DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kantai Collection or any characters outside of my OCs. The actual ships, histories, etc. are all NOT my property. I'm just a fan of Kancolle as a gamer, of the ships as a history buff, and of the fandom for the chance to write these stories.

(1)

"Why you-!? What did you say?"

"Nothing important for a 5th Carrier Division girl. I simply said Akagi-san and I are the only carriers needed for this mission."

"N-Now now. Zuikaku, Kaga-senpai, please try to get along. Tomorrow's the day of the op-"

"Like I can get along with her. This arrogant yakitori grill thinks she's better just because she worked with the fleet admiral before. Go get dive-bombed for all I care."

"Z-Zuikaku!"

That night, she had run off. From both her sister Shoukaku and that person, she had fled Houshou's shop. She had been furious at the casual insults thrown in her direction, so she bit back. To make fun of her was one thing, but to include her sister too frustrated Zuikaku to the point of retaliation. Kaga was always making poor remarks about their division, so she wanted to get even, even if it meant getting in trouble for throwing food.

As the Shoukaku-class's younger sister stared up at the ceiling of her room, she couldn't help but frown. She as well as her sister had been pulled off the support fleet roster thanks to the scene she had caused that night. It was her fault, she knew. That was obvious enough. She had not only yelled at Kaga in front of everybody else, but she also made a terrible mess in complete disrespect of Houshou's business.

It was already evening of the day after. Kaga had gone on to the operation at Okinoshima with Akagi by her side. They were probably wrapping up their victory already. It was unfair. Why did Kaga always look down on the two of them? They were as much of a contribution to the base as Akagi was. It made her mad just thinking about it.

But as mad as she was, Zuikaku knew she would have to apologize. It was the admiral's orders after all. When Kaga returned, they had to kiss and make up. For her reckless actions the night before, she had no choice.

Zuikaku turned her head. She looked at the wall clock on the opposite side of the room. It was 1600. It was almost evening, wasn't it? It was about time for the first fleet's return. Stepping out of bed, Zuikaku moved to change out of the pajamas she had been wearing all day. As the girl had expected, the speakers outside in the courtyard began to sound the announcement of the fleet's return.

To her surprise, Ooyodo's voice followed the usual siren. "All available personnel please make your way to the courtyard."

Zuikaku's eyes narrowed. She understood the reason for the announcement. The mission had been a failure. The admiral wanted everybody to help the returning fleet and tend to their injuries. Recalling what she had said the night before made the carrier girl regretful and angry with herself. In a hurry, Zuikaku changed her clothes.

"That yakitori idiot better not be dead."

(2)

Warehouse 04 of the Sukumo Anchorage Naval Base was one of the many locations bustling with activity. Personnel ran left and right carrying buckets and crates filled with supplies. Damaged equipment was being inspected, clothes were being mended, and on-the spot first aid was being administered to give the returning troops a temporary reprieve. Amidst the hard workers, two people stood side-by-side, surveying the situation.

"The first fleet's equipment has been fully checked in. The tactical retreat from our operation in Okinoshima was performed successfully. There were no casualties on the way back," spoke a young white haired ship girl. She held a clipboard in her hands, and diligently acted as the secretary ship to the uniform clad man with bushy black hair beside her.

"I see," the man's response was distant. His attention was directed toward the little fairy crewmen who were repairing a pair of 41 cm twin gun mounts and a broken bow. "Shoukaku, remind me again. Who was hurt? "

"The damage report is as follows: Mutsu-san was unscathed. Akagi-san was slightly hurt. Fusou-san and Kirishima-san are moderately damaged. Haruna-san and… Kaga-senpai were heavily damaged…"

His secretary's pause as she mentioned her admired senior carrier's name generated butterflies within the admiral's stomach, but the man made an effort to show no emotion. He simply nodded, his suspicions having been confirmed when he was told the identities of the injured. "We need priority on the heavily damaged pair. Contact the vice admiral and request for instant repairs, and have Ooyodo inform the other personnel of the ship girls' conditions. I also want to request an extension for the time between now and the next operation. I want those girls to get the medical attention and rest they deserve."

"Yes sir," bowed Shoukaku, but she did not leave to pass on the information immediately. Instead, she glanced to her right, toward one of Warehouse 04's many support pillars. "I hope Senpai can get some rest."

"… Sorry," frowned the admiral. "I'm a failure as an admiral for giving such terrible orders."

