"Shiranui-san?"
Shiranui shook her head as she awoke, having dozed off for several seconds after she returned too late to the barracks last night and was only able to get a couple of hours' worth of sleep before being forced to wake up in order to face the next day.
Kagerou didn't help much in that regard, her sister's vibrant smile enchanting her as she woke Shiranui up and helped dress her hair and got her breakfast.
She was now sitting with Shigure at a bench near the Administration Building, having chosen this bench partially because it was reasonably close to the meeting room, and there weren't any security cameras nearby.
Today was the 8th of May, and they were listening to this conversation before attending their next training session which was scheduled shortly after this.
The downside to staying up late in a child's body in order to conduct spy business was that fatigue and drowsiness set in quickly, and while she had Shigure wake her up when she dozed off, it was rather irritating when she saw how weak she was compared to the other ship classes.
She nodded in order to placate Shigure, and they sat together in order to listen to the Admiral's meeting which the Coordinators, several ship girls like Aoba, Kongou, Yamato and Akashi, amongst others, were going to attend.
Shiranui activated the earpiece which was connected to the listening device, and although the transmitted voices were a bit muffled due to the location of the listening device, they could identify distinguishable voices which were conversing with each other before Admiral Haru entered the room.
Silence ensued, and Shiranui assumed that Admiral was sitting down as the destroyers listened intently to the Admiral's meeting, Admiral Haru starting the briefing by explaining how they were to go about things.
"Well, everyone, welcome to the meeting. As you're all aware, nothing we speak of should leave this room unless it's authorized by me.
We'll be talking about Project Psyche, then the land assault training session, and then the Battle of Sagami-nada Sea. I believe you all received copies of a dossier explaining Project Psyche, so if any of you want to debate with me the morals of performing this procedure on a ship girl despite getting her consent, can it please wait until after the meeting?"
Shiranui could pick up a few sighs throughout the room, and she gave Shigure an aside glance as the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer mouthed,
"What?"
She raised a palm in order to get Shigure to be silent for a while as she heard their Admiral ask for another ship girl to take the floor.
"Aoba, if you please."
The scraping of chairs could be heard, and they heard Aoba speak out in a room full of ship girls, something which Shiranui assumed the Aoba-Class cruiser to be incapable of after returning from her treatment in the mental institute and had holed herself up in her room ever since, stunting her social skills.
A surprise, but an unexpectedly pleasant one.
"W-Well, the preparations for Project Psyche are almost done, since we've installed fail-safes on the chairs in order to make sure that they don't die—"
"And yet you estimate that Tenryuu and Tatsuta have a 30% chance of survival? No offense, but what exactly do those fail-safes do?"
Shiranui could identify Ashigara speaking up and asking the tough questions, and the instant Shiranui heard the Tenryuu Sisters being mentioned and their chances of surviving whatever "Project Psyche" was, she gave Shigure an aside glance.
And she saw it.
Shigure's expression shifted from inquisitive to horrified in an instant, and she was leaning forward as Shiranui could see her trying to consider what to do in order to keep her teammates alive.
Shiranui was put on the spot right then, and she made a call which she knew that upon looking back, she wouldn't be sure if it was the right thing to do, simply because her actions in these social situations were occasionally spontaneous and sent people mixed signals.
She reached out in order to grab Shigure's hand, if only to comfort her and get her back on track as quickly as possible, this being a common tactic used by Kagerou to cheer her up, and Shigure's head snapped to look up at her and Ohareyoueffingkiddingme.
Was Shigure tearing up?
Shiranui's expression expressed nothing but awkward concern and she was entirely aware of it, trying to comfort her without saying a word as she divided her attention between returning Shigure's worried look with a "reassuring" expression by her standards, and listening to Aoba's justification.
"—and you must understand, we're dealing with technology which is far beyond our understanding. And even though the Fairies are advanced engineers, they say that since we're messing with settings which we don't understand the functions of, 30% is already considered very generous.
We're taking a reasonable risk, and I understand your concerns. I don't want to risk Tenryuu-san and Tatsuta-san's lives either. But if it's not them, who else will step up to the plate as willingly as they did?"
