After a sumptuous breakfast the next day, Shigure was hanging out with her sisters Samidare, Yuudachi and Murasame, her third sister ship having been on a long two week expedition and was only able to return yesterday, Murasame immediately taking a long nap upon returning and was unable to meet Shigure.
Murasame was understanding of Shigure's circumstances and accepted her apologies, Yuudachi and Samidare consoling and reassuring her all the while.
Murasame was wearing the signature black sailor uniform of the Shiratsuyu-Class, possessing beige-colored hair tied up in long twin-tails reaching down to her hips, and had reddish-brown eyes that were wide and lively, something Shigure found soothing.
Somehow, she needed it in her life to balance out the morbid and depressing matters that insightful ship girls like Akashi were there to discuss and explain, like the workings of the ship girl and the darker topics of the war.
But whenever she needed a shoulder to lean on, she realized that her lively sisters Yuudachi and Murasame were always there for her.
But Shimakaze was always alone.
Sure, she had seen the self-proclaimed "Fastest Destroyer" running around the base numerous times and often hung out with the 2nd Fleet, but unlike the majority of destroyers, she didn't have any sister ships.
Not only did she have to bear the burdens of the war, but she also had to do so alone and without any family members to greet her when she went to bed, or when she needed a shoulder to cry on.
Like Aoba, she wondered if she could somehow help out the lonely destroyer by talking to her and working something out.
But like Akashi explained as she laid out the plan, Shigure had to be deliberately kept in the dark to ensure that nothing tipped Shimakaze off about her ulterior motives.
Her ignorance as a newcomer also worked in her favor in that she could get closer to Shimakaze without fear of it looking like act of pity or sympathy, this being the most important reason why other Shigure alone was the only viable candidate.
Shimakaze was obsessed about going fast, being first and generally being a girl of action rather than words, so words were unlikely to get through to her.
So Shigure had to play her game in order to truly connect with her.
Even when she didn't know the specifics about what happened to her to make her so closed off and reluctant to accept help, Shigure felt it didn't matter.
Shimakaze was hurting, and Shigure, being someone who empathized with her situation, wanted to help her.
End of story.
So when she asked her sisters if they wanted to visit Shimakaze and keep her company, her sisters were understandably confused, but accepted the offer without question as the destroyer was likely in need of company.
The Shimakaze-Class destroyer was rather hard to find, the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyers always a few locations behind as they struggled with their manhunt despite the sailors and various ship girls around the base giving them a basic idea of Shimakaze's movement patterns.
In the end, Samidare, panting from the exertion of fast strolling around the base for a few hours, was the one who suggested that instead of trying to catch up to the fast destroyer, they should hunker down somewhere and wait for Shimakaze to come to them.
And in the absence of better ideas, the rest of the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyers agreed to the plan.
Even Shigure, who admitted that while she genuinely wanted to befriend the lone destroyer, she wasn't going to exhaust herself simply trying to catch up to Shimakaze when she had an important sortie to go on tomorrow.
They picked a sheltered walkway with benches for them to rest and recuperate while they waited. And during the wait, Shigure took the time to speak with Murasame, who was also glad to have some time to get to know her sister better.
Murasame had been built quite a while ago, and after a few sorties, she asked to be sent on expeditions instead of sorties.
When Shigure asked her why she'd want to be stuck doing boring expeditions, Murasame smiled weakly and replied,
"Shigure, I'm sorry to say that not all of us are that eager for battle. And I'm sorry to say that for me, my motto is that 'Discretion is the better part of valor'. I'd rather do expeditions all day than risk my life in another battle."
Shigure nodded her head, completely understanding her sister's point of view and held Murasame's hand tightly to comfort her.
She knew that Murasame was quite active doing transport runs back in the war, and it was understandable if her sister wanted to stick to what she knew best rather than risk her life on the battlefield, where she had little aptitude for.
Murasame sheepishly scratched her head, trying not to get flustered at this revelation, laughing meekly as she looked to Shigure,
"Well, someone's got to keep the resources coming in, else we'd all starve here, right?"
And Shigure nodded sagely in reply.
If Murasame didn't wish to court death by sortieing all the time yet wanted to help everyone in her own way, who was she to judge her sister?
