17th April 2015
8.47 a.m.
Shigure blinked as she turned off her HUD after checking the time and noting the date, having woken up the next day to get some breakfast before the sortie.
She sat with Akashi at the breakfast table after a sumptuous breakfast specially made by Mamiya to help fill their stomachs before fighting a Princess, Shigure now wondering about her next course of action.
Shigure had been exercising yesterday in order to make sure that her restored body was indeed capable of withstanding the physical strain of battle, and had went to bed early at night to make sure that she got enough rest, now feeling rather refreshed and was ready to face the battle later today.
Waking up early in the morning meant that she could quickly eat her breakfast and check up on her teammates and sisters before sortieing so as to reassure them again that she was going to come back alive from this sortie, and only wanted to participate in this battle in order to learn how to improve herself.
Shigure had an idea to visit her teammates in the hospital before she sortied, but Akashi then explained her friends' condition to her and how she might not have enough time to visit them all.
"Your teammates suffered injuries that take time to heal, seeing that both Junyou and Hiei were blinded by the Flying Dutchman's searchlights, and I need to operate on their eyes to prevent complications. Hiei also suffered some damage,so she's not going to be out on the ocean anytime soon. Tatsuta will probably wake up sometime tonight, so your presence isn't going to change things."
Shigure sighed, understanding that the eyes of the ship girl, despite being extremely powerful, were also one of the most delicate organs in their bodies that required intensive care to make sure there weren't any hiccups in the healing process.
Hiei would have been heavily injured in the battle of Mikura Jima Island after holding back the Flying Dutchman and the Abyssals that it spawned, and she would be out of commission for a while.
Junyou would also require some time to recover, her eyes having suffered extensive damage as her night-vision eyes were meant to take in low amounts of ambient light to see in the dark, but was instantly blinded by the spotlights blinding her, and Akashi would have to perform extensive surgery on their eyes.
But she knew of two other ship girls on her fleet who were likely training in order to perform better next time, and she wanted to at least meet them before going off on another sortie.
She knew of the all-too-real possibility of being sunk while on a sortie even when playing a supporting role, and she wanted to at least say something to them on the off-chance that happened to her.
So when she told Akashi of her plan, the repair ship nodded after considering Shigure's choice and remarked on the status of the last two members of the Fast Response Fleet and her sisters.
"Ayanami's going to go train with Jintsuu later, but you can talk to her right now. Tenryuu's in the sports hall training with Abukuma to keep her body in shape, and your sisters should be at the Shinsengumi.
You can visit all of them before the sortie, but we'll have to move quickly."
Shigure nodded as she saw the name-ship of the Ayanami-Class sitting with her sisters at a table, the tray in front of her displaying today's breakfast which was a serving of a sunny side-up egg with pepper sprinkled on it, jam on toast and two strips of bacon, a Western-style breakfast cooked to serve an entire base.
Shigure left her table to approach her teammate as Ayanami noticed the both of them nearing her table, not that Akashi was someone that one could deliberately ignore due to her distinct pink hair that was a relatively uncommon trait despite the wide variety of ship girls in the base.
Shigure noted the two other Ayanami-Class destroyers sitting beside her, both digging into their breakfast while speaking to each other, respecting Ayanami's silent plea to talk to Shigure alone.
Shikinami looked a lot like Ayanami, along with similar brown-white sailor uniforms, although Shikinami had dull brown eyes compared to Ayanami's, which had a slight tinge of green in it.
Shikinami's hair was reddish brown, and her bangs were parted above her right eye while her short ponytail was held together by a black ribbon.
She was the relatively quiet one of the group, though she was still proactive enough to maintain a conversation with others despite not being as energetic as, say, Sendai during the night.
Shikinami also seemed to be quite doting of her sister ships as Shigure could detect slightly dilated pupils, and was rather proactive when speaking with Ushio, who was seated beside her.
Ushio was the really quiet and shy one, although Shigure could see the kindness bleeding through her demeanor as she was gentle and soft spoken while responding kindly to Shikinami's conversation prompts in order to form a consistent conversation between sisters.
Her sailor uniform was slightly different in that instead of the brown-white color scheme of the two Ayanami-Class destroyers beside her, her uniform was a distinct navy blue and white, and upon coming closer, Shigure could see two knee-high socks peek out from underneath the table along with her brown shoes.
Her long, silky black hair fell down to around shoulder length with the fringes curling inwards, and there was a tuft of hair curling out from her right temple.
But the most noticeable thing about her weren't any of the stated traits.