"Please, don't apologize, Admiral. You were just doing your job. I was only thinking about how restless Senpai can be," Shoukaku bowed her head once again before turning around to leave. "Kaga-senpai will probably be up again shortly. I'd be especially happy if you made sure she rested the entire time. After all: we're girls, not weapons."

Her last message delivered, Shoukaku began to walk off to pass on the admiral's request to the fleet admiral. As she did, the admiral stood silently, watching her disappear as she turned the corner. His face showed no emotion, but his fist was clenched tightly enough for his knuckles to turn white. He was glad that his fleet came back safely, but the mission had been a failure. Having to retreat made him bitter. It wasn't until he was spoken to that he relaxed his grip.

"If you keep making that face, it'll stick, y'know?"

The remark came from the twin-tailed girl who was leaning against one of the warehouse's support pillars. It was Zuikaku. Although her sister ship had noticed her presence earlier, she had stayed silent until Shoukaku left, waiting to replace her older sister in lecturing the admiral.

"Zuikaku, don't you know better than to make fun of your superior?"

The archer ignored the man's question. She felt no intimidation from his lanky figure. She kept her eyes on the damaged bow that was being repaired by the fairies. "Kaga-senpai got hit badly, huh?"

The admiral pulled his hat down to cover his eyes. "Mutsu's report says it happened when she protected the flagship. It's my fault for sending you girls into that battlefield blind. I did not expect our opponents to be that heavily armed. You have every right to be angry at me."

Hearing the weak excuse of an apology disgusted Zuikaku, but she was even more annoyed by what the admiral said Kaga did. So much for 1st Carrier Division's victory streak…

"If you're apologizing, don't do it to me and my sister. Do it to those girls in the first fleet," the 5th Carrier Division ship girl pushed herself off the support pillar and walked past her commanding officer. "Well, you don't really have to, I guess. Like Shoukaku-nee said: You were just doing your job. We don't blame you for that. You can't even follow us out to sea without our help, so it's our fault for whatever happens out there."

"Zuikaku…"

"If you wanted to be reprimanded, just leave it at us Shoukaku-class," Zuikaku did not look back as she walked off. "Kaga-senpai's in the infirmary, right? Don't worry about her. I'll deal with that idiot if Akagi-senpai's not enough. I still have to apologize to her anyways. You should join the Kongou sisters with Haruna, Ushi-jii."

"U-Ushi-jii?" The nickname caught the man by surprise.

"You'll go bald and lose that afro of yours if you keep acting like a grumpy old fart, Admiral Ushijima."

With one last encouraging insult to her commanding officer, the standard carrier girl continued toward the naval base's infirmary. Really, the admiral was the least of her concerns. She looked up at the blue sky and saw the pilot fairies and their planes head from one part of the base to the next. Her eyes narrowed as she thought about just who it was she was going to visit.

I'd be especially happy if you made sure she rested the entire time. After all: we're girls, not weapons.

Zuikaku knew her big sister's words had been directed at her more than at the admiral. Well, as much as she'd hate to admit it, she was going to make sure that stoic carrier stayed in bed anyways. The last time Kaga was injured, she yanked the vice admiral's tie to get him to issue her instant repairs and put Akagi into the docks. It cost their admiral a few favors to settle the incident.

When the girl finally reached the steel doors that led into the infirmary building, she did not open them immediately. She punched them with as much force as she could manage, leaving a small dent and causing her left hand to bleed. For a moment, she ground her teeth and venomously cursed under her breath, but immediately afterwards, the anger disappeared from her face. The only thing visible from her expression as Zuikaku entered was a single feeling: annoyance.

(2)

"…Kaga-san, I'm sorry…"

"There is no need to worry, Akagi-san. I am fine. If you're safe, then it's fine."

"You always say that. Aren't you the least bit angry at me? It's my fault you were hit."

"It is my duty to guard the flagship. I should be the one apologizing for not being able to finish off the enemy. I should be apologizing for taking up time here when you need treatment as well."

The back and forth between the 1st Carrier Division's Akagi and Kaga could easily be heard through the door to Recovery Room 02. Even from where she stood around the corner, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, she could distinguish which voice was Akagi's and which was Kaga's. As she had expected, Kaga was being obstinate. It was a part of the ship girl's personality that just refused to go away. Evidently, Zuikaku wasn't the only person put off by it either.

"… Please, just try and sleep so you can recover…"

Zuikaku closed her eyes and focused her hearing when the doorknob of the room began to rattle. She heard the door swing open and light footsteps headed in her direction. Opening only one eye, Zuikaku glanced at the hallway intersection. The red hakama skirt of her senior carrier was easily spotted within seconds.

