A/N: Am in fact not dead nor on hiatus. Took a small break and that just so happened to coincide with family coming into town. But I'm back now and bring new content.

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She rubbed her face as she waited outside of the launching chambers, taking only a second to check the time. The sortie she was waiting on should've been getting back at any time now, if both their timing was right and John Finn's own reports were holding their weight. And given John Finn's track record with the sort, even despite her relatively short time on base, it was safe to assume that yes, her schedule would track.

As if on an unknown schedule that even Anya didn't know, the large door of the Launching chambers began to lift from its position, alarms signaling its movement at the same time. She waited as it went through its cycle of opening before eventually, it lifted fully to the point where she could see just who was standing there.

And that came in the form of both Ise and Maryland. The two battleships looked to be discussing something in depth, given the rapt attention that they were offering one another and their words. Ise would say something, and Mary would respond in kind. It would go back and forth in small subverts and then one of them would go on an extra long statement or tangent, Anya wasn't sure which. What she knew though was that she was glad to see the battleships back, and more so than that, she knew that Maryland finally had a few days off the water aside from Fleet exercises.

She'd been so come and go the last week, Anya barely even saw her all that much. Maybe once or twice in the bedroom, but that really didn't count given that most times, she was asleep. There was hardly any time for anything else, and that wasn't even leaning towards anything explicit. Anya had barely gotten word in with her lately.

So as much as she needed to touch base with the battleship, she was just happy to have her back for a little bit.

It was only a moment or two later when Maryland's eyes seemed to stray from her conversation partner and onto that of Anya, standing by as she waited for the battleship. Something however seemed to change in the woman's gaze, because Ise followed her gaze straight to that of Anya. She took only a moment to recognize just who she was looking at before she chuckled.

"Far be it from me to stand in the way of whatever blossoming forbidden love that's growing between the two of you." She stated before offering a wave to Maryland. "I'll see you later, Maryland." She said before making to walk past Anya. "Admiral Johnson." She parted.

"Ise." Anya said in parting with a nod of the head, her arms crossed against her chest in a simple way. Maryland approached the woman slowly as they watched the battleship walk away for a time before Anya looked up to the battleship with a smile. "Happy to be off the water for a while?" She asked. The battleship watched until Ise walked out of eyesight and around the corner before she made her move.

Anya found herself surprised momentarily as the battleship stole her kiss instead of answering her, the battleship's lips pressed to her own, guided by way of Mary's hand cupping her chin. Anya made a noise before she let it continue for a moment before they pulled away at that, Anya chuckling somewhat.

"Subtle."

A small laugh.

"Sorry." Maryland answered. "But I had to."

"Of course." Anya said. "My question?"

"You asked a question?" Maryland asked.

Anya rolled her eyes at that as her hands went behind her back.

"Maryland." She nudged.

"I'm kidding." The battleship returned. "Yes, the answer to your question is yes. I'm more than ready for some nice relaxing days before my next set of sorties." She answered her.

"That's good." Anya answered. "Because today alone has been anything but." She explained to her. Maryland blinked somewhat at that before looking to the woman.

"How crazy we talking?" She questioned.

"You want to hear about my Spirit problem, The Hiryuu situation, the Saratoga solution, the Hipper incident, my Fairy equation, or the French connection first?" Anya asked with a tilt of the head. Maryland opened her mouth to respond a moment before closing somewhat.

"That is a lot. Uh... let's play it safe. Give me uh..." She thought about it for a moment longer. "Let's play it safe. What's this about you and spirits?" She questioned. Anya chuckled somewhat at that.

"So. Pre Question. You know I've met Momi, yes? Tall, dark, and causes me no end of headaches?" She asked.

"Fucking rude." Momi offered up as she stepped up next to the two. "But entirely fair."

"Yeah." Maryland confirmed. "Met her after our..." She paused somewhat, her cheeks reddening as she recalled the memory about it. "Encounter." She slowly explained. Anya smiled at that, crossing her arms at that.

"It's real cute that you're getting this bashful about this."

"Would you rather me not?" Maryland asked, shaking her head. "Anywaaays." She said, trying to get off the current topic. "Back to Momi. How she's a big pain in your ass." She explained. Anya nodded at that to an extent as she put a hand at her hip.

"So there's Momi, right?" She asked. Maryland nodded.

"Momi." She confirmed.

"A Noro?" Anya confirmed. Maryland looked surprised.

"Noro." She confirmed.

"Niago?" Anya asked as she counted on a hand, a third finger going up.

Maryland just stared. Anya took that as a good sign.

"And finally... a Momo?" She asked.

Maryland seemed to return to normal.

"You got me with that one." She answered her. "Momi obviously I know. Noro and Niago? You've either killed someone or you've suddenly become really popular. Noro alone really doesn't like going anywhere and Niago's usually too inner focused to really try and fit anything else in. You really met both?" She asked.

"One's in fitted dress whites and the other in sharp dress blues?" Anya asked for clarification. Maryland exhaled at that.

"Damn. You really did meet them." She said.

"Yeah. But you don't know Momo?" Anya questioned. Maryland shook her head at that.

"Nope." She answered her. "Not ringing a bell."

Anya blinked. And then she frowned.

"Not even a little?" She asked, somewhat defeated. Maryland shook her head at that.

"Sorry. But I've never ever heard of a Momo before." She answered her. She paused at that however, tapping her chin somewhat before looking to Anya again. "What was she wearing? Any big points about her?" She asked.

"Aside from her appetite?" Anya questioned.

"Hey!" Momo shrieked.

"That's literally any of them though." Maryland offered in response. "What was she wearing?" She asked. Anya in turn glanced ever so slightly at the woman in question, watching as she glared at the two of them. Anya studied her for a second or two before glancing back to Maryland.

"A large, oversized turtleneck for the first piece of information." Anya answered her. Maryland nodded half-commitedly at that, as if she was thinking on it somewhat.

"Okay." She answered. "That brings a few ideas to mind. Anything else?" She questioned. Anya glanced over at the woman in question before seemingly remembering the woman's eyes. Or lack there of given that she had never seen them.

"She really has something against opening her eyes." Anya offered.

Maryland's own shot wide.

"W-wait!? You met her!?" She all but cried.

The reaction was not one that Anya had expected.

Momo simply cackled next to Momi.

"I- yes?" She asked unsurely. "I'm not-" She paused. "Maryland?"

"How. Did. You. Meet. Her." Maryland asked, ever so slowly. But the tensing muscles in her form, the focused stare in her eyes as she watched Anya put the woman in a new state of caution. Anya carefully thought through her next options before she slowly began.

"It was a couple nights ago, few nights after the news of the Maldives. I was in the Mess Kitchen, by myself, just thinking mostly away from the rest of the base. At some point, Shigure found and joined me, and we started baking sweets. Well, we turn around, or more clearly, Shigure turns around and she's just there." She explained.

"Shigure has seen her? Anyone-"

"No." Anya answered her. "It was literally just me and Shigure. We talked... well, we talked at Momo for a while, trying to get her to answer us in any sort of way that made sense. Which, knowing what I do now, apparently there's some sort of rule against that? Anyways, yeah, we talked at her a bit before Momi showed up, demanding to know what Momo was doing there. Further on further on, I eventually got them to leave. Which came in the form of her wanting a hug. So I did, and...." She trailed off somewhat as she watched Maryland seem to redden in the face. She thought she was for a moment mad, but upon a second take, she realized the battleship was blushing something fierce. "Maryland...?"

Momo's cackling was now downright diabolical.

Anya received no sort of answer from the battleship however, not in any meaningful way. Maryland simply stared at the woman, her face and neck beet red. Anya simply watched as the battleship struggled to come to terms with what she had been told just a moment ago.

"You... hugged... her..." Maryland stated slowly.

Anya was at a loss for words.

"I.. uh... yeah." She answered. "Should... I have not done that?"

Maryland's eyes fixated on Anya in a way that they had never done before.

"You're a bitch for this, Momo." Momi offered from her place next to Momo. But her own grin said that she did not really mind all that much. Not when the two were having too much fun watching that of Anya look to them for help before glancing back at the stunned Maryland for a time.

"Mary.....?" Anya asked again. "I can take the hug back...?"

"No you can't~" Momo sing-songed back from the side. Anya's first reaction was to snap at her.

"Shut up!" She recoiled before she paused. That seemed to stir Maryland from whatever daze she was in, the battleship now focused back in on Anya.

"Who are you talking to?" She asked.

Momo cackled harder.

"I'm..." Anya floundered. "I... I'm talking to Momo?" She answered her. Maryland frowned.

"Where?" She asked.

Anya pointed directly at Momo. Maryland followed her direction, as the color in the battleship's face finally began to normalize. Momo further made it worse as she stepped right up to the woman's finger, Anya very nearly touching her. And yet still, Maryland's gaze seemed to search more distantly. Momo only smirked dangerously down at Anya as Maryland all but looked right through her. Anya seemed to resign herself to this damming defeat, more cursing herself than anything as she waited for Maryland to look back to her.

And look back she did, Maryland once more focusing on the woman with a more than perplexed expression.

"You're being serious?" Maryland asked. Though the arched brow she had as she asked it did not convey that she believed her all that well. Yet, Anya still nodded. Simply because that was all she could do.

"Yeah." She answered. Maryland looked to watch her a moment before nodding.

"Okay." She answered. Anya looked confused.

"You're taking my word?" She asked. Maryland shrugged.

"To what extent is still in question. But I believe you met her in the very least." She answered as both Momi and Momo stepped up behind Maryland to either side. "The fact that above all you called out the eye thing tells me that you have met her. But I don't know how much I'm willing to believe that she's right here. I'd like to think that I would be able to pick up on her just being so out and about."

Momo giggled just behind Maryland.

"I'd like to think we raised her right." She agreed. Momi rolled her eyes.

"I was the one who raised her. All you did was hand her shiny new toys." Momi answered her. Momo immediately wheeled on that of the woman, Anya having to focus entirely on that of Maryland and not that of the pair of squabbling mystery guests behind her.

"I appreciate that." Anya answered.

"Well, that's the spirit issue out of the way." Maryland offered. "Uh, let's... tell me. What are our French allies up to?" She asked. Anya sighed.

"So you know our resident French battleships? Richelieu and Strasbourg?" She asked. Maryland nodded at that as Anya gestured towards the docks, the two soon walking that way.

"Mhm." Maryland answered. "Staying in the Japanese dorms." She answered.

"Well. Not anymore." Anya told her. Maryland arched a brow.

"What happened? They hold Yamakaze hostage?" She asked. Anya shook her head.

"The two of them went over to the German dorms to assist Admiral Herkunft in cleaning up the door that Saratoga ripped out of the way to get to Hiryuu." She explained. "And while It turns out they're happy to be apart of the fleet, they're less than enthused about one another or their ideals." She told her. Maryland seemed to do a double take at the door information for second before focusing back in on at the French.

"So what? They don't like each other?" She questioned. Anya shook her head.

"From how Saradia puts it, it's less them not liking one another and more of they don't agree with one another's ideals. Strasbourg believes that the fleet could be run a little more loose in an administrative standpoint. And Richelieu is a holder of the belief that the fleet is not run with enough authority." She answered. Maryland nodded.

"So how does that translate to them not staying in the Japanese dorms anymore?" She asked.

"They started to get into with one another in front of Admiral Herkunft. And after her situation this morning with Admiral Hipper, she wasn't willing to take any more chances. So she rather politely requested that Richelieu pack her things and relocate to a room within her own country's dorms. Well, the German and Italian dorms." She answered.

"And by politely, you mean..." Maryland trailed off.

"I mean she in no short way ordered Richelieu to make the move." Anya told her. Maryland nodded.

"How did the rest of you take that?" She asked. "Is that not her somewhat overstepping her bounds?"

"For the moment, we're in agreement on the matter." Anya answered. "A little space could probably do the two of them some good. And if nothing else, it prolongs the matter from boiling over until hopefully we can get an actual French commander on base." She explained. "The last thing we want is the two of them going at one another's throats, but we can only relate to a certain degree."

"Here's hoping the next summonings aren't heavy handed in the French personnel." She asked. "Though... isn't it a bit ironic that-"

"Yes. King made the same joke." Anya said, nodding. "French on French violence always seems to have a habit of making a new appearance somewhere down the line." She told her. Maryland smiled at that.

"So is that all of the French news?" She asked. Anya nodded.

"So far. As far as we can tell, the light cruisers and destroyers are not engaged in the same line of thinking at the moment and Strasbourg remains in her original room with Yamakaze." She answered her.

"Good." Maryland said. "Now tell me why there was a situation with Admiral Hipper?" She asked. Anya huffed.

"I'll explain the situation that lead into this after, but you know your first encounter with her? As ill fated and sad as it was for key reasons?" She asked. Maryland wordlessly nodded at that, recalling the night. "You would assume that she learned something that night, likely in the way of keeping her hands to herself, right?" She questioned. Maryland nodded slowly.

"Yeah...?"

"Well she didn't." Anya told her. Maryland opened her mouth to say something, only to close it somewhat in thought.

"Who did she..."

