Tenryuu was rather worried about her comrade who was now in the company of the naval base's infamous repair ship, who was known not for her treatment techniques, which worked extremely well due to her desire to help everyone in the base with their issues and her experience in wielding a surgical knife.
No, what she was known for was her classified past that she was reluctant to share with anyone but her bosom buddies that were the members of the 8th Fleet (they were all rather well-stacked, which meant that phrase could also be taken literally).
But shaking her head to get her mind back into the practice session, she glanced around and noted the fact that most of the two fleets had broken up into 1 on 1 individualized training sessions, before looking back at the Myoukou-Class heavy cruiser Ashigara standing before her on the training grounds, giving her a small lecture on the ship girl body to get her to be more well-acquainted with their limits.
"The ship girl body is an engineering marvel, and can accomplish many feats.
But we're bound by this physical realm and its rules, and no matter what anyone says, ultimately being part machine, everyone has a limit. Don't let anyone tell you differently."
Tenryuu's shoulders deflated a little at that reality check, but Ashigara patted her shoulder in order to cheer her up, letting her in on one thing that she discovered in her years of service.
"But don't feel too defeated just yet, alright? I'll tell you one thing, and that these bodies, they were designed to be flat-rated, or at least, that's what I heard people call it. When we were designed, they didn't want us pushing ourselves so far that our bodies would break down, so they lowered the acceptable limits and told us not to go past them for our own sake. So when they say that we have limits, those are the limits that we can safely achieve without destroying our bodies. But in reality, we can go beyond those limits when we're pushed far enough."
Ashigara's face darkened, as Tenryuu's face hardened in response and listened even closer to Ashigara's warning that came after the revelation.
"But remember, that what I'm telling you right now, is something that you should attempt only in a dire situation. Because if you exceed your limits too much, your body is prone to breaking down and sustaining wear and tear that needs special repairs or replacement of entire body parts. And if worst comes to worst, you need to be benched and hospitalized for a few months, far longer than any battleship or carrier. So in case I didn't make myself clear, this is a LAST RESORT. "
Tenryuu nodded, understanding Ashigara's concerns, and asked her coach,
"So then, what can I do to improve myself?"
Ashigara's face softened, and she regained her smirk as she stood on the ocean. Today's weather was rather lax, seeing that the spring sun was starting to beat down on them a little harsher now, but the drifting cloud masses came to their rescue by blocking most of it, making the ambient temperature bearable.
"What we can do, is to learn our limits, and work within them.
As an example, if you know that you can go all-out at 100% for 5 minutes, after which you can only access 80% of your full strength for the next 5 minutes, that's good. And if you know the time limit for your limit-break, for example, you know that you can access 120% for exactly 5 seconds without compromising your current physical condition, that's excellent."
Looking down at her sword, Tenryuu was surprised as Ashigara pointed down at her sword and politely demanded.
"And not to sound as if I'm changing the topic too quickly, but what's your sword's name?"
Ashigara paused as her head tilted, trying not to sound impolite as she asked Tenryuu.
"I can't keep calling it 'the sword' or 'your sword' in case you have a name for it…"
"Oh,"
Tenryuu finally understood the question, and held up her sheathed sword, proudly proclaiming,
"My sword's got a strong-sounding name that I found on the internet! Her name is Ezekiel! But why would you want to know that?"
Ashigara nodded as she went into detail about the weapons that were created along with certain ship girls to complement their fighting styles.
"You see, when you were created, Ezekiel was created with the steel used to create you, and the material was infused with a pinch of carbon and bauxite to strengthen it to the point where it would be called an Anti-Abyssal Weapon."
Raising her gloved palm to ask Tenryuu to stick with her as she elaborated on the nature of these unconventional weapons.
"Technically, all our weapons can be considered Anti-Abyssal Weapons, but the clearest definition to distinguish these unique weapons that were created upon your inception are, 'Weapons that cannot be cataloged within the naval arsenal that was used in World War 2'."
Ashigara looked Tenryuu in the eye, asking sternly.
"Do you get me, Tenryuu? Ezekiel is an Anti-Abyssal Weapon that transcends the normal weapons that we equip on ourselves, since this weapon answers to you and you alone, much like Tatsuta's glaive and Murakumo's antenna-shaped staff, amongst others. It's made of the same steel that makes up you, and reinforced to make it quite literally, cutting-edge technology that few ship girls possess."
Tenryuu's ear flaps were now waggling excitedly by that point in time, thinking up of various ways that she could destroy Abyssals while remembering the times she spent with Kiso playing make-believe and coming up with the names to cool moves.
But Ashigara lightly flicked Tenryuu's forehead, bringing her back to reality as she pointed out the hard work required to achieve anything close what Tenryuu was conjuring up in her mind.
"Hey. Don't just imagine that you can do whatever you please, now that you learnt that your sword can potentially cut through almost any Abyssal's skin. Training yourself up in terms of physical strength is a given, since it's useless if the swing of your sword has no strength behind it."
Tenryuu's mechanical ears drooped a little at that, but she knew that this was a given, seeing that a ship girl needed to be strong to wield an "unconventional" weapon like a sword properly, as all that is required of a ship girl to fire a handheld cannon is to pull the trigger.
But Tenryuu also asked a question of her own as she thought about the enemies that she could only get a glimpse of before the senior fleets took over the battle.
"Ashigara-san, I too, would like to change the topic to ask how powerful are the stronger enemies that are out there?
A-And when I saw one, it had a sort of aura around it, like it was on another level that I knew I didn't stand a chance against..."
Ashigara nodded, explaining the enemies that possessed greater stats than the rank-and-file Abyssals.
"Aye, those Abyssals are Elites, or what you would know as the Kai versions of the enemies that you normally face on the battlefield. And that aura is something that stems from the soul of a ship girl bleeding out of her own corporeal body upon being remodeled."
Tenryuu was admittedly rather confused about what was spewing from Ashigara's mouth, in which Ashigara scratched her head, trying to explain things in a way that Tenryuu could understand as she continued.
"Imagine a being that inspires awe and fear in you because of the power it exudes, and to some extent, this applies to ship girls when we are remodeled and become stronger because of it, as the power that our soul exudes is used to make up a significant portion of the power required to drive our superhuman bodies.
This is something that humans do not possess as they do not pose a threat to us in terms of raw power, but rather in terms of intelligence. What I'm trying to say, is that no matter how hard we try, we will always have that air around us, where the size we previously possessed and the power that we naturally wield as ships will be felt by everyone around us, because ultimately, in here…"
Ashigara pointed to her own heart, as she sadly smiled.
"... We are ultimately warships given human-like forms."
Tenryuu nodded in understanding, mentally referring to powerful and legendary battleships like Yamato and Nagato.
The warships themselves, in their previous lives, had not just their immense size, but also an air of strength and superiority that complemented their large, powerful cannons and impenetrable armor.
So it wasn't surprising that in this life, the same powerful air around them would be compressed along with the size of their vessels that were their bodies, so much so that you could almost feel the strength radiating from their very presence, something that could easily help them distinguish a ship girl from a human.
Tenryuu asked,
"Well, being a senior ship girl and a Kai Ni ship girl, are you capable of such a feat, Ashigara-san?"
The Myoukou-Class heavy cruiser didn't respond to that for a while as the adult ship girl closed her eyes, her face a picturesque example of peace as Tenryuu waited, wondering what her senior was up to.
But an explosion of feral might from the heavy cruiser's very being was what took the Tenryuu-Class light cruiser by surprise, the purple-haired ship girl gripping the scabbard of her sword out of a natural reflex to be ready to quick-draw her sword at the drop of a hat as Ashigara's eyelids lifted open, her savage aura emanating out of her.
And the sheer ferocity behind her shrunken pupils was what got to Tenryuu as she felt her own feet shift backwards out of fear, and the sweat that started to line her forehead as she grabbed the handle of her sword, unable to do anything in the face of such bestial strength that seeped from Ashigara's pores.
But the heavy cruiser's voice was snapped her out of her fearful trance, Ashigara leaning forward and stretching her arm outward to point it in Tenryuu's general direction as she reassured Tenryuu.
"It's alright. That fear you feel, the sweat on your skin and the slight trembling of your hands and feet.