Several exasperated sighs were heard, and Admiral Haru intervened in order to explain to everyone how this would work out for them if it were to succeed.
"Look. The ship girl soul is a powerful energy source, and if we can tap into it and draw more energy from it, we can potentially bring about a new age of Anti-Abyssal technology since we can funnel the power from the soul into cutting-edge Anti-Abyssal weapons."
Shiranui's nose scrunched up upon hearing that, almost disbelieving of what she just heard as she considered her Admiral's words, but she heard Musashi ask a question about the procedure.
"Pardon me, but is there any chance we can allow other bases and more ship girls to take part in this procedure, should the boys in Engineering improve the odds of survival?"
But she heard Akashi speak up, being a senior in this base who was probably in on Project Psyche, since Shiranui surmised that such a dangerous Project required someone with nerves of steel, who knew what she was doing and knew how to take reasonable risks.
"Well, about that… We can't raise it any more than 30% at the moment, so that's one broken promise on our part…"
She heard Admiral Haru hum understandingly, as though saying, "Eh, you tried." without saying a word.
"Besides, we have the best engineers and Fairies in this base, and we can only guarantee a 30% chance. Do you really want to see the odds other naval bases would promise if they were to try and replicate the procedure?"
The room became unnaturally silent, and even though the destroyer duo tried to listen for any sounds of life, it was clear that everyone had no counter to Akashi's grim observation, and the repair ship continued on to list the possible ramifications of letting everyone gain this power without keeping track of them all.
"Besides, what's to say that there are absolutely no side-effects at all? To our understanding, Kyoka Suigetsu is a near-death experience where we see our souls personified in our image, and who's to say that our souls won't try to kill us or take over our personalities in order to 'help' us pass on, hmm? If Tenryuu and Tatsuta are to lose control of their powers due to any short or long-term complications or suffer from any aftereffects, we need to keep this contained. We'll do our best, but since we're toying with things that're almost beyond our understanding, we can't allow other naval bases to get their hands on something we don't know everything about."
Shigure gripped Shiranui's gloved hand a little tighter, and despite her best attempts to keep her expression neutral, Shiranui could see that the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer was struggling with her emotions, and Shiranui kept silent since she didn't know what to say in these situations.
She only knew to keep silent, and hope that her presence was enough to provide some comfort as she heard Akashi talk about how this procedure was akin to a secret, and how it was best kept within a small circle of confidantes.
"And if we're to allow everyone to know of this technology, what if they successfully replicate it, but fail to protect their assets and allow their modified ship girls to be sunk and captured by the Abyssals? Each 'New Wave' ship girl we lose is one more which is Abyssalized and turned against us, so it's better that we are the ones to own any and every New Wave ship girl out there, hmm?"
Noting that "New Wave" was likely the term which was used to describe the ship girls who survived Project Psyche, Shiranui listened on to Nagato playing Devil's Advocate, although she sounded as though she wanted to do anything but.
"Besides, if we are to consolidate our New Wave ship girls in one base, it would be easier for us to house and protect them all rather than have them scattered throughout Earth, as they may fall victim to the Abyssals' concentrated effort to take them all down should they become the hunted. We may be able to trust the stronger bases around the world with this technology, because they have enough manpower and firepower to defend their assets. However, Akashi is right in that it would require months, if not years to make sure that this procedure doesn't backfire and harm our ship girls in the long run."
Grunts of reluctant approval were heard throughout the room, and Aoba laid out the schedule which they were going to follow.
"We're finalizing the preparations, and we'll perform a check-up tomorrow… Um, i-it's all non-invasive, I can assure you of that."
Aoba hastily reassured everyone in order to prevent anyone from getting the wrong idea.
"We want to make sure they are in tip-top condition before the procedure. We'll have them perform several dives and keep them under heavy observation throughout the entirety of this month. At the end of May, we can release them and only have them come in for occasional check-ups while observing them from afar. We'll make sure they don't push their powers too far, because even though we don't know the possible symptoms of overexertion, for everyone's sake, we'd best keep ourselves in the dark about this, lest we violate the rights of the Tenryuu Sisters, yes?"
