Enterprise had surprisingly missed training. The Chief was keen enough to remind her to train early in the morning...

She didn't miss the fact she lacked the upper body strength to actually fight back, though. Chief had been quick to put her up to military-grade training, including push-ups, laps around the base and fighting the punching bag. The lattermost was what she was currently focused on doing, delivering punches that turned weaker with each attempt and were so uncoordinated that she nearly stumbled over her running shoes' laces twice.

Enterprise, in a black tank top and baggy training jeans and with her hair caught up in a ponytail, fought with a long bag filled with sand and was losing. Her arms were sore as all hell and sweat draped her from heat to friggin' toe. She leaned against the bag, panting as she felt her palms drenched in sweat under the boxing gloves Chief had given her to not break her wrists.

"How're you feeling?" He asked almost mockingly, raising a brow.

Through the panting, the woman spoke "I'd try and punch you if I didn't know you would just dodge..."

"You're so imbalanced you'd miss on your own." He quipped, garnering a glare from the Grey Ghost as he went walking past her. "Gloves off." He then ordered. She undid the velcro binds and tossed the damn things aside, revealing her sweaty, tape-covered hands. She nearly didn't catch the water bottle Chief suddenly tossed her way, her arms trembling as she tried to open it. Chief saw her struggling as her arms refused to answer to her. He asked "May I?" and extended his hand.

Enterprise raised a brow, struggling a bit more and grimacing. After a few more seconds of struggling and whining to herself, Enterprise sighed in defeat, bowing her head and handing the Chief the bottle. He removed the cap in two moves and handed it to the girl, who looked up, blushing furiously now that she could pass it off as exhaustion. She took the bottle and barely let out a "Thank you" before gulping it down.

The Chief put on his uniform's shirt, putting the towel into a gym bag he had requisitioned from a nearby shop and took out his own water bottle, taking two big gulps of it, before putting it back into the bag. He slung it over his shoulders, then said to Enterprise "We'll get through the training in no time..." looking to her with reassurance. She sighed, then nodded.

"I'll go get changed... And then we can deal with the paperwork today." She sighed, grabbing her own things off of the table she'd left them on. He nodded, then walked off. Enterprise followed, quickly going to her room and taking her clothes for after she took a shower. She had taken a few moments in her room post-shower to sort some things out for herself. A knock on the door and it opening revealed Belfast.

"Oh, my. You're up early, lady Enterprise." Mused the maid.

Enty pointed in the general direction of the gym, hand still trembling, "Chief had me training again..."

That garnered a smile out of Belfast. "So, the commander is becoming more outgoing?" She asked, sitting herself down next to Enterprise.

"I... Frankly, I think so." Enterprise sat for a moment, thinking about their discussion from last evening. The two had actually agreed on something, for a change and it wasn't something small, either. Plus, he said he'd heed her advice and try to actually connect with everyone. She suppressed a smile and a light blush, thinking about the evening, then answered properly "Actually, yeah, he is. And It'll do us a lot of good."

"Well, that's good. We need him to be more involved, despite it not being that clear..." Belfast mused, arranging her maid's uniform and checking through her pockets for anything she could use to clean around the room. It was awfully dirty, dusty and messy, with Enterprise's gym clothing strewn on the back of her desk's wooden chair. Turning back to Enterprise and locking eyes with her, she added an absentminded "Lady Infinity herself said so."

Enterprise snorted, looking to Belfast. She asked "Infinity thinks Chief should be more outgoing? Where is she right now?" looking over the Maid's clothing. It was as pristine as ever, but the maid herself was... Less than nominal. Her hair was a light mess that the woman worked to rearrange and her eyes had the ever-so-slightest black bags under them. She must've been up all of last evening, comforting people regarding Hood. Enterprise thought it best not to pry in her friend's affairs or ask as to why she didn't sleep...

Belfast ignored the staring for now, finally managing to tie the last tidbit of her hair properly, so it didn't look as much of a mess. Enterprise's suspicions were correct, but she wouldn't tell her anything about having had to stay up all of last evening to comfort Edinburgh, or even Her Highness, who had burst into tears, with Warspite close to falling into that same trap. No, she'd stay quiet. Complaining was unbecoming of a maid. She answered Enterprise's question calmly "Staying with lady Hood and lady Wales. She seems to know a lot about repairs, so she is assisting Vestal."