The 5th Carrier Division girl said nothing as she watched Akagi walk by. She steadied her breathing so that it was silent. The carrier girl stopped. Akagi's hand moved to wipe away what looked like a tear starting to form in her eye.

"Kaga-san, you idiot…" was what Zuikaku heard the girl whisper before continuing on her way.

A minute passed before she heard the steel doors of the hospital wing open and shut. Another minute went by in silence as Zuikaku kept her gaze focused on where Akagi had stopped earlier. After another minute of letting what she had seen sink in, the carrier girl uncrossed her arms and sighed.

"If she's making that girl cry, she's as thick-headed as she is stubborn."

Pushing herself off the wall, Zuikaku moved toward Recovery Room 02 casually. Her pace was slow and her body was relaxed. There was no tension in her when she placed her hand on the metal doorknob. With a swift turn and a little push, the ship girl entered.

"Hey. I'm barging in. And I won't accept being kicked out when I'm being nice enough to visit."

Although unable to turn her head because of the neck brace she was wearing, Kaga was able to distinguish her voice almost immediately.

"… Hm…? Oh, it's you."

"Who else were you expecting? And don't say Akagi-senpai. I already know she was here earlier."

Zuikaku spoke fairly casually, but the injured girl's appearance weighed heavily on her mind. Kaga's normal clothes, as burned and ripped as they were, sat folded on the table side by the motionless carrier. Her hair, let down from her usual side ponytail, spread out in all directions, covering the soft pillow Kaga rested her head on. A neck brace forced her to stare upward at the ceiling and bandages covered her torso and arms to the point where she would have looked like a mummy if she took off the hospital gown.

"You overdid it again, huh?" Zuikaku moved a chair to the foot of her comrade's hospital bed. Sitting down, she fixed her eyes on Kaga's head. She could see the other girl also try to focus her eyes on her. "Way to go, Senpai. Damage like this will take a day or so to repair."

"It's nothing for you to have to come visit me about. This was an expected consequence from entering battle."

"Of course. Of course. It's the usual Kaga-senpai I'm talking to here, after all. One day's repairs means nothing to the girl who scared the living daylights out of the vice admiral," Zuikaku shrugged, turning her head away to look out the window. She lacked the energy to retort further and so settled for shutting up and avoiding the topic altogether. Outside, she saw the admiral speaking calmly with the Kongou sisters. Well, calm for a dogeza in any case. Kongou was at least smiling.

Kaga said nothing regarding the carrier girl's dry remarks, but she became more and more impatient as the conversation between them faded into silence. "If you have something to say, I'd prefer it if you did not beat around the bush."

"What, do you have a hot date in a few minutes or something? In that condition, you're not going anywhere anytime soon."

Zuikaku returned the girl's glare, but hers lacked the temper Kaga's held. She only glared back because it helped her deal with the fact that her fellow carrier had been injured. She withdrew her gaze within a minute.

"The admiral said I had to apologize for yesterday, but I think it's hardly the time to bring that up right now."

"Yesterday?" repeated Kaga. She recalled the experience with some effort. "Ah, yes. It took some time to wash the sauce out of my hair."

"You should be glad it wasn't anything stickier," the 5th Carrier Division girl forced a laugh but slowly shut up, realizing the awkwardness between the two of them. She looked down at the fingers she was nervously playing with as she apologized. "… My bad. Sorry. About both that and for saying you should get dive-bombed."

Kaga kept her mouth closed. It took some time for her to understand Zuikaku's words. Only after she did, did the injured girl speak. "Did you come to apologize out of pity? Were you afraid it was your fault I was hurt?"

"Something like that," she admitted. "I wouldn't forgive you if you just went up and sunk so easily."

There was some humor Kaga found in Zuikaku's answer. "Well, I wasn't dive-bombed, so you don't have to worry about that. Battleships pack quite a punch, though."

Zuikaku was stunned to see the normally stoic carrier say something that sounded evenly remotely lighthearted. From the sound of it, the two had made up a little. It took some time for her to regain her senses.

"Sorry… So you were protecting Akagi-senpai, right? You got hurt this badly covering for her?"

"Affirmative. Guarding Akagi-san was my priority," Kaga tried to nod, but her neck brace still prevented her head from moving. "I will always protect her and look after her."