Murmurs of agreement were heard all around, and Shigure exhaled sharply as the women in the meeting changed the subject, Kongou speaking in an uncharacteristically serious tone about the land assault training session.
"Admiral, we have begun preparations for the land assault training session, what with the various Anti-Abyssal weapons with rubber and paintball rounds, entire buildings being vacated in order to allow ship girls to train in them, and getting soldiers from the JSDF to teach our ship girls, desu.
All of this is in preparation for Apocalypse."
Admiral Haru nodded, addressing everyone as she discussed one topic which the two destroyers were interested about.
"Look, I'm not going to sugarcoat this, girls. We have enough reason to believe that a land assault campaign, which the Abyssals dubbed Apocalypse, is imminent, and will likely be a precursor to World War 3. And even though we have the Infiltration Fleet trying to find out what the Abyssals are up to, we need to prepare ourselves in any way we can. Admiral Felix is manufacturing the Anti-Abyssal firearms in America to be sent over at a later date, and we've told a handful of Japanese Naval Bases about this, so expect us to slowly ramp up the Anti-Abyssal weapon production behind the scenes for now."
"And is there a reason why we aren't telling everyone about this, desu? I would think that if World War 3 were to break out, we need to warn everyone about this, no?"
Kongou expressed the thoughts of almost all the ship girls present, but Akashi put an end to anyone hoping to ask this question, retorting with her sharp tongue and harsh tone.
"And you think anyone wants to hear this, hmm? We'll be laughed out of the room and labelled as attention whores if we announce this before we gather enough proof, or we could incite a national panic in which everyone rushes to buy emergency rations and medical supplies like it's Black Friday in America. You want to see our citizens scramble and trample over each other in attempting to hoard as much resources as they can get their hands on in a life-or-death situation? Especially when we warn everyone about the next imminent World War which comes in the form of 'Apocalypse', and not allow the government enough time to draft a response plan to combat the ensuing public chaos? I wouldn't put it past them to panic like crazy and only look out for themselves when their lives are at stake."
Another bout of awkward silence ensued, Shiranui sweat-dropping as Kongou eventually spoke out in a barely-audible tone due to the placement of Shiranui's listening device.
"You didn't have to put it like that, desu…"
Admiral Haru coughed into her fist, and tried to get the conversation back on track as she talked about the costs of such a training session.
"Well, we've cut a reasonable check to the JSDF for them to send their best trainers. We need ship girls to move things out of those buildings and make sure we don't get hit too hard in terms of logistics when we vacate those buildings in order to train our ship girls. I've also cancelled some of the expeditions before this, and they'll get some time to recover before attending the training session. I'd rather hold off on attaining resources and allow all our ship girls to attend one training session, rather than hold a second training session for the ship girls who missed the first one on the 22nd."
Sounds of agreement were heard throughout the room, and Shiranui planned out their schedule as she learnt of all these.
She would infiltrate the laundry room with Kagerou's help in order to retrieve the listening devices, and after that, she would go on the sortie with the 1st Fleet on the 14th of May, and the land assault training session on the 22nd.
After that, they would have to prepare themselves for the Battle of Sagami-nada Sea, and beyond that, they would spend every second preparing for a possible land assault and eventual World War 3.
Well, things were going to be a little more hectic from now on, that's for sure.
She gave Shigure an aside glance and saw that despite looking worried about the future, Shiranui was providing her some comfort with her stoic and unshakable demeanor which helped anchor the frightened Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer's spirit despite learning that her friends had a 30% chance of survival in some obscure military project which they had volunteered for.
The fact that she was sitting a little closer to Shiranui didn't escape her notice, and they focused on the conversation at hand while the Admiral moved onto the Battle of Sagami-nada Sea, and their overarching strategy for the upcoming large-scale battle.
"Well, one thing I'd like to update everyone regarding the Battle of Sagami-nada Sea. The Kamogawa and Isumi Naval Base just confirmed with me that they would be participating in the battle with us, along with the Kujukuri Naval Base further up North of Chiba sending two fleets to try and chip in however they can. So that brings the number of participants in this battle up to twelve, including the JMSDF and the Abyssal armada.
