Mikasa

Mikasa, the former Empress of the Yamato Empire, who hid her face in her own country, and was the only Builder-created shipgirl in the Empire. She had told Hasegawa that the conversation that they were about to have was about Yamato, his abilities, and the future of all shipgirls.

"What do you mean?" asked Hasegawa visible confusion on his face.

Myōkō's reaction was similar, but Yukikaze showed no reaction. Fuji, who was distracted by the various furnishings of her Admiral's cabin, had paid no attention to Mikasa's words.

"Allow me to explain," said Mikasa, "just what I mean.

"Yamato cannot be trusted. She may seem like a good Empress, but, in reality, she only cares about her younger sister Musashi, and wants her to have as prosperous a reign as possible when she succeeds her. To achieve this, she has invaded Eastasia, to turn Yamato into a world power. 

"She plans to use your ability to create more shipgirls to strengthen the navy, and to replace any shipgirls who fall in combat in this war of hers. She does not care about the lives of her people, she simply sees them as resources. Resources that, now that you are here, can be replenished indefinitely."

She paused, sensing that Hasegawa had a question to ask.

"She said that I would be able to repair any shipgirls who get injured in the fighting, not that I would be filling in the ranks with more bodies."

Myōkō nodded fiercely, echoing the point.

"That is possible," said Mikasa, "but it would never happen. She would never put you anywhere near the frontline and risk you dying, or, even worse, falling into enemy hands."

"I see," said Hasegawa, feeling betrayed by Yamato, who he had trusted, "So then you're telling me not to follow her orders?"

Mikasa pause, thoughtfully. "No, that would not be a good idea. She may not be able to harm you, but she could harm the people close to you, like Myōkō or Fuji."

Fuji turned, having heard her name, and Myōkō's face looked like a mix of flustered and shocked.

"Yamato-sama would never do that!" she shouted, trying to confirm her own belief, "Yukikaze, you're one of Yamato-sama's guards. You know she would never do something like that, right?"

Her voice was pleading, and Hasegawa could tell that there something more to her reaction than he had first thought, something she was keeping secret.

"No, it's not unlike her."

Yukikaze's voice was cold and factual, just like the snowy wind that she was named after.

Mikasa was the one who brought the conversation back to its original course.

"The best option for you is to pretend to work with her, but slowly build up allies, and then go rogue and leave the Empire."

Mikasa's gaze moved to Fuji. 

"The second thing that we must discuss is your abilities. I do not have a complete understanding of the way that they work, but I did learn quite a bit from Marcus before he died."

Hasegawa's mind had been confused after learning of Yamato's true nature, but Mikasa's words focused it again. Proper understanding of his abilities would be crucial in the future.

"As you know," began Mikasa, "you have the ability to breathe life into dead hulls. However, that is not the only extent of your abilities You also have the ability to create shipgirls without a dead hull, but it is a lot more taxing for you, as you will have to create the hull as well.

"You are also able to repair shipgirls, but you need to be either in contact or close proximity with the whole or body of the shipgirl that you are repairing."

Contact or close proximity... that meant that being inside of a shipgirl's hull would allow him to repair them.

"Does that mean that I can repair Fuji's injury?" Hasegawa asked, and his question also gained Fuji's attention.

"Yes, but I would not recommend doing it right now. If you do, Yamato will realize that you are awake, and she will find me here, which will have dire consequences for both of us."

"I see.'

"The third thing that I need to tell you about is the future of the shipgirls. As you know, the Singularity prevented war in Oceanus, though there may have been some loopholes that were exploited. After he made the Singularity, and before he went missing, Marcus told me about his dream for the future. He envisioned a world where shipgirls were not weapons of war, but just ordinary people. A world of peace.

"Now that the Singularity has been destroyed, Marcus's dream, which he entrusted with me, is threatened by the current state of the world. However, as the only one who can make shipgirls, you can keep shipgirls from being sent to war. All I ask of you is that you do not create any more shipgirls unless it is absolutely necessary."

Yukikaze leaned over Mikasa's shoulder and whispered something in her ear.

Mikasa sighed. "I suppose it is time that I leave. I bid you farewell, Hasegawa-san. Please make use of the information I have given as you see fit."

With that, she turned and left through the cabin. Less than a minute later, Yamato entered the cabin through the other door, barely missing Mikasa's departure.

"Now then, I see you're awake, Hasegawa-san," she said, walking towards him, "Let us talk about the future of the Yamato Empire and our continued partnership."