Tenryuu was sitting in the hospital cafeteria, having bought herself her a microwavable dinner that was soon thrown in the microwave as she cranked up the temperature in order to preheat and eat it in the silent and empty cafeteria, since no one liked staying in a place of death like this at this hour.
She was planning to stay overnight in order to wait for Tatsuta to wake up, and wanted to be there the second she opened her eyes in order to apologize to her for allowing her to be injured and killed in the line of duty, and even got permission from the Admiral to allow her to stay in the hospital after visiting hours.
She savored the bland taste of macaroni along with the piping hot sauce that felt as if it were simply thrown in as an appetizer to help her swallow her meal along with the side meal of meatballs for some variety, now regretting not choosing to change out of her tattered uniform as it no longer seemed to be the best course of action, the frigid air of the sterilized hospital tickling her bare skin and caused her to shiver a little.
She felt rather tired after the Battle of Mikura Jima Island, and knew that everyone around the world had already heard of the disastrous sortie and the appearance of the Flying Dutchman, and Tenryuu shivered a little after recounting how they were mowed down almost immediately after it appeared.
The life-sized large-caliber cannons that, if Shigure's memories were anything to go by, blew Wakaba's upper half clean off before she could react, and Kinugasa disappearing after Tenryuu was there to witness the Aoba-Class heavy cruiser get struck down by a descending missile.
Hiei and Junyou also got pretty messed up in that last battle, the light cruiser recalling Akashi saying to her face that she wasn't going to sortie with the 1st Fleet anytime soon while Hiei was recovering from her injuries and Junyou, her blindness.
And then there was Tatsuta, who pushed her out of the way and used her own body as a shield before they were caught in the blast radius of another descending missile that was headed their way, Tenryuu being forced to hear Tatsuta's valiant attempts to muffle her grunts and weathered the pain of being roasted from the inside and outside...
Tenryuu felt sick in her stomach, instantly regretting recalling these grisly details as she felt her appetite leave her and her stomach threaten to regurgitate the food that she had previously ingested, the Tenryuu-Class light cruiser dropping her plastic utensils and shoving her unfinished food aside.
She then heard a pair of barely-audible footsteps get louder as it strode down the corridor, Tenryuu surmising that it was definitely not a battleship or carrier, as this ship girl sounded too light to be from either class.
The footsteps were getting closer, increasing in volume ever so slightly with each step as she prepared herself who whoever it may be, finally turning around and seeing a black cape draped over the shoulder of a certain torpedo cruiser, white beret in hand as Kiso appeared in the cafeteria.
Tenryuu blinked, but was quick to recover as she recognized her long-time friend and proclaimed rival, although she was under no illusion that the torpedo cruiser, being one of the seniors of this base, was perfectly capable of killing her without breaking a sweat should she ever get serious.
And perhaps that was why she admired the torpedo cruiser in secret, often hearing of her exploits and the enemies she had felled over the course of nine years and trying her best to train herself up so that she could achieve that level of strength.
Oh, make no mistake.
She certainly knew that the torpedo cruiser was taking it easy on her in their sparring sessions, often seeing how she subtly controlled the amount of strength she put behind her own blade so as not to simply overpower and bisect her.
Tatsuta'd probably slit Kiso's throat in her own bed should that ever happen.
But ever since she matured a little and had tried to strike out on her own, it seemed as though the manner in which Kiso treated her had also changed ever so slightly, like right now, where the Kuma-Class ship girl looked as if she were consoling a friend, and not a child like she did for Tenryuu in the past.
They both nodded at each other to acknowledge each other's presence, and Kiso, noticing Tenryuu's unfinished microwavable food on her left, sat herself down on Tenryuu's right, putting her beret down on the table before asking.
"Planning to stay here until Tatsuta wakes up?"
Tenryuu nodded, looking down at the milk-white cafeteria table as she crossed her arms and leaned back determinedly and expressed herself.
"I'm not going to leave the hospital and let Tatsuta wake up alone when I'm the one who caused her death in the first place."
Kiso raised an eyebrow as she gave the Tenryuu-Class light cruiser a quick scan from head to toe, stating disbelievingly.
"Not like that, you aren't."
Tenryuu balked at that insinuation, jerking her head over to halfheartedly glare at Kiso as she shot back a retort.
"I'm. Not. Moving."
Kiso sighed, Tenryuu recognizing that her gaze was reverting to that of the patient gaze that she used to regard Tenryuu back when she was fully immersed in her chuunibyou phrase and when Kiso had looked at her kindly, but without any weight behind her gaze, currently looking as if she was mentally preparing herself to point out the errors of a course of action to a child as she settled down in her seat.