Concerning our strategy…"
Rustling of papers could be heard, and Shiranui surmised that they could be maps of the Kanto region, since they would need a map to plot out their movements.
"The initial part of the battle will occur here, before the formation of naval mines.bThe First Strike Group needs to engage in battle with vanguard of the Abyssal armada here, and they are predicted to suffer the highest number of casualties if things get out of hand. We won't leave them out to dry, of course, since we'll have battleships and carriers providing mid and long-range support respectively, but they'll have to hold out until the second stage of the plan."
Admiral Haru then went into a little more detail about how even though the First Strike Group will have to risk their lives on the field, she needed it for the next stage of her plan to work.
"Look, it won't be 'Charge of the Light Brigade' kind of odds, but we need to send out the best ship girls with the best equipment in order to ensure that they possess reasonable odds of survival in order for them to live long enough to retreat and bait the Abyssals into the mines. We will get the First Strike Group to retreat into and beyond the naval mine formation, and this is very important, because all of them need to be outside of the naval mine formation in order for this to work. This will be part one and two, the initial battle and the retreat-slash-bait.
The smokescreen and the incomplete combustion which the retreating First Strike Group will throw up in their wake will force the Abyssals to decide if they would risk sailing above the mines and into the smokescreen, or delay their invasion as we pepper them with long-range cannon fire from the battleships, which will stand behind and provide cover fire as the First Strike Group retreats."
Admiral Haru then probably took up something, likely a marker, as something squeaked in the room while everyone kept silent, and Shiranui was now fully invested in the briefing as she listened to the Admiral's voice, the listening device thankfully positioned next to Admiral Haru's mouth to ensure that a relatively clear voice was transmitted.
"The battleships will cover their retreat, and when the Abyssals move into the smokescreen, we will strike them down with the battleships which'll stand here as well as the Second and Third Strike Group with their torpedo launchers, which will stand here and here. Jet fighters will fly in and bombard the Abyssals from the mainland, and we'll time this to be part of a massive three-pronged attack as Shizuoka and Shimoda attacks from the West, while Kamogawa and Isumi will attack from the North East, and we'll attack them head on. This will be part three, the bombardment phase."
Admiral Haru then lowered her voice in order to talk to the ship girls in a trusting tone, and Shiranui was interested in what else Admiral Haru had in store to add to her admittedly solid strategy, to the point where she likely kept it from even her most trusted ship girls until now.
"And… I'd really appreciate it if you kept this next part of the plan secret, even more so than the plans to the Battle of Sagami-nada Sea."
They both heard a distant and muffled,
"Yes, Ma'am."
And Shiranui leaned in close to Shigure in order to propose a theory as to who this voice belonged to.
"It's likely Yahagi, since she writes the minutes to most of the meetings.
Whatever this next part is, Admiral Haru doesn't want it to be written down."
Shigure nodded, the both of them turning their attention back to Admiral Haru talking about how she had sent the submarines off in the middle of the night about a month or so before this.
"I sent the submarines off as I ordered them to plant the mines in the Sagami-nada Sea. However, I did it in the middle of the night as I didn't want anyone to know that we made some modifications to the naval mines."
Shiranui scrunched up her face questioningly while assuming that everyone else in the room did the same whenever Admiral Haru did something which no one expected, and whenever she did so, it was in a way which the ship girls weren't always prepared for.
"I assume you all know that unlike the usual naval mines which are tied down to the ocean floor by steel chains and an anchor, our new naval mines, which were developed twelve years ago, are kept in place by six propellers which are stuck to its six axes around its spherical body. It marks its true position using latitude, longitude and depth as well as relative distance to other mines in order to prevent them from drifting away due to underwater currents or animals brushing past them. To give some context, normal mines have an anchor which the mine is attached to via a metal cable or chain, in order to cancel out the buoyancy force of the mine with the weight of the anchor."
Shiranui hummed in understanding while Shigure eagerly nodded as the two of them, being ship girls who had been through one naval war and was currently participating in another, knew how such things worked as they were often used in naval wars in order to discourage ships and submarines from travelling into certain areas.