"That woman's been around Vestal for so long, I'm not surprised." The carrier said, standing up and struggling to arrange her tie. She stared at Bel, leaning against her desk as she worked on the tie without any sort of result, asking "What about her little ones?" as a way to distract from her failure of an attempt to put that damn tie on while her arms were sore as all hell.

"The Strident squadron is engaged in a game with Laffey, Javelin and young Unicorn. At least they were when I last saw them." Belfast said, standing up. She approached Enterprise, giving the woman a once-over and squinting disapprovingly at how creased and almost dirty Enterprise's clothes seemed to be. She hummed, inspecting the tie closer and letting out a chuckle.

"Ah... I should probably head on out too, Belfast. Chief's likely to be waiting for me in the office." Enterprise said, slowly backing away. Belfast was quick to react, smiling as she started arranging Enterprise's tie. Belfast stared up at Enterprise with a smile, letting out a light giggle as a thought about Enterprise and the Chief crossed her mind. The two had butted heads before on certain matters, yet now they seemed to get along.

"Ah, yes, I heard. Congratulations on your new secretary position, lady Enterprise." She started, arranging the tie proper for her friend as a bead of sweat fell off Enty's brow. Belfast continued smartly and dutifully "If you must go, I will clean your room in the meantime. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask either me, or the commander to send for me."

"Right. Thanks, Bel." Enterprise nodded as Bel finished her tie. She took her officer's coat and headed for the door, turning only to say "See ya." to Belfast.

"Be seeing you." Bel responded, taking out a duster. She smirked, looking back to Enterprise as the door opened. "Oh, and lady Enterprise, one more thing..."

"What?" Her friend asked.

"I believe the Eagle Union saying is 'Go get'em, tigress.'" She quipped... And the door slammed shut behind her, urging yet another chuckle out of the Maid. She started dusting the desk, murmuring to herself "Ah, it seems I found a goal." as a vile grin appeared on her face. To be fair, the Chief and Enterprise were fairly alike in behavior, both seemingly careless for their own well-being, both soldiers with years of experience and both must've lost something greatly important to them. Belfast, of course, was not wrong in that. And she was not wrong in thinking... Perhaps the two of them could help each-other heal.

Yes. That seemed to be a good idea.

With cheeks burning red, Enterprise stormed down the hallway toward the stairs, ignoring most everyone in her path as she stomped forward and murmured about Belfast's awful jokes. She and the Chief were running on a strictly officer-subordinate basis and the Chief himself more than likely couldn't be bothered to form a relationship with anyone, doubly so because of his campaign history and the things he must've seen. Someone like that more than likely didn't need a pestering influence like that of another person getting closer to them. She should know, she was in a similar situation.

Enterprise had even managed to ignore(and surprise) Hornet as she stomped up the stairs. The green-eyed Carrier stared, befuddled by her sister's incessant murmurs about relationships as she stormed off toward the Chief's office. Intrepid, who was beside her, smirked, then said "It seems your sister's having a bit of an issue." with Hornet barely able to react.

"I... Guess so...?" The blonde mused. "Let's... Just get to breakfast, shall we, Inty?"

"Sure thing...?"

Enterprise's fuming had slowly gone away, with the Kansen now able to walk at a steady pace instead of half-running. Enough so that the redness in her face had become just a slight tinge of red on her cheeks. Seriously, Belfast had the weirdest sense of humor in the world. And the weirdest timing. It wasn't like Enterprise had any thoughts about the situation at all at first. Not until the woman brought it up. She propped open the door to the Chief's office upon arriving and looked inside, to see Chief sat at his desk.

He was completing a req form. Enty had noticed that as she closed in.

"What's that for?" She had asked, looking between him and the stack on the table and now regretting bringing up Secretary ships. Seriously, if she'd just kept her mouth shut, she would've walked away last evening, able to do whatever she wished... Well, outside of training with the Chief, that was. She had to admit, the idea of training was starting to grow on her for some reason.

"Some sort of specialized coffee called 'Death Wish'." Chief answered absentmindedly, a steaming cup of joe already on his left on a coaster. As he signed the last details on the paper, he set it aside and said "Supposedly, it's 6 times as powerful as regular coffee." as he took a sip from the cup. Enty picked up a barely-noticeable wince as the man drank from a still-hot beverage... Had he actually slept last night? He looked even more tired than her.

