A/N: Wow? First, it was a thousand reads. And now, six thousand? Thank you. Thank you all so much for liking something that I decided to write. It means a lot. It really does.
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Enterprise yawned as she awoke, for some reason enjoying the silence that filled the room. Sure, there wasn't Langley's soft snoring. Or Lex's muttering in her sleep, sounds which that the Yorktown girl had become accustomed to.

But where she missed what she was used to, she knew she had something else to look forward to as well.

And simply put, that thing to look forward to was Akagi herself. And their new found relationship.

And as Enterprise awoke fully, sitting up as she yawned, she only smiled to herself as she sat there a moment before shaking her head. Her smile still present, she got a towel from her dresser as she began to set out her outfit for the day.

Which, like most other days, was to be her uniform. Actually, now that she looked at her wardrobe, most of it was uniforms. She didn't have very much in terms of her own clothes. Much of her stuff had been given to her by the Navy. Not that she was complaining though.

Yawning, she went about stripping away her clothes before wrapping the towel around herself. Yawning again, she collected her shower amenities as she walked out of the room.

As she stepped into the hallway, she once again found the silence somewhat relaxing. Well, scratch that. It was partial silence since if Enterprise listened hard enough, she could hear a few of the new six girls moving about.

She had met the six yesterday at dinner. Since it was only the second day since the fleet's had left, the base was still rather calm. So it gave ample opportunity to meet the new girls. And Enterprise wasn't exactly sure how she felt.

Sure, on one hand, they had more girls. Four cruisers and two battleships. Not by any means a weak force. Especially since they were sisters.

But on the other hand, was it really that hard to ask for Hornet or York to come through? Honestly? That's all she wanted.

As she walked up to the bathroom door however, she did encounter one interesting thing. The North Carolina sisters had taken the room across from the Midway's at the end of the hall. And the fact that Enterprise could hear snoring through the door of said battleship's room, she couldn't help but chuckle before walking inside the bathhouse.

Opening the door, she was immediately met with an onslaught of steam, as the room seemed to already have occupants.

The American Dorm's bathhouse was of a fairly simple design. The room was rounded, showers lining the wall. And in the middle sat a simple relaxation bath. And as Enterprise walked in, she saw that the relaxation bath had a few spots taken.

"Hey E. What's brings you up so early this morning? You know there's nothing going on right?" Oakland asked as she looked to the carrier. Enterprise nodded as she walked to the first shower on the right, placing her amenities inside before closing the door and removing her towel and hanging it over the door.

"Yeah I know." She said, looking back at Oakland, who was next to Reno, as she turned on her shower, flinching slightly when she felt a rush of cold water hit her back. "But I'm getting up this early because I'm planning to meet Akagi at Houshou's." She replied. Oakland nodded in sudden understanding.

"Ahhh, Young love.... It's so fragile and delicate... Yet so wondrous in it's many mysteries..." She mused. Enterprise only cocked a brow as she felt the water hitting her naked back slowly began to heat up.

"You're like a day old. What do you know? And either way, I'm still older than you no matter how you look at it." She replied calmly. Oakland only shrugged in response as she looked to Reno. As she did so, Enterprise only shook her head in response as she turned back to the shower, focusing on bathing now.

Keeping an ear out, just to make sure the cruiser didn't call out to her again, Enterprise dunked her head under the flowing water, wetting it as she went about getting her soap ready.

"Don't drop the soap...." Reno whispered in a rather loud tone. Enterprise rolled her eyes as she looked back to the cruiser sisters, Oakland trying not to laugh as the two watched the carrier.

"Do you two even know what that means?" She asked in a reserved tone. Reno only chuckled as Oakland sent a nod in the carrier's direction, looking at the girl.

"Well of course we do. The Internet is a magical place after all...." She replied. Enterprise only rolled her eyes.

"And where exactly did you come in contact with the Internet?" She asked. "Because I know for a fact that the two of you don't have your tablets yet." She answered. Oakland nodded.

"That's because we found Atlanta's. There's a lot of stuff to look at on the Internet..." She answered. Enterprise only rolled her eyes as she turned her attention back to her shower, soon soaping up her hair, making sure to scrub it thoroughly.

As she did so, she heard the bathroom door open as what sounded like additional figures enter. Turning her head slightly, she confirmed just that as she laid eyes on Pensacola and Salt Lake.

The two, yawning as they did so, wordlessly walked over to their own showers, taking no time in removing their towels as they hung them over the door.

Around ten minutes later, Enterprise was finished with her shower. Turning off the water, the carrier wrapped her towel around her naked form once again as she stepped out of the shower, giving a good yawn as she made her way for the bathroom door. As she did so, Salt Lake called out to her.

"You off to meet with Akagi?" She asked. Enterprise gave a nod after a moment, looking to the cruiser. After she did so, she walked out of the bathroom to head to her bedroom.

20 minutes later, Enterprise was making her way across base. Being freshly showered and dressed, her next mission was locating Akagi. But she had a feeling that locating the carrier would probably be easier than most tasks.

Which, based on the fact that Enterprise found her not even five minutes later, working on devouring one of Mamiya's extra large parfaits, while she sat with Hoshou's cafe, guessed that she was right.

Only shaking her head in amusement for a moment, Enterprise began to head for the door, soon walking inside. As she did so, Akagi looked up at the carrier, a small smile upon her lips.

