Finding Tenryuu was next, and seeing that she was training with the Nagara-Class light cruiser to improve her mobility in a one-on-one training session.
Seeing that Abukuma was a light cruiser who had trained to earn her Kai remodel, she figured that the Tenryuu-Class light cruiser felt that she could learn something from her, and one way for them to do that was to train up their physical strength in the sports hall, where the sports equipment were.
Tenryuu had shed her mechanical ears and eye patch, was clad in a basketball uniform and likely wore a sports bra, seeing that she was rather well-endowed and her chest might hinder her during training, while Abukuma had her hair tied up in Chinese ox buns to prevent her hair from interfering with her training.
Akashi revealed that Tenryuu had wanted to hit the ocean in order to train herself, but was finally convinced by Akashi and Kiso that it currently wasn't a matter of skill, but simply physical conditioning.
Learning techniques as a ship girl granted them eidetic memory, superhuman stamina and enhanced healing in order to allow them to learn and recover quickly, allowing them to take their techniques to the next level without fear of permanent self harm.
But in terms of physical conditioning, training as humans made things easier as they were pushed to their physical limits more often than they would as ship girls, since turning on their ship girl modes boosted their physical stats and stamina to the next level.
In extremely simplified terms, if a ship girl trained as a human to lift tens of kilograms in order to improve herself physically, it was no different than a ship girl turning on her ship girl mode and using the same amount of strength to lift hundreds or perhaps even thousands of kilograms to achieve the same amount of improvement.
To improve one's physical condition as a ship girl was significantly harder, as improvements could only be made as the body trained itself to exhaustion in trying to reach and overcome its limits.
But since they were capable of superhuman feats in ship girl mode, they required special training equipment to train themselves up, equipment which they didn't have enough resources to spend on.
That was why she was training the old-fashioned way with Abukuma, Tenryuu up in the air with Abukuma but failing to stop the Nagara-Class light cruiser from dunking over her, causing the reinforced backboard to shudder from the sheer physical force behind the move.
Tenryuu fumbled the landing a little, landing on her heel and stumbling a little, Shigure seeing that the name-ship of the Tenryuu-Class was rather shocked at the difference in physical strength, Abukuma holding onto the rim for a little while to allow Tenryuu to clear the area before letting go and landing on her feet.
Shigure could see the sweat that permeated their clothes and covered the skin of the two light cruisers, both of them panting heavily and caused their shoulders and chest to heave with great effort, each exhaled breath moistening in the air-conditioned sports hall while their hair stuck to their skin.
Having seen the way the light cruisers fought, it was understandable that agility and finesse would be their specialty on the battlefield.
She appreciated the skill shown in the dunk, the Nagara-Class light cruiser having swung her arms in an accelerating outward arc to circumvent Tenryuu's defense when she realized that Tenryuu was blocking her too well from the inside.
The light cruiser's body was limber enough to swiftly swivel her body and change its orientation mid-air, something that was difficult for destroyers to do due to their small body frame, and heavy cruisers were slightly slower when mimicking the move due to their larger body frame, often using their strength to compensate for the difference in speed.
This was also reflected in battle where light cruisers used their agility to complement their speed that was only second to the destroyers, and yet were incapable of the strength of the heavy cruisers and battleships.
Shigure started clapping for the both of them, noting the level of skill required to play at that level, Abukuma amiably discussing something with Tenryuu in order to give her some tips on her performance and how it could be improved via physical drills.
And upon finishing the small discussion, Tenryuu walked over to the assortment of physical training equipment that was pushed to the side of the court.
She picked up a skip rope and started skipping with it, closing her eyes to focus on the task while hopping with the ball of her feet, springing up and down to the rhythm of the tough skip rope hitting the floor.
It was an exercise that seemed rather simple on the surface, but required precise coordination of the feet and arms, and was a good way to train up your lower body as it put considerable stress on the hips, knees and ankles and kept them in motion.
She noted the various equipment laid out and arranged to ensure that they wouldn't roll anywhere, which included weights, a bouncy ball, a hula hoop and a few punching bags, amongst others.
There were also a dozen water bottles, chilled fuel bottles and high-calorie snacks for them to quickly consume so as not to run out of steam too quickly.
Akashi picked up two water bottles, greeting Abukuma by lightly tossing one towards her in a way that the light cruiser could easily snatch it mid-air, which she did with a resounding smack on the plastic bottle as she shot the repair ship a thankful look.
Shigure noted the look of slight concern in Abukuma's eyes as their eyes met, and Shigure nodded towards her in acknowledgement as she lowered her gaze.
