"You wish to what?"
Akashi, Unryuu and Shigure were standing outside the canteen, in a side alley where Shigure had directed the two members of the 8th Fleet to after breakfast in order to ask them about the sortie that the 8th Fleet was rumored to go on, especially since people had started to talk and say that an Abyssal Princess was en route to Japan.
And that the 8th Fleet of Yokosuka was going to fight her and her Elite Abyssals.
Akashi was looking down at the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer with a perplexed expression while Unryuu was dumbly munching down on a rice cake that was served at dinner, the repair ship trying her best to figure out her intentions as she clarified the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer's request.
"Let me get this straight. You want to sortie with us, the 8th Fleet, and observe how we fight the Elites and the Southern War Princess?"
Shigure nodded, eager to get in on the action as she explained herself to her seniors.
"Look, if a fleet that's filled with auxiliary ships is being tasked with fighting a Princess, it's either a suicide mission, or you're doing something right. Admiral Haru isn't the type of Admiral to pointlessly throw the lives of her ship girls away, so it's obviously the latter, and I want to know what it is. Even if I can't fight like you all, I want to know just how powerful you are as a team, since no matter how skilled you all may be to be able to exceed your mediocre stats, you couldn't have gotten this far on individual skill alone. Please?"
Unryuu, upon heartily swallowing the rice and considering Shigure's proposal with a blank stare, gave Akashi an aside glance as she tried to play devil's advocate and oppose Akashi's blatant expression of disapproval as she meekly suggested.
"Well, it's not like she'll be with our fleet.
We can dump her with the backup fleet, and she'll be someone else's responsibility, not ours, right?"
Akashi's gaze shifted as she turned to look the Unryu-Class carrier in the eye, scathingly remarking.
"You just don't want to feel responsible for her should she... get in trouble, right?"
Unryuu looked away, a few bits of rice stuck to the sides of her mouth as she responded aloofly.
"Hey, if it's her time to go, she'll go regardless of whether we let her go on the sortie or not."
"Yeah, but if we let her go on this sortie, her chances of dying will increase..."
"And you're saying that as if she doesn't know the risks?"
Akashi turned to look Unryuu accusingly, asking bluntly.
"And if she does die should a stray shell kill her, who's the one who has to break the news to her teammates and sisters?"
Shigure paused at that, wondering if this was indeed the right thing to do after having a talk with her sisters yesterday about keeping themselves safe despite wanting to get stronger.
But she mentally dug her heels in, absolutely convinced that she was capable of handling herself, especially when she would be in the backup fleet and would only be tasked with providing cover fire for the 8th Fleet.
She would be relatively far away from the action, close enough to provide support but far enough so that she could safely kite her opponents should they attempt to target her.
Still, it was rather chilling for Unryuu to coolly talk about the lives of ship girls in a fatalistic sense, saying that she was unable to change her fate should some higher power determine that she was going to die at a particular date and time, the white-haired carrier barely hiding the fact that she was trying not to roll her eyes as she stayed silent while Akashi asked Shigure.
"Did you learn nothing from the Battle at Mikura Jima Island? Do you have a death wish?"
The warmth went out of Shigure's expression upon hearing that, trying to get the point across that she wanted to go on this sortie in order to learn something, not to die.
"No. I understand that it'll be dangerous, but I want to see what we're going up against. If I want to get stronger, I need to know how powerful our opponents are, and how even auxiliary ships of this day and age are able to go up against them, and try to learn everything I can from the best."
It was now Akashi's turn to roll her eyes, placing her hands in her skirt pockets as she commented on how Shigure was trying to suck up to them.
"Please. If you asked any one of our members, we'd use many words to describe our own team, but we'd never consider ourselves anywhere near the best. Flowery language and praising words are lost on us, but if there's one thing the 8th Fleet understands, it's ship girls who know what they're doing, who can really put their money where their mouth is and achieve victory at all costs. Besides, why us?"
Shigure looked away, being truthful with her part-friend-part-psychologist as she muttered abashedly.
"Well, you all are going to sortie tomorrow on the 17th, and that's rather convenient. And although I'm loath to use this phrase, I believe I got lucky...?"