Her uniform, and by extension, her bra, failed to cover up the fact that she was far more well-endowed than most of the destroyers in the base, and the human side of Shigure felt a slight pang of jealousy before her analytical mind shot it down and tried to remain focused on the task at hand.
Akashi stopped in her tracks, allowing her to approach the Ayanami-Class trio alone as she spotted a spare seat and sat down, Ayanami breaking out into a relieved smile after seeing her up and about so soon.
Shigure nodded towards the nearby Ayanami-Class sisters, and they reciprocated the motion to greet each other without saying a word as Ayanami expressed her concern regarding Shigure's state of mind.
"Are you alright, Shigure? After the Battle of Mikura Jima Island..."
Shigure nodded resolutely, her expression calm but determined to get through the day safely as she answered understandingly.
"I understand your concern, Ayanami-san.
But I'm... mostly alright now. There's no guarantee that I won't have a relapse again, but I can say for sure that I'm back in action."
Ayanami's expression softened, morphing from one of concern into one that was now somewhat convinced by Shigure's reassuring words, noting the repair ship standing conspicuously beside them, politely asking about her reason for being with the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer.
"Ah, Shigure-san… Is Akashi-san following you around to check up on you?"
Shigure shook her head, understanding why Ayanami would see things that way as she corrected the Ayanami-Class destroyer.
"It's the opposite, really. Akashi-san's 8th Fleet is going on a sortie to fight the Southern War Princess, and I've been invited onto their backup fleet."
Shikinami and Ushio's attention were drawn to their conversation immediately after Shigure name-dropped an Abyssal Princess, the both of them turning to look at Shigure along with Ayanami, who now resumed her concerned expression, gravely addressing Shigure about the dangers of fighting the strongest Abyssals.
"Shigure-san. I'm not sure if you should go ahead with this. You do understand that an Abyssal Princess is far more powerful than anything we've faced thus far..."
"And that's why I need this. I want to gain experience quickly and get stronger in order to protect everyone, and I have to go on as many sorties as possible. And besides, I'm only a supporting player in this battle, which means that it's very unlikely for me to sink."
Shigure regarded everyone at the table seriously as she answered.
"But I understand that 'unlikely' doesn't mean 'impossible', and I wanted to talk to you, Tenryuu and my sisters before I leave. I can't visit those who are still hospitalized, but I suppose it provides some incentive for me to strive to come back alive."
Ayanami's expression changed as she contemplated Shigure's words for a while before nodding reluctantly, but Shigure was swarmed by Shikinami and Ushio stuffing their faces into Shigure's as they raised their voices in concern.
"Y-Y-You're going to take on an Abyssal Princess?! Are you going to be alright?"
"You haven't received your Kai remodel, right? You shouldn't push yourself like this!"
But Ayanami placed her hands on the shoulders of her sister ships, looking at her two sisters serenely as she addressed their concerns.
"She'll come back."
This seemed to calm her sisters down as Shigure looked at her teammate, interested in how she seemed so sure about her own statement.
"How are you so sure about that?"
"You're part of the 1st Fleet. Our fleet.
You have to."
Shigure blinked in surprise, seeing that the Ayanami-Class ship girl was confident of her survival in the upcoming sortie.
But Ushio seemed unconvinced as she voiced her concerns, causing her bosom to shift around distractingly in her tight uniform.
"B-But that's a Princess and her fleet they're going up against! What if…"
But Ayanami turned to look at her in a way that Shigure recognized as the "elder sister" look, where it was meant to convey a look of reassurance, likely to alleviate their unease as she answered her sister without a second thought.
"There is no point distracting ourselves with thinking about what could happen, Ushio. It does nothing but prevent us from preparing for what will happen. Shigure-san will come back alive, because she now has too much to lose."
"W-What's that?"
"Us. All of us."
Ushio attempted to say something, but faltered in the face of Ayanami's words as she nodded meekly, Ayanami looking back at Shigure and meeting her gaze.
Shigure could see Ayanami's confidence in her skills and how she could handle herself in dangerous situations.
Shigure, feeling a little uplifted after seeing how her teammate trusted her to be able to hold her own in a fight, hardened her gaze and gave her a small nod as she stood up, Ayanami returning the motion with a sagely expression on her face.
And as she got up to leave while pushing her chair back, Shikinami looked to her and bid her farewell.
"I'd say good luck to you, but you don't need it. Stay safe out there."
Shigure nodded to them, thankful for her support as she stood up to join Akashi and leave the canteen to talk to the others before she left.