"Here's a hint. They were on Battleship Row." Anya told her. Mary's jaw seemed to be locked in place at that news for a moment before she sighed in a heavy way.

"That doesn't make it any better. I... literally any of the others that were on the row likely would've beat her ass given the right circumstance, even Arizona and Oklahoma if they were pushed in the right way. Nevada's just about always on the cusp there and the less said about Pennsylvania, the better." She said before looking back to that of Anya. When she found the woman slightly smiling at the woman's explanation in a way that only spoke of Maryland's worst fears, the battleship sighed heavily. "She got into it with Pennsy, didn't she."

"Tackled her actually." Anya confirmed.

If she wasn't a ship girl, Anya might have been worried at the strength used to slam Maryland's hand into her face.

"I'm sure that went oh so well." Maryland droned as the hand slowly slipped off of her face.

"It did in fact not. At least, from what Arizona says. Luckily for the both of them, Louisiana and Musashi were in the docks at that moment. So Penn beat a retreat and Hipper was then put into the docks. Admiral Herkunft took it about as well as you would think she would." She answered.

"Oh yeah? What? She reduced her sortie capacity?" Maryland asked. Anya shook her head.

"Until further notice, Admiral Hipper is to be considered extensively and solely Wolverine's Plane Guard." She explained. Maryland's eyes widened somewhat at that. "And then when she proves that she can handle the responsibility, she'll be allowed to move up incrementally. But that won't be for a while is my guess, given just how livid Admiral Herkunft was this morning." She answered. "Which is actually why we're headed for the docks here and now, to go visit our danger prone heavy cruiser. Admiral Herkunft barred all Non-repair ship personnel from talking with her during her dock stay." She explained.

"Can I call her a dumbass?" Maryland asked.

"Oh be my guest." Anya answered her.

"Good." Maryland offered. "Because I would never do something so stupid."

Anya snorted.

"I'm sure." She answered her.

"So I suppose that brings us onto the topic of the Hiryuu situation and in someway, Saratoga from the way you put it. What happened there?" She asked.

"So Hiryuu woke up this morning." Anya answered her. "Well, it turns out her fever had escalated to the point that it had knocked quite a heavy margin of her fairies out cold, leading to an exponential build up of problems because of it all. Saratoga picked up on that, tore a door down to get to her. To try and stabilize her, Saratoga had her fairies transfer to her from Hiryuu to try and run damage control to a certain extent. Well, this in turn somewhat knocked Saratoga on her ass and she will likely remain that way until I can get her fairies off of Hiryuu. To which at this point, they have refused." She explained. Maryland nodded. "And no combination of threats, promises, or asking have given any different results. They have a totally resolute view of this. And that is one that calls for Hiryuu being operational under her and her crew and that alone, no other options to be considered." She answered.

Maryland nodded at that. "And the others?" She questioned.

"The other of the six?" Anya asked, Maryland somewhat nodding at that. But even then, she could see the reluctance in the battleship's features to have a full discussion about them. And so Anya kept it short.

"They're fine as they can be. At this point, 3 have woken, 3 have not. All we can do is wait." She answered her. Maryland seemed to take the answer for what it was at all angles and let that settle.

"And Saratoga?" She asked. "Surely she can't be too pleased." She inquired.

"She passed out after the fairy transfer earlier today. Last I checked, she's been snuggled up with Prinz Eugen in her room while she waits for her fairies to be returned to her." She answered her. Maryland nodded at that somewhat.

"Well, I guess that means that brings us to the last of the categories. Your Fairies." The battleship commented. Anya nodded somewhat at that.

"You still have my fairy, yes?" She asked. Maryland nodded as she presented her hand to the woman, and with it came her fairy. The smaller being simply waved at her larger self. Anya smiled somewhat at that as she waved back before she looked to the battleship. And then she raised her own hand, where her original two fairies were now present. Maryland seemed to watch them a moment before looking to the woman in some confusion.

"You gave more away?" She asked. Anya nodded at that.

"Before you say anything, let me explain. The same night that I met Momo, like I said I was with Shigure in the kitchen. Well, she came and immediately spied one of her fairies. Which I thought would've been fine. Except she informed me that she never approved or okayed any of her fairies to come to me. Leaving me with one simple realization."

"That you had a stowaway." Maryland remarked as she once again tucked the fairy away. Anya did the same with hers.

"Stowaways is the correct term there." She told her. Maryland arched a brow at that.

"Oh?" She asked. Anya nodded.

"Many. Stowaways. Well, after that revelation, one of my fairies wanted to go with her. Asked her, she said okay. So I gave her one as well. Didn't think anything of it." She explained. Maryland nodded.

"But you only have two fairies left. Just me and Shigure are only two of that. That's still six fairies missing. Who I can only assume are with other ship girls, yes?" She questioned. Anya nodded.

"Fast forward to today, when I was at lunch. I'm sitting at the table and I see a handful of Japanese ship girls sitting there that I assume won't cause too much of a problem if I walk over and reveal to them that I have their fairies that they didn't know I had." She said.

"Who were they?" Maryland asked.

"Nagato, Mutsu, Musashi, Myoukou, Nachi, Haguro, Takao, and Atago." She answered. The battleship nodded at that, and then gestured for her to continue with the explanation. "So I make my way over to their table and in no short order explain that I am in possession of their fairies, after they may or may not have accused me of making deals with the Gateway."

"I can see it." Maryland said.

Anya scowled.

"You're supposed to take my side."

"I prefer devil's advocate." The battleship responded with a grin. Anya narrowed her eyes at that before shaking her head, getting herself back on track somewhat.

"Well, so Nachi's fairies for whatever reason didn't want to leave." She answered.

"Yeah, because they know what American engineering is like now. I wouldn't want to leave either." Maryland interjected. Anya huffed as she looked to the woman in response at that. "What? I was practically a cruise when my first deployment came and that was a hundred years ago. You're from the nineties. The comfort standard? Way up." She told her.

"I'm not a ship." Anya told her.

"I mean I dunno..." Maryland offered slowly. "You do have a crew complement of like three hundred plus at this moment. That's a pretty nice sized crew. Puts you at least a CL." She told her. "And given that you were born in the nineties? That warrants you for all the fun toys. But not the big guns. You were too late for that one. That's our thing." She said, albeit a little proudly.

"Maryland." Anya called out to reign her back in.

"Heh." Maryland laughed. "Sorry sorry. You were saying. Nachi's fairies not wanting to leave?" She asked. Anya nodded at that.

"Nachi's fairies didn't want to go back to Nachi. So against my wishes, my fairies came out and corralled them back to her. They had similar reactions to our first, I explained everything that I knew, and that was it. They took their fairies back, I collected mine and we went our separate ways. Or, we did. A little while later, Musashi makes her way up to our table, wanting some of my fairies." She said.

Maryland seemed to bristle somewhat at that, but she didn't make any outward movements at first.

"And?" She asked.

"Some of them came to the realization that if it ever got out that I had given Shigure one of my fairies before a majority of the fleet, some may take it the wrong way or feel slighted by it. Which, given some of the personalities on base..."

"It's not entirely out of the realm of possibilities. If I had learned any other way than you telling me, I probably wouldn't view it too fondly either to tell you the truth. But I assume they came to that conclusion because they were afraid of someone hounding after Shigure because of it." She reasoned.

"Yeah." Came the confirmation. "So, Musashi took a handful of fairies, one going to her, Nagato, Mutsu, Nachi, and Myoukou. That's what it ended, that's where I thought it was done and over with."

"It wasn't." Maryland chuckled.

"It was not." She answered her as she put her hand in her pocket for a moment before bringing it back out. Holding it out for the woman, she looked to Maryland. "You ready?" She asked.

The battleship nodded.

Anya's hand opened.

And standing there atop her palm was one of the uniformed Mutsu fairies.

A brown arched as Maryland watched the fairy. "One of Mutsu's fairies?" She questioned. Anya seemed to nod her head in response, but only slightly.

"I know this might be a hell of an ask, but would you be willing to take her on board?" She asked. "Just for a moment?" She questioned of the battleship. Maryland seemed to pause somewhat at the question before looking back down to the fairy. The fairy in turn looked up to the battleship, offering a stubby armed wave. The dreadnought looked back to Anya one last time before nodding, offering her own hand. The fairy in turn made way for the battleship's waiting hand. From there, she turned and gave Anya a quick wave before vanishing.

Maryland paused.

And then her eyes widened.

Just as the Mutsu fairy reappeared at her open hand. Anya moved to recollect the fairy as Maryland watched the woman with an expression that spoke both confusion and caution at the same time. Anya only chuckled at that as she nodded to the fairy before dismissing her, she returning to within the woman.

"She's yours." Maryland reasoned.

Anya nodded.

"But she's Mutsu."

Anya nodded again.

"But you made her."

Anya scowled at that.

"I did not make her. She manifested."

"From you."

"She appeared from the Gateway."

"Inside you."

"Maryland!"

The battleship cracked a smile, in which Anya only huffed.

"Sorry." Maryland offered.

"I'm sure." Anya remarked, watching the woman before shaking her head. "Anyways. I have 11 others just like her. And another 12 for every other Japanese ship girl that has one of my fairies. So all in all, I have 84 of these uniformed fairies. I have not yet told Shigure, and other than you and the commanders, no one knows." She explained. Maryland nodded at that.

"But my fairies?" She asked. Anya shrugged.

"I still have your marines." She explained. "For whatever reason that I can't explain, your fairies didn't change. Maybe because they're marines, maybe because I still have them. But that one also doesn't make sense because I still had a Shigure fairy when the new set appeared. And you would think the Marines wouldn't stop that version of your fairies from appearing either unless there was a good reason for it. But your marines don't even seem opposed to the supposed officer fairies I'm now lugging around with me."

"Probably because they came from you in a sense." Maryland explained. "And there was no reaction from mine of me taking that Mutsu fairy in board either just then. Our fairies are essentially our first line of defense within, like your immune system. They probably didn't recognize her as a threat."

"Or was it because you knew where she was coming from?" Anya asked. "Yeah, you didn't know she was one of my fairies, but you watched as I made to hand her to you. Would the reaction be the same if it were just a random fairy that wasn't meant to be there?"

"But why would my Marines prevent the appearance in the first place?" Maryland asked. "The rest of them are clearly officers in some sort. Why would their presence prevent you from getting a new set of mine?" She asked.

"I find it funny that you think I would know." Anya offered. "Okay, if not for the Marines, what other differences are there?" She asked.

"You gave it to all capital ships. Aside from Shigure." Maryland answered.

"And?" Anya asked. "You were Flagship at one point in your service. Nagato was as well, but for the rest of them, I'm not sure."

"You had 10 fairies right?" Maryland asked. Anya nodded at that.

"Aside from the new 10 I received at lunch, yes. I had an original 10." She answered her. Maryland looked surprised at that.

"You got new fairies?" She asked. Anya nodded as one of them stepped out onto her shoulder at the question, the fairy dressed up in blues offering the battleship an excited wave.

"The first were in my whites. These are in my blues." She answered. Maryland nodded at that as she seemed to reach for the fairy, the smaller being stepping onto the woman's hand. A moment later, Mary's first fairy appeared once again. She looked to the newcomer with a sense of disdain, her stubby arms at her side. The new fairy turned with a smug expression, the two fairies facing off against one another in the moment.

The senior vs the greenhorn.

"Oh lord." Anya groaned as she watched the two. The fairy in white approached the newcomer with a sense of superiority, one that looked to only piss the newest fairy off. Immediately, Anya recollected the fairy in blue. It seemed to calm the fairy in white to a degree, she only glancing at Anya in a curious manner before vanishing. Frowning somewhat, Anya called forth one of her two remaining fairies of the first group, another of her white dressed. She allowed that one aboard Maryland, somewhat depositing her on the woman's open hand.

Again, the first fairy reappeared. And again, she came biting at the coattails of the new visitor, even if the other had been around just as long as she had. The two looked ready to get into it with one another right then and there just before Anya decided to test something, snatching both from the battleship's hand.

Immediately, the two looked at one another entirely differently, offering the other a pleasant wave as they seemed to converse with each other. Anya frowned a moment before returning the fairy back to Mary as her other boarded her once again.

"Territorial." Maryland observed.

"For whatever reason." Anya muttered. "But that keeps it simple then. No more than one of my fairies to a ship, even you it would seem. At least keeping track of them shouldn't be a burden. At least I hope so. Mine didn't jump ship from you so here's hoping that trend stays. Because I don't know what I'm gonna do if I suddenly have to hunt fairies through two hundred plus fleet members." Maryland nodded at that as she watched her fairy a moment.

"So you gave fairies to the six of them and they just showed up?" Maryland asked.

"Five." Anya answered. "Takao didn't want one originally. So three battleships and two heavy cruisers." She explained.

"And when you have Takao a fairy?" Mary questioned.

"They immediately showed up."

"And Shigure?" Maryland asked.

"Her fairies showed up with the rest."

"And not when you originally handed a fairy to her?" She asked.

Anya shook her head.