There was something slightly more pressing. She voiced her concern by asking "And you think you need that... Why?" as she sat herself down on the couch, looking at the water pitcher and cups, now clean and ready for use. She took the pitcher and poured herself some water, looking around at the expensive furnishings of the office once more. The burning red velvet was a good touch, she had to admit.

Chief once again absentmindedly answered "To stay awake." as he took the next form:A requisition request from Belfast herself, for more specialized cleaning supplies and chemicals. Of course, that made sense. They were running low on those supplies a while ago. Enty dreaded to think how bad the stock must've been right now, but knowing the Maids, they'd manage...

She instead asked again "... Yes, but why?"

"For the sake of completing the paperwork I'm supposed to complete, Enterprise. Even when you're not here." Chief stated bluntly. Enterprise cocked a brow at that, turning to the stack and going wide-eyed.

"That's a big stack..." The elite kansen murmured, awed.

"Some more req forms, most being from the girls." Chief responded calmly, looking up at her. He arranged his uniform and hat a bit, before checking if his pen still had enough ink and speaking "After we're done with it, we're going to check up on Hood. And after... Well, we're going on a tour of the base, to see what's going on." He received a nod from Enterprise.

"And then it's right back here to complete more paperwork?"

"Mhm."

"I ask again... Why do you need that much coffee? There's two of us completing what you were doing alone now." She leaned into the cough, looking at him. Now that she had time to look at the rugged NCO that had become the base commander. And overall Azur Lane commander, if she thought about it. He was an interesting character and he seemed almost a natural.

"... Truth be told..." He sighed deeply, admitting silently...

Enty couldn't help herself, grinning at the Chief "... You got addicted to the taste, didn't you?"

"I do enjoy it, yes. And I want to see what a more powerful one tastes like." He admitted with little remorse in his voice. Surely, it couldn't be so bad, he must've thought, to be addicted to a liquid that literally boosted man's sleeplessness since time immemorial. She had to admit, hearing that a he, oh-the-ever-stoic who prided himself in his stoicism, enjoyed something, it... Gave him a human feeling. Something Enterprise felt like she'd sorely lacked during her stay.

She snorted, leaning toward the desk "Heh. It sure as hell is gonna taste like regret next morning, when you have to sleep because your body can't function..." and slowly, she felt that good feeling from before fade into worry. "Wait... You need sleep." She started. She was his Secretary Ship. Not by her own volition, but may the Grey Ghost be damned if her Commander was gonna die from sleep deprivation under her watch.

"I'm a Spartan." He answered, turning back to the papers.

"What's that got to do with anything!?" She blurted out, standing up. He couldn't be serious.

"Metabolism."

Oh, dear God, he was. She barked "THAT'S NOT AN ANSWER!" in befuddlement.

"Just take a pen and get to work."

Enterprise sighed, planting a palm on her face. She took the pen Chief extended toward her and half the stack, getting to reading and signing the papers. She hummed. The man was still a human, so he clearly needed to sleep and, well. He could joke if and when he wanted to. Add to this, he was being very stubborn right now... She felt a growing sense of kinship with the seven-foot-tall supersoldier sitting at the desk. Even though she'd never admit her own stubbornness to anyone's face.

... Hmm. Maybe running as a Secretary for a while wouldn't be so bad.

The Sakura Empire port, located fairly close to the Home Islands and deep within the Pacific territories of the Crimson Axis, was a mix of ancient Japanese architecture. Built like ancient temples and lined with cherry trees, the buildings of the port were a hive of activity where forces from all of the Crimson Axis could engage in small-talk and enjoy themselves. Places such as Akashi's shop sold items... At an exorbitant sum, in Akashi's case, of course...

Walking with Prinz Eugen beside her, a day after the latest engagement, Bismarck had been processing what she had done. She had purposefully missed... She had purposefully missed Hood's heart, or whatever stood for it. She didn't know why, nor how, but staring at the damaged Battle Cruiser that was once an ally she had worked proudly with, something felt awfully wrong in both her mind and heart.

Nightmares of Suffolk's screaming haunted Bismarck still. Perhaps that was also a reason?

"Bismarck."

