Azur Lane: Story of the Blind Battleship Rewritten

Chapter 17: Grounded

Arkansas shifted his head around a bit on the hospital bed. He felt someone hugging him tightly and a voice saying "Wake up.... please... wake up..."

Arkansas smiled a bit and said "Nice to hear you again... Eugen."

The teary eyed Prinz Eugen looked up from her huh and meet Arkansas' warm smile and his faded eyes. Eugen was sniffling and said "You had me worried there, dummkopf." Arkansas' smile only waved and he said "I'm sorry... for everything."

He shifted his head around to all the noