"Fucking drill bitch, I almost puked again, errgghhh…"
Junyou moaned as she stepped out of the harbor, while panting slightly after the grueling drill session Tone had conducted throughout the day, thankfully with breaks in between.
The six sets of mechanical arms and machinery in the harbor were capable of suiting up a ship girl in 20 seconds flat, and helped them in terms of responding quickly to emergencies.
The machines on the harbour floor helped them take off their "boat slippers", what they called the foot wear that they wore to help them float on the water when they sortied, and the mechanical arms from above helped them unload their combat backpacks and store their battle gear.
Junyou was finally recovering from the hangover that plagued her the entire morning and afternoon.
Bloody hell, she'd downed 5 plastic bottles of water, and she still felt thirsty after the disarming! Tone was running them through the respective formations until the fleet could move into the formation she ordered in less than 15 seconds.
What a drill sergeant!
Hiei was on the field looking over her shoulder, willing her into action through sheer willpower (and her expression that promised an indefinite cold-turkey treatment didn't help either), while Tatsuta simply smiled at her.
That alone was the most terrifying part of the day. She sighed as she wobbled slightly whilst making her way to the vending machines, her intention to buy a sake metal can to help make herself feel better.
As a dizzy spell hit, she started to feel the world tilt, and she closed her eyes and braced herself for the oncoming impact of the cold concrete floor.
However, she was surprised when she felt herself falling on a small, petite figure struggling to hold her up. She opened her eyes to look down, expecting Ayanami there.
She instead saw the willful eyes of the Shiratsuyu-class destroyer looking up at her.
She wasn't expecting this little brat to come rescue this alcoholic Light Carrier, filtering through her memory to try to remember her name before she introduced herself. She didn't want the little brat to look down on her as some sort of incompetent Light Carrier with a drinking problem.
Even she had some semblance of pride to maintain.
Her savior finally responded, stating her question.
"Do you need help getting that can of booze?"
Damn, since when did destroyers nowadays learn the art of mind-reading?
Or was she so easily stereotyped as the team drinker?
She studied the little destroyer's face, detecting concern, kindness, maybe a little bit of pity.
And if she looked closely enough, a whole lot of repressed sadness within her.
She finally looked away and got off of the destroyer, stating.
"Ahhh, if a little brat like you is looking, I probably shouldn't be drinking in your company. Don't want Hiei busting my balls just because I drank in front of a minor."
Ah, Shigure, that was her name.
Struggling to recover from the tiring exertion of strength, on top of Tone's drill-instructor style training, Shigure seemed out of breath and more than likely a little fatigued, Junyou noticing the sweat that lined her forehead and permeating her schoolgirl uniform.
Ahhh, fuck.
Now Junyou felt bad for trying to skip out on training, when its newest member was doing everything she could to improve herself. She finally decided to offer what help she could by sticking out her hand and asking.
"Maaa, since you've expended all your energy during training and I didn't, the least I can do to make it up to you is to take you back to your room. You probably won't make it back halfway before your legs give out."
A look of relief washed across Shigure's face, thankful that not only was Junyou helping her, but that she didn't slink off to get that can of sake.
The destroyer accepted the offered hand, as Junyou heaved and lifted Shigure up on her back. Being a Light Cruiser, she wasn't too perturbed by the weight, only that Shigure might be put off by the light stench of alcohol that still hung on her clothes.
But then again, Shigure's uniform was also drenched in sweat, so it all worked out in the end with Shigure's sweat mixing with Junyou's alcoholic stench.
Junyou shifted her weight to accommodate the tired destroyer on her back, and slowly made her way back to the barracks. She wasn't sure of what to talk about to Shigure, as they were of different ship classes and had different interests.
Heck, she wasn't even sure the little brat had any interests, being constructed not even a month before!
Then, Shigure finally broke the silence between them, as she spoke of the one subject that made everyone uncomfortable.
"Junyou-san, did you survive the war?"
A slight pause stopped her in her tracks, as Junyou wished she hadn't asked about that.
What was up with everyone and trying to grill her today?
She sighed, trying to repress the feelings of guilt that was often hidden and lost in the sea of alcohol that she consumed. She resumed her hike back towards the barracks, trying to come up with an appropriate response to such a hard-hitting question.
She finally settled with a quiet,
"Yes."
And wondered what sort of thought processes were going through the destroyer's mind as she rode piggy-back on her.
Probably the same guilt trip that Junyou used to plague herself with, being one of the few survivors of the war before she found the ultimate distraction that was alcohol.
Seemingly able to numb her mind to the horrors of war and help her cope with the losses in the base, the beer bottle became her closest friend.
Slowly but surely, the Yokosuka Fleet Girls learnt to typecast her as the drunkard and leave her be to her own devices. Not that Junyou was complaining, mind you.
Anything to get out of sorties by being hungover as heck and escaping the stress of possibly dying every time they sortied.
Now that she thought about it, Shigure was probably carrying some burden of her own. Destroyers, like any other ship girl, were often under heavy stress, especially during the later stages of the war.
She remembered Yukikaze, who was constructed in this base as a ship girl as a happy and innocent, but also somewhat haunted ship girl who had one of the highest luck stats recorded due to the sheer number of near-death encounters and lone-survivor situations she lived through in her previous life.