Tenryuu looked away, feeling that she was in the right and that Kiso, even if she was her senior and was far more mature than she could ever hope to be, she was wrong and Tenryuu was right.
Tatsuta was killed because of her, and she had a responsibility as her older sister to be there for her and be by her side when she woke up, right?
Right?
Kiso opened her mouth to speak, her voice gently reverberating throughout the cafeteria with its empty food stalls and unoccupied steel seats and tables, the torpedo cruiser looking at her with a slight touch of pity as she asked.
"You believe that your sister died because you weren't strong enough. So why are you sitting here uselessly, waiting for her to wake up before acting? Are you so weak as to be unable to do anything without Tatsuta?"
Tenryuu narrowed her lone eye, ready to retort before she saw that Kiso was being absolutely serious with her.
Kiso's lone eye reflected her expectations of the light cruiser, and Tenryuu could see that even though Kiso was prepared to treat her like a child again when she was stubbornly waiting in the hospital instead of doing something useful, she was clearly disappointed in her as she had clearly expected Tenryuu to be better than this.
Kiso continued, patiently elaborating on her true responsibility as an older sister and as the name ship of the Tenryuu-Class.
"You should be out there, training your ass off in order to get stronger instead of sitting in the hospital like a bum. Look at you. Proud name ship of the Tenryuu-Class, rival to the torpedo cruiser Kiso, and this is how you're going to present yourself to Tatsuta when she wakes up?"
Tenryuu got a little defensive after hearing that, but Kiso tried her best to sound as inoffensive as she could as she shifted her body in order to face Tenryuu and proceeded to point how fatigued Tenryuu looked.
"You look tired. When did you last sleep, hmm? You have slight eye bags under your eyes, and it's clear that you've been crying recently."
Tenryuu narrowed her eyes, but did note that she felt rather tired after sitting beside Tatsuta's prone body for hours on end, and had cried a little while hiding in the toilet in order to make sure that no one overheard her sobs.
Kiso's eyes softened as she raised her hand, Tenryuu pulling her head back as Kiso's brown gloved hand reached out towards her, but squeezed her eyes shut as Kiso patted her on the crown of her head, messing up her hair as Kiso consoled the light cruiser.
"I know that you love your sister, but you need to look your best. It's obvious from your shredded uniform, drooping mechanical ears and your sluggish movements that your morale is in the dumps, and you're dog-tired."
Tenryuu could see that Kiso's gaze shifted over to her unfinished microwavable food, and she grimly added as Tenryuu tried to act as if Kiso observations weren't on the nose as she folded her arms, leaned back on her chair looked away sullenly.
"And it seems as if you've lost your appetite, so I suppose we can add 'hungry' to that list."
Kiso exhaled through her nose, understanding that she was getting through to Tenryuu as the light cruiser would sometimes resort to the silent treatment whenever someone else made excellent points and she had no idea how to counter them verbally.
And if she was resorting to this childish tactic to try and justify her actions, it meant that she was wavering in her resolve and that Kiso only had to go a little further in order to try and convince her to stop.
"I won't be so crass as to say that I understand Tatsuta, since you're her sister and you know her best.
But do you think that it's the right thing to allow your sister to see you like this?"
Tenyuu hesitated for a moment before eventually conceding the point and nodded solemnly, looking away from the Kuma-Class torpedo cruiser and looked at the table as though it were the most interesting thing in the world as Kiso continued, trying not to make it sound as if it was a scolding, intending for it to be a moment where she gave Tenryuu some advice.
"I know that you want to be by her side because you feel responsible for her death, but to my knowledge, she pushed you out of the path of the missile. She did it to protect you, and you can't be sitting here, doing nothing and wasting her sacrifice."
Kiso's tone hardened as she continued, straightening her body as Tenryuu's demeanor softened, starting to see things from Kiso's point of view and understanding that Tatsuta would probably see herself as the burden that was standing in between Tenryuu and her training if she saw her right now.
Tatsuta would probably prefer it if she used the time to train herself up and prepare herself for the next sortie instead of sitting beside her prone body in the hospital, eating microwavable food and mope about while blaming herself.
She'd never hear the end of it from her sister should she wake up from her slumber, as Tatsuta only required the use of her mouth to chew her out for her foolishness and inability to take care of herself.
Fuck, she was now regretting staying in the hospital without first taking a shower and changing out of her clothes, starting to feel a little self-conscious about her appearance in front of Kiso, curling up a little in order to hide herself despite knowing that there was no one in the cafeteria save for Kiso and herself.
"Tenryuu."
Kiso's voice became a little harsher as she tried to get Tenryuu's attention and drive her point home, but understanding that sometimes, people needed to be reminded of the right thing, and a bit of persuasive force was needed to remind them of what they knew deep down was right, but chose to insist otherwise for some contrived reason.
"You knew that there was nothing in your training that prepared you for a missile barrage. Tenryuu deflated upon hearing that, knowing that Kiso's logic was irrefutable as she nodded, trying to add anything to the conversation.
"I know, I know… I just… I just wanted to know what I can do for her, now that she's on a medical bed and unconscious, you know?"
But Kiso's smile returned as she addressed the light cruiser, trying to lift her spirits by encouraging her to get out of the depressing funk by helping herself.
"You need to take a shower, for one.
Have you taken one since the battle?"
Tenryuu blushed a little at that, trying to move her chair away from Kiso out of embarrassment as Kiso pointed out.
"You need to be at your best, otherwise Tatsuta would be worried about you upon waking up to see you as you are right now, right?"
Tenryuu nodded meekly, smirking as she saw Kiso smile while she looked away as she remembered something.
"I know. Tatsuta would be mortified to see me like this, blatantly disregarding my hygiene and diet in order to watch over her helplessly, instead of doing something worthwhile with my time like training."
Kiso saw Tenryuu consider everything for a while before giving her a thankful aside glance before turning to face Kiso as she looked her in the eye, the fire now somewhat rekindled in Tenryuu's eyes while she spoke.
"Maa, thanks, Kiso. I personally felt that my performance left a lot to be desired, and I couldn't stop Tatsuta from getting killed. But she's still here, and she'll wake up soon enough, that much is certain.
And all the time spent moping here could be better spent somewhere else, especially when I'm wasting it to keep her company while she's unconscious."
Kiso nodded, visibly relaxing as she knew that her junior wouldn't continue on her self-destructive path, leaning back and folding her arms as Tenryuu leaned in to ask the torpedo cruiser.
"So, what're you doing lately? I mean, I heard that your Fleet's gonna be sortieing with your backup Fleet sometime soon, so..."
Kiso nodded as she lifted an eyebrow, her half-lidded eyes looking down at her lap as she responded coolly.
"We're going to fight an Abyssal Princess and her Elite Fleet. Specifically, the Southern War Princess."
Tenryuu's breath stopped as she considered the fact that a fleet that mainly consisted of auxiliary ships were going to fight an Abyssal Princess, and despite knowing that the 8th Fleet was infamous for its unorthodox fighting styles and extensively used Anti-Abyssal weapons to kill Abyssals, she wasn't sure if they were capable of defeating the Southern War Princess and a whole bunch of Elites, who were stronger versions of existing Abyssals.
And wasn't the Southern War Princess supposed to be at Savo Island?
Kiso answered those questions for her, clearly seeing the transparent surprise on her face as she pulled back her shoulders to make herself comfortable before elaborating.
"The Southern War Princess seems to be making good time as she left Savo Island a while ago, and has been forcing other, weaker Abyssals into her fleet. She's headed for Japan as we speak, and even though she won't arrive that soon, when she does, we'll be there, ready to take her down."
"B-But, I mean… Not to disrespect your fleet's skills, but most of your teammates consist of auxiliary ships. Are you sure that you can defeat them?"
Kiso smirked a little, unfolding one arm in order to reach out and rub Tenryuu's head again as she cooed.
"Aww. Getting worried about your dear 'big sister' Kiso, hmm?"
Tenryuu pouted as she gently slapped Kiso's arm away, leaning back and away from Kiso's reach as she retorted.
"Of course not, man."
But a wave of dread hit her then as she remembered the frailty of a ship girl's life, remembering how easily Tatsuta died and nearly sank in the Battle of Mikura Jima Island along with the lifeless bodies of those who had been killed on the battlefield, feeling her body betray her attempts to overcome the sinking feeling in her heart as she broke out in a cold sweat, and the fact that the hospital was unbearably cold at night didn't help her at all.
She saw Kiso's expression morph into one of concern as she leaned in concernedly, Tenryuu hastily correcting her own statement so as not to leave the torpedo cruiser with the wrong impression.
"I-I mean… I am, but..."
Tenryuu sighed, wondering if she would ever be able to get through a conversation without losing her cool, but Kiso gave her an understanding smile as she leaned back and folded her arms yet again, crossing her legs as she spoke up and helped Tenryuu sort through what she wanted to say.