Admiral Haru continued the small lesson on their newly developed mines, and how they were going to play an integral role in the upcoming battle, explaining.
"Well, in the newer naval mines, we integrate the 'anchor' with the mine, and if you imagine the inside of the mine as two hemispheres along with the payload, the top hemisphere is filled with air and the bottom half is affixed with weights to balance out the buoyancy force with the excess weight. The reason why they aren't laid down everywhere on the ocean is because if they're laid down in the middle of the ocean instead of near important locations, the Abyssals can sail around them, thus defeating their purpose. Without the restriction of the maximum length of a cable holding them back and limiting their usability, these naval mines can be placed at almost any depth en masse. And, um, those weights that're supposed to hold them down? I had them modified to come off at the push of a button."
Shiranui eyes widened as she connected the dots in her mind, lowering her head and rubbing her face with her gloved palm as she groaned tiredly.
"Shit…"
And after one entire second of looking down at the ground, Shigure seemed to mirror her movements as she heard the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer bemoan upon coming upon the same revelation of what Admiral Haru's plan was.
"Aw…"
Admiral Haru explained her trump card and how she was to use the underwater mines in order to destroy the Abyssals using a method which no one had thought to use on such a grand scale.
"W-Well, we are to drop these weights from the mines in order to allow them all to float up to the surface if the Abyssals are to advance and sail above them. The Abyssals will be bombarded by the battleship shells, torpedoes, jet fighters firing their JDAMs, our Fairy planes dropping their payloads ala carpet bombing, and the rising minefield beneath their feet. How's that sound?"
Shigure, sounding extremely worried about the detonation of so many explosives on the battlefield, turned to face her as she asked Shiranui about this.
"Shiranui-san, the power behind an explosion of that caliber… It's enough to wipe out a significant portion of an entire armada if we play our cards right, but—"
Shiranui, her expression now a dark poker face, raised a palm in order to silence Shigure as she heard Admiral Haru talk about what came after the devastating stage three, after the Abyssals were hit from the front and the sides by the ship girls, the top by the fighter jets and bomber planes, and the bottom by the rising mines.
"After that, it's stage four, and it's basically a free-for-all where everyone just dogpiles the Abyssals and throws everything they have at them. I don't really have much of a plan for this part of the battle, but I've been notified by the USAF in Yokota that we'll have F-22 Raptors, Mitsubishi F-2 and a C-130 Hercules backing us u—"
"Um, Admiral?"
Ooyodo cut in with a polite interruption regarding the last plane which her commander stated, seeking to correct her.
"The C-130 Hercules is a transport aircraft which is part of the 36th Airlift Squadron, which is stationed in Yokota. The Yokota USAF was talking to us about the Lockheed AC-130U gunship, the attack variant of the C-130 Hercules which was sent to us by the United States and Lockheed Martin as a package along with other jet fighters back in 2006 to help us in the Abyssal War."
Admiral Haru could only utter an acknowledging,
"Oh."
Before she responded in classic Admiral Haru fashion by simply going.
"What she said."
Everyone exhaled loudly through their noses in slight exasperation, as did Shiranui and Shigure upon witnessing Admiral Haru's clumsy conversational skills at work.
Shiranui then heard Yamato, with her polite voice possessing a quality of soft yet powerful authority which resonated throughout the room, asked about how Japan managed to get their hands on American planes from a company whose list of clients were mostly Americans.
"Um, Admiral? I understand that Lockheed Martin only sells their products to American clients, so how did these planes come into our possession?"
But Nagato stepped in to explain how "alien invasion" and "possible human extinction" meant that they had access to several American vehicles of war, although certain conditions still applied.
"With the Abyssal War threatening America and its allies around the world, namely us, I suppose the defense contractors saw this war as the exception to their rule and sold us their products, with one of the conditions being that the maintenance crew and pilots be all-American, since I suppose they only trust people vetted by them to fly their own planes. They check them every month to make sure that every screw and nut within each and every plane is accounted for, but they do come in handy in situations like these, when you need air superiority to influence the tide of large-scale battles."