It's a natural response when facing off against someone far more powerful than you."
Tenryuu was about to proclaim that she wasn't scared of anything, but the heavy cruiser's stare only intensified, shutting Tenryuu up as the Myoukou-Class had predicted her response and wordlessly communicated through her eyes,
"Don't even say it. You know you're just lying to yourself."
Ashigara moved her outstretched hand back towards herself, pressing her gloved hand on her bosom as she continued in a lecturing tone.
"I didn't want to show you this, but I'd rather you feel this killing intent now than freeze up in front of an Abyssal in the middle of combat. And I must say that the goal you set for yourself is quite a lofty one. Let me guess, 'To fight and win against Abyssals and ship girls stronger than me on paper, and to hit above my own class', or something along those lines, right?"
Tenryuu started, clenching her teeth in indignation before she shouted,
"I get it, alright?! It must sound stupid to someone who's Kai Ni, that someo—"
"It's not stupid."
Tenryuu was stunned at that, drawing back with only a stunned, "What?"
As Ashigara's aura relaxed in intensity as she corrected the light cruiser's thinking.
"It's not stupid, as there are a lot of ship girls known for fighting Abyssals that are stronger and winning. Most of the time.
What matters is how creative you get, and how dedicated you are to improving yourself and defying the limits that your stats set for you."
Tenryuu blinked, never having thought about things that, watching Ashigara hold out a finger to point in Tenryuu's direction as she pointed out a few things about the light cruiser herself.
"I know that you might have a few issues with not having Kai Ni..."
Tenryuu winced at that, clutching her sword a little tighter upon hearing that, but Ashigara pointed out something about her that she never stopped to think of.
"But since when did you think that our stats were the end-all-be-all of our abilities?"
Tenryuu started, and Ashigara clued her in as to how mindbogglingly large this world was as she explained.
"I might seem fearsome now, but know that I'm not the only one who's achieved this level of strength, and out there are ship girls from destroyers to battleships who are just as strong as I am. And the Abyssal Princesses? They're far stronger than me, and like you, I can't help but feel fear in their presence. And sometimes, retreat is the best course of action despite wanting to pick a fight."
Tenryuu was rather taken aback at that, knowing that her senior had likely been through quite a number of large-scale battles herself.
But to think that someone as respected and powerful like Ashigara could feel fear, and even had to retreat a few times in the presence of an Abyssal Princess?
But Ashigara again pointed to her as she continued.
"So that fear you feel, and cause you to keep a distance of three paces from your opponent? That's the difference that's going to keep you alive in battle as you don't just fight harder, but also fight smarter to hit above your ship class.
And besides, that distance can be easily covered by your little friend, as well as your comrades, right?"
Tenryuu jerked her head down to see her own sword Ezekiel, by her side and ready to be drawn and used in battle, Tenryuu mentally smacking herself in the head and remembering that she wasn't exactly alone on the battlefield.
Ashigara tilted her head forward to cast a shadow over her own face despite the morning air shining down on them, lowering her arms to form clenched fists beside her body as she finished her lecture with a question, the aura intensifying to make her look and feel as fearsome as any Abyssal despite lacking the intent to kill.
"The lack of Kai Ni doesn't diminish the fact that your fighting spirit is going to drive you on with the drive of ten ship girls.
But that does not overcome the fact that you're created to be considerably weaker than everyone else, and if you're going to fight, you're going to have to also fight smarter as well as harder. So I suppose the final question is, Tenryuu, that even in the face of a stronger opponent like myself, and knowing that despite me going easy on you, that you're likely not going to win. So are you going to fight anyway?"
Tenryuu snarled, drawing her sword as she gave Ashigara a shit-eating grin as she answered defiantly.
"No fucking way! I know the difference between wisely retreating and putting your foot down and not being pushed about by others who are stronger than you! If I can't stand up to someone who's nowhere near the strongest, then how am I going to progress from here on out?!"
"Stubborn, just like me! But I don't dislike that kind of tenacity!
En garde!"
And the two ship girls rushed towards each other, their weapons blazing and the light cruiser's sword, Ezekiel, reflecting rays of sunlight as they clashed on the ocean surface.