"Hello Enterprise-San? How are you this morning?" She asked as she moved over a bit, giving the carrier room to sit next to her. E nodded in reply, taking the offer as she looked at Akagi.

"I'm good. Slept pretty well. What about you?" She asked in return, looking at Akagi. The Japanese carrier bit her lip a moment as she looked to the girl.

"I slept.... Well enough. Usually, Kaga-nee is present as well. But since she is on deployment... Well, the silence was unwelcome. Not only that, but it was unusually cold as well..." She replied. Enterprise nodded as she snuck a bite from Akagi's parfait, savoring the flavor a moment before looking to the Japanese carrier.

"So.... What do you want to do today? It's not like the base is very occupied right now..." She replied. Akagi nodded.

"Quite true. But now that you ask that, I do have a question that my mind has been unable to rid itself of." She replied. Enterprise arched a brow as she accepted the bite of parfait that Akagi offered her.

"And that is...?" Enterprise asked, making sure to keep her treat well within her mouth. Akagi nodded.

"Which one of us is the better carrier...?" She asked, looking to Enterprise. The American carrier only watched her in surprise for a moment before chuckling and taking another bit of the parfait.

"So that's what has got you so enthralled with your thoughts... How interesting..." She replied. Akagi nodded.

"But is it not a question worth exploring more than just a simple nod of the head? During the war, we were rivals. We were always meeting in less than ideal ways. But now... Now that isn't the case. I believe it worth more exploration." She said. Enterprise nodded a moment before looking to the carrier.

"Alright... Say I give this a second thought... How would we go about deciding who really is the best...?" She asked, offering a spoonful of Parfait to the carrier. Akashi gladly accepted the bite before nodding, swallowing the treat before speaking.

"Well... The obvious choice would be a duel... I believe this course of action would provide us the most conclusive results if we were to take action upon this question..." She spoke. Enterprise nodded at that.

"It would certainly be quite the duel... But what would the rules consist of? We would need a set of guidelines to make sure it all happens within a reasonable manner..." She replied. Akagi nodded.

"I see no issue with a plan like that." She replied, nodding her head. Enterprise nodded.

"Good. Now that that's settled, why don't we work on dueling this parfait first." She suggested. Akagi offered with a gleeful nod before shoveling a spoonful of the treat into her mouth.
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45 minutes later, the two carriers were now on the open water of Tokyo Bay, watching each other a moment.

"So. Plan is 6 Squads vs 6 Squads. Correct?" Enterprise confirmed. Akagi nodded in reply at this.

"Yes. I believe that will serve our goals nicely and it will be a good chance for our pilots to get in some extra practice given the fact that most everyone else are deployed on Sorties." She replied. Enterprise nodded at that as she looked to the Japanese carrier.

"Well then. Shall we get started?" She asked. Akagi nodded, turning and wheeling away, putting space between the two as they prepared. As Akagi turned, she saw that Enterprise already had an arrow nocked and ready to go on her command. Chuckling, Akagi did the same as the two carrier's prepared to figure out which one of them really was the best.
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Enterprise gave a heavy breath as she took a moment to finally relax and look at what had been accomplished and done.

"So it would seem we landed ourselves in a tie..." Akagi surmised. Enterprise nodded as she looked to the carrier.

"So it seems... Apparently, we really are each other's rivals..." She responded. Akagi nodded as she leaned in for a kiss, Enterprise gladly returning the gesture, pecking the woman on the lips. After she had done so, she rose her arm so her first squadron, practically painted in red could make their landing. Akagi split off to do the same, making sure her planes had a place to land. As she did so, she looked to Enterprise.

"So.. Enterprise-San.... I have a question for you...." She supplied, looking at the carrier. E arched a brow as she looked to the girl.

"And that would be?" She questioned as her second squad touched down on her flight deck.

"I don't have a nickname for you... And it's causing me distress..." Akagi answered. E arched a brow at this, looking at the carrier.

"A nickname...? And it's bothering you that much..?" She asked, looking to the Japanese girl. Akagi nodded.

"It is indeed. You wouldn't happen to have any ideas for one would you?" She asked. Enterprise shrugged as she looked back at the girl.

"At the front of my thoughts, no. I mean there's names you can pull one from. One of my names from the war if you want. There was Big E, Grey Ghost, The Galloping Ghost, Lucky-" She prepared to continue but found herself stopped as Akagi nodded.

"Lucky.... Lucky.... I like it." Akagi said with a smile. "Your nickname will be Lucky." She answered. Enterprise only smiled in response as she nodded, looking to Akagi.

"Sounds good." She replied. "Just don't overuse it too much. It's a name right on the edge of being a nickname and a name you might call your dog." She said with a laugh. Akagi only laughed in replied, the two carrier's embracing each other in their laughter. After a moment, Akagi looked to the carrier.

"Well... With that settled, I do have yet another question for you..." She answered. E looked at the girl in a curious manner.

"And that might be...?" Enterprise asked. Akagi only chuckled in response.

"What might you say to the question of going on a date...?" She asked. E only looked at the girl for a moment in quiet surprise before chuckling, nodding as she did so.

"I think you might find yourself in luck..." She replied. Akagi only smiled in response as the two began to make their way back to base.