Admiral Haru was standing in front of Aoba's room, looking up at the nameplate titled "青葉", thinking about the Aoba-Class heavy cruiser and wondering what else she could have done to prevent the previously cheery and energetic ship girl from going through everything which left her as an introvert and a mere shell of her former self.
But Admiral Haru shook her head, making sure that she didn't fall into the self-destructive loop where she filled her mind with what could have been or what she could have done differently to help her ship girls, raising her hand to softly knock on the door.
Aoba's tired voice was barely audible, Admiral Haru pressing her ear to the wooden door to hear Aoba mutter.
"Door's unlocked."
Admiral Haru looked down, preparing herself to face the heavy cruiser which she couldn't help in time, this being one of the many regrets in her life as she placed her hand on the handle and opened the door slowly so as not to startle Aoba.
Walking into the dim room which she had once been into in order to ascertain Aoba's mental state which, last she remembered, was "not good".
That verdict was not changing anytime soon as she noted the inane scribblings on the wall, the various notes tacked on a map of the world along with the threads and colored thumbtacks that connected multiple locations, Admiral Haru looking around and taking in everything quietly.
Aoba was sitting on the fold-down bed in the room, hugging her knees and looking up at Admiral Haru with slightly fearful eyes, and Admiral Haru could see that Aoba had at least tried to make herself presentable before meeting the Admiral, having bathed and changed into her best uniform.
Admiral Haru closed the door behind her and walked towards Aoba without any regard for her safety while the heavy cruiser shrank into the corner of the bed, Admiral Haru almost seeing how scared the heavy cruiser was of her strength as she squeaked.
"P-Please, don't come any closer, Admiral.
I don't want to hurt you, since you're more fragile than us ship girls."
Admiral Haru sighed upon hearing that, raising her hand to take off her Admiral cap and toss it onto the bed, sitting down on the chair in the middle of the room as she regarded Aoba in a no-nonsense tone.
"Look, Aoba, I know that you'd never hurt me, being one of my beloved ship girls. And besides, aren't you a little tired of everyone tiptoeing around you and always being uncomfortable in your presence, right?"
Aoba looked away at that, unable to come up with a retort or argument as she lowered her head upon hearing her Admiral bring up that point, Admiral Haru able to see that Aoba had at least gotten some sleep, although that didn't completely help the tired look she always had on her face, Admiral Haru asking inquisitively.
"It's rather interesting, though. Often, I'm the one who has to call you and ask to meet you. So what's made you take the initiative this time, Aoba?"
Aoba looked away, but Admiral Haru leaned in a little closer to try and get closer to the heavy cruiser, seeing each and every one of her ship girls as family members in lieu of her real one.
And eventually, Aoba revealed the reason why she wanted to try and get out more after agreeing to the desperate plea of a certain Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer.
"Shigure… She told me that I couldn't rot in here, and needed to leave this prison of mine sometime. She practically went down on her knees and begged me to get out and talk to someone who's not my sister ships, and you were the first choice..."
Admiral Haru cracked a genuine smile at that, noting.
"Well, when even a ship girl who's new to this base sees what's wrong with your living conditions, I think it's time to do something about it, right?"
Aoba nodded reluctantly at that, changing the subject to ask about the classified research project which Aoba had refused to be on for various reasons, her own debilitating condition being a major one.
"You wanted me to work on a secret project with Akashi and Kirishima, right? I know that I previously refused to participate, but I think I might reconsider in the next few days if my condition improves..."
Admiral Haru's smile drooped a little, but she inched closer to Aoba as she tried to explain her point of view.
"Look, Aoba. I always said that the best way for you to learn to live with your condition was to find a way to apply yourself to help everyone in some way, not holing yourself up in your room..."
Looking around at Aoba's uncleaned room, Admiral Haru lifted an eyebrow before raising her gaze to look at the global map, dryly continuing.
"... And obsessively keeping track of everything through your research."
Aoba shot her Admiral a glance, before looking away ashamedly as Admiral Haru met her gaze with a caring look of a worried parent, silently accepting her Admiral's words as Admiral Haru comforted Aoba and gave her some time to decide.
"Look, I'm not ordering you to join this project even though I have the power to do so, because I want you to do things at your own pace. But the Abyssals aren't nice enough to do the same, so tell you what."
Admiral Haru's gaze hardened as she explained the situation.
"I've sent you some declassified documents and recent reports of Abyssal activities as an act of good faith. You can look through them and see for yourself how badly things are going to turn out for us from now on, and you might be able to see how important this research project is in helping us win this war. Because I know no matter how much you try to enclose yourself within these walls and pretend that you're dead to the world, I know that the "Intrepid Reporter" Aoba still lives on inside you, and you'd never give up a chance to help everyone in any way you can."
Getting off the chair, Admiral Haru walked closer to Aoba, the heavy cruiser trying to curl up into a defensive knee hug the closer Admiral Haru got to her, Admiral Haru sighing and scratching her hair, thankfully free of the stuffy peaked officer's cap as she leaned in and ordered.
"Aoba, close your eyes, and look up."
Aoba looked up at Admiral Haru questioningly, but Admiral Haru's reluctance to elaborate meant that Aoba did as her commanding officer ordered, Admiral Haru easily noting the nervousness and uncertainty in the heavy cruiser's expression as she closed her eyes and leaned in, her right palm pressing against the map stuck on the room wall to prevent herself from falling forward.
Her lips met a surprised Aoba's exposed lips, and Admiral Haru savored the unique taste of the heavy cruiser's juicy lips for a good five seconds before a blushing Aoba pushed her away, the Admiral having spent enough time around ship girls to know when they tried to restrain their strength around her so as not to accidentally break something.
Aoba's cheeks were colored and she was actively scrambling away from Admiral Haru, a complete 180 from her previously depressed and lifeless state, the heavy cruiser covering her mouth with the back of her right hand as she stuttered while exclaiming.
"A-A-Admiral Haru! I-I'll report you for sexual harassment! It'll be a-a huge scandal, I-I swear!"
Admiral Haru laughed heartily as she held her right index finger to her lip, commenting merrily.
"Well, at least that's something that'll keep you busy other than obsessively spying on everything and being depressed as fuck.
Everyone knows me so well by now that this little display of affection won't even make the headlines, Aoba. Besides, don't tell me you didn't enjoy it."
Aoba's colored cheeks reddened even more upon hearing that, becoming tomato red as Aoba's mouth opened and closed wordlessly, unable to say a word as Admiral Haru turned to leave the room, picking up her Admiral cap and lazily slapping it on her head as she headed for the door.
Admiral Haru stopped right in front of the short corridor leading into the room, looking behind her shoulder to regard a stunned Aoba one last time as she made things clear.
"Four days from today, after the 1st Fleet has sortied on the 6th of April, the Coordinators, Akashi and I are holding a closed-door meeting in the Coordinator Room to determine what our future plans are. Attend the meeting if you're interested."
And with that, Admiral Haru ended the conversation and exited the room, the door clicking as it closed behind the Admiral and left a flustered and silent Aoba in the room, looking at the door while wondering about her Admiral's words and her little parting gift.