Yokosuka

September 1st, 2002 - Yokosuka - Yamato Empire

It had been just over a month since Hasegawa had created Fuji. He had moved to Yokosuka, taking Myōkō and Fuji with him. 

Yokosuka was a small island only a few hours from Tokyo, and was completely covered in military facilities and dockyards. Despite the island being only a tenth of the size of Tokyo, the dockyards were almost as large, and it had three times the amount of construction and repair facilities.

In the days after Hasegawa's talk with Mikasa, he had negotiated with Yamato to be relocated to Yokosuka, which was serving as the main repair base for the Empire. If he was at a repair base, Yamato would have to concede that his priority would be repairing existing shipgirls, not creating new ones. This was what he believed would be the best way to do as Mikasa had suggested.

In the past month, Fuji's consciousness had developed rapidly, something that Myōkō said was usual for all shipgirls. Her mind had gone from that of a child to that of an adult, and she often went out around the harbour, testing the limits of her hull. She had developed the habit of calling Hasegawa 'Admiral', claiming it was due to his commanding several large ship.

She had become friends with several of the shipgirls that were based in Yokosuka, especially the destroyers that escorted her whenever she was out of harbour. 

Due to a lack of residential space on the island, Hasegawa had been living in Myōkō's Captain's Quarters. Whenever Fuji got back from one of her sea trials, she would stop by the cabin to give a report. 

Despite having an Admiral's Cabin onboard her, she often slept in Myōkō's officer's cabin with Myōkō.

It was during one of these reports that she gave Hasegawa some interesting information.

"The fleet is getting on edge. No matter what time of day it is, there are at least two carriers out there doing combat trials and war games, and the escort destroyers are getting called out so much that they're barely getting the chance to sleep. Sakura was complaining to me about it today."

Sakura was a Matsu-class destroyer, and one of the escorts that went with Fuji on her trials. 

Hasegawa turned to Myōkō, a questioning look on his face.

"Do you know what's going on?"

Myōkō absent-mindedly twirled her hair with her finger.

"Yeah. over the past week, a force of several hundred ships has been gathering at the Westarian naval base at Pearl Harbour. Also, about fifty ships, including a fleet carrier, are headed from Pearl Harbour straight to Tokyo."

She began to sip on some tea, having said her piece. 

Fuji was the one to speak.

"From what I know, Westaria has been opposed to Yamato's invasion of Eastasia, but I didn't think that the Westarians would go to war with them for it." 

She sighed. "Everyone has been telling me that they're isolationists."

Myōkō cast Fuji a sideways glance.

"You shouldn't speak about the Empire as if you're not a part of it. You might be the strongest shipgirl in the world, but you can still be punished for it."

Fuji laughed at that. "Of course I speak about it that way. I'm not a part of the Empire. Neither are you. When we came to Yokosuka with the Admiral, we threw away our loyalties, and dedicated the rest of our lives to carrying out his orders."

Myōkō seemed about to lose her composure at that, but she kept her cool. She stood up, her happy expression gone.

"Excuse me, I need to go get some fresh air."

She turned and left the room, heading up to the deck.

Hasegawa turned to Fuji. "You probably crossed a line with that. You might be brand new, but Myōkō has been serving the Empire for a long time. You need to remember that, and watch your words a bit."

She laughed again, like she was humouring the wishes of a child. "Regardless of how she feels about it, it is a fact that she needs to accept. Otherwise, when we end up fighting Imperial forces, and we will, she'll choke up and end up dead."

Hasegawa sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, Fuji was right. Her personality had evolved in an interesting way: cheerful and upbeat, but also incredibly harsh and realistic at times.

He stood up.

"I'll go talk to her. While there's only three of us, we can't afford to have any discord."

Fuji didn't say anything, she just watched as he left. Once he was gone, she sighed and gave a small chuckle.

"Honestly, Admiral. You shouldn't put so much trust in her She's tied down by her past. I have nothing in my life but you. I can serve you so much better."

***

Hasegawa walked around the deck, looking for Myōkō. He finally found her, sitting on top of her 'B' turret. She didn't notice him, and once he got closer, he could see that she was looking at a photograph of some kind.

"Are you all right?" He asked, sitting down next to her. 

"I think so," she said, wiping away some tears. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were red.

"I didn't want to think about it, but I know that Fuji is right." She looked back down at the photograph before continuing. 

"A long time ago, I made a promise with my three sisters that we would stay together forever. That's why I want to be on the front lines so much."

She paused, and Hasegawa took the opportunity to ask a question.

"If you made a promise to stay together, ten why would you want to be off fighting on the front?"

She smiled, and looked up at him. 

"If I do well in battle and become a high enough ranking officer, then I can ensure that my sisters stay safe in the rear lines. Even if I die, as long as I can keep them safe, then I can be happy."

She looked down at her feet, which were hanging between the turret's two guns.

"Or at least, that's what I thought," she said, almost as a whisper, "I don't really know what I want anymore."

Hasegawa stayed quiet, letting her get it all out.

"I've already made up my mind to stay with you, but if I betray the Empire, I'm worried that Yamato will harm my sisters."

She turned her head back to Hasegawa, about to say something, but her words were cut off by the sound of several alarm bells and ship's horns going off.

Sakura ran by on the pier, her light pink hair flapping wildly around her tiny frame.

"All ships go to immediate ASW and AA readiness! A Westarian fleet has arrived in Tokyo, and several submarines have been spotted in the vicinity. Be ready to engage at the drop of a hat!"