military?"

"It really depends on a lot of things in truth." He began.

Valeria listened quietly while ever so often, her gaze would dart to the hospital door of the woman she was here for.

She needed just one ending that didn't result in someone dying in this war.

Just one.