The 1st Fleet was gathered around a canteen table and were discussing their thoughts and woes over lunch, their tough training day ending on a high note as the food supply ship Mamiya gave them a free treat and made them all her signature ice cream dish to celebrate the inception of their fleet with a belated treat.
Mamiya was a senior ship girl, and yet looked relatively youthful and impossibly beautiful like any other adult ship girl, who, along with Houshou, also carried herself with a motherly vibe as she was the chief cook of the naval base.
She wore a light maroon collared shirt and an azure blue dress that reached down the length of her body much like a gown, and her white apron and baggy sleeves adorned it as she smiled down at the exhausted yet satisfied and starving 1st Fleet, who were wolfing down her professionally made sundae after a hard day's work.
Her light brown hair reached down to the arc of her back, with a hair pin to hold up her right fringe and an ahoge sticking out of her hair, and she also had a purplish red ribbon hanging down behind her head, lazily holding up the ponytail that was located behind her head.
And Mamiya's Ice Cream was one of the most delicious things that Junyou had ever tasted ever since she was brought back into this world.
The ice cream didn't come cheap, but through Mamiya's grace, she graciously made everyone an ice cream sundae that had chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry scoops mixed together in a glass cup with sugar strands sprinkled atop them.
It came with a chocolate bar sticking out diagonally from the vanilla scoop, and with strawberry and chocolate syrup added to the vanilla scoop, but much care was taken to ensure that the flavors wouldn't interfere with each other or get muddled with each other in the sundae, each scoop and drop arranged intricately to instead enhance each other's flavor no matter where you started eating from and building up to a crescendo, the warm strawberry and chocolate syrup hidden in the other's ice cream scoop.
Several times, Junyou felt a warm sensation in her mouth, the sweet flavour of the strawberry syrup mixed in with the chocolate ice cream scoop or vice versa, a syrupy and delicious blend of syrup and ice cream mixing together in her mouth and stimulating her tongue.
Everyone was silently enjoying this mouth-watering work of art, and it was a little sad to have to eat it, but Mamiya told them that the ultimate purpose of the sundae was to be eaten, not admired like a piece of art, so they shouldn't feel too bad whenever they take a bite out of it.
This did help alleviate the short-lived guilt within them, as they happily feasted on the sundae.
And finally, Junyou was sipping on a bottle of ramune that replaced her usual bottle of sake to wean off the booze, talking to Hiei and Shigure about their future plans and goals, seeing that they were like her.
Tenryuu had pretty much proclaimed out loud her goal to fight above her ship class which Junyou could understand and empathize with, but she was now, engaged in a conversation with Ayanami and she didn't want to interrupt them
She wasn't too sure about how she was to hold a conversation with the more bloodthirsty member of the Tenryuu-Class, although she was sure that would change over time.
Ayanami was kind of like a bro to her, where she was the straight man of the fleet and a name ship that everyone could rely on for elder-sister advice, Tenryuu being a little too hothead to fill that role despite also being a name ship.
And although she was sure that there would be a chance to talk to the Tenryuu-Class cruisers in the future, she wanted to take her time to develop the existing relationships she had with her Fleet as she spoke to the two teammates about their future plans, Shigure explaining.
"I, well, talked to Akashi about myself for a while, and I like to think I understand myself a little better now. I realize that one of the goals I want to achieve in this life is to become stronger than I am now. I never want to see another ship girl sink before me again, and unlike my past incarnation, I'm now conscious and am in control of my own progress. I want to become stronger and protect you all, as well as my sisters."
Hiei nodded, biting down on an unwrapped sweet as she pointed out,
"Well, it's great that you've set a goal for yourself, and that you're driven to accomplish that. But you also have to remember that you still have limits, and that you should take care of and pace yourself. And that no matter what, know that we'll always be here for you as the 1st Fleet of the Yokosuka Base."
Shigure nodded thankfully at that, Junyou silently taking in the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer and thinking back on what she had learnt about the little ship girl.
Being a lucky ship girl, she had often survived situations where others had died, like the Massacre of Surigao Strait and the Battle of Vella Gulf, and it was no surprise that much like the luckier destroyers of this base like Hibiki and Yukikaze, they were haunted by the events that almost sank them, resulting in their high luck as a mark of shame for them.