"What if you passed some sort of threshold with a nation?" Maryland finally questioned. "You have Shigure a fairy, no extras. But when you handed the other five at first a fairy, they show up then at the same time. And then with Takao, she didn't have to wait at all. You had ten fairies originally and seven of them are now aboard Japanese ship girls. I'm the only American that has one and you didn't get any further fairies to come out of it." She suggested.

"So what? It's expecting me to give all my fairies away?" She asked. Maryland shrugged.

"Do we know what happens if you take the fairy back from a ship who had officer fairies summon?" Maryland asked. Anya shook her head.

"No. They still have my fairies and I still have all of the... fuck it, all of the officer fairies that spawned. But I'm confused then. Do you not have Officer fairies already?" She asked.

"We do." Maryland answered. "But Officer fairies is the only thing that makes sense in this context."

"I guess. Yeah, no they still have my fairies. And we didn't try leaving one of the new fairies with one of them just to see what happens." She said. "I wanted to touch base with you so I could-" she paused for a moment before sighing. "And I have to tell the repair ships. But that can be handled in a minute. Sorry, you were saying?" She asked, looking to the battleship.

Maryland watched her a moment in what could be described as visible concern before looking at her in full.

"So maybe it wants you to get a full set to one nation?" She asked. Anya sighed.

"Then that's ruined if that's the case because you have one of a set that already has seven Japanese." She said. Maryland nodded.

"Yeah." She answered. "But we also don't know for sure if that's the case. You have an entire new set of fairies. I'll keep the one I have until it proves otherwise that yes there is a benefit to one nation holding an entire set." She said.

"Which means you expect me to offer up fairies to 10 American ship girls instead of just rounding off the three I'm missing from the first set." Anya told her, watching her with an unimpressed expression. Maryland smiled somewhat.

"In the end, my opinion is just that when it comes to your fairies and what you do with them. But I would not be doing my part as an American battleship if I did not try and push you towards giving some of your own girls fairies." She told her.

"You're okay with that?" Anya asked.

"Preferably if it had been my call, no one else would have gotten one of your fairies." Maryland told her. "But I recognize my bias there, so I'll be happy if you start spreading them out among your own fleet first and foremost. If there is a bonus to having a full set, let it be American that gets it first." She offered.

"Who would you even start with?" Anya questioned. "Who would you offer fairies up to?"

"I dunno. What about the seven ship girls that have known you longer than I have?" Maryland asked sarcastically. "It's almost like you have nearly a full set just with them." She said with a shrug. Anya sighed.

"Giving fairies to Bristol and Ellyson-"

"Is going to be like a second Christmas to them." Maryland offered. "Come on, are you really not thinking of giving the destroyers- your destroyers some of your fairies? Everyone on base knows that fucking with Bristol is the fastest route to your bad side. You really not gonna give her one?" She asked.

Anya huffed.

The battleship had a good point.

Damn her.

"But you know that if I do give Bristol and Ellyson fairies-"

"The next eight after that are going to the rest of the Gleaves, yeah. And there's also the chance that they simply parade them around in front of everyone. But let me be real here, you could probably convince them not to blab to the entire base if you try hard enough." She said. "At the very least Bristol and Ellyson. They were your first destroyers."

Anya nodded at that.

"And at this point, you're kind of their mom anyways."

"Maryland." Anya scolded. Mary put her hands up in surrender.

"It's true though!"

"I know, but I don't need someone confirming it for me!" She said in response. Maryland laughed at that as the two quickly approached the docks. "Okay, enough about the fairies. I have to tell the Repair ships, but I'd prefer Hipper not to know for right now."

"And why do you have to tell the Repair Ships?" She asked.

"Because Mutsu is forcing my hand." Anya told her. "Either I expose my fairies to them myself or Mutsu does it for me." She explained.

"And why is Mutsu forcing your hand?"

"She believes it prudent that the repair ships know about my special condition before something happens that I just can't come away from, whatever that may be." She told her. "I can somewhat see the reasoning for it, but the way I am with all of this stuff, it's also pretty foreign to me. More people knowing about my fairies is not the ideal plan here." She said. "But I've pretty well lost control of it by this point."

"Is it bad that I agree with her reasoning?" Maryland questioned.

"No." Anya admitted to her. "There's a solid reasoning there, and it's one that I find hard to try and counter. But above all else, I really just don't care to go against Mutsu. That's a battle I'll lose." She said. Maryland nodded her agreement.

The two approached the docks with a purpose, Maryland allowing the woman to lead the way. And that she did, stepping into the changing room as they made to look for Hipper in the docks. Only to be presented with a newly repaired and dressed Admiral Hipper before them. Just fitting her shoes, she didn't seem to recognize the two women coming into the room. Anya and Maryland traded a glance at that.

And then twin smiles appeared.

"Oh Mary." Anya sighed dramatically. "Can you even believe it? That our dear Admiral Hipper would make such an uninformed choice?" She asked as she suddenly sat next to the heavy cruiser. Admiral Hipper looked up with wide eyes as Maryland took the seat on the other side of the woman, sitting backwards to the other two.

"Oh I simply can't believe it!" The battleship faux cried. "Oh the depravity of it all! Has she lost her mind? Has she finally lost all sense of what's right and wrong? I can't believe it."

The Heavy cruiser looked between the two, noting more and more as the two began to watch her.

"What... what are you doing?"

"Keeping an eye on you to make sure you don't make another stupid decision." Anya told her.

"Like that's my question. You really looked at all of your options and decided that tackling Pennsylvania of all people was your best choice?" She asked. "Admittedly, I never considered the possibility that I might have knocked something loose in my rage, but now?" She asked as she rapped a single knuckle against the woman's head. "I'm not so sure."

Hipper blinked before shaking her head, finishing putting her shoes on. "Yes, you're so funny. Haha, laugh at the one with the mistakes." She muttered. "I was trying to help."

"Admiral Hipper, I'm glad you were trying to help. But there were so many better ways to do that than getting steamrolled by Pennsylvania." Anya offered her.

"My Admiral made as much clear." She stated with a shake of the head. "On the upside, I lasted better against Pennsylvania than I did with you." The heavy cruiser commented as she looked to Maryland. The battleship laughed at that as she she placed a hand at the woman's shoulder.

"Maybe let's not try and add another battleship to that list?" Maryland questioned. "Colorado will flatten your ass and West Virginia will laugh at you while she flattens your ass."

"Ah, I'm so glad to see it runs in the family." Anya muttered from the side. Maryland laughed as Admiral Hipper smiled, the two ship girls looking to the woman. "Why can't your sisters be more like Blücher and Prinz Eugen? Controlled, kind. Not at all a threat to the health of my heart?" She asked.

"Because they're perfect in every way imaginable and I won't have some harlot shaming them." Maryland said in a mock huff, crossing her arms as she looked the other way. Hipper bit her lip at that as she looked to Anya who looked confused.

"Harlot?" She asked. "You're really showing your age with that one, Mary."

"Hey!"

Admiral Hipper laughed further.

"So I suppose you'll be on your way to see Admiral Herkunft then?" Anya asked. Admiral Hipper's laughter faded somewhat at the ask, nodding to a degree.

"Yes. It certainly seems so." She said. "Have you heard of what my punishment is to be?" She questioned of the two of them. Anya and Maryland nodded at that.

"Yeah." Maryland answered her. "You get to spend some quality time with Wolverine while she's training pilots. Shouldn't be too bad, although that isn't saying much since none of us ever actually met her back then." She told her. Admiral Hipper looked confused at that.

"She trained your carrier's pilots and yet... no one ever met her?" She asked. Anya nodded as she pulled out her phone and tapped something in. When she'd gotten the result she wanted, she turned it towards Admiral Hipper as she showed her a map of the United States.

"While Wolverine is a carrier, yes, she wasn't a carrier on the ocean." Anya explained as she pointed to the Great Lakes. "Because we had the option to train our pilots inland, Wolverine was solely based on the Great Lakes to the north, where there was no potential of her being sunk by enemy fire."

"So that's to say that none of us really know what she's like aside from what we've said to her during her time on base. But none of us have been with her out of the water. So, it should be fun." The battleship told her. Admiral Hipper huffed.

"Fantastic. Do either of you know where my sisters are? I believe Blücher was meant to be deployed today so she's likely not on base. Prinz Eugen?" She questioned.

"Nestled up with Saratoga while they wait for the return of Sara's fairies." Anya told her. "Which, until Hiryuu wakes up, isn't all that likely to happen." She explained.

"No, but you can wait while you go discuss the one thing with the repair ships." Mary suggested. Anya seemed to regard the suggestion before nodding at that.

"Yeah. Better now than later I suppose." She reasoned. The cruiser between the two looked confused somewhat at that as she looked to Maryland.

"Is there something missing?" She asked.

"Quite a bit. But it's too early to let you in on the secret." Maryland told her. "We can sit here a bit longer and then we should probably get you over to your Admiral." She said.

"Do you not believe me capable of delivering myself to her alone?" The cruiser questioned.

"Do you want an honest answer there?" The battleship asked with a grin.

Admiral Hipper scowled at her as Anya shook her head, offering the two a wave in parting before making her way into the docks proper. And once again, immediately to her left, she found that of Hiryuu still within her dock, still unconscious just the same as she had last left her. Turning away from the carrier for a moment, she looked to her right.

And in the little maintenance area that sat there, she found the three Repair ships of Yokosuka taking a moment to themselves. Akashi and Vestal were discussing some other thing as Dionysus seemed to be writing something in a a rather large binder. Closing it, she turned to say something to the other two when her eyes landed on that of Anya.

"Admiral?" She asked, which in turn brought the other two out of their conversation as they looked to the woman.

"Hiryuu's still out cold at the moment, Admiral." Akashi informed her as she made to walk around the woman to show her. Anya nodded.

"I know. But I'm here for the three of you." She answered her. Akashi stopped mid step at that as she turned her gaze back onto the woman, arching a brow at that. Stepping back over to where she had been, Akashi crossed her arms as the two Americans looked to her.

"The three of us?" Dionysus asked. "What do you need with the three of us?"

"There's something I need to discuss with you all, and by no means does this make it back to the rest of the fleet." She explained. "There are certain individuals in the know already of about what I'm fixing to tell you, and it stays that way. Yes?" She asked. The three repair ships nodded.

"Of course." Akashi answered.

"So what's the big deal?" Vestal questioned.

"What would you say if I told you I had fairies?" She questioned. The three repair ships offered her a somewhat careful look.

"Yeah, we know about your ability to host fairies." Dionysus confirmed. "There was a brief concern amongst the three of us about it, but ultimately we didn't really think it was worth much to worry about it. You didn't seem to exhibit any outward problems because of it so we left it alone. Are you coming to us it's now causing a problem for you? We can get you in a dock and see what's up." She told her. Anya rose a hand at that.

"No, there's no need for a dock. I-" She paused for a moment before frowning. "Are you prepared to put me in a dock?" She asked.

"Do you need to be put in a dock?" Vestal questioned, crossing her arms as she looked to the woman.

"No?" Anya answered.

"That sounds suspicious." Dionysus reasoned.

"We could probably get you into a dock if it was the three of us against you." Akashi surmised. Dionysus nodded at that as she seemed to look between the space between Anya and the docks.

"I don't need a dock!" Anya told them. "I can assure you of that."

"Then why did you bring up the dock?" Dionysus questioned.

"I didn't." Anya told her. "Okay. Back to the main topic at hand. Fairies. I can host them."

"Yes." Vestal nodded at that.

Anya nodded as she held out a hand. And a moment later, one of her fairies appeared before them. She stood there as she looked between the three repair ships before offering them a wave. But the three repair ships took up what they were seeing pretty quickly, and looked to the woman in some surprise.

"This is even more of a reason to put you in a dock." Dionysus told her. Anya shook her head at that as Akashi opened a hand for the fairy, the smaller being stepping over to her as she watched her. Looking over her a moment, Akashi looked up to Anya.

"I think an explanation is warranted." She reasoned.

Anya nodded as she did just that.

It was 40 minutes of back and forth explanation, the three of them asking what questions they had that popped into their heads or information that they needed to further their own understanding. They listened to each explanation and word that the woman offered to them, taking everything in as they went.

"So this started because you gave a ring to Maryland." Vestal told her. "And aside from the coincidental timing of the Gateway expanding, you're not really sure what started this particular change. Yes, you could host Maryland's fairies and by extension, our own. But nothing in there gave any credence to you being able to manifest your own fairies, or further than that, your fairies that mimic our own." She recapped.

Anya nodded.

"Shipgirls that have one of your fairies include that of at the moment Maryland, Shigure, Musashi, Mutsu, Nagato, Nachi, Myoukou, and Takao." Akashi further recapped. Anya nodded at that as well, Dionysus taking some time to note this all down. "And you say this has all taken place over the course of about a month and a half? Start of January into the first part of February?" She asked.

Anya nodded at that.

"I was joking about it earlier." Dionysus said before looking to the woman. "But I would be lying if I still saw it that way now. Maybe not now, but would you be opposed at a later date to come back to us so we can put you in a dock? At least to see if we can do anything? You've taken quite a few hits during your tenure here on base and if you can have your own fairies now? I would be betting that some of that damage has stuck around."

"I feel fine, Dionysus."

"And like I said, it is only an ask. You've shown no reason to actually move through with it if you don't want to. It's just a consideration that I would prefer you keep in your mind, yes?" She asked. Anya sighed.

"I'll think about it. But do not expect me to be all for it. Yeah?" She asked.

"That's all I ask Admiral." Dionysus told her. "But I'm confused somewhat about all of this. You can host fairies but Captain Algerona and Admirla Herkunft can not." She told her.

"It's the running theory that I can do so because as I explained, I'm with Maryland."

"Yeah, but that wouldn't convert you in that sense, right? Just because you sleep with a ship doesn't mean you become a ship." Akashi told her.

"I'm not a ship." Anya told her.

"Yet." Vestal grunted.

"No." Anya told the older repair ship. "I'm-"

"Certainly strange." Akashi interjected. "Your own fairies are one thing, but manifesting fairies of other ships and not just American, but Japanese too? Sure, you may not be a ship, but at the end of the day? You're just as supernatural as any of us now. I'd probably wager a guess that if you repeated the same steps, there isn't a country that you can't copy the fairies of. You may not be keen on us getting you into a dock, but may I request a fairy?" She asked.

"Can I ask why?" Anya inquired.

"Because every other fairy from every other girl has the ability to represent in a way of how their ship is feeling. If the girl is injured, the fairies will reflect that to a degree. So I think of it as a way to gauge how you're feeling from afar rather than one of us coming into your office or tracking you down every so often to badger you about the subject. I've heard you're not exactly the biggest fan of medical practice so if possible, I'd like to minimize that fact." She told her. Anya blinked.

The repair ship... had a point.

"But let it be known that should there come a time when we feel that a dock would do you some good? We may get forceful or recruit outside help to ensure you are seen too properly." She told her. Anya huffed at that as she nodded, gesturing to the fairy that Akashi still had with her. Now standing on the repair ship's head, Anya offered her a nod. The fairy nodded in turn before vanishing aboard the repair ship.

A second later, Anya held up another hand, now sporting an unformed Akashi fairy. The fairy waved at her bigger self in that moment, the repair ship leaning down to get a look at her. Smiling somewhat at the fairy, she looked back up to Anya.

"I won't ask for one of those yet." She told her. Anya nodded as she looked to Dionysus and Vestal, who both shook their heads.

"Let the first set of Americans be frontline ships." Dionysus told her. "It sounds to us like you're already looking at your first seven." She said.

"That seems like the most clear cut solution in all of this." Anya agreed as she watched Akashi fairy return aboard her. She put her hand down. "And with Akashi now having one, I have only one more of that set. But Mary has one as well."

"She did say that she prefers that the first bonus be that of the American fleet." Akashi said. "Which I can't say I find myself disagreeing with. Especially if it has something to do with you being American yourself. I think you don't give those last two fairies to Japanese ship girls until we see for sure what happens with the other set. I doubt those who have one of your fairies would want to be wound up in something solely because you're American."

Anya nodded, seeing the reasoning.

"So, that aside. Anything else you want to share with us while we're here and you're laying things out?" Dionysus inquired. "Can be anything."

"I'm being harassed by Momi."

Vestal absolutely cackled.

Dionysus grinned as Akashi blinked in some confusion.

"Momi?" She inquired. Dionysus shook her head at the question, looking to the woman.

"I'll explain later." She told her. Akashi nodded somewhat at that, still confused to a degree as she looked to Anya to say something further. She-

"Hello....?" A fifth voice asked oh so quietly. It took the four of them a moment to realize that they had even spoken before Dionysus looked past Anya and immediately made way past the woman. Anya turned to look with Akashi and Vestal and found exactly what it was.

Hiryuu.

Watching them with a tired expression.

Immediately, Dionysus made way for the carrier alongside Akashi as Hiryuu watched the two of them in a tired way. Leaning down to the dock, Akash produced what looked to be a simply thermometer. Sliding it along the surface of the carrier's forehead, Akashi soon took in the readings. And when she did, she chuckled as she looked to the others.

"A single degree into having a fever." She told them.

Which meant it had come down. Hard.

"Then hopefully it will break before the day's out." Dionysus replied before she looked down to the carrier. "Hiryuu?" She asked slowly. The carrier seemed to regard the repair ship with a look that spoke of exhaustion, but she still managed to remain alert.

After stifling a yawn.

"Yeah?"

"How you feeling?" She asked as she kneeled down to the carrier. Hiryuu watched her, still laying her head back against the edge of the dock.

"Tired." She answered as the waters of the dock lapped up against her chest and neck, the clothed woman watching them with a barely retained focus. But still she did so as the fairies around her dock, both her own and not, watched for any sign that things were fixing to go wrong. Akashi nodded at that.

"You certainly look it. Do you remember anything from this morning when you woke up earlier?" She questioned. Hiryuu seemed to watch her for a moment before shaking her head.

"Some. A little. I think.. Saratoga was there?" She answered. "For some reason?" She told them. Akashi and Dionysus nodded at that as Akashi looked to the carrier.

"Your fever overcame your fairies. Without them to do their jobs correctly, things started to get worse. Saratoga found you first and took measures to correct the issue." She told her. Hiryuu only blinked at that news, watching the woman for a time.

"What.... What did she do?" Hiryuu asked before stifling a yawn with a hand, bringing it up out of the water.

"She transferred a rather sizable portion of her crew to you to both get your fairies up and moving again while also handling what issues there were present at the same time. Last we checked, close to 60% of her crew had managed to make it aboard you to assist in Damage control and other such responsibilities needed to ensure your continued operation." Akashi informed her. Hiryuu seemed to blink slowly at that.

And then she became more just a little more alert as she finally processed what had been told to her.

"I- her-" She collected her thoughts. "I have Saratoga's fairies on me?" She questioned. Akashi nodded.

"Admiral Johnson's been trying to collect them throughout the day, but they've been adamant that they stay. Now that you're awake however." Akashi offered as she looked back to the woman, Anya already crouching down as she looked to one of the Saratoga fairies around the dock. The smaller of being looked up at her in some expectance, to which Anya nodded.

"She's awake now and the lot of you have your own carrier to get back to. Finish up what you're doing and let's get things moving." She told her. The smaller being offered her a reluctant nod before vanishing. Hiryuu blinked at that as she slowly made to sit up at that, now sitting back against the dock as she looked up at the three.

"Can... someone explain to me what's going on?" She asked.

And so they did.

It took a bit, with some further explanations needed here and there, but eventually the carrier looked at them a little less confused in exchange for a bit more perplexed.

"And... I'm only the third to wake up?" She asked. The assembled group of four nodded at the question.

"Zuikaku first, Kaga second, and now you third." Akashi answered. Hiryuu seemed to take that information In, listening to what she was being told.

"And Akagi, Shoukaku, and Souryuu?" She asked.

"Haven't shown any signs of waking." Dionysus answered her. Hiryuu nodded at that as she yawned again, covering her mouth with a soaked hand. As she did so, by the dozens, Saratoga's fairies began to appear on either side of the dock. Hiryuu watched, somewhat surprised at the sight as more and more began to manifest. At that, Anya crouched down to them, watching as they gathered.

"Make sure you have everything, please. I don't want to hear that you forgot something on board that shouldn't be there." She told them. The assembled crew nodded in understanding as they further appeared off of Hiryuu, the carrier looking between the two groups with a growing concern. Eventually, the one on Hiryuu's left finished assembling first and began to make their way forwards. More and more, they vanished as the carrier assumed they boarded the Admiral. The woman in question watched them with a kind of focus that Hiryuu found to be foreign on the woman's face. But even then, Anya did not falter as she waited for the entirety of the group to make their way.

Eventually however, that ended with that group, and Akashi stepped out of the way as she traded places with Anya, the carrier and three repair ships watching as Anya assumed the same position. And like the last group, she waited quietly as another rather sizable crew began to make their way aboard the woman.

"How many fairies can you even fit?" Dionysus asked off handedly. Anya scowled at that as she finished up the second set of fairies, making sure they were all tucked away and the like.

"You think I know?" She asked.

"I think there's quite the party going on within." Dionysus replied with a chuckle. Anya shook her head at that as she took a moment to adjust to having so many new fairies on board at once. It was an odd feeling, but she wasn't sure if it was because of so many new fairies at once or because it was so many of one person at once. Still, she took a moment further to adjust before she made to look back to Hiryuu. She-

Did you hear? The Japanese Navy attacked Pearl.

-paused as she recognized the sound of Saratoga's voice. Anya turned to address the woman, surprised to find her awake and up.

Only to find no one there.

We're going to war.

Again her voice came bearing down on her. Immediately, Sara's fairies removed themselves from her, once again forming up around the dock. The repair ships watched the move in a confusion before looking to Anya. Vestal in particular looked to Anya, watching as the woman seemed to be breathing ever harder than she was only a moment ago.

"Admiral?" Vestal asked cautiously.

"Saratoga." Anya answered her.

"Saratoga?" Vestal repeated.

"She's still in the dorms." Dionysus told her.

"I heard her voice." Anya told them as she looked around. "I heard her in-" She made to take a step before both Dionysus and Vestal stopped her by way of a hand on each of her arms.

"Admiral Johnson, Saratoga is still within the dorms. She's still out cold as she was 30 minutes ago." Vestal told her. Dionysus looked down at the fairies around them a moment before looking to Anya again.

"You heard Saratoga?" She asked. Anya nodded as the woman looked to her, her breathing still hard, her heartbeat racing to a degree. "What did she say?" She asked.

"She said..." Anya breathed a moment. "That the Japanese had attacked Pearl."

"That's...." Dionysus began slowly, glancing at Akashi. The repair ship in question looked over her a moment further at that, Hiryuu simply watching the four in confusion.

"Well that's obviously not correct." Akashi hummed as she seemed to look at the woman. "Given that we're still running a joint personnel base." She reasoned.

"The Admiral's heart rate suggests it was a pretty real feeling." Dionysus told her as she held a hand at the woman's back. Even from here, she could feel the woman's heightened rate.

"Not saying it wasn't." Akashi told her. "But..."

"But why would Sara be saying that?" Dionysus questioned. "She's not happy in general, but that seems a cut above even for her. That seems more something along the lines of Pennsylvania's line of thinking or action."

"None of that changes the fact that Saratoga is not here." Vestal told them before looking to Anya. "That's only accurate if it is referring to the past." She told them.

"What... if it was?" Hiryuu suggested. The three repair ships looked to the carrier.

"What?" Akashi asked.

"What if Saratoga did say that. But just not in the present. What if Admiral Johnson heard her back during the war?" She asked.

The three repair ships only stared at the carrier.

And then Akashi seemed to think about it a moment longer.

"It's not the most-"

"You can't be serious." Dionysus remarked.

"I mean, we know our fairies are our crews in this form." Akashi answered. "We know they provide the basic roles and services in lieu of a real one that you would find aboard a standard vessel and that as of now, it's clear that we really can not function without them. We really are just ships given a human form with our soul in the middle of all of that. But what if our fairies are more than that? It's often said that a Ship is only reliable as her crew. What if that's more of the case here?" She asked.

"So what? Like our fairies carry our memories with them?" Dionysus asked. Akashi shrugged.

"Could be. How else could Admiral Johnson hear Saratoga speaking in the past in the here and now?" She reasoned.

"We would have to try and test that. But I don't-" Vestal attempted before Admiral Johnson shook her head, looking to the Saratoga fairies.

"Come on. We need to get you back to Saratoga." She told them. The fairies seemed to hesitate at that before nodding, approaching the woman once more. As she watched as they began to once again board her slowly, the three repair ships looked to Anya at that unsurely.

"Admiral-"

"We're not gaining anything by talking about it."

"You had a reaction just to Saratoga realizing we were at war." Vestal told her.

"And if I encounter another problem, I can do much the same thing. They step off for a moment, I collect myself, and we continue. It's not like I'm going to be with them aboard-" She stopped herself. "With them with me for an overly long amount of time. I just need to get to the dorms." She told them. The three seemed to look at one another before Dionysus.

"Fine. But I'm going with you." She told her.

Anya shook her head.

"I don't need-"

"If you had such a visceral reaction to only realizing that War was coming, how are you going to do with Saratoga realizing that she lost Lexington?" Dionysus questioned.

Anya didn't have a response to that.

"Okay." She agreed after a moment. Dionysus nodded at that as the three repair ships watched as Saratoga's crew once again loaded up with Anya. Once the last few had stepped aboard, Anya and Dionysus immediately pivoted and made way for the door.

They hit Battleship Row. Arizona died.

There they found Maryland and Hipper still present. Maryland looked up to greet the woman only to pause when she seemed to recognize something was amiss with Anya.

"Admiral, what's-"

"Admiral Johnson is currently hosting Saratoga's fairies and transporting them to the carrier." Dionysus informed her. "Except there's a slight issue of her reliving Saratoga's memories of the war and she is vastly unprepared to deal with those. We're trying to get to the dorms before Anya encounters Saratoga's memories of losing Lexington." Dionysus quickly told her. Maryland blinked as she and Hipper stood.