Abukuma kept her gaze for a while before looking away and ripping off the cap of the water bottle with her superhuman strength, taking big gulps to replenish the fluids she had lost via sweat.
Shigure looked towards Tenryuu, who had likely finished about 100 skips in under a minute, accepting Akashi's second bottle that was offered to her as she placed the skipping rope on the floor and sat down on the sports hall floor.
She approached the seated Tenryuu who was hungrily gulping down the cooling water, Shigure noting the light cruiser's throat heave with each gulp as individual beads of sweat rolled down her sweaty and glossy skin, her drenched uniform accentuating her chest and figure as she finished the bottle.
She crushed the water bottle after most of its contents were emptied, squeezing whatever was left out of it as she stuck her tongue out to catch the drops of water dripping from the bottle before flinging the bottle towards the trash can on the other end of the court.
Shigure followed its trajectory as she tore her eyes away from the light cruiser, and was almost certain of it going into the generously-sized mouth of the trash can, noting how everyone's attention was drawn to the bottle that spun in a slight flip while flying in a wide arc towards its target.
It entered the bin without even grazing the rim, their excellent aiming skills coming in clutch as Abukuma turned back to Shigure, asking her about her reason for being here as her squeaky voice maintained its high-pitched tone,
"So Shigure, what're you doing here?"
Shigure blinked as she looked at her senior, not missing a beat as she replied coolly.
"I wanted to say goodbye before I sortie."
Tenryuu raised her head at that, making an effort to push herself off the floor and join the company of ship girls who were all standing up as she noted.
"A-Are you going on another sortie, Shigure? I don't want you to push yourself too hard…"
But Akashi put a reassuring hand on Shigure's shoulder as the two members of the Fast Response Fleet looked at her, the repair ship confident of the Shiratsuyu-Class's odds as she stated.
"We'll be doing the heavy lifting, so all she has to do is be a good girl and stand by the sidelines as backup."
Akashi's eyes hardened as she met Shigure's eyes, her glare unyielding as her palm tightened on Shigure's shoulder menacingly while her voice took on a colder tone.
"Doctor's orders."
Shigure felt a major chill go down her spine at the harsh glare of a friend who did not take kindly to her martyrdom tendencies as she meekly nodded and averted Akashi's intense gaze.
Likewise, nobody decided to question the repair ship's order to the destroyer as Akashi visibly relaxed, looking at a slightly scared Abukuma who was wiping away her sweat with her sports singlet, asking.
"After this training match, I'm guessing that you two are hitting the gym, am I right?"
Abukuma nodded at the repair ship's guess as she notified the two of them about their plan.
"Well, after a few more best-out-of-ten matches here, we'll hit the gym before going for lunch."
Akashi nodded at that, releasing her hold on Shigure's shoulder as she pointed out some things for Tenryuu to note, being a medic and thus more knowledgeable about the ship girl body.
"Good. Techniques might be effective, but it doesn't hurt to bulk up and put some strength behind your strikes. You're light cruisers, and your acrobatics and agility-based skills are only going to serve you well so long as your stamina doesn't run out in the middle of a battle, so remember that."
Shigure piped up with a question of hers about the situation.
"Seeing that the loser of this match likely has to do a penalty like skipping 100 times with the skip-rope, how many matches have you played?"
Abukuma cringed a little at that, revealing the outcomes of these matches.
"Five. And I won them all, albeit with quite a bit of difficulty."
Tenryuu sputtered at that, pointing at the Kai light cruiser as she declared.
"Hey! I came close that last match, alright?"
But Akashi, having stepped forward a little to stand by Shigure on the court, looked at Shigure and made a little gesture with her head, Shigure noticing it as she replied with a nod of her own, wrapping up the conversation by looking Tenryuu in the eye and reassuring her.
"I'll be back, Tenryuu. You can count on that."
Tenryuu's gaze met Shigure's, and she could see that Tenryuu was slowly becoming more and more convinced of her determination to make it back alive, Shigure now back in control of her life and now felt driven to improve herself.
Tenryuu's eyes widened before narrowing as her expression hardened, Shigure feeling thankful for the light cruiser allowing her to participate in this sortie, noting that the Nagara-Class cruiser also picked up on her new-found confidence as they both nodded.
After talking to her fleet, or at least part of it, she felt a little more reassured about the upcoming battle as she had their blessings and support, and knew that everyone was trying to improve themselves after the fiasco at Mikura Jima Island.
Giving everyone one last reassuring nod to give them some peace of mind and allowing them to focus on their own tasks, she turned to follow Akashi out the sliding doors of the sports hall as she heard the sharp squeak of sports shoes and the rhythmic thump of the basketball hitting the floor start resounding through the hall before she exited the sports hall.