And perhaps even for her too, seeing that she never wanted to feel the way they did in the very unlikely, but not impossible case where she survived when everyone around her died, much like in World War 2 and making her experience this bottomless pit of despair and self-condescension that alcohol managed to wash away temporarily, although she now had friends to try and fill that hole.
This was a whole new world, and she now had an entirely new fleet to fight alongside as she contemplated her own future goals, something that she never really thought of beyond simply achieving Kai Ni.
Thinking about the conversation between her and Amagi during the practice session, Junyou wondered how else she should proceed from here on out.
Junyou was training with the 3rd Fleet, and being a light carrier, naturally, she was paired up with the standard carrier of the 3rd Fleet, Amagi.
The Amagi-Class carrier wasn't exactly powerful, but what she lacked in terms of stats she made up for in terms of hard work by coordinating her movements with the 3rd Fleet and backing them up whenever they required it.
It was all rather intriguing to Junyou, who was as much awed by the amount of hard work she put in as well as confused by it, unable to see why this carrier, who couldn't hold a candle to the 1st and 2nd Carrier Divisions, was trying so hard to matter.
And now was the time to train with her, Junyou participating in the mock battle session while facing off against Amagi.
Only that her heart wasn't in it.
She didn't know what it was about being a light carrier, but they were naturally inferior when compared to standard carriers, and maybe this was something that only she felt, but she didn't like going up against carriers since she knew that she was naturally at a disadvantage.
And after training for a while where they summoned their planes and tried to "destroy" the opponent while doing their best to evade the opponent's own bomber planes, Amagi stopped right in her tracks as she recalled her planes, Junyou anticipating the incoming lecture and bracing herself mentally as she did the same.
Amagi calmly walked towards her as her bomber planes landed on her rigging that was shaped like rectangular-shaped plated wings, waving her hand aside to signal a pause in the practice session as Junyou's bombers also landed on her scroll and transformed back into shikigami for her to collect.
Amagi's youthful face was concerned in the way a mother would, much like Houshou did sometimes as she looked to her and asked, Junyou unable to meet her gaze.
"Junyou-san, I'd like to know why you aren't going all out in fighting against me, and despite being a light carrier, you're getting hit a little too much by my fighter planes..."
Junyou shrugged as she gave a halfhearted excuse that she could think of off the top of her head as she thought about other things, remarking.
"Well, you are categorized as a fast warship, and I'm the slow one here, so it goes without saying, you know..."
But Amagi was shaking her head as she corrected, trying to bond with the light carrier as she pointed out.
"That can't be the reason, as I understand that you've been through enough physical training to be able to at least try and physically evade my bombers, since the categorization of our boat slippers' maximum speed does not influence our physical evasion capabilities. So may I ask what's really bothering you?"
Junyou sighed at that, looking away and slumping as she admitted to the standard carrier who was genuinely worried about her, and she wouldn't feel good about herself if she turned someone like that away without at least humoring her first.
"Well, I mean, I'm a light carrier, and I'm naturally unable to beat a standard carrier like you, right?"
Amagi's expression darkened at that, responding seriously about how the carrier didn't even put any effort into overcoming that gap in power and stats.
"And is that going to stop you from even trying?"
Junyou's eyes flitted back towards the Amagi-Class carrier at that, seeing that the carrier looked almost disappointed in her, something that she really felt bad about as she listened to the carrier continue on.
"You're a ship girl who possesses a lot of potential compared to someone like me, since I died in an earthquake in an earlier incarnation as a battle-cruiser, and never even got to participate in the war as a carrier."
Junyou wasn't sure how to respond to that, and quietly listened to her senior try to talk some sense into her, and even though she was rather tired of ship girls left and right trying to do the same, she was rather glad that this incarnation allowed them to explicitly communicate with each other and allow them to display their concern for her, watching Amagi look at her with hurt eyes.
"I understand that I'm not the best carrier in this base, since others like the 1st, 2nd and even the 5th Carrier Division easily surpass me, but I don't care!"