"Where is she now?" The battleship asked.

"They hit Pearl." Anya grunted out. She moved past the two with purpose, it taking only a moment before Hipper and Mary fell in behind that of Dionysus as she made to catch up with the woman.

"So Admiral Johnson gets our memories if she has our fairies?" The cruiser questioned.

"We think it's only because she has so many of Saratoga's." Dionysus answered her as the three followed the woman out of the docks and immediately made track for the American dorms. "Either way, the less time they're aboard her, the better."

"It's not aboard!" Anya called out. "It's-"

The image of a still smoking wreck filled her mind, the woman stopping in her tracks as the breath was stolen from her lungs. She watched as she peered from over the deck as she looked down at sunken wreck. She watched as smaller craft crowded around, going about their own work as she watched.

"Anya!" Maryland called. Anya reached out with a hand, finding purchase on Maryland's arm.

Further along, she found the other wrecks and damages spread around as Battleship Row reeled from its surprise attack. She watched as craft came and went as it was all hands on deck.

"She entered Pearl..." Anya breathed, grasping at the battleship's arm.

"We need to move." Dionysus warned. The other two nodded as they made to get Anya walking once more, the four headed towards the dorms as fast as they could manage. Anya somewhat allowed herself to be pulled along by Maryland, the group of four moving quickly. Any other personnel they came across were largely ignored as they focused on their goal and that alone.

It was a rush of the highest degree that when they finally did reach the American dorm building, and that door was opened for the woman, Anya immediately made way down the first floor hallway, the other three behind her. As she did so, making way for the door to Sara's room, someone came down the stairs behind them.

"What are you doing here?" An all too familiar voice growled from behind. Hipper turned to come face to face with that of Pennsylvania, the Super-Dread taking a step onto that of the Ground floor. Maryland looked back at that before handing Anya off to that of Dionysus before turning all the way back to put herself between the heavy cruiser and Pennsylvania. The older Dreadnought looked to Maryland at that with a suspicious look. "Why is she here, Maryland? Of all places I would think she would no longer be welcome, it would be our dorms."

"She's here helping the Admiral." Maryland told her. Pennsylvania narrowed her eyes at that.

"And one of her actual ship girls couldn't have helped with that?" She asked.

"No one else was there. And she's perfectly suited to do the job just as much as any one of us." She told her. Pennsylvania's gaze dropped to that of the heavy cruiser at that, eyes narrowing before looking to the battleship again.

"Should I be asking why you're still lugging her around?" Pennsylvania questioned.

"Penn." Maryland warned. "She's not the concern anymore." She told her. Penn looked to take a step towards the younger dreadnought, seeming to stand against her.

"Oh yeah?" She asked. "Is that the decision that the all mighty Maryland has decided? The Admiral's favored? Able to dish out justice as she see fits and is moved to the Admiral's room as a reward. But the rest of us do the same when the crime is just as fitting and we get a warning of things to come?" She asked with a carefulness in her words. Maryland seemed to narrow eyes at that as she made to stand against the Dreadnought.

"The Admiral's said that's been handled." She told her. Penn arched a brow at that.

"How convenient." The older woman said. "You get your revenge on the one, and then all of the sudden she's off limits. Tell me Maryland, what exactly are you offering the Admiral in return for this kind of preferential treatment?" She questioned. "What exactly are you giving her for her to turn such a blind eye?" She questioned.

Maryland made to respond to that before someone else came down the stairs. She looked past Pennsylvania to find that of Arizona stepping down onto the first floor as well. She looked towards the door before finding that of Maryland and Pennsylvania standing oh so close with one another. And further than that, she found Admiral Hipper standing just behind that of Maryland. Arching a brow, she made way for the three. Looking between her fellow dreadnoughts, she frowned somewhat. "Maryland?" She asked. "Pennsylvania?"

The two took a moment before looking to the Dreadnought, each offering their own nod.

"May I ask why Admiral Hipper is here?" Arizona asked. Pennsylvania made to respond only for Maryland to beat her to it.

"She and I were helping the Admiral deliver Saratoga's fairies back to her." Maryland told her. Arizona arched a brow at that as she looked to the heavy cruiser before looking back to Maryland. Nodding at that, she looked to Pennsylvania.

"We need to go. Our patrol is slated to start in the next half hour." She told her. Pennsylvania nodded ever so slightly at that as she looked to Maryland one last time, the two refusing to relent before she allowed her younger sister to lead her along.

Maryland watched the door close behind her before finally letting herself relax, turning back to look to Hipper herself. The heavy cruiser looked worried all things considered as she glanced at the woman. Maryland only offered her a brief smile.

"Don't worry about her. If she wants to get antsy about all of this, I'll set her straight." She told her. Hipper made to say something in response to that before the door behind her opened, the two turning to find Anya just coming out of Saratoga's room, Dionysus in tow. The Admiral was wiping her eyes, clearly tear stained as she allowed the repair ships to close the door. "Admiral?" Maryland asked, suddenly all too worried as she watched the woman. Anya chuckled somewhat at that as she continued to wipe her eyes.

"I'm okay. I just wasn't able to get all of them off and onto Sara in an orderly fashion before the memories began to recall news of Coral Sea." She told her. "I...". She began before eventually shaking her head. "Never mind. I just... I understand." She told her before offering a smile.

"And Saratoga?" Maryland questioned.

"Still out cold." She confirmed. "But with her fairies back in place, she should be up and around soon. Neither she or Prinz woke up when we entered." She told her. "Oh, and just so we're clear, I informed the Repair ships about us when I was going on about everything else. So, Dionysus here now knows. Oh, and so does Atlanta." She told her. Maryland nodded at that.

"Okay, in that case, Hipper knows. And so... does Salem?" She told her.

"That's the least surprising thing I've heard all day." Anya told her with a sigh.

—/—/—\—\—

She waited patiently outside of the building alongside other visitors, all there for one singular purpose. She crossed her arms after checking her watch one last time, expecting it to happen now at any moment. She knew perhaps she was just a little bit early in the grand scheme of things, but she just needed an hour or two to collect herself. And using this as a getaway was a perfectly valid excuse. Or at least, that's what she figured.

Saradia watched as the front doors open and the students began to file out of the school.

Well, school wasn't exactly correct. While it was yes a place of learning, it was not to the same definition of school as everyone imagined it to be. While called a school, it was actually a group of private tutors kept on hand by both service members in the nearby areas and to a certain degree, the Navy itself to attend to the children that had come with their families. Saradia very much appreciated the offer that had come her way when she had internally began to set up for this posting, as schooling for Emma had been a very large and worrisome concern when the potential of her coming with Saradia to Japan had finally become a topic of discussion between she and Jonas.

There were pros and cons to both she coming with and she staying back in Germany, the potential missing of the other parent a large one. Saradia had tried very hard to prevent the divorce between she and her husband, and in a way Jonas had done very much the same. But there had come certain issues that the two of them had not and could not come to an agreement on.

Saradia's involvement in the war chief amongst them.

It was a point that she would not back down on and that he would not leave alone. To them, Divorce had been the easy solution. It hadn't been a messy affair or anything of the sort, but there were times where she wondered if they hadn't tried hard enough to come to an agreement somewhere that made them both happy. But she knew just as much that they could both be stubborn and hard headed.

Fire Vs Fire as it were.

Though that did not change the fact that at some point, if this war went long enough, Emma was likely due to go back to Germany to continue her schooling there. She could not, the more Saradia thought about it, see Emma doing very well in school here in Japan, public or otherwise. Though she knew that she could be wrong in the sense. Emma did not tend to be very social in most settings, but her quick attachment to the likes of Bismarck and Tirpitz had surprised her to a degree. And the more said about Bismarck Sea, the better.

She would have to wait and see, she knew, but that did not ease or erase the doubts in her mind.

She would do anything to ensure her daughter's safety and well being.

Saradia looked to the doors once again, watching as more and more kids began to file out. Eventually, she spotted Emma moving with the crowd. She looked around for a moment before spotting her mother. A smile bloomed across her face at the sight as she then began to move herself through the crowd of other kids to get to the woman, Saradia smiling as she watched her. Saradia opened her arms as Emma broke free of the group of children, running for her mother, bookbag and all. The woman all too easily closed her arms around her daughter as she leaned down to kiss her on the head.

"How was school?" She asked.

"Boring." Emma answered her, all too honestly. Saradia smiled somewhat at that as she offered to take her bag from her, Emma all too willing to give it to her. Saradia hooked her it around an arm as Emma looked up to her mother.

"Are we going back now?" She asked. Saradia seemed to pause at that.

"I was thinking instead of that, you and I go get some ice cream, hmm?" She asked her daughter. Emma looked surprised before she frowned.

"We're... not going back?" She asked. Saradia chuckled somewhat as she nodded.

"Not yet. I figured you could use a treat." She told her. "And... Admiral Hipper's being a bit of a trouble maker." She told her. Emma giggled at that as she took her mother's hand that Saradia offered in that moment, the woman making way for the nearest ice cream shop. While it wasn't the one that Admiral Johnson had been too in the following days after Kentucky had wounded her, it was still supposed to be pretty good. At least, that was the general consensus online by those of the 7th fleet.

"Admiral Hipper's being naughty?" Emma asked as they walked along.

"Mhm. Much like you when you attempt to eat sweets before dinner." Saradia told her.

"Noooooooooooo..." Emma protested. Saradia smiled at that as she looked to the girl, arching a brow.

"No? So it wasn't you that I found trying to snatch a cookie from the kitchen just the other day?" She asked, her tone one of faux surprise.

"Nope." Emma told her. Saradia seemed to nod at that, acting as she believed what she was being told.

"I see. It was probably a destroyer then, yes?" She asked.

"Yes." Emma agreed.

"A destroyer with blonde hair and brown eyes." Saradia further reasoned.

"Mhm." Emma nodded as she looked around.

"A destroyer with four letters in her name."

"Yes." The child agreed. And then she paused. "Heyyyyyyy, that's cheating!"

Saradia smiled at her daughter as they approached the ice cream shop. The woman allowed the girl to lead the way inside, Emma making her way for the counter as she peered through the glass. Saradia closed in from behind, looking up at the menu behind the counter. She likely already knew what she wanted, given her own liking and preference for chocolate. But it was a matter of what Emma wanted that would likely hold them up as she watched her daughter look between all the different flavors readily available to them.

"Can I have-"

"One, Emma." Saradia told her.

"But I-"

"One." Saradia told her. "If you're good today, I'll have Ms. Hiroshi make you a special treat after dinner, okay?" She asked.

"Okay." Emma said with a huff, as downplayed as that was. Saradia wouldn't completely disregard, but Emma knew better than to argue with her mother. "Can I have strawberry?" She asked. Saradia nodded at that as she finally looked to the one manning the counter, their orders short and simple.

A minute or two later, Emma was crawling into a booth next to the window. Saradia put her bag in the seat opposite them before she as well settled down next to her daughter. Oh so carefully handing the girl her single cone, she set down next to her as they both enjoyed their treat for a moment. Saradia was more reserved in her enjoyment, but Emma was all too eager to enjoy hers to the most possible extent. That meant attacking the treat with most of her mouth, Saradia only shaking her head as she watched the girl get ice cream all over her mouth.

It was like the girl became an entirely different person when sweets were involved.

"Emma." Saradia told her as she grabbed a napkin from the table. Emma looked up to her only to find her mother wiping her mouth with a napkin. Emma quietly protested, but she did not make to look away, allowing the woman to get what she could before she crumpled the napkin and placed it on the table as she licked at her own treat. The two of them sat there in a brief silence before Saradia looked to Emma again. "How do you like Japan so far?" She asked.

Emma paused at her next lick, blinking before she looked up to her mother from her spot next to her. With one of the woman's arms placed at her other side, the two were all but snuggled together as Emma shrugged.

"It's okay." She answered.

"Lot of people?" Saradia questioned knowingly.

"Yeah."

"And the base?" Saradia asked.

Emma simply licked at her ice cream.

Saradia quietly accepted that answer as she licked at her ice cream.

"What about Bismarck and Tirpitz?"

Emma seemed to brighten immediately at the mention of the two sisters, the girl nodding excitedly. Saradia smiled at that as she listened to her daughter begin to open up about the two battleships.

When she had first been told that she would be the one in charge of the German Ship Girl fleet, she had figured it would be a good chance to let Emma try and come out of her shell a little bit. Her country's navy during the Second World War was not an overly expansive thing, not like other navies, so she had seen it as a blessing.

And then she'd been told that she would be bringing It up alongside those of the Japanese and Americans and British. Massive juggernauts in the Second World War, each name back then meaning another face today. Those kind of numbers were not what Saradia had intended for Emma at first, and coming to base only reinforced that.

For the first few days, Emma was far more content to stay up in their living quarters than walk amongst the base or be among the girls. It was a hard fact to swallow, and even harder on Saradia's own thoughts. There was a divide at a certain point between her being an Admiral and her being a mother. And no matter how much she had convinced herself when she had first learned she was pregnant, she'd never been able to try and group them together.