"Let me guess. You wanted to act like you don't care in a way that would make you look 'cool' in your own eyes, but you're conflicted because you're genuinely concerned about my well-being and safety, yes?"
There was a pregnant pause before Tenryuu nodded, finally giving up the facade and tried to be a little more truthful with herself and her feelings.
Kiso's gaze softened, and Tenryuu could see the age in Kiso's eyes, the kind of thing that could only be understood by ageless beings like them, where their seasoned and tired gaze occasionally slipped past their facade of normalcy, reflecting but a glimpse of what they had to go through throughout years of strife and war.
Tenryuu scratched the back of her head, feeling her disheveled hair through her gloved hands and mentally reminding herself to thoroughly wash her purple hair later as she explained herself to her senior.
"I-I mean… It's just this bad feeling that I have, you know, where things are only going to go downhill from here on out. And after fighting the Flying Dutchman, I can't help but wonder what kind of surprises the Abyssals may have in store for us.
But I think it's probably nothing for someone as strong as you..."
Tenryuu waved her concerns away, unsure of how to face the Kuma-Class torpedo cruiser when she was fatigued, hungry, and really wasn't in the mood to try and put on a tough act, especially in front of the one cruiser who could easily see through it as they were both almost like two peas in a pod and understood each other best.
But Kiso caught her hand in mid-wave, Tenryuu snapping her head to look right into Kiso's dead-serious eyes, caught off-guard by how solemn the torpedo cruiser looked and how it vastly differed from her previous expression which was gentle and calm, and respectfully listened to Kiso as she muttered.
"Tenryuu. You're not wrong in being afraid for the future. Most of us seniors can feel that there's a new age of warfare looming on the not-so-distant horizon, since the Admiral's being a lot more secretive than usual, and Akashi is now in cahoots with her in the planning department. The Flying Dutchman 's appearance only serves to justify our suspicions that the Abyssals are no longer going to play by our rules anymore, and are going to engage in the next phase in their war against mankind and ship girl-kind."
Tenryuu raised an eyebrow at the last statement, but her expression hardened and her demeanor shifted back to her tough and tenacious persona as she silently listened, understanding that if someone as enigmatic and dangerous as Akashi was now actively scheming with Admiral Haru as they tried to stop the Abyssals, then things were really going down the crapper like Kiso said.
Kiso glanced at Tenryuu as she reminded the light cruiser about what needed to done.
"And that's why you need to be training right now, since there's no telling what they may do in the future. The future's full of uncertainties, and the one thing you need to be certain of is whether you're skilled and prepared enough to face what comes next, otherwise you're done for."
Tenryuu looked down at the floor as she nodded guiltily, understanding what she had to do in order to prepare herself for the battles to come while she had the time, otherwise she'd get caught off-guard by unexpected developments and get left behind in the wake of others.
But one thing that made her look back up at her friend was the unexpectedly gentle voice that Kiso used to address her, raising her gaze to see that Kiso's demeanor had softened in order to show her genuine appreciation for Tenryuu's concern.
"But thank you, Tenryuu. Thank you for being so concerned for me."
Tenryuu was silenced by her senior's mature look that revealed her years, her gentle smile complementing her softened gaze as she was awed by how gentle the Kuma-Class torpedo-cruiser could be despite being known for being a member of the infamous 8th Fleet of Yokosuka, and also despite the fact that her status as a torpedo cruiser was earned through hard-fought battles and unspeakable losses.
And perhaps that was why she admired Kiso.
Perhaps it was because of that quality where she knew that her self-proclaimed rival and longtime friend had been through things that she'd never reveal to her, either because of how gruesome or traumatizing they were, yet could still smile like that and be so concerned for others.
In other words, she marveled at how her friend could be so strong, even after being through God-knows-what and still being able to hold her head up high and retain her compassion for others.
Tenryuu blushed a little upon hearing her senior thank her for explicitly expressing her concerns, and she could feel herself slipping back into her old habits and her usual way of speaking as she crossed her arms, confidently drew back her shoulders in order to hold her head up high as she huffed and exclaimed.
"Maa, don't worry 'bout it! I mean, it's understandable that I'd feel worried for a fellow comrade, right?"
Kiso exhaled through her nose and closed her eyes, her radiant smile still on her face as she closed her eyes and nodded, now fully convinced that the light cruiser Tenryuu was now back in action, and that her concerns were now addressed as she muttered to herself.
"Yes. Yes, it is."