Junyou was rather taken aback by the forceful manner that Amagi enunciated that last word, the carrier's words resonating with her as she tried to pull away from Amagi who was leaning in a little close.
"There's potential in you, and you don't need a blueprint to achieve it!
You need to work hard, sure, but I do genuinely believe that you can perform as well as a carrier if you do your best!"
Junyou was surprised at that, never having thought of such a lofty goal, and Amagi clasped her hands around Junyou's and raised them to the height of their bosom, Junyou now able to see the whites of her eyes as she pointed out.
"I need a blueprint to upgrade myself to Kai, and this is quite the struggle when other better and stronger ship girls are also competing for it. Tone-san has already guaranteed herself one due to her great skills, while Abukuma, Chikuma, Bismarck and Chokai-san are all also competing with me for blueprints, Abukuma-san being in the lead. So I won't know when I'm going to receive my upgrade, if ever. But you're not hindered like I am, Junyou-san!"
Junyou's face cringed as she snickered, mocking Amagi's version of a bad joke.
"Naw, there's no way that's possible...
Performing close to the level of an esteemed carrier like Kaga and Hiryuu..."
But looking at Amagi keeping a straight face at her own "joke", Junyou's smile was wiped off her own face as she tried to point out how that was simply not possible.
"But... But I'm a light carrier, and I'm not as tough or as armored as any carrier..."
"You've got good evasion stats."
"And I don't perform as well as you do..."
"But you do perform well as a light carrier, right?! And it won't happen overnight, but I know that you can eventually learn to perform splendidly with enough training and enough determination to try and perform at the standard of a carrier!"
Junyou had nothing to say to that, because she knew that the Amagi-Class carrier was correct.
She did indeed have the potential to go far and the only thing holding her back was her own drive, which was pretty much non-existent right now.
And she was absolutely silent all the way back to the harbor to get back on land, the training session now being over.
Junyou's attention was brought back into the present as she saw that Hiei and Shigure were looking at her, slight concern reflected in their eyes and likely having asked a question, waiting in awkward silence as Junyou was lost in her own thoughts, the light carrier scratching her own head and asking meekly.
"Ehe, sorry. I was lost in my own thoughts, and I wasn't paying attention to the conversation. What did you ask again?"
Hiei spoke up, the tension in her expression now relaxing as she repeated herself.
"I asked, 'What's your aim for the future, other than Kai Ni?'"
Junyou blinked at that, thinking about how the conversation was also about her future, remembering the flashback about Amagi as she responded, a little embarrassed at even saying that lofty goal out loud and getting mocked by her own teammates.
"I don't know, it's kind of an impossible goal by my standards..."
But Shigure was surprisingly the one who spoke up this time, taking Junyou by surprise as the headstrong destroyer leaned in and pointed out.
"Junyou-san, we've been revived to assume human forms, something which we would never have dared to imagine back when we were simply steel ships, and it's not up to you to determine what's impossible for us by this point in time!"
Junyou held her palms up to placate the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer as she conceded the point,
"Alright, alright, I get it, girl! I mean, I just didn't want you all to think that my goals were unrealistic or whatever. And my goal is..."
Junyou inhaled, and she braced herself as she tried to accept the fact that she did want to achieve the goal that Amagi suggested to her, revealing.
"... I want to fight at the level of a standard carrier when I achieve Kai Ni. And I know, I know..."
Junyou started defending herself and pointing out why she wanted to do so, lowering her head as she didn't want to meet her teammates' gaze as she did so.
"I know that my stats aren't as impressive as the carriers from the 1st, 2nd and 5th Carrier Division, but I don't really care about any of that. I don't want to lose to them despite being weaker than them, and I just want to protect all of you..."
"Ok."
"Eh?"
Junyou's head jerked up as she met Hiei's flat gaze, the fast battleship reaching for the bag of sweets as she nonchalantly responded to Junyou's future goals.
"It's not unreasonable to want to do better than what your stats limit you to, and I say that it's almost like mine, except that I have a specific battleship whose battle prowess I aspire to reach."
