Chapter 484: Farewell
Navy Headquarters G-1 Base. A discreet room somewhere in the complex.
"Gion-chaaan!"
The man lunged across the room with an expression that could charitably be described as earnest.
"I love you so much!"
The object of this enthusiasm was a woman. A female Fish-Man. She was, by any reasonable human standard, striking in appearance, the differences in her skin notwithstanding. She had a bearing that commanded attention even in a room full of powerful people.
She raised the scabbard of her blade and blocked him without looking up.
"I'm sorry, Kake." Her voice was perfectly level. "My answer is still no."
Kake. Vice Admiral Chaton, the man who was named alongside Momousagi Gion as one of the two leading candidates for the next Admiral appointment.
He stumbled back several steps, one hand pressed dramatically over his heart, his face arranged into the expression of a man who had just received a mortal wound. "Rejected again?"
"Ha ha ha ha ha! Surely you've built up some tolerance by now, Brother Kake!"
The man leaning casually against the doorframe was Admiral Ryokugyu, Aramaki, who was currently G-1's presiding Admiral. He laughed without sympathy.
It was common knowledge throughout Navy Headquarters that Vice Admiral Chaton had romantic feelings for Vice Admiral Momousagi Gion, and that he had acted on them no fewer than one hundred times. The results had been uniformly consistent.
"Every confession I make, I put everything I have into it." A note of genuine feeling surfaced through the theatrical suffering on Chaton's face. "So every time Gion-chan turns me down, it really does feel like my heart is breaking."
Momousagi turned her eyes toward the ceiling.
The man's actual acting ability was, she had to admit, something close to extraordinary.
"What about Doberman and the others?" she asked, changing the subject.
She had been stationed at a concealed Navy base for some time since her escape. Her capture and subsequent liberation by NEO Navy forces was not information the World Government wanted circulating publicly. The damage to the Government's image was already done in the press, but having her visibly walking around would only give the story more oxygen. Getting clearance to come here and spend time with old colleagues had required considerable effort.
Chaton shook his head, looking genuinely uncertain.
"I heard they were sent to participate in some kind of experiment."
"That's about all any of us know." Ryokugyu waved a hand in the general direction of vagueness. "The specifics are above my clearance, apparently."
Momousagi and Chaton exchanged a look.
That restricted, then. Even an Admiral had been kept out of the details. People at their level didn't have the clearance to know more.
"By the way, Gion-chan," Chaton said, the theatrical misery fading as genuine curiosity took over, "you said you were defeated by someone named Uta who works under Tesoro. Is that actually true? You're serious?"
Momousagi's report had stated that she had been incapacitated almost instantaneously by an idol singer associated with Tesoro, before she had been able to understand what was happening to her, let alone mount any resistance.
This was, to put it mildly, difficult to accept at face value. This was Momousagi. A Vice Admiral on the verge of Admiral appointment. One of the most formidable fighters in the entire Navy.
"Her individual combat strength isn't particularly exceptional," Momousagi said, her expression tightening. "But she possesses a capability that is extremely dangerous. In that moment, every single one of us felt as though we'd been pulled out of reality entirely. When we came back to ourselves, we were already captured."
"So if it comes to a confrontation with Fish-Man Island, she's someone to watch for carefully."
Chaton clicked his tongue. "What a shame. She's a genuinely charming kid. Her singing is incredible too. I used to be a fan, actually."
He paused, then drew himself up with solemn resolution.
"But if she dares hurt Gion-chan, she can only be treated as an enemy."
Momousagi turned her eyes toward the ceiling again.
"Honestly, Fish-Man Island just gets scarier every time I think about it," Ryokugyu said, sighing at length. "Brett alone is enough to make anyone lose their appetite for fighting them, and now there's someone like that on top of it. Maybe we should just surrender."
"Yes, yes, very sensible, Aramaki," Chaton agreed with exaggerated solemnity, nodding repeatedly. "If the Government can't win this war in the end, we should just go ahead and surrender to Brett's side."
"Both of you, stop talking." Momousagi's voice was flat.
"But the Government itself is acting like it's facing a crisis," Ryokugyu continued, undeterred. "All this mass recruitment and secret experimentation, isn't that basically admitting the current balance of power isn't enough?"
"Which is precisely why we cannot afford to waver." Momousagi's voice had gone quiet, but there was iron underneath it. "If we hesitate now, who will be left to uphold Justice?"
"Oh."
Ryokugyu blinked. Something straightened in his posture.
"Gion-chan!"
Chaton was already launching himself toward her again, voice climbing. "That resolve, that determination, I love you even more now!"
"Idiot."
The scabbard swung. Chaton went airborne, skidded several meters, and came to rest in an undignified heap.
"Honestly, Brother Kake," Ryokugyu said, shaking his head. "You've got a long road ahead of you."
Momousagi adjusted her blade at her hip and reached for her coat. "I'm heading back to Headquarters. It's been a long time. I miss Tsuru-san."
"What?" Chaton flipped over from face-down to upright in one motion, indignation replacing self-pity with impressive speed. "Gion-chan doesn't miss me even a little?"
Momousagi gave him the look she reserved for questions that didn't merit answers.
And then, at precisely that moment:
Buru buru buru.
The Den Den Mushi at her side began to ring.
"Hm?"
She pulled it out, mildly puzzled. Who would be calling her right now?
She answered.
"Gion. It's me."
The voice on the other end was familiar.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku?"
Her tone shifted slightly, settling into something more formal. "Has my request to return to Headquarters been approved?"
"That can be handled whenever you're ready. You can come back at any time as long as you keep your movements quiet." A pause. "But before you do, the Science Division has asked to bring you in for some experimental assistance."
"Eh? Gion-chan too?" Chaton was immediately pressed up beside her, craning toward the Den Den Mushi. "Didn't Doberman and the others already go?"
"Kake? How do you know about... Aramaki. It was you, you treacherous man." The Fleet Admiral had worked it out.
Ryokugyu mouthed something at the other two, his expression urgently requesting they not confirm his presence in the room.
"Doberman is Doberman. Gion is a separate matter," Sengoku said, setting aside the question of who had leaked what for now. His voice had taken on the careful seriousness he used when something actually mattered. "The Science Division has developed a technique that works on an entirely different level from what was done before. They want to bring you in for a capability upgrade."
"Even after already being transformed, she gets upgraded further?" Chaton's face fell visibly. "Wouldn't you rather go on a date with me?"
"Kake. Be quiet."
Momousagi pushed him aside with one hand and turned her full attention to the Den Den Mushi.
"There is no question about the strength of the enemy we face," she said. "Any attempt to improve our own capabilities is worth pursuing."
Her voice was steady and completely decided.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku. I'll go to the Science Division."
"Good. The ship will arrive for you shortly."
The call ended.
"We only just got to see each other and now you're leaving again already?" Chaton slumped, the dramatic misery returning in full. "That's lonely."
Theatrical as he was, the feeling underneath it was genuine enough. Even without the romantic dimension, Gion was a comrade he had fought beside for nearly two decades.
"We'll meet again at Headquarters, Kake."
Momousagi said it simply, without much ornamentation.
"Right." Chaton managed a proper smile despite himself. "Safe travels, Gion-chan. I'll be waiting for you back at HQ."
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