The sharp voice of one of the Fox Sisters took Bismarck's attention to her. Carrier Divisions One and Five, more specifically, aforementioned Akagi, her sister Kaga and of course, the crane sisters, Shoukaku and Zuikaku, had met with her and Prinz mid-walk. Bismarck had wanted to clear her mind. An interaction with the pairs of sisters was the last thing she needed right now.

The Battleship shifted uneasily on the spot, rubbing her arm as she spoke softly, "Akagi, Kaga, Shoukaku, Zuikaku. Good to see you." and arranged her hat on top of her head. She'd been through quite enough today without these four talking down to her. The Sakura always thought themselves above everyone else... Although the Ironblood could understand that, at least they had a reason to think so.

"Likewise." The brown-haired sword-wielding carrier nodded to Bismarck, smiling. "We hear your mission in the North went well." She offered. Well, some were considering themselves superior. Zuikaku could be exempt from that rule for the sheer fact she trained to be powerful. Her skills with a blade were nigh-unmatched, save perhaps for miss Takao and her swordsmanship. Huh, funny. Bismarck wondered for but a moment why Takao came to mind.

"Yes. Lord Bismarck managed to incapacitate Hood, miss Zuikaku." Prinz intervened quickly, noticing that her Lord had taken a few moments to respond. She was bearing her trademark sultry smile as she stepped up to the girls. Bismarck had to remind herself to thank her friend for that timely intervention. Today seemed to drag on again, every second feeling like an agonizing minute...

"Incapacitate? My goodness, we heard you'd killed her." Akagi seemed to scoff at what felt like both a failure and relief to Bismarck. Failure because Hood was supposed to have died by her hand so the Sirens could say she'd completed her task, but relief, because she could see the Kitsune glare at her. And knowing she disappointed somebody as insolent as Akagi felt good to her, because she didn't care what Akagi thought.

"Hmm, contradicting intel... We'll know if she comes back to the field or not." Her aide intervened again, glaring at the carrier with malicious intent, seemingly defensive of her Lord as usual. Again, Bismarck thanked Gott she had someone as trustworthy as Prinz beside her. Kaga seemed to notice the uneasiness between both camps. If anyone could say anything about the White Fox, it was that she was somewhat more gracious than her sister.

"I see. Well, well done anyways. That is sure to be a morale-breaker for the Azur Lane." She started from beside Akagi, who looked to her with a hint of surprise at the attempted defusal. Bismarck gave the carrier a small smile, which Kaga simply responded to with the lightest tilt of her head. Peace was an option that remained in the air for both camps still...

"Indeed. The Mighty Hood herself, out of action. It surely must've broken their spirits." The second Crane sister mused, smiling at the Battleship with an air of welcoming... And one of murderous intent, but not toward her per se. Shoukaku had been known to have this sort of aura about her. She was, after all, one of the Sakura's finest carriers, even if she was young.

"Mhm..." Bismarck blinked, a slight headache coming to her.

"Are you well, Bismarck? You look... Off." The White Fox asked, noticing the uneasiness with which Bismarck had started to move.

"I've had a long few days, Kaga. That's all." She answered, arranging her hat as to block out the sun that now tried to poke into her retinas. "I'm fairly tired."

"I see. Miss Takao said she's preparing lunch back at your dorm, so if you wish to go ahead and join her, we can speak with Prinz." The woman responded, trying to assist Bismarck to disengage from the conversation, despite a couple of odd glares from Akagi. Her sister could wait. An ally of theirs was in pain, clearly. And she was one of their strongest allies, trying to withstand it. Kaga appreciated strength... So she figured she'd do a favor to the Battleship.

"Go. I have them. Schonen Tag, herr." Prinz had noticed Bismarck's eyes widening and motioned with her head toward the dorms, a more calm, friendly smile on her face instead of her false one. Bismarck nodded to the group, offering a silent thanks to her aide and the more gentle of the two Foxes as she walked away, to the dormitories where she and the rest of the Iron Blood Pacific Fleet had been bunked.

Entering her dorm room, to the scent of spicy curry and rice being cooked on the stove just in the kitchen of the place. The Battleship set her hat onto the hanger, where several more, mixed articles of clothing resided, then took off her shoes and entered the kitchen, to see Takao stirring in the pots of boiling food. Clad in her uniform, but lacking the sword, rigging and her shoes, Takao worked tirelessly.