Shigure raised an eyebrow as she scrunched up her face, unable to determine what kind of expression she was supposed to make when saying this, and she could see Akashi develop a bit of an eye twitch upon seeing events line up in Shigure's favor, and to see the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer be able to find another opportunity to sortie immediately after exiting the docks.
Unryuu looked down at Shigure, commenting idly.
"Well, you're a smart little destroyer who knows what you're doing, so I'll be counting on you to watch my back in battle."
Akashi brought out a hand to lightly karate-chop Unryuu on the head, Unryuu hanging her head as she lazily leaned forward like a tree swaying in the wind, Akashi retorting when seeing Unryuu act as though Shigure had already been accepted into the backup fleet and was going to sortie with them without her approval.
"Don't assume that little Shigure here's going to be sortieing without my say-so, and since I'm the flagship of the Combined Fleet, I have the final say. Even if I allow her to be in the backup fleet, I don't want her to slow us down by getting injured, and I'll have to repair her..."
"U-Um..."
Shigure tried her best to try and convince Akashi that not only did she want to come back alive from this sortie, she wasn't going to get in the way of the 8th Fleet or allow herself to be a burden to anyone as she was prepared to pull her own weight.
"You don't have to worry about me. I'll stay far away from the main battle and keep myself safe as I observe and support you all in battle, so please allow me in the backup fleet.Please?"
Unryuu and Shigure both looked at the repair ship with pleading eyes, the repair ship now feeling the pressure being shifted onto her as she was now faced with the final decision of whether Shigure would be allowed to participate in the upcoming battle, albeit playing a supporting role.
Akashi finally relented, Shigure seeing that the repair genuinely had her best interests in mind, but also understood that she had to learn as much as possible in a short span of time and gain experience quickly.
The Akashi-Class repair scratched the back of her head whilst keeping her other hand in her pocket, trying to agree to a compromise as she laid down some conditions.
"Well, if you're going to go on such a dangerous sortie, I need to lay down some conditions to make sure that you don't come out any worse for the wear. First, after the sortie, I want to have another counselling session with you to make sure that you're recovering from these two recent sorties. Second, you're not to disobey any orders given to you by your seniors, especially if they're asking you to retreat. Third, don't die."
Shigure nodded in order to accept Akashi's conditions,understanding if Akashi would get really tired of dealing her if she actively tried to get herself killed in a battle that was already fraught with peril.
Akashi was trusting her to be able to handle herself in battle and keep her wits about her in order to keep herself alive, and she couldn't let her down.
Unryuu turned to look at her flagship as Akashi muttered something to her, their body expressions relaxing as they were both close friends and didn't mind sharing their thoughts freely with each other.
"Well, the counselling session is to let her angst a little and get it out of her system at regular intervals, lest it build up and makes her turn emo..."
Shigure tensed up a little upon hearing that, raising her clenched fists to waist level as she retorted.
"I-I don't angst, Akashi-san! And I'm standing right here, I can hear you!"
The tables were now turned on her, both members of the 8th Fleet now shifting their bodies to look down at her, Akashi raising an eyebrow at that statement while Unryuu, normally a bored-looking carrier who didn't express much emotion save for her default bored expression, now looked ready to smile as the edges of her mouth threatened to curve upwards, slowly raising a hand to pat Shigure on the crown of her head as though humoring a child.
She was left temporarily speechless by the gesture, unsure of how to convince her seniors that she didn't angst, but Akashi cut her some slack as she drew back, notifying her about the time which they had to assemble at the harbor in order to make it to the battlefield on time in order to intercept the Southern War Princess's fleet.
"Well, our fleet is comprised of ship girls with slow speed, so we need to sortie early in the morning to reach our destinations by afternoon or evening. Meet me at the canteen around 8.15 tomorrow for breakfast. We'll sortie at 10, so that leaves us some time to conclude whatever unfinished business you may have before then."
Shigure thought about it, and understood if some of the slower auxiliary ships as well as the Ise-Class battleships had low top speeds, and needed to sortie earlier in the day in order to get to their destinations in time.
She nodded, exhaling as she tried to mentally psyche herself up for the battle that was to come, how she was now officially a part of it and was responsible for the safety of her teammates, herself and the 8th Fleet.
But now, she was a supporting player in this battle, and that meant that she wasn't supposed to throw herself into the fray and was only had to back the main fleet up.
No heroics, no stupid moves.
Shigure believed she could do that.