"She was the flagship, right? She can't sink so easily, so did you really have to jump in?" Zuikaku may have asked the question casually, but she honestly did want to know. "Also, last I checked, your defensive power isn't as good as hers since we lacked the resources to do any more modernization after Akashi's last fiasco."

At the girl's common sense, Kaga said nothing. She had understood the risks but decided to take action anyways. It was reflexive in a sense, something completely natural to her.

"You're one stupid yakitori grill, you know that?" Zuikaku took her fellow ship girl's silence as a chance to continue speaking. "Getting hurt and saying you'd do it again. What's so good about Akagi-senpai that you'd rush in so stupidly?"

It was a little surprising to the injured girl that Zuikaku was gazing at her so seriously. That surprise, coupled with Zuikaku's question, made Kaga hesitant to reply. "… Do you really want the answer to that?"

"Try me."

The 5th Carrier Division girl honestly wanted to know. She conveyed that desire through her silence. She was not going to leave until she received a proper answer. Kaga knew that. It was then that the injured girl closed her eyes. She took her time to gather enough energy and enough breath to speak, and Zuikaku waited until she was ready.

Kaga's first words were simple. "Think of it as a favor for Akagi-san's sister."

At the last word, Zuikaku raised an eyebrow. "Akagi-senpai has a sister?"

"Both of us," there was a little pride in Kaga's voice as she spoke of her predecessor. "When our current fleet admiral was known as a rear admiral, Battlecruiser Amagi was his strongest ship. She worked with my sister, Battleship Tosa, and took care of Akagi-san and I when we were still in training."

Zuikaku could tell from the bittersweet expression on her rival's face that she was reliving both the good and the bad memories of the past as she recalled them. It relieved her more than she would have liked to admit when she saw a small smile unconsciously form on Kaga's face. Most of those memories had to have been happy ones.

"So what's her sister like?"

For a moment, Kaga was silent. She seemed to have trouble finding the right word. "Strong," she supposed was most fitting. "She was a responsible and open person, worthy of much respect and praise."

Zuikaku whistled. "Wow. For you to be talking so highly of her, she must have been something."

"Indeed," asserted Kaga. "She was my senior in many regards. She taught me how to fight and how to remain calm in the face of danger… She was also the person who introduced me to Akagi-san…"

Kaga's last sentence had a trace of embarrassment within its tone. Rather than sounding like a maiden in love, however, Kaga's awkwardness more closely resembled a shy girl talking about her first friend. Knowing Kaga, Akagi most likely was.

"Honestly," Kaga looked back up at the ceiling. "Amagi-san cherished Akagi-san. She was always watching over her during training drills and checking her health in the bath. Calling those two inseparable wouldn't have been an exaggeration… There were times I felt I was in the way when they always tried to drag me along. They always did things at their own pace. It was really troublesome to deal with. Even Nee-san couldn't keep up with them…"

Kaga shared with the 5th Carrier Division girl tales of her training days. From practice battles against their older sisters to eating contests which left the admiral crying tears, Kaga described to Zuikaku just how much of her life had been with Akagi and their sisters. Although Kaga tried to sound annoyed at being pulled along, her expression betrayed her. It was obvious enough to Zuikaku that she enjoyed being pulled along by Amagi and Akagi. She had never seen Kaga speak so animatedly about another person before.

Zuikaku remained silent, though. She was waiting for the injured carrier to finish her story. The thing she wanted to know most was the favor she made.

Kaga arrived at the explanation, but the moment she did, her content face vanished. "One day, an order came down to our base. Nee-san and I were to be removed from the fleet and scuttled."

There was bitterness in her voice. Kaga's teeth clenched as she recalled the incident. Zuikaku, too, ground her teeth. She had seen many of her comrades shuffled about or sent to fight a hopeless battle as a result of the orders from the higher-ups. The ship girls were hardly ever given a reasonable explanation, and their admirals were powerless in the face of their superiors too. Dealing with those orders was a trial they could all relate to.

"Wait," Zuikaku took a moment to process who Kaga had listed. "They were going to remove you? When you were still in training? And you said scuttled? Not scrapped?"

"Correct. We were told our services were no longer needed. During those days, the military did not view us ship girls kindly. They were always searching for some reason to remove us. In my case, I wasn't even given a chance to prove my worth in actual combat."

Zuikaku gulped. The practice she knew of since she entered the base was removing the ship girls' equipment and 'naturalizing' them so they could live life outside the navy. Certainly, scrapping was rumored to hurt, but scuttling was outright sinking them.

Looking down at the 1st Carrier Division girl's fist, Zuikaku could see Kaga's knuckles turn white as she clenched it tightly. Kaga was able to maintain her stoic expression as she spoke, but it seemed she still had to vent her emotions somewhere.

"Y-You're still here now," Zuikaku tried to speak for her anguishing comrade. She connected the dots as quickly as her brain could. The conclusion she arrived at scared her. "Don't tell me… In your place…"

Kaga's eyes glanced over at Zuikaku. She returned her gaze. What could have been shared by words was left to silence. Zuikaku was afraid to finish her sentence, and Kaga did not wish to continue either.

Sigh.

Kaga closed her eyes. It surprised her just how much she had shared. She was grateful to have had the chance to speak about her past, but continuing the subject any further would not be good for her heart.

"She said we were the future, the next generation. I owe Amagi-san far more that I can ever repay in my life time," Kaga decided it would be best to cease with the nostalgia for the day. "Her last words to me were 'I trust you'll take care of my little sister in my place'. Since then, I have kept my word. I will protect Akagi-san with my life. For my debt to her sister, I will be Akagi-san's shield if I have to. "

Again, a heavy silence fell between the two standard carriers. Kaga had said her piece, and Zuikaku needed time to take in what she had heard. Struggling to sort through the chaotic maze of thoughts in her head, Zuikaku moved away from the injured ship girl and walked toward the window. She gazed out at nowhere in particular. She paid no attention to the scenery as she acknowledged Kaga's story.

Kaga was willing to put her life at risk for Akagi because Amagi had saved her. She earnestly declared herself a disposable shield so that she could repay the battlecruiser for her sacrifice. This was the same carrier girl who just earlier talked so passionately about her friends, the same girl who smiled wholeheartedly as she shared her memories.

"I apologize for speaking so much," Kaga interrupted Zuikaku. "It became a heavy topic, but I was a little relieved to have been able to speak to somebody about this. Please, forget this conversation ever occurred."

Zuikaku turned around, but did not approach Kaga's bed. "Don't joke around like that. You want me to just forget it? Don't say that after practically opening your heart out like that."

"Even I had not expected to speak so much. Please, just leave this personal matter to me. I have no need for any pity. I've made my decision: I will protect Akagi-san on my own."

"Y-You…" Zuikaku bit her lip to try and stop herself from walking up to the injured carrier and smacking some sense into her. She held back. It irritated her to listen to the stubborn carrier's words, but she had to admit she was an outsider. It was up to the 1st Carrier Division to deal with what had occurred with their sisters, not the 5th Carrier Division who wasn't involved in the slightest. Still, she wanted to give the 1st Carrier Division girl a piece of her mind, to let her know just how annoyed she was… They were comrades, but Kaga never considered getting help from an ally. Rather than a soldier, Kaga was behaving more like a weapon…

… Weapon?

The 5th Carrier Division girl's body relaxed. The words of her elder sister came to mind. They were girls, not weapons. The common sense carried in those words was the one thing Kaga needed. At the very least, Zuikaku had to get that across to her.

Zuikaku spoke calmly.

"You're a real idiot, y'know that?"

Kaga was unconcerned with the insult. She had been called an idiot so many times by her already. Zuikaku most likely wanted to convince her to take care of herself, but the 1st Carrier Division girl was already aware of Akagi's concern for her and still refused. "I've been Amagi-san's replacement for all these years. I will not give this up after simply speaking with you."

"That's not why I called you an idiot."

Zuikaku approached Kaga, looking down on the injured girl with a glare. To Kaga's surprise, the girl bent down and placed her forehead on hers, as though to check for a fever. As Kaga was unable to move from her bed, she had no way to resist.

The close range head-butt hurt far more than an armor piercing shell.

"Let me borrow Shoukaku-nee's words for a minute: We're not weapons, you fool!"

"Wh-"

Zuikaku left hand darted forward. She stopped her pointer finger within a centimeter of Kaga's nose. Before Kaga could finish a single word, she stopped her from speaking. She needed to make her point.

"Listen. I'm not saying you shouldn't protect Akagi-senpai," Zuikaku's head stung just as much as Kaga's did. She was a little less tolerant of the pain though and was the only one of the two girls tearing up from it. "If you've got a burden to shoulder, go and shoulder it. Act like a replacement for someone's sister all you want. I just want you to know that I'm pissed that you think you're on your own."

One of her eyes was closed as the pain in her forehead throbbed. "… What?"