She was watched over by Ashigara the senior Heavy Cruiser, and Nagato, one of the Big Seven.
"Look, if you're thinking of your friends in the war, don't drive yourself crazy with guilt. You won't accomplish anything that way."
This caused Shigure to perk up, focusing on the light carrier's advice as she continued,
"You have potential, so you should strive to become stronger so that you'll be able to protect them, especially now that we all have a second chance at life. The guilt that you harbor only weights you down, and drags you down into the darkness that is depression. Trust me, I know that feeling as a survivor. Why do you think I do my best to get hammered all the time?"
Shigure silently thought of the answer to that, unaware of the rhetorical nature of Junyou's question.
"Are you afraid of going back out there? To watch any of us sink again?"
Junyou stiffened and her breath stopped as her face morphed into one of dread, afraid that Shigure had somehow divined the true nature of her insecurities and fears, awkwardly disguised over a layer of aloofness.
By God, she was really starting to fear the destroyer that she carried on her back.
"I-I'm sorry, Junyou-san,"
Shigure tried to get Junyou's attention, suddenly afraid that she might have pissed off another ship girl, especially since Junyou was her teammate, making it even worse.
"I didn't mean to reveal something so close to you."
Junyou paused and took a deep breath before recovering.
She wasn't so weak as to let a seemingly all-knowing destroyer, who just read her like a book, cow her into submission. After all, she was supposed to be the older and more mature ship girl here!
Albeit with a drinking problem, but that wasn't the point.
She tried her best to smile back to Shigure, the destroyer looking remorseful and fearful that she might have alienated her teammate.
"Maa, it's alright! You're just a sharp little destroyer who's good at reading others, so don't worry! You're right, though, I simply hate the fact that every time I sortie, someone could potentially die due to negligence or bad luck. I'm not as strong as a little destroyer like you, so I've been burying my guilt and insecurities through drinks and snacks! Eventually, the Admiral decided to pull me out due to my drinking problem, and I've been a bench-warmer ever since then! But now that I'm in a team, I should probably cut down on my drinks, and start being like Tenryuu, more like a respectable senior and a role model to you and Ayanami, eh!"
Christ, how cringe-y could her fake attitude be?
Eventually Shigure seemed to accept her answer, nodding. Junyou took that as a sign to continue towards the dorms, Shigure quietly asking.
"Junyou-san, do you have a Kai Ni remodel? And... do I have one?"
Junyou slowed down her pace as she thought about that, searching through her memory archives to search for the answer that the destroyer desired before confidently answering.
"Yeah. Both of us, we have second remodels if we work hard enough to earn them. Why, already looking for a goal for you to work towards?"
She detected the previously hopeful tone now become a thankful one, the light carrier surmising that Shigure wanted to work for the Kai Ni remodel that she no doubt had already seen some ship girls achieve, her voice now barely audible despite speaking into Junyou's ear.
"Yes..."
Junyou nodded while raising an eyebrow, understanding if Shigure wanted to become stronger to protect her comrades and friends, a primary motivation of some of the strongest ship girls in the Yokosuka Naval Base as Junyou had spoken with them before, their answers unanimous in their reasoning.
That anything less was tantamount to betrayal of those closest to them, should their shortcomings be the cause of someone's sinking.
Shigure continued, Junyou able to pick up on the fact that the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer didn't want to offend her any more than she already did as she asked politely.
"Um, Junyou-san, I was wondering... if you're going to aim for achieving Kai Ni since you're now in a fleet?"
Hmm, interesting. Junyou pondered on Shigure's question while considering her past, present and her future goals.
She had been lucky enough to survive the war, and had seen her fair share of sinking comrades.
That likely translated into the apprehension whenever she sortied with teammates, and the inevitable thoughts that likened the sorties with those of the past, and she could never shake the feeling that she might survive where others wouldn't.
And unlike the rest of the ship girl population which would take this as an opportunity to improve themselves, she instead took this as a sign that she didn't want to sortie, since there was always the possibility of someone sinking because she failed them at a crucial moment.
But contrast that to now, where she was now in a fleet and was going to fight alongside her comrades.
There was no other path except forward, so why not?
But still...
"I don't know..." Junyou shrugged nonchalantly as she continued walking forward as she gave Shigure her answer.
"I admit that there's a part of me that wants to achieve Kai Ni and fight alongside you all, but I want my reason to have a little more depth than 'Oh, I want to achieve Kai Ni because it's there.' Can you give me some time to come up with a legit reason to improve myself?"
Shigure nodded acceptingly, Junyou sighing in relief before remembering.
"Hey Shigure, want to stop by the canteen? I could grab some dinner for both of us. You don't want to go to sleep hungry after that drill sergeant of a ship girl's routine, now do you?"
A low growl escaped Shigure's stomach in agreement with Junyou's suggestion, causing the destroyer to blush and hide her face in Junyou's shoulder.
Junyou laughed heartily, diverting from her current course and heading towards the canteen.
Along the way, she slowly shared her discovery of her love for alcohol, the recent discovery of modern Japanese animation on TV called "anime", and recalled various interesting and hilarious events on her previous sorties.
She noted to herself that this could be a new start for her, and decided to take that suggestion on cutting down on her alcohol intake more seriously.
After all, she couldn't let the little destroyer carry the team on her tiny back alone now, could she?