The woman's animal ears-Bismarck couldn't, for the life of her, tell what they were-perked up as she heard the footsteps of the Battleship. Takao's amber eyes met Bismarck's blue ones and she offered her bunkmate and friend a welcoming smile. Softly, the cook spoke "So, you're back. Rumor has it you've dealt quite the blow to the enemy, Bismarck. Well done."

"Thanks..." The Kansen sighed, sitting herself down at the short table and leaning back, letting the fresh, spicy smell of the food come to her. She stared up at the ceiling, idly looking at the lamp-like chandelier overhead. Above her, Takao soon appeared, two plates of food and two sets of chopsticks in her hands. Bismarck nodded, watching as the woman went opposite of her and set the food down.

"So..." She started as she sat down "Do you wish to talk about the mission? I've heard a few conflicting rumors."

"I... Just barely left a meeting where I was getting interrogated about it, Takao... I don't think I want to talk about it that much right now." Bismarck explained, looking at the plate of food set beside her. It was piled high with rice and curry, of course. A Sakura variation thereof, of course, since they were fairly close to their Home Islands. She had to assume that their food was quite more accessible than anything from her homeland... Less she put a requisition form in for some German chocolate.

"Ah, very well..." Takao said, pouring the two of them cups of green tea. She looked up from her task for but a moment to say to Bismarck "I could see it in your eyes, you know?" with all the care of a friend looking after her own. Takao had a way with words at times, one that Atago and her... Smothering personality... Sometimes lacked. Where Atago was blunt and uhm... Yes... Takao was tactful, smart and knew what to say... Bismarck had a feeling that was what was coming.

So she played along, quirking a brow at her bunkmate's words "What?"

"You're tired." She observed quite easily, putting the teapot down and picking up the cup. She blew on the steaming liquid, to cool it down, then took a deep, long sip as she waited for Bismarck's response. It was quite odd, how calm Takao seemed to be, talking to Bismarck. Even though the girls had not known each other for long, or, better said, they have barely talked to each-other, save for a few fairly separate times, she acted with Bismarck like one would act with an old friend...

"Understatement..." The Battleship murmured, looking at the food in her plate again.

"I meant more than just physically. Something stirs within you and I think it has to do with all the operations you've been undertaking lately." Takao set her cup down and leaned onto one hand, staring at Bismarck with her piercing amber eyes. It had been a while since the Kansen were fully able to look at each-other. Bismarck snorted, fondly recalling that one time Takao burst in in her sleepwear and with her sword in hand. Then she turned thoughtful.

"Hm..." She sighed. The road since the Schism had been long and brutal for both sides involved. At first, all camps fought a common foe, one that threatened Mankind with everything they had. Now... Now, Bismarck worked with one of these foes, one who said there was a certain destiny they had to accomplish for mankind to be saved, for her own means. She wanted Tirpitz home... She wanted the sister she had never seen, nor met, back. Her only family...

"If you don't want to talk about it, you don't need to." Takao offered.

"Not right now... Perhaps when I finish what I want to finish. To be finally free of the tasks."

"Very well... Until then, just know that if you need someone to talk to, Bismarck, you have me and a few others in the Sakura fleet. Perhaps not Akagi, but..." She motioned to the rest of the Dorm and to the people outside. And of course, she had Prinz, she had her comrades in the Iron Blood Navy. She had a lot of people to talk to, but non that she could tell... Save for Akagi herself.

So she did the best she could to ease Takao. She thanked her "Thank you... For the offer."

"'Tis what allies should do." Takao smiled.

"Mm..." Was Bismarck's response.

"Now. Get to eating. It's gonna go cold."

"... I was going to ask if I could get a fork and knife, but I am gonna guess that's out of the question?"

"You're in a Sakura port, eating Sakura food, Lord Bismarck..." "If you want a fork, you should have brought one from your own home. However, if you do find it too challenging to eat with the proper utensils, I can just feed you... You know, like a mother feeds its child?" Takao mocked, smirking at the Battleship. A Heavy Cruiser and a joker beside.

"Hah... Very well, Takao, I accept your challenge. What is it you Japanese say?" Bismarck grinned.

"Itadakimasu." Pridefully did Takao speak her home language.

"I can't pronounce that... Oh well, German it is... Gutten appetit." Bismarck raised her glass of lukewarm tea, taking one sip and turning to her food...