Musashi then commented offhandedly,
"Well, I suppose in spite of the strict regulations and inspections they subject their overseas units to, as though they can't trust us not to accidentally crash their planes or break off a stabilizer fin, at least they're making a genuine effort to provide support by lifting the ban on their 'American-only' weapons for us and certain countries around the world.
I don't mind all the fuss over who owns the planes, so long as whoever flies them helps us win."
Akashi continued the conversation in order to get it back on track, as she explained how the American fighter jets might have to be called in to back them up in case one particular adversary showed up.
"Well, we'll be warming up their engines in order to prepare for the arrival of the Flying Dutchman, which is a very potent adversary which we need to watch out for.
The likelihood of the Abyssal aviation battleship appearing in this battle is pretty high, partially because we're one of the naval bases which is on the Abyssals' shit list, and Yuubari will certainly want to watch over her armada and aid in their invasion. She will likely be on the Abyssal battleship and spectate the battle from afar as the commander-in-chief, while the Dutchman fires at everyone."
Shiranui noted the repair ship's subtle shift in tone, and this was not lost on everyone in the room as Ooyodo calmly asked.
"Akashi, are you alright with confronting Yuubari and taking her down, despite your past relationship with her?"
Shiranui was somewhat surprised at the insinuation that Akashi was in a relationship with Yuubari before she sank, and might have to face off against her on the battlefield.
She sank less than a decade ago, and the same Abyssalized Yuubari was now spearheading the invasion of the Abyssals against mankind?
Who the hell appoints an Abyssalized light cruiser to the position of Abyssal high command this easily?
But those questions would be left unanswered for now as Akashi answered without a shadow of a doubt, as though she had considered the possibility and had come to terms with what she had to do.
"Yeah, no doubt about it. I'll lop her head off and keep it with me, so that the Abyssals never recover it and make her work against us."
A third bout of intense silence was dropped upon everyone by the Akashi-Class repair ship, and Shiranui wasn't exactly sure what to make of a ship girl being so casual with killing her former lover and keeping her decapitated head around without breaking a sweat over the moral quandaries regarding such a course of action.
Shigure also looked rather surprised, and even a little horrified upon hearing the repair ship say this so casually, and she could hear Admiral Haru sharing the urgent need to move onto another topic along with everyone who was present in order to avoid dealing with the sheer awkwardness that was forced upon them by Akashi.
"W-Well, I suppose that concludes a majority of the topics which are to be covered in this meeting. So, to summarize, Tenryuu and Tatsuta are to be brought in for the rest of May, and we'll give them checkups before and after the dives in order to make sure that Project Psyche doesn't cause any side effects, either immediate or delayed. For the land assault training session, we'll hold it on the 22nd of May, and the goal is to help ship girls prepare for Apocalypse, and eventually World War 3 by manufacturing more Anti-Abyssal weapons and gaining the cooperation of all the other countries if we can find enough evidence to convince them without a shred of a doubt that Apocalypse is real. For the Battle of Sagami-nada Sea, we're to have four stages of battle, where the first is to clash, the second is to retreat and bait.
The third is to devastate them with attacks from all directions, including the bottom via the rising mines, and the fourth stage is a free-for-all fuckfest where we take out everyone who's left with help from the entirety of the JSDF. Any questions?"
Shiranui supposed Ashigara was the one who raised her hand, because her Admiral then asked of the Myoukou-Class heavy cruiser,
"Yeah, Ashigara? What's your question?"
Ashigara asked unabashedly about something which was somewhat related to the final topic, but wasn't about the battle itself.
"Can we choose to call the upcoming large-scale battle 'Battle of Twelve Navies'? I mean, it's three syllables shorter, and it's an easier way to call the clusterfuck that is going to be ten naval bases and the JMSDF dogpiling the Abyssal armada, so why not?"
Nagato deadpanned, sounding incredulous at how the heavy cruiser felt the need to even ask this question, asking flatly.
"Seriously? Did you literally ask a question about what we're supposed to call the battle, of all the things we should focus our attention on?"