Rubbing her now red forehead with her right hand, Zuikaku used her left hand to poke the injured carrier in the dead center of her forehead repeatedly. "Personal problems are personal problems, but we're part of a fleet. You better think twice before jumping in and offing yourself. If you treat yourself as disposable, the rest of us will get hell from the admiral for your stupidity."

It took the injured carrier a moment recover from being attacked and another moment to comprehend what Zuikaku had said. Still, it took time for the words to properly sink it.

"We're ship girls. Comrades. You got that through your thick steel skull?"

Zuikaku turned her gaze away, embarrassed by what she was naturally spewing from her mouth. The headache from her prior attack must have caused her to speak such nonsense.

"There's only so much you can do on your own, so rely on us to help out too… It's not like we want you to sink, so don't say you're fine with dying." Zuikaku was afraid of meeting the damaged carrier's eyes. After saying something like that, her face was rose red and numb. She only waited for a response. It was Kaga's reaction that mattered.

"Hm… Pfft!"

A strange sound escaped Kaga's lips. It wasn't a word nor was it a sigh. It was something else entirely.

"Pfft! … Fufu…"

The injured carrier tried her best not to laugh, but found it difficult without the ability to cover her mouth with her hand.

Zuikaku was taken aback by the normally stoic girl's laughter. It wasn't a full blown laugh, but the gentle chuckle was highly out of character for Kaga. "W-Whoa. I don't think I've ever seen you laugh before. Did I use the wrong word somewhere?"

Kaga reclaimed her composure the minute she ran out of breath. "… My apologies… As expected for the 5th Carrier Division to say something like that…"

"H-Hmph," Zuikaku crossed her arms. Her face was tingling. She wasn't blushing from being praised. There was reason for her to. No reason at all. "I told you. I was borrowing Shoukaku-nee's words… I'm just the messenger who doesn't want the trouble of cleaning up your after mess if you do something reckless again…"

"… Is that so?"

"Y-Yeah…"

Sigh.

"I suppose you girls say good things once in a while…," Kaga relented. She closed her eyes and relaxed her body.

"I'll beat you to within an inch of your life, if you do something like this again, okay?" Zuikaku smirked. She heard footsteps outside. Most likely, the admiral was approaching. "You're going to worry Akagi-senpai. And I'm sure she doesn't want you sinking."

"I'll keep that in mind. You'll get soy sauce in my hair again if I don't, correct?"

"Tch. Clever…" The resting carrier's wit was acceptable to Zuikaku. She was glad to have gotten her point through the girl's stubbornness. "Glad to hear I made my point."

Kaga looked straight ahead. Her eyes met the ceiling.

"I wish to leave. Would you help me convince the admiral? Akagi-san needs to get some rest as well," the carrier requested.

"Akagi-senpai? Aren't Fusou and Kirishima still in line?" Zuikaku did not reject her comrade's request. She was simply curious. "You'd be better off recovering and then rushing over into Akagi-senpai's arms. I'm sure she'd be glad to hear you're giving what I said some thought."

"No."

Kaga refused the idea, but Akagi's health was not the reason why she insisted.

"Then why?"

Kaga closed her eyes. She appeared to be deep in thought. "… I'll have to apologize to Akagi-san for my foolishness. I need some time to think of what to say. I won't borrow another person's words like you did…"

"Only one of those things I said came from Shouka- N-No. Never mind…" Zuikaku retorted, but then realized just how much she was admitting by saying that. Still, she accepted her comrade's request. After being able to speak her mind and actually successfully get her point across to the girl, Zuikaku was a little relieved. The most obstinate carrier in the fleet had actually listened to her. "I'll help you convince him."

When the admiral outside approached and began to knock on the door to the recovery room, Zuikaku stood up to open it for the man. As she did, Kaga spoke up once more, saying her name.

"Zuikaku…"

"What?"

"… No. It's nothing…"

Although she refused to continue speaking, the words the injured carrier wanted to say had gotten through. The hesitance of Kaga's tone said enough. Zuikaku had to look away from the door so her smirk wasn't visible as she opened the door for Admiral Ushijima.

"At least say thank you every now and then, you yakitori idiot."

It's been a while! My computer died and I lost a month of data since that was the last time I backed things up. IRL stuff's been making me busy lately too, though I had a lot of fun watching the anime without bias. It gave me a fair dose of ZuiKaga and Akakaga, and I finally have time to write, so hopefully I'll get more done soon.

~Richi