The 1st Fleet was sitting with the 3rd Fleet and was eating breakfast with their Admiral in the canteen where Mamiya served her breakfast before their training session with the 3rd Fleet.
The Admiral wanted to spend time with the two fleets, having finished her paperwork and rushed down to grab her breakfast, having deliberately seated herself between her two lovers that were Ashigara and Nagato, something that was not lost on all the ship girls who were present in the canteen.
The 3rd Fleet was the unofficial 3rd Fast Response Fleet. However, since they were the backup to the first two Fleets, they could travel slower, and sortie at a later time to carry more firepower if the situation required it.
They were a six ship girl fleet, consisting of 2 heavy cruisers, a battleship, a destroyer, a light cruiser and carrier to balance out the team and work closely with the 2nd Fleet, and now the 1st Fleet.
Through sorties and training exercises, they had already developed their team dynamic and were sent onto the battlefield not just to fulfill their role of fighting Abyssals, but also to support their teammates in times of need.
Ashigara led the team, possessing a voluptuous figure packed with lean muscles that were developed over countless sorties and drill exercises. Her long, dark auburn hair was let down and was held down with a single-horned hairband.
She had on a uniform of a dark purple office shirt with a colorful ribbon tied around the collar, together with a dark skirt covering her white pantyhose as she wore a pair of black and white high heels.
White gloves were gripped in anticipation as the metal utensils in her hands threatened to bend and deform despite being tailored to resist the strength of ship girls, grinning with gleaming brown eyes as she seemed to look forward to the practice session later.
She sat up proudly to match Nagato's posture while sitting beside the Admiral. She had the air of someone in charge, and indicated a headstrong attitude as she sat with her own teammates, the First Fleet and her Admiral.
Haguro sat beside her sister, looking meek and seemingly afraid of her own shadow as she looked down at the breakfast platter and held her own utensils delicately, while a silver hairpiece was attached to her left temple and held up her hair as she ate like a gentle lady would with bite-sized chunks being cut.
She was wearing the same uniform as her sister Ashigara, a dark purple top with a black skirt and white pantyhose. Her short hair parted to show her bright and open eyes scanning for trouble, a slight expression of apprehension as she ate her breakfast.
Nagato was the slow battleship and was the unmovable support pillar of the fleet, a demanding presence due to her status as a famous battleship, and as a towering figure over her comrades. She seemed to be in her usual clothes, and had a destroyer seated on her laps.
Yukikaze the destroyer was sitting on Nagato's lap and was been spoon-fed by the esteemed battleship as she looked to her comrades and smiled at Shigure. She wore an extremely short, white sailor one-piece dress that could have doubled as a large shirt for a larger ship girl, a pair of binoculars hanging from a strap around her neck.
She had two blow horns attached to her temples, and some sort of contraption atop her head. Her brown hair was cut short, and her brown eyes reflected sadness and guilt that was well-hidden to all but the most perceptive of ship girls in the base, Shigure having detected it partially because she, like the Kagerou-Class destroyer, had been through a lot and thus knew what to look for within the eyes of the destroyer.
The blonde light cruiser Abukuma was talking to the carrier of the team, her double buns and hair rings to hold up her long hair, her light green sailor uniform with her black knee boots that made up her uniform, and her high-pitched voice was audible even across the table. She was lively, and seemed to contrast with her conversation partner, who was calmer and attentive to the light cruiser that was Abukuma.
Amagi the carrier was taking up the rear while listening to Abukuma, allowing her teammates to bask in the spotlight while she supported them from behind as her role as a carrier, to summon planes and to strike from afar.
She had the pin of a red maple tree leaf on her left temple with her auburn hair tied in a ponytail, with a camouflage-green kimono covering her body. She had the same air as Houshou, the patience of a motherly ship girl along with her stance that conveyed not just seniority, but also a hidden dragon deep beneath her genuinely kind exterior.
Shigure could see that the Admiral was rather explicit in her affection for her own ship girls, especially towards her girlfriends Nagato and Ashigara, although it was also made clear that she loved all the ship girls that were under her command, Shigure watching her try to give all her ship girls as much attention as possible with impressive results as she wolfed down her breakfast in the process.
And Shigure was rather interested in what the 3rd Fleet had to teach her, having heard that the 3rd Fleet wanted to help train up the 1st Fleet before they ever sortied in order to maximize their odds of success and survival.
Interesting, Shigure thinking about what they had to teach them, likely something like little tips to keep in mind in order to defeat the Abyssals, Shigure looking down at her own breakfast.
Shigure was looking down the tray of fresh vegetables mixed in with soft, pinkish-white fish meat and soy sauce on one plate, and the typical miso soup, a steel fuel can, and a rice bowl with a soft boiled egg sprawled atop the small heap of rice, and a pinch of pepper atop that to add a bit of flavor to her meal.
Looking back and seeing Admiral Haru look so happy while leaning from side to side to cuddle with her girlfriends, with Nagato trying to fight a blush and telling her that this wasn't the right place for personal displays of affection, while Ashigara was rather accepting of her Admiral's affection but was more focused on finishing her own meal.
It really made Shigure wonder how this life also held out the possibility for them to find a soul mate and feel genuine love for someone, regardless of gender.
Shigure could note the few subconscious motions of affection, like both the ship girls having slightly dilated pupils, the slight leaning motion to reciprocate the Admiral's motion and the simple fact that they didn't simply change seats, Shigure smiling at the fact that love could blossom on the battlefield.
Admiral Haru was talking to Ayanami about something or another, and Shigure tried to make sense of the prior conversation by listening to the destroyer ask innocently about their relationship.
"So, Nagato and Ashigara are just two of your many girlfriends, right, Admiral Haru?"
Admiral Haru nodded excitedly, commenting on the situation of being in a polygamous relationship and how she loved everyone involved equally.
"Yeah, I really love all my ship girls, but there are a few ship girls that I love more than others in a romantic way, which means that I really love love them, and it'd only be natural for me to want to be their lover, right? I don't force them into the relationship with my Admiralty, of course. I do my best to court my ship girls when I'm off-duty, although there's nothing prohibiting little displays of affection..."
Looking at Nagato and raising an eyebrow whilst giving a coy smile, the slow battleship looking away and choosing not to comment as Admiral Haru looked back at them and continued.
"I also preach the understanding and acceptance of others and mutual love between all parties, and I respect and accept the fact that some of the ship girls in our bases have boyfriends who are sailors and normal civilians alike.
I mean, ship girls are all created to be bisexual, so that they can find a male or female suitor to fall in love with, am I right, Nagato?"
Shigure's interest was piqued upon hearing that, listening to the blushing battleship try to explain the situation upon being unknowingly put on the spot by her own Admiral, coughing into her gloved fist as she elaborated.
"Even though the world, especially the major countries like Japan, the USA and Germany, amongst others, have led the world in loosening up on their conservative views on LGBT relationships and permit sister ships to marry each other, two girls having a relationship would still be considered rather high-profile, no matter what the society or country. And should the war ever end, I believe that our creators, the Fairies, designed us with the intent to allow us the choice to fall in love with a person of either gender. So instead of designing us to only be attracted to females, as demonstrated by some of our sister-loving ship girls, and live a relatively high-profile life, we were created to also be able to sincerely love a human male and quietly fade into obscurity, which is what I believe most of us would want after the war."
Shigure nodded upon hearing that, somewhat understanding the reasoning behind that aspect of their creation, since if the ship girls were created to only be attracted to females, most of them would likely be unable to a peaceful, low-profile life in a country like Japan, where even if they had loosened up on their views and allowed ship girls to marry their own siblings, it would still attract a lot of attention in their daily lives, which is likely the last thing they wanted.
But Admiral Haru put a hand on the visor of her officer's cap and removed it, uncoupling her arm from both Ashigara's and Nagato's arms as she leaned back, patting Ashigara on the shoulder as she smiled cheerily and commented.
"Maa, the relationship between me and Ashigara might not be classified as an official 'relationship' yet, since our relationship started recently."
Nuzzling the base of Ashigara's neck where it connected with her right shoulder, whispering sensually.
"Although I hope that's gonna change soon enough..."
This caused the Myoukou-Class heavy cruiser to flinch and blush a little as she hissed at her commanding officer,
"Oi… Not here, everyone's watching...
Besides, you have so many girlfriends already, so the charm of being called that kinda wears off after a while..."
This caused Admiral Haru to pout at that, making a whine that a wounded puppy would make upon being wounded and giving the heavy cruiser the "puppy dog eyes" while Ashigara did her best to keep a straight face and looked away while shoving a spoonful of white rice into her mouth.
And Admiral Haru finally replied to Ashigara's comment, although in a way that neither Shigure, nor any of the ship girls present could have ever predicted while her tone was genuinely confused.
"Then you want our relationship to be classified as 'fuck buddies' instead?"
Causing everyone at the table to do a spit take upon hearing that, and Ashigara to choke on the mouthful of rice that likely went down the wrong pipe as a slightly coughing Haguro helped her sister ship lean over as she slapped her on the back, in between the shoulder blades.
Admiral Haru blinked as she looked around at the coughing ship girls around her and even at the tables that were close enough for the occupants to overhear her, and Admiral Haru scratched her head, seeming genuinely confused as to what she was supposed to call her girlfriends other than the conventional "girlfriend", confusedly muttering to herself as Shigure tried to calm her furious blush down.
"I mean, it does have a unique ring to it, and it's not as if we're a chaste couple by any stretch..."
And finally, Nagato recovered enough to speak into the Admiral's ear, warning her about the heavy cruiser's fiery temper.
"Admiral… I think you'd better run."
Admiral Haru blinked again, before raising both her eyebrows in agreement as she picked up her Admiral's cap again, plopping it on the slow battleship's head as she stood up, the slight screech of the chair legs on the canteen floor barely registering in the minds of the ship girls as the Admiral gave Nagato a quick peck on the left cheek, remarking.
"I suppose you're right, since Ashigara's known for flaring up sometimes. But her fiery temper's part of the reason why I love her, y'know. In fact, I can pretty much feel her temper flaring up behind me right now, and I can almost picture Haguro valiantly trying to hold her back."
Shigure was surprised to see that Admiral Haru, jerking her thumb back, was absolutely correct in that the Myoukou-Class heavy cruiser was looming behind her, her dirtied uniform a result of her coughing out the bits of rice, Haguro fretting as she tried to hold her sister back, wrapping her arms feebly around Ashigara's waist as she pleaded.
"Please run away while I can still hold her, Admiral-san!"
Admiral Haru uttered a barely decipherable,
"Gottagobye!"
Before bolting for the canteen door, Ashigara prying Haguro's arms off of her waist before chasing her commanding officer, and the last thing Shigure saw was the Admiral's blazer and Ashigara's long flowing hair being thrown up as they left the canteen at breakneck speed, leaving the entire canteen's occupants in a pregnant silence before resuming their lunch and conversations.
Shigure was slightly shocked at that, wondering to herself,
No reaction?!
But thinking about a naval base that had so many colorful personalities in one area, it wasn't unreasonable of them to simply shrug off anything as a daily occurrence within the naval base.
Nagato lifted up her free hand to feel the spot where the Admiral's lips had met her cheek for an instant, bringing it forward to observe her fingers, before muttering to herself in a droll tone that contained a fair bit of exasperation, remarking.
"How unprofessional..."
Shigure was rather afraid for her Admiral now, and asked the slow battleship as to what was going to happen between them.
But Nagato simply waved her concerns aside, commenting as though she knew the outcome to be a forgone conclusion as she continued eating her lunch nonchalantly.
"Oh, there's no need to worry about them.
Ashigara is likely to perform the Boston Crab submission hold on her for awhile as harmless punishment, and we'd make better use of our time finishing up our breakfast and joining them at the harbor."
Shigure sweat dropped at how fast everyone seemed to have recovered from the entire incident, resuming eating their breakfast as though nothing had happened as some of them even began chatting with each other, Shigure hearing Yukikaze comment innocently.
"But, Nagato-san, didn't the Admiral say that she likes being held by her girlfriends?"
To which Nagato blushed a little, but managed to keep a straight face as she shushed the Kagerou-Class destroyer and simply commented.
"Shush. You'll learn about it all when you're an adult."
"But I'll never be an adult, Naga—"
To which Nagato softly pushed a spoonful of fish meat into the destroyer's mouth to end the conversation.
Shigure looked down as she tried to hide her tomato-red face, although she was not alone as she peeked up to see that a few of her teammates and the ship girls of the 3rd Fleet still had colored cheeks.
And after another two minutes later, it was when Shigure was almost done with her breakfast when she saw that the members 3rd Fleet raised their eyes and looked behind her as she could feel another presence standing behind her, something that chilled her to the bone as she was unable to explain why.
It just felt as though the Grim Reaper was standing behind her as she whirled around, seeing a pink-haired ship girl who had a blue and white sailor schoolgirl uniform with plated pieces of armor on her left shoulder and covering the outside of her leg, her pink hair styled in freshly-cut strands held up by red ribbons that exposed her green eyes.
She had thigh-highs on her legs held together by beige ropes while she wore platform shoes, a white headband peeking out from behind her bangs and was hugging her forehead, the ends of the pure-white headband trailing from behind her head while she kept her hands in her skirt pockets.
Shigure couldn't help but avert the stare of the ship girl, only requiring a glimpse into her hollow pupils to already feel scared of her, Nagato creasing her brows and asking the newcomer ship girl as to why she was here.
"Good morning, Akashi. I assume you have business with Shigure of the 1st Fleet?"
Akashi.
Shigure remembered her to be the repair ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was likely the chief medic of the naval base who was also a part of the hospital that she saw off in the distance when she first came here.
Akashi responded, although Shigure noted that her tone was chillingly indifferent as everyone's eyes were already on her, some of them even sweating as the repair ship responded.
"Yeah, I need to check up on Shigure, since I need to ensure her psychological well-being. She needs to come with me."
Nagato's eye narrowed at that, trying to point out their training session later in the day, retorting as Shigure found herself stuck in between two titans of the naval base, and even her own teammates were slowly inching away from her.
"I don't believe you've heard, but Shigure's fleet, the 1st Fleet, has a training session with the 3rd Fleet, so she'll be unavailable for today."
Shigure, although keeping quiet in the midst of this civilized argument, was rather elated that someone as respected as Nagato was speaking up in her defense.
She didn't have anything against the repair ship, but she did not want to go along with someone who had the Josef Mengele or the Ishii Shirou vibe, both participants of World War 2 having disgusted her with their work as she read through history books to catch up with the times.
And a blood-red aura was what leaked out of the repair ship as she leaned in, casting shadows over herself despite the canteen being well-lit as Shigure felt another chill run down at her spine, a sentiment that was likely shared by everyone at the table as the bloodthirsty aura emanated from her every pore and caused everyone to react reflexively, grabbing their utensils a little tighter and chairs scrapping on the floor in a knee-jerk reaction.
But Akashi was unfazed by the fact that she was facing off against 11 other ship girls if one didn't include the rest of the ship girl population in the canteen, responding defiantly.
"I think I made it clear that I wasn't asking a question. Or would you like to tell the Admiral why you compromised a ship girl's mental welfare for the sake of training, should she be psychologically compromised on the battlefield?"
Shigure blanched at that, her head swiveling back and forth between the repair ship and the slow battleship, wondering how this stare-down was going to end, Akashi and Nagato both unwilling to back down and yield.
But Nagato eventually looked away as she conceded the point,
"... I understand. The well-being of a ship girl's mental state takes higher priority than one training session, and I do believe that she might require some help getting over her previous experiences."
Shigure couldn't believe her ears, and she looked back at the Nagato-Class battleship to get her to reconsider her face as she tried to look as sympathetic as possible, her teammates coming to her defense and trying to defend her, something that made Shigure rather proud of them for sticking by her.
But Akashi silenced them all with this one question, Shigure herself holding her own breath upon hearing a valid point being made.
"All I hear from you all are assurances that Shigure won't break in battle. But you do know that all her trauma stems from night battles, right? So does that assurance extend into the nighttime?"
Akashi shifted her eyes to look down at the crowd of ship girls gathered at the table, never mentioning any names but made it very apparent who exactly it was that she was talking about.
"Certain ship girls are naturally marked for observation due to potential underlying feelings of guilt and depression, having survived traumatic experiences or the war in general. And having counselled some of you, it'd be natural that I would want to at least talk to Shigure."
Akashi took out her right hand from her skirt pocket, lifting her hand up and waving it around as her aura dissipated and she took on a more benign expression to elaborate her point.
"Maa, it's not as if I'm going to operate on her or something. And I'm still a repair ship at heart, so I genuinely have your best interests in mind when I say that I want to help you out with your issues."
Shigure looked around, noting the finer motions that went unnoticed by most, but was most evident in Tatsuta, Junyou and Yukikaze.
Slightly looking away from the repair ship, tightening their grip on their utensils, shifting their feet to position them in a way that expressed a desire to leave the conversation and the table, and Shigure almost wanted to ask anyone about what exactly these issues were.
But she held her tongue out of a newly developed sense of tact, feeling Akashi leaning in to whisper in Shigure's ear to make sure that they could meet up to chat privately.
"I'll be waiting at Room 23 of the Administration Office."