"Although..." Saradia offered. "Isn't having two German battleships helping you with your German homework considered cheating?" Saradia asked with a smile. Emma looked scandalized at the question.

"No!" She told her, very sure of herself.

"Okay." Saradia agreed. "I could've sworn it was, but if you say so, I must be true." She told her as she continued to enjoy her treat. "What about Maryland?" She asked.

"She's nice." Emma told her. "She helps me with Pokémon." She told her. Saradia chuckled somewhat at that, the thought of a hundred year old battleship taking up something like Pokémon more than an amusing thought. She broke off the first piece of her ice cream cone at that point as she began to eat it. Emma was still working on her treat.

"Let's see..." Saradia hummed. "What about... who else do you like at the base?" She asked. Emma seemed to pause at the question as she really seemed to think about the question. Saradia let her do so as more and more, she snacked at the cone of her treat.

"Oh!" Emma suddenly called. "I like Ms. Liz!" She told her. Saradia laughed at that as she continued to bite at her cone until she got the last piece. She wiped her mouth with a napkin afterwards before looking to Emma.

"And that has nothing to do with the fact that she makes you those delicious treats?" Saradia questioned openly.

"Noooooooooooooooo." Emma told her as she continued to lick at her own treat. But after a few moments, with such little ice cream left, she eventually handed the cone to her mother. Saradia took what was offered and began to snack at the cone as well. "She's nice!" She told her.

"I see, I see." Saradia agreed. "What about... Bismarck Sea?" She asked.

She knew the Escort carrier and her daughter had become fast friends. But unlike how it was with Admiral Johnson and her Gleaves, Saradia had not come here with the intent to 'adopt' anyone, official or otherwise. So while she entertained the Escort carrier in her day to day, she kept her at a distance all the same. But that aside, she adored the carrier for the friendship she brought to Emma.

That question set her daughter off on a new tangent as she went on and on about the escort carrier, Saradia all too happy to listen to her. This little outing was as much Saradia needing a break as it was her talking to her daughter one on one, in an environment where she would be more receptive to being talkative and open rather than closed off and quiet. She nodded to each and every thing her daughter said, listening to her as she finished off the cone. It would seem that she appreciated Bismarck Sea even more than Saradia had originally thought.

She'd have to thank the carrier. Probably with ice cream.

Saradia chuckled as her daughter slowly finished up her telling as Saradia wiped her mouth again. She looked over Emma a moment, wiping her mouth as was needed before putting the napkin on the table with the rest. At that, she sat with her daughter as she watched out the window.

After a moment though, Saradia looked to Emma again. "What's your opinion on the destroyers and the submarines?" She asked.

"All of them...?" Emma asked a little unsurely.

"No." Saradia told her. "Just the Germans. The Z sisters and the U-Boats." She told her.

"Oh. They're nice enough I guess." Emma answered her. "I like the U-boats more though. When I'm coloring, they bring me all sorts of colors to use!"

Saradia blinked at that. "And... where do they get these colors?" She questioned.

"I dunno." Emma told her. "But they're pretty!"

"You'll have to show me when we get back then." Saradia told her with a smile. Internally however, she questioned that. She'd bought Emma a coloring set, yes. But she wondered just how many pieces that had come to include. "But aside from that, what else do you like about them?" She asked. Emma shrugged.

"They're quiet. The U-Boats like to make sure I read. They'll keep other people away when I do. Well, except Bismarck and Tirpitz." She told her before she looked up at her mother fully. "Why don't they have names?" She asked. Saradia arched a brow.

"They do." She told her.

"They have numbers. And a letter. That's not a name! I'm Emma! You're Mom." She told her. "Five-Thirteen is not a name!"

"Five-Twelve." Saradia corrected her.

"Right." Emma agreed. "That still doesn't mean they have names." She told her. Saradia nodded.

"Do you remember when on the destroyers rushed into my office, and one of the U-boats was chasing her?" She asked. Emma nodded.

"Yeah." She told her.

"Do you know why that was?" Saradia asked.

"No?" Emma asked as she looked up at her.

"It's because she had the same problem that you do. Because she only has a letter and numbers." She told her. Emma looked at her surprised for a moment before Saradia reached into her own purse that she'd brought with her, pulling out a pen and a notepad. "I was hoping that you might help me come up with a list of ideas for them and any other potential future members we get. Just in case they would like a name." She told her.

Emma blinked.

And then she nodded vigorously.

Saradia laughed as she offered the notepad and pen to the girl, who took it all so excitedly. Opening it, uncapping the pen, she settled it on the table as she leaned forwards in her seat. She immediately began to jot down the first name that came to mind, Saradia watching her do so.

And then Saradia furrowed her brow.

"Mellow?" She asked.

"Mallow." Emma corrected.

"I'm not quite familiar with that one." Saradia told her. Emma looked at her in a downright serious nature.

"It's from Pokémon." Was all she offered before she turned back to her task at hand. Saradia slowly nodded.

And then she smiled, shaking her head. Not every name was going to be a winner, but she was happy to watch her daughter try.

—/—/—\—\—

She quietly made her way through the Japanese HQ building, the night having long invaded sometime ago. As she idly glanced at the clock on the wall she passed by, she held the bag of drinks in her hand tightly as she approached the door at the end of the hall. There, she found it labeled as 'Fleet CIC'.

Sendai opened it with some ease.

The heads within turned to greet her with quiet nods, well three did. The fourth of the lot continued to watch the screens before her with a rapt attention as she seemed to chart a piece of information before looking to another screen. She had a total of eight screens before her, and yet she ran the entire system as if it was merely a second guess. Sendai watched her a moment before approaching the first of the other three, offering up a bottle of Coke. She handed it off to the battleship, New Jersey nodding her thanks. Sendai nodded in response before pulling a second bottle of water from the bag, this time making to hand it to that of Anya. The woman nodded her thanks as she covered a yawn as she took it from the woman.

The third and fourth came in the forms a bottle of chocolate milk and a bottle of Ramune. Setting it on the table to the right, she watched as Kitty Hawk looked to her to nod her appreciation before reaching for the Ramune. And a second later, after whatever was going in that moment died down, Johnny spun around in her chair for the milk which she all but snatched up. And then a moment later, she looked to Sendai with apologetic eyes. Sendai only shrugged.

"You're busy. It's okay."

"Thank you Ms. Sendai." Johnny answered anyways. The cruiser chuckled somewhat.

"Just Sendai." She told her before finally looking to the other three in the room. Her eyes befell that of Anya first. "Why are you awake?" She asked.

"Having Saratoga's fairies aboard me earlier seemed to... recharge me?" She asked.

"It's 3AM and you just yawned." New Jersey offered from the side.

"I will go to bed when I am good and ready." Anya told the battleship with a steadied glare. At least, until she yawned again. "Which may be sooner than later." She admitted as she twisted the cap off of the bottle of water, taking a sip. Her eyes then fell on Sendai again. "How was sortie?" She asked. Sendai shrugged.

"Uneventful." She admitted as she glanced back at the screens Johnny was taking a short break from as she seemed to explain something to Kitty Hawk, the bigger woman nodding as her fairies took notes. "What's Kitty doing?" She asked.

"Training." Jersey explained. "Kitty Hawk wants to learn how to run the CIC when she can so that Johnny can have breaks here and there. And as the youngest launched ship aside from Johnny, she's in the best position to try and do that."

"And not you?" Sendai asked.

"My and my sisters lack the upgrades needed at the moment." Jersey told her as she glanced at Kitty Hawk. "It's why she's learning during the night, so she can familiarize herself with the technology. Even for her it's gonna be a challenge for a while during the way, with all the sorties we put out." She explained.

"Like a few days max." Kitty Hawk replied from her position next to Johnny, glancing at Jersey. The battleship laughed at that as she shook her head.

"Ain't no way." She told her.

"Listen here you overgrown cruiser." Kitty Hawk replied as she fully turned to the battleship. Jersey laughed at that as Johnny watched the two with a giggle as Anya shook her head.

"I'm not explaining to Ishigara what happened to the Japanese HQ if the two of you get into it with one another. Just take it outside." Anya told the two as she sipped at her water. Jersey chuckled at that as Kitty seemed to regard the woman for a moment before turning away. Jersey laughed at that further as Sendai made her way towards Johnny, the destroyer nodding at her approach.

"Anything interesting going on?" She asked. Johnny just shrugged at the question as she looked over her screens.

"A few pockets here and there of Abyssals." She answered as she looked over the map. "Hornet of the Yorktown class says she spotted a... bigger Abyssal a couple of miles out to the south." She said as she pointed to the area in question. "But other than that, not a whole lot of nighttime activity today." She explained, looking back up to Sendai. The cruiser nodded at that as Jersey looked to her.

"So you just up because it's the night? All for the Night Battles and such?" She asked. Sendai chuckled somewhat at that before looking to the battleship.

"Other than just getting back from Sortie an hour ago and Kitty Hawk texting me only to ask if I could grab drinks from the Mess? No." She told her honestly. "Thinking maybe I stream a little bit honestly. It's been a while and I have a whole new mess of models I need to build."

"Models? Didn't know you were the type." Jersey told her. Kitty Hawk laughed as she looked to the woman.

"You need to watch one of her streams. She's got a whole back wall of models she's built either on or off stream." Kitty Hawk told her.

"Any of us?" Jersey asked after she seemed to adjust to that information. Sendai shook her head.

"Not yet. But I do have one of the new limited edition models of Wisconsin. I'm thinking I let the chat decide." She told her to which Jersey shook her head at.

"No vote. Only Wisky." She told her with a grin. Sendai shook her head at that.

"She's going to have to win against Bismarck, Warspite, Hood, and Jean Bart." Sendai told her.

"Is she when she first commissioned or is she in the 1980's?" She asked.

"Interchangeable." Sendai told her. "But I'm planning to build her in her 1980's." The cruiser explained.

"Then there won't be any competition." Jersey said with a laugh further. Sendai simply shook her head at that as she looked over the group for a moment longer before offering a sign of parting and turning for the door. Just as soon as she had left the room, she fished for her phone before pulling it out. Unlocking it and navigating to one of her messaging apps, she quickly scrolled through until she reached one simply named:

Moderators.

Shooting a simple message of 'Stream?' As she walked on, Sendai watched as the chat suddenly began to come alive as various people began to type in response. She only needed 20 or so, so the first 20 to respond would be taken for the stream. She gave the messages one last look before locking her phone again as she approached the Japanese dorms. Stepping inside, she first made way for she and her sister's room, to get out of her uniform and into something far more comfortable. Naka was always one to stream in their ensemble, and Jintsuu didn't really mind one way or the other. But to Sendai, she wore her uniform enough and did enough photoshoots in it that wearing it on stream was a step too far. So as she opened the door to her room and quietly closed it behind her, she was surprised to find neither of her sisters there. Pausing somewhat at that, she shrugged before starting to get changed.

Five minutes later, she was stepping out of their room in a sweatshirt and sweats.

For all of its problems, the future sure was comfy.

She checked her phone again for a headcount of who had responded as she looked over the members. Between the three Sendai sisters, they had a list of about 100 people who they trusted to moderate for their streams. Largely, they were comprised of people from three groups. The smallest section were younger members within the JMSDF, those who were familiar with the internet and its ways. The second, larger group was made up of fellow streamers, both Japanese and international. All of them were required to at least be able to read multiple languages, so they had a wide coverage.

The third and largest group of Moderators that the three utilized were employees of the Kantai Corporation, given that the company was the one who managed and supplied their streams. The hardware, the tech help as little needed as it was, the advertising and PR.

The three Sendai's essentially streamed at the company's expense.

She made her way towards the top floor of the dorms, and from there, towards the other end of the building. It wasn't as if the three really needed all that much space, so in turn the three had each taken a spare dorm room and cleared them out. After which, with the help of the Kantai Corporation, the three had decked out each space to their own liking. Further than that, as Sendai fished out her key, they kept each room under lock and key to prevent any sort of accident while they were gone. While they were assured that any accidents or unforeseen issues could be replaced and taken care of by the Corporation, the three cruisers were more than happy to take their own precautions. That meant doors that were locked unless they were inside, and still locked most times even when they were. More so than that, the destroyers were simply not allowed inside without their supervision.

Which was okay, because it wasn't as if the destroyers showed much interest in what they did anyways. Model building for one was an incredibly boring hobby to most people, but Sendai liked it as it provided a way for her to both keep people entertained and chat with them at the same time.

And watching Naka play video games was about the same kind of entertainment as if you were watching a crashing train trying to to come to a stop. She was good at them, there was no debate. But she was chaos personified behind a keyboard.

Still, as she unlocked the door to her own room with her key and allowed herself to step inside the cooler space, she relaxed somewhat as she closed the door behind her.

Immediately on her left sat her models, oh so carefully placed on shelves upon shelves with all of them pointed in the same direction. Organized top to bottom by class and type, she had built one for each and every member of the fleet. Or, at least the fleet that the public was aware of. She would've been all too happy to do the same originally with the American fleet just the same, but that was until their first summoning had resulted in seven girls. And their second summoning had brought three times that.

Not only that, but it would take quite a bit to actually be able to buy models for each and every one of them. Model companies were diverse, but they weren't that diverse without reason. Before the girls, there were few if any model companies, Japanese or abroad that were willing to make models out of every single ship. Especially in terms of the American destroyer classes, when the only difference was going to be the number along the bow and the aft.

But then the Japanese fleet had been fully publicly revealed and suddenly the money to be made in selling and trading models was booming. And some of the models of those of the Japanese fleet even had their own image stamped on the box.

In fact, there was an entire collector's set of models that played to just that, a full set of sixty models that would go for thousands upon thousands of dollars if anyone was able to actually complete the collection. It certainly didn't help that those were only released in certain pools of ships and at various different parts of the world. But no one seemed to mind. It kept the girls at the forefront of their mind, and watching the model building community explode because of it was entirely to Sendai's liking.

Another advantage of being in the Kantai Corporation's good graces. She didn't have to spend her own money when they were all too happy to give her a model budget to do with as she pleased. And one of her more recent purchases greeted here there as she looked at the seven boxes.

It had been made clear to her by both Kantai Corporation missives and confidential reports coming from the JMSDF. She was not in any way to confirm the existence of the American fleet as a whole, but she could allude to them. Which meant no outright name dropping. But if she were to conveniently place model boxes of the original seven American ship girls, she only getting Ellyson's in the week before by special request of the Kantai Corporation on her behalf, now who was she to complain.

She turned her gaze to the corner of the room opposite the models as she focused in on her streaming set up. A dual PC, five monitor set up waited for her there. Two screens above, with the other three below that. What's more than that were the fact that the two lower, outer monitors were actually mounted on a rail mount settled on the wall, so that the two outer screens could be rolled down the line. Because while her desk was where the screens were, Sendai's model building area was actually about midway down the right wall with more than a few cameras focused on the spot.

Sendai and Naka's setups were very nearly mirror images of one another, while Jintsuu opted for a simple Single PC dual monitor set up. All of them had in common that they gamed, but their side activities were not. If Jintsuu wasn't playing games, she was very likely not streaming. If Naka wasn't gaming, she was either singing or something equally as disruptive. And as Sendai took another glance at her models, she was glad that the three of them had opted for soundproofing within their rooms.

The rest of the fleet likely wouldn't be all too keen to listen to them yell at random strangers on the internet at all hours of the night. That was not a conversation that Sendai wanted to have with Nagato in the slightest.

She approached the computer as her hand went for the keyboard. Pressing a key, the back of the monitors began to light up in a mix of orange and white light against the wall. And soon after that, the soft hum of the PC's themselves began to power up. Top of the line, continued upgrades, each one was easily upwards of six thousand dollars, all at the behest of JJ.

The woman wouldn't take no for an answer.

JJ had explained it was warranted given the fact that the three were both PR representatives for her company and the fleet program as a whole. Which was one thing when it was just the sixty of the Japanese originally, but now there was an additional two hundred that they further represented, as much as some of them may not be happy about that little fact. Still, as she watched the computers come online and the screens light up, she turned her attention back to her phone. The moderators chat was suddenly alive and kicking, multiple messages by the dozens coming through. Those inquiring if extras should be on hand for the chance that Naka and Jintsuu wanted to stream as well, what the general plan was for the time, and what they would needed to be on watch for.

Before Sendai could answer that however to the best of her ability, Jintsuu appeared out of left field in the chat, giving them priorly prepared paragraph after paragraph of what was currently allowed and not allowed. But still no mention of the American fleet, given that they themselves were not in the know either. Sendai did however watch as her younger sister gave them a heads up about the new members of the Japanese fleet. Not who specifically of course, but enough of an idea that Yokosuka was far busier than it had been months ago.

She left that alone for the time being as Sendai instead went to her social media's, making a small post about going live soon. Not hitting send quite then, she actually then did she properly use the computer as she immediately navigated to her streaming site and software. It took ten or so minutes for her to get that all in order before she actually ended up hitting send on her phone. She was, as Naka called it, summoning the hordes.

Of course, just the act of putting her stream up whether or not she had started it drew in crowds by the thousands. It had only been a minute or so since she'd confirmed the stream to start, and already she was nearing a hundred thousand people. It wasn't too terribly uncommon for other streamers to stop their streams and bring their viewers with them, which is likely what she was seeing right now. And given that it wasn't as if the three Sendai's streamed every day helped that, given that most people knew they only streamed when they could.

Fighting the Abyssals was far and above the top priority.

But she watched the Pre-Stream chat start lighting up with a myriad of languages. Japanese. English. Spanish. Russian. German over there. Chinese over here. Of course, Sendai was in fact not that talented as to the point that she could so easily read in all of those various languages. And so they'd very quickly come up with software that translated on the spot if it was needed, Sendai able to flag which languages needed it more than others. She idly watched chat scroll on by the thousands already before pulling up her second monitor where chat was scrolling by far slower that they couldn't see and she could easily follow along. It was also the chat that the mods used to do their job as more and more people rolled into the stream.

And then they started to arrive by the dozens of thousands as her social media update finally began to recognize with people across the globe. Because while it was in fact 3am in Japan, it was very much not the same for the rest of the world. Soon enough, Japanese comments were soon met with overwhelming tides of English comments and speakers, outright tripling the speed the normal chat was scrolling at. Sendai watched as the viewer count climbed by the thousands, easily hitting one fifty, two hundred, two fifty in only matters of seconds. She was under no delusion that people watched their streams for her, but for the simple fact of who she was as a pop culture symbol.

Well that and there was a large swathe of different groups of people that watched she and her sisters. There were those that watched simply because it was new and interesting. People that watched just because they had nothing else to do. There were avid Naval historians and buffs that watched their streams, either only to end up horrified about how they presented themselves or those that fully embraced the madness of Ships given human forms.

There was a rather large selection of people that would only normally watch one out of the three sisters, but given the fact that they hadn't streamed in sometime, that was less a fact now as Sendai watched them continue to pour in. The mods were oh so closely monitoring how chat was going as Sendai let it build for a few more moments, her Pre-stream screen still up.

There were also those that normally would never watch streams like this, only doing so because of who they were. The idea, even two-three years after the fact, that ships could come back as humans was mind boggling to some. And sometimes, it was only made worse when they actually watched the streams. But still they did, if only to see the girls themselves. But some of those came in with the expectation that the entire fleet would make appearances, which all three of the sisters had said repeatedly and even kept a list of who had actually ever been on the stream.

To this day, only seven members of the fleet had ever actually stepped foot on the stream, all of them being light cruiser's. There were those that asked sometimes and those that asked all the time of why they didn't bring on more and more of the girls. Sendai thought the idea was laughable. It had taken her long enough to simply adjust to the idea of the internet. But the idea of putting members of the fleet like Akagi or Kaga in front of a camera like this? Laughable at best, a nightmare at worst.

And the less said about those such as Musashi, the better.

Still as she leaned back in her chair, she kept a careful eye on the chat for a moment before she shrugged and finally leaned forwards, putting herself into position as she made to flip off the Pre-stream and flip on the actual cameras. With another button press at the keyboard, lighting under model shelves kicked on as the actual lighting of the room lowered to a more gentle setting while also bringing up the lighting around her model table.

And then after that, another button pushed, and the Pre-Stream switched to an actual cam.

Sendai watched as she sat there as the chat seemed to register all at once that the stream had actually started and the fact that Sendai was very much there. She offered a wave as the chat's messages became less geared at one another, and more geared towards her. She watched as the comments began to flood in, greeting her in all forms:

SendaisLeftFoot: There she is!

Milo_Phipps: What took so long? I waited ten whole minutes for this!

BunBun: Shut up fatso!

Sendai simply shook her head in amusement at that, watching chat for only a moment longer before she looked towards the screen. Offering the stream a small wave, she sat up all the way.

OverworkedAndUnderpaid: How's the fleet?

SendaisRightFoot: What was going with that explosion in the bay? The hell you ladies doing over there?

RedisRed: Are you guys ready to explain to us how there's 61 Japanese ship girls? Without the obvious reasoning?

Sendai chuckled further at that as she read over those two particular messages. "The explosion?" She asked. "Yeah, that boils down to a training exercise gone wrong at the worst moment possible. Too many torpedoes and not enough thinking. As for the whole Yamakaze thing, to tell you guys the truth, she's not the only one." She explained. "The truth is, by my final count, we're currently at eighty nine members of our fleet." She told them.

All too expectantly, Chat continued on for a moment before it exploded all at once. Sendai did her best to keep track at what was being said, but even her slower chat began to overcome what was possible for her to feasibly follow along with. Essentially, she had opened the flood gates, and with it a new round of questions being thrown at her in demands of who and how and why.

She read over them slowly, her mods picking out the most interesting of the bunches of things being tossed around. She read over those quietly before shaking her head.

"I can't tell you how because not even we really know. Nor am I going to say who. Most of them haven't even been on base for even two months, and so I'm not about to throw all of this on top of them." She told them.

TorpedoHell: So then why aren't they in KanCon yet? We could really use the extra units, given that the Abyssals are kicking our collective asses.

AdmiralSami: Speak for yourself, buster!

Sendai simply nodded. "Because like I said before, the Kantai Corporation knows that new summons need an adjustment period for this kind of thing. They need a few months before they're suddenly swept up in all of this." She explained to them. "If JJ had come after me right after my summoning, I can promise you I would've been way out of my element too." She told her. "And so far, they haven't said anything about wanting to start getting anything together. It's my guess that you're gonna have to wait until the convention in March or April for any real news in that regard." She explained to them. The chat seemed to adjust to that information as Sendai then began to switch gears. "So for the most part, my plan today is for this to be a model stream. Now granted the fact that I just revealed we've received more members of the fleet, I'm not looking to build another model of them just yet. So I've prepared a varied selection." She said as she reached down under the desk. Pulling the bag up with a finger, she looked back up to the Chat. "My mods are going to make a poll here as I introduce the options and we'll give it ten minutes for you all to decide of who gets built." She explained.

Before even waiting to see what Chat had said in response, she pulled up the first model box. "Alright, so I thought we'd give the other navies some room. First up is Hood." She explained as she showed off the box for the camera. Tilting and twisting it around for the camera to see, she then made to put it down by the model area as she turned on that camera. "Second comes Jean Bart." She explained as she lifted the box from the bag just the same. Doing the same with this box as she had the first, she then placed it next to Hood. "Figured we couldn't have the British without the French." She answered them.

TheBritishAreAProblem: Oh boy! A ship that didn't do anything and a ship that tried to do too much!

AfternoonTea: Says you. Hood's the easy win here as long as everyone knows what they're talking about.

ADumbQuestion: The two of you have this argument every single time! Can we please mix it up somewhat to be at least a little original?

Sendai ignored the argument building in the chat as she focused on third box of the group, hefting it up and out of the bag as she presented the image of Bismarck to the camera. "For the Germans, it's a bit obvious this one, but we have Bismarck." She told them with a simple gesture before placing her next to the other two. "After the Germans come the Italians in the form of Roma." She explained as she hefted the next box up for the chat to see. She idly watched as Chat voiced their many differing opinions for a time before going for the last of the five boxes. "And the for the last piece, we have Wisconsin."

AfternoonTea: Of course. Of course. Let's just put Hood up against one of the overgrown, over shared yanks battlewagons. Can't even begin to decide what kind of bias this is.

TheBritishAreAProblem: How about you shut your mouth and allow the lady to pick what she wants?

The poll started only a moment after that, Sendai watching that come up before looking back to the stream as a whole.

NakaNakaNaka: Any chance for your sisters joining?

TheNuclearOptions: Oh please no. Sendai is one thing, Naka is another entirely.

"Not sure honestly." Sendai answered. "I'm not even sure where they are right now, which is saying something." She explained. "I just got back from sortie not too long ago so I haven't exactly had the chance to connect with them." She told them.

ZuikakuNumbaOne: So then I assume at the very least that the new fleet members are putting in the work if you're coming off of sortie at what should be damn near 3 in the morning for you?

TheOne3718: That's still real late. They've gotta have quite the schedule over the course of the day for a sortie schedule like that.

Backdoor001: Wouldn't that make sense tho? Even though we don't know just who came through, they've got more forces. Wouldn't it make sense that they start pushing into more and more timetables?

Hellfire01: That didn't help the Maldives, now did it?

"Okay, we don't need that here." Sendai replied almost immediately. "None of us like what happened, and none of us wanted to see what happened. But we weren't even in the area when that went down."

Freeride19372: But doesn't that raise the question of if or when the fleet is going to start occupying other bases, whether Japanese or international? I mean, the Abyssals have been known to have some presence in every major portion of the ocean. With 60 is one thing, but isn't it about time that it starts to be considered deploying to other bases or countries in order to try and combat the Abyssals? Especially if they're going to start raising the hulls of the past?

Cupcake303: Don't tell me that you actually believe that nonsense, right? I mean come on? Floating and fixing hulls of the past? What would be the point? A modern super carrier trumps the past any day of the week.

Freeride19372: And yet we have this discussion having lost the Stennis, The Vinson, and the Lincoln. So much for that top of the line technology discussion, right?

Cupcake303: Well if the US hadn't fucked around so long, maybe they wouldn't still be trying to build them and already have built them. Or wasn't it the US that was afraid to actually use the Gerald for some more than just ceremonial matters?

Sendai shook her head that as her mods began to intervene. This kind of inner-chat reaction was nothing new to her or her stream, but there was a threshold that had to be maintained. And as she watched the mods go about their work, she put her attention on the poll. Which now was quickly approaching a total vote of over five hundred thousand. She waited a minute or two longer as she chatted with the stream before locking down the poll. "And the winner looks to be Wisconsin." She offered. At that point, she hit another few keys on her keyboard. The monitor on her right began to move down the rails to her model area and she went about grabbing her supplies that she would need. Most of all, she grabbed a pair of black latex gloves. Going about pulling those on, she nudged her chair over with her foot towards the table before easing herself back into the chair. Moving the other unneeded boxes at the moment, she focused her attention in on the Wisconsin model box.

She looked up at the chat screen in that moment, keeping an eye on them before she looked back down at the box before her. She slowly cracked it open as she went about slowly but surely removing the contents from the box, laying it out on the table in a nice, neat organized collection.

Kingdomffg: So do you have any plans for others to join the stream today?

"I don't know. Like I said, haven't made plans with my sisters. And as far as I know, none of the others who have been on the streams know that I was planning to do so. If they show up, great. If it's just me, oh well."

LookingForAReason: And you didn't make mention of this to any of the new girls? To even see if they wanted to? Would've been cool to meet at least one of them.

"Yeah, I know. But like I said, I-" She paused as she heard the door opening behind her. Her attention on the model before her was pulled away as she turned in her seat to look at the door. There, she found the sight of Kitakami staring back at her. The light cruisers traded a glance with one another before Sendai nodded at her and gestured towards a chair for her to grab. "Well, it seems you guys are in luck. For those of you who don't know, this is Kitakami, another member of our fleet. She's been on the stream before but it's been a while." She introduced.

Kitakami for all her worth offered the camera a peace sign before wrangling one of the chairs from the other side of the room. She in turn decided to settle in front of the computer itself, settling herself then.

"Anything interesting so far?" Kitakami asked as she glanced at the cruiser as she settled into her chair. Sendai shrugged as she turned her attention back to her model as she began to go about preparing.

"Other than them getting at one another's throats? No, not a whole lot." She answered. Kitakami shook her head at that as she looked at the stream dead in the camera.

"Come on. I thought we'd been over this." She told them. "You can't go causing geo-political sh-"

"Kitakami." Sendai warned.

Kitakami chuckled at that.

Chat seemed to adjust to the newcomer's presence for a moment, Kitakami watching as the feed seemed to scroll by for a time. She idly chatted with them, watching as it rolled by more and more. But as she did so, Sendai watched the chat and more specifically her mod's chat. She took a moment before focusing in on that, recognizing as more and more mods began to check in for the stream. Pausing somewhat at that, she finally asked what she was thinking.

"More mods?" She asked out loud. Kitakami glanced at the cruiser at that as Sendai watched the chat seemed to recognize that she asked something. And after a moment, Sendai got her answer as she chuckled. "Seems like you all are in luck." She answered with a small chuckle. A moment later, the door opened, swinging wide as another person stepped inside. There, they found Naka just entering the room herself. Immediately approaching Kitakami, the cruiser approached the camera specifically. Leaning into it, offering up two peace signs, she grinned.

"Hai, Hai, it's Naka-chan!" The cruiser said with a gleaming smile. Immediately, the chat seemed to wake up to the idol's presence, specifically a large number of people who at that point had not yet started to comment. Sendai watched as Chat seemed to explode as Kitakami moved to the side as she allowed Naka the spot in front of the computer. Moving her own chair there, she settled down before it. Immediately, she went about getting her own things in order as she addressed chat here and there.

KillaTillaX: And how's the idol today?

"I'm doing good, doing good." She answered as she went about preparing the stream a moment before pulling up KanCon. She looked over the stream a moment as Sendai focused back in on her model as Naka let the game load itself up. As she did so, she finally looked to the chat. "So anyone out messing with new strategies? Any new formations or things that seem to work well?" She asked. She watched as the chat scrolled by for a little bit, reading as it went by for a moment before frowning somewhat. "We've talked about this before. You have to have people dedicated to spotting!"

KanCon was known as the official game of the Japanese Ship Girl program for multiple reasons. Given that the Kantai Corporation was the only video game studio licensed to use the girl's images as they were, that drew a heavy amount of attention. But more so than that, the game had an intense learning curve. While the start of the game was a relatively easy learning experience, consisting of stages split amongst various worlds for a total of 25 worlds in all, the game after that or what was considered to be end game was a vastly different experience.

At that point, it became a game of cooperation between the players as the game really opened up. Becoming less of a stage completion game and more of a Real time strategy planner, players would form up in groups of 10 to form a Division and 3 Divisions into a fleet. The three Division commanders would vote in an Admiral and from there, the Admiral would decide tactics, formations, fleet resources, and their areas of operations. Normally three to five Admirals would coordinate at any one time in one area of operations as they worked to battle out the Abyssal threat.

Each division was only allowed one copy of each girl, so there wasn't any stacking any sort of weird, unrealistic meta operations. And if they lost one, they'd have to go through the process of creating the blueprints, collecting the resources needed, and building her up again. Their friendly divisions could loan the ship they were missing if they really needed, but that accrued a heavy amount of resources to do so, and that left divisions down a ship themselves. So it was normal for the Division leaders and Admiral's in charge to carefully think through what they were planning.

The trendsetters as it was came in the form of the three Sendai's. Each of them running as the head of their own division with Sendai being the Admiral amongst the three groups. Their Fleet served to start and promote most of the meta formations and outfittings for fleets by the thousands. There were many people that wanted to do nothing more than fit out all of their girls for the most offensive capabilities possible and it took every nerve in Naka's body not to call them every single name she could think of under the sun.

"You need spotters. That is non negotiable. That is not an option, not a voluntary thing, that is not a secondary choice. If you do not have at least six of your girls dedicated to spotting in some way shape or form, your division, and fleet as a whole is unreliable to those that you are attempting or may coordinate with. And for those of you that come back with the old 'It's only a game, it's not that realistic' answer, it is that realistic. JJ has made that much clear and that's only going to increase as the war goes on. So please, do us all a favor and get with the program." Naka told them in a surefire way. "Especially with the new combat event coming up fast, we need to at least have some sort of cooperation going on or we're going to be flattened." She told them oh so surely.

AdmiralSami: Thank you! I've only been trying to tell my friends that for months and yet they wonder why we keep having to pump resources into new ships!

FlamingGecko44: You tell me three different ships where that actually helps with! There's not a single ship the Abyssals use that can't just be overwhelmed by superior firepower.

TheNuclearOptions: Tell me you don't know Naval warfare without telling me you don't know Naval warfare.

"Spotting is not only important, it is needed." Naka told them. "Especially as the game goes on and we see more and more trends start to emerge. The most notable of those being the fact that each ocean's Abyssals look to have their own behaviors." She explained before looking to the camera. "For those who don't know, in recent months, the game has slowly more and more began to emphasize on the different factions of Abyssals." She explained.

Abyssals found in the Pacific were known to be bold and well thought.

Abyssals found in the Southern were cautious and careful with how and where they struck.

The Indian was were brash and uncaring in their chances.

The Atlantic forces were unpredictable and nigh unstoppable.

Those found in the Arctic however were a weird encounter. They were skittish, unwilling to engage the player's forces most of the time.

"We can't simply blow through them each as if they were the last. And if you're trying to treat and approach them as such, you're going to be in for a rude awakening." She told them as a whole.

"But if you want to continue bashing your heads against the wall and yet wonder why it still doesn't work out, be my guest. It's rather fun to listen to." Kitakami added from behind her. Naka only chuckled at that as she looked over the screens for a moment before finally going about focusing in on the game, streaming it for those who wanted to watch her over Sendai's models. Which wasn't saying a whole lot given that they were both on the same stream. Both Sendai and Naka's streaming set ups were made and set up to handle multiple people on the same platform, where as Jintsuu's was literally just made for her.

As the game finally and fully pulled up for Naka, she immediately went about going to her Division's docks where their 60 ships waited. "Like I said, you need at least a few spotter ships set up for a devision and preferably one person holding all of them. Ideally, if you're looking for the better options for this as strange as it sounds, Akagi and Kaga are great for this kind of sortie. So whichever one of your division mates wants to offer up their Akagi and Kaga to be used in this way, that's great. But you do need spotting capabilities without a doubt." Naka told them. "My division, Sendai's division, and Jintsuu's-" she paused as the door to the room opened yet again.

In came Jintsuu, wrapped in a blanket and a mug of what smelled to be tea in hand. She dragged her own chair through the door as she made way for a spot behind Naka to her left, against the extended table there. Naka hit a button on the keyboard that began to move the monitor on the left down the railing towards her sister. Jintsuu placed her mug on the table as she settled.

"Couldn't sleep?" Sendai asked from her place as she worked at the model. Jintsuu shrugged somewhat as she eased herself into her chair.

"Not really. But given I'm not on sortie for the next few days." She answered her, the cruiser easing back before recollecting her mug. She sipped at it before she looked to Naka. "KanCon?" She questioned.

Naka nodded. "Having to once again address the overwhelming lack of spotting in KanCon." She answered. Jintsuu nodded at that as she looked over at her monitor to read the chat for herself.

TheNuclearOptions: Oh great. Now all three traffic cones are here.

DreadHead387: So can one of you explain to us about the yellow eyed woman then? Given that she was in the picture with ya'll?

XxHunterKillerxX: Oh yeah, and maybe the woman that's hanging around Zuikaku? First Christmas and then the other week in Tokyo?

"No, we will not be discussing the yellow eyed woman today." Sendai interjected. "I-"

The door opened again to admit that of Tenryuu and Yuubari, the two light cruisers entering the room with little issue. Tenryuu settled down behind Sendai as Yuubari opted for a seat next to Kitakami as the two watched Naka play her game.

PorterFan007: Oh there we go! It's an all star stream!

"Did we wake the two of you?" Sendai asked as she glanced at the two. Tenryuu and Yuubari shook their heads.

"I was already awake." Tenryuu answered. "And Yuubari was just coming back from the workshop." She explained. Sendai nodded at that as she gestured to her phone, tabbing into a set of messages before handing it over to the cruiser.

"Read that. Yuubari and Kitakami as well." She told them before turning back to her work. Naka and Jintsuu gave them the time to do so before Naka looked to Sendai.

"Would've been a real good option to invite one of the new girls. Pretty sure we would've found at least someone that wanted to be on stream tonight." Naka told her. Sendai shrugged at that.

"Maybe next time." She answered her as she looked up to the monitor for a moment before back down to her model. Naka in turn looked back to her game as she shook her head.

"Once more, no. We have no concrete details on the arrival of any new girls to KanCon. And if it's gonna be anyone, it's likely to be Yamakaze given that you all have known about her for a while." She answered.

"Didn't know that they were planning to add more to the game." Tenryuu offered. "I just kind of thought it was just gonna be the sixty of us."

TheNuclearOptions: Oh wow. Something the almighty Tenryuu-Chan didn't know? Call it a miracle!

Deadweight090: Ha!

UmbaraPTSD: Who the hell is this? Literally never seen TheNuclearOptions before today.

Super$$$: Does it matter? They're giving Tenryuu a hard time! Points in my book!

"Someone's got your number, Tenryuu." Sendai said with a slight laugh. Tenryuu narrowed her one eye at that as she read over Naka's shoulder.

"TheNuclearOptions?" Tenryuu asked. The three Sendais nodded at that as Jintsuu looked to the monitor.

TheNuclearOptions: Oh boy, she knows my name. I'm just so excited about that, truly!

Tenryuu seemed to adjust to that for a moment. "It sounds like someone has an issue with me." She asked. Naka shrugged as Sendai chuckled.

"For whatever reason." She answered.

"Well they wouldn't be saying that if we were in the same room." Tenryuu answered with a air of crossed arms and a shake of the head. Sendai and Jintsuu chuckled at that as Naka looked to chat.

"You heard her." The cruiser offered with a smile.

It took a moment or two before the next reply came.

TheNuclearOptions: I can assure you do not want you and I in the same place.

"Not giving any evidence to the contrary." Tenryuu offered with a laugh as she read through the chat.

Rumors113: Get em Tenryuu!

SweptWings: Why are we targeting a shipgirl? That's really low you know.

FiredUp404: If anyone can handle it, Tenryuu can.

TheNuclearOptions: My evidence is that if I have to wake up Pringles to come throttle your ass, Tenryuu, I will do so. So choose wisely.

Tenryuu balked.

K-Epsilon: Pringles?

WatNut: Who is Pringles?

Naka and Sendai laughed as Tenryuu shrunk away from the monitor.