"Yes, I literally did. Literally."
Ashigara responded dryly, and Shiranui could hear Akashi complaining about how everyone in the room was absolutely insufferable.
"Fucking hell. Everyone in here's so fucking cancerous, blatantly misusing 'literally'—"
Shiranui turned off her earpiece by that point in time, and gave Shigure a look in order to get her to do the same, talking to her about what they were to do, or more accurately, not do for now in light of recent developments.
"Look, Shigure. I need to be honest with you. Regarding Project Psyche, I don't think we can stop Tenryuu or Tatsuta from participating in it, because if we're to do so, Admiral Haru will know that the reason why we would know about Project Psyche in order to stop the Tenryuu Sisters in the first place is if we somehow learnt about it through underhanded and certainly illegal means."
Shiranui's eyes narrowed as she leaned in to address a worried Shigure who looked down at the ground, clearly contemplating the thought of rushing into the Admiral's office and demanding that she spare her teammates' lives, or something along those lines.
"Shigure. I infiltrated the Admiral's room in order to plant those listening devices. If you are considering barging into the Admiral's room in order to ask her to stop Project Psyche, I urge you to reconsider, lest we both be thrown into military prison and be punished for our infractions."
Shigure looked away in shame, and Shiranui knew that she hit the nail on the head regarding Shigure's thoughts, but she also understood the need for Shigure to contact and talk to her teammates without accidentally spilling the beans, and she relented as she gripped the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer's hand a little tighter, attempting to relax her expression in order to flash Shigure a small, reassuring smile before continuing.
"But… I understand if you wish to talk to them before they go for the procedure. And I will allow it if you talk to them without making them suspect that we know what they know."
Shigure's near-crying expression morphed into a somewhat surprised one as she met Shiranui's gaze, and the Kagerou-Class destroyer quickly dropped her smile, now being the one to look away as she looked away and felt slightly abashed as she had a slight heart to heart with Shigure.
"Look, I'm not entirely heartless. They're your teammates. And while I stress the importance of not being a complete idiot by shouting from the rooftops about how Project Psyche is bad for your teammates and getting us both arrested, I won't stop you from talking to them before the worst happens."
She could see the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer wrestle with her emotions in trying to come to terms with Shiranui's reasonable requests and compromise, still looking extremely reluctant as she acquiesced and agreed with Shiranui.
"I… I suppose I have to, don't I?
You've taken one for the team, and I need to do the same."
Shiranui nodded as she closed her eyes, and Shigure broke out into a small, sad smile as she looked to the Kagerou-Class destroyer and pointed out.
"You know, Shiranui-san. You often look so stoic and unflinching, when you smile, it really has the effect of looking surreal as it is a rare and wonderful phenomenon, and looks as if it takes a Herculean effort on your part."
Shiranui's eyebrows creased, and she lifted her gloved right hand in order to pinch Shigure on the nose as a minor punishment as she remarked dryly.
"Naive, and cheeky. Annoying, too."
And Shigure's voice became a little more high-pitched as she gesticulated wildly with her hands, tears forming at the corners of her eyes as she squealed.
"Ah, waah, Shiwanui-shan!"
While Shiranui thought about the name-ship of the Kagerou-Class, and how in some sense, these two ship girls shared some passing resemblances.
Kagerou gets on my nerves with her boundless enthusiasm, and Shigure does the same with her uncontrollable sense of curiosity, and they both possess the cheek to shoot back at me. Must my life be plagued with ship girls who worm their way past my stoic demeanor so easily with their quirks?
She sighed, but didn't exactly mind their company as she knew that she secretly found those traits and habits endearing if they learnt to moderate and control them instead of the other way around, as Shigure demonstrated in the training session a few days ago by allowing her thoughts and curiosity to occupy her attention in mid-battle.
And Shiranui, upon considering the series of upcoming battles and events which were going to shake their world, found herself feeling that a second wind lifted her spirit as she wished to do better despite her limits holding her back.
All for the sake of protecting her sisters and friends and preserving the illusion of peace, if but for a little while longer before all Hell broke loose on Earth.