She changed the conversation topic to something less serious, talking about the recent weather changes and the fact that she was to sortie tomorrow.
And like that, with Samidare and Yuudachi talking merrily about something or another while waiting, Shigure was enjoying herself at this point in time.
No sorties to worry about, the war now a passing thought in her mind as she chatted with her sisters.
The weather was gentle as the winds barely rustled the nearby trees, and the clouds helped prevent the sun from beating down on them.
The temperature wasn't too hot due to said clouds keeping the sun from raising the ambient temperature despite summer being around the corner.
Shigure made sure to commit this moment to memory, having been made painfully aware of their violently short lives, and no matter how much she tried, she couldn't guarantee that all of them could be together like this in the future.
Her HUD read,
5 April 2015
11.29 a.m.
She noticed Shimakaze standing stealthily to the side, quite a fair distance from them.
Shigure wouldn't have noticed her if she had forgotten about keeping an eye out for the fast destroyer.
Shimakaze was carrying her three Rensouhou-chan and she was looking sad, an expression that didn't fit the energetic, speed-obsessed destroyer.
The first time she met Shimakaze, she got the impression that Shimakaze was more like Sendai, enthusiastic about being the fastest as opposed to Sendai's enthusiasm for night battles.
Shimakaze wasn't exactly trying to hide, not that it was easy to hide yourself while wearing Shimakaze's embarrassingly revealing outfit, with a cut-off sleeveless sailor uniform top, a micro skirt, g-string, a pair of stockings, shoulder gloves and her black bunny ear headpiece.
But as Shigure looked in her direction, Shimakaze flinched as she turned away to try and escape the situation.
But Shigure bolted from her seat as she tried to catch the elusive destroyer, and finally intercepted Shimakaze.
She caught her gloved hand as Shigure tried to pacify the destroyer in front of her, Shimakaze looking a little scared of being mocked by the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyers for peeking at them.
"Shimakaze-san, we've been waiting for you."
And Shimakaze's look changed from one of fear to one of faint surprise as Shigure continued.
"I-I know that you don't have any sister ships…"
And upon hearing that, Shimakaze's face darkened and she smacked Shigure's hand away with her free hand, looking away as she sneered.
"Yeah, I don't. So why don't you rub it in some more, hmm?"
Shimakaze turned away from Shigure, her Rensouhou-chan all clicking furiously and their eyes in caricatures of closed eyes as they waved their cannons at Shigure.
"I don't need sister ships, not when I'm faster than you all."
But Shigure put her right hand on Shimakaze's left shoulder, which prompted Shimakaze to try and shrug off Shigure's hold on her.
And when they were face to face with each other, Shigure placed her left hand on Shimakaze's right shoulder, Shimakaze lazily swinging her head beneath Shigure's arm and turning away.
But as Shimakaze was trying to get away from the approaching group of Shiratsuyu-Class destroyers, she felt Shigure's hands clap on her shoulders, Shigure not allowing Shimakaze to escape.
Not when she was this close.
She announced,
"We just want to be friends, Shimakaze-san."
Samidare was the voice of reason, moving in slowly so as not to startle Shimakaze as she stated.
"Shimakaze-san, we really want to be friends with you. We can't ever be your actual sisters, but we want to at least keep you company."
Yuudachi took up the rear and exclaimed,
"We just wanna get to know you better, is that too much to ask, Poi?!"
And Murasame was there, trying to convince Shimakaze.
"Is it too much to ask you to humor our attempts at friendship, even if we're not of the same family of destroyers? We spent all morning looking for you."
And finally, when Shigure was uncertain if Shimakaze was going to simply walk away despite Samidare politely standing in her way, Shimakaze's shoulders slouched as she exhaled, wordlessly giving in to the suggestions of the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyers.
Shigure broke out into a relieved grin as Shimakaze shook her shoulders free of Shigure's hands, Shimakaze bluntly asking.
"So what're we going to do? I already know that I outclass you in all terms of speed, so I'm not so heartless as to ask for a race."
And while the rest of the Shiratsuyu-Class looked to each other, looking confused and clearly not having thought things through, Shimakaze face-palmed along with her three Rensouhou-chan, but Shigure smirked, stating,
"I have an idea."