Hiei shrugged as she munched on the sweet, Junyou still a little too stunned to say anything and tried to focus on Hiei's admittedly attractive lips as she consumed the sweet that was in her mouth and spoke at the same time, her beauty a natural result of being created as a ship girl.
"If you've thought of a foolish dream to fight on the level of a carrier and want to chase it, then I guess I'll also chase a foolish dream of mine. I want to become as powerful as Nagato-san, since I have a second remodel that makes me stronger, and I, too, want to fight with all of you and do my best in battle."
Junyou nodded, lowering her head as she accepted the fact that this life held new possibilities that should be explored by them, and she did indeed want to achieve a level of strength that she wouldn't have even bothered to try had she not been drafted into a fleet and shown that there were still things worth fighting for in this world.
But Shigure was also adamant in trying to make them feel like a team and achieve their goals together as she leaned in, giving them a shy smile as she made clear the goal that she had set for herself.
"I want to achieve Kai Ni so that I can protect all of you, as well as my sisters!"
Junyou's lips creased upon hearing that, asking a question that she previously refused to ask out of tact and concern for her mental state since the destroyer was recently constructed.
But now that Akashi talked to her concerning her past, Junyou was a little more emboldened to ask her teammate this.
"Is this desire to protect us borne of your inability to protect those around you in World War 2, Shigure?"
Junyou was worried about her teammate, and how she might try too hard to protect them in battle, needlessly endangering herself and perhaps even dying, or, God forbid, sinking because of their inability to protect themselves...
Oh man, she was now craving that bottle of alcohol to wash away her own fears again.
And as she expected, Shigure flinched upon hearing that, and Hiei looked at her nervously as she ate her snacks, Junyou barely registering the staggering amount of food that the fast battleship consumed to feed herself as Junyou met Hiei's gaze, Junyou pointing out something to the destroyer while shifting her gaze to look Shigure in the eye.
"Look, I'm no oracle, so I can't say whether I'll be proven right or wrong in the near or distant future. But I want to make this clear right now that I don't intend to simply sit by and wait like a damsel in distress for you to save us all."
Shigure's eyes widened, and Junyou used her left thumb to thrust at her bosom as she continued.
"I've lived through enough shit in my past life to know of loss, and although I won't even bother comparing the loss that I've felt with what you've felt, I want you to know that I absolutely hate feeling useless and watching others die around me, so I'm going to tell you right now. I'm going to be a light carrier that you can depend on not to get in trouble in times of crisis, because I understand the fear of that self-loathing feeling that comes after failing to save a fellow comrade. And I would really hate to see you crash and burn because you felt as though you had to carry the burden alone, you get me?"
Shigure blinked at that, nodding resignedly as she accepted Junyou's offer to back her up, Junyou hearing Shigure slightly uncertain and fearful tone about her prediction concerning Shigure's "must-save-everyone" attitude as she listlessly responded.
"I guess so..."
But Junyou was having none of that, wielding her half-full ramune bottle like she would her usual alcohol bottle with her left hand as she wrapped her arm around Shigure's neck and pulled her in for a big hug, exclaiming in an annoyed tone as she shoved the little destroyer's face into her right breast, feeling the destroyer's frantic arms flail about uselessly when resisting the strength of a light carrier.
"Ah, don't be so full of yourself, you precocious little brat!nI'm not lacking in the luck department, and I now have no problems in saying that I survived the war, so I'm a survivor, just like you!"
Junyou pulled up Shigure's head to prevent her from passing out due to asphyxiation, and made sure to look down at her slightly reddened, gasping face as she proclaimed.
"We're a fleet, and more than that, we're ship girls who've been through the same war! Don't just write us off as delicate flowers to be coddled by you, and learn to rely on us a little more to practice the art of 'not dying'!"
Shigure blinked at that, and Junyou could see that the little destroyer had watery eyes and looked as though she was about to cry which made her wonder if she went too far in trying to convince Shigure.
But the destroyer slowly nodding and leaning on her boob was all that was needed to convince Junyou, the light carrier giving her a big grin that stretched from cheek to cheek, Junyou calling out to her fleet.
"Well, now that that's all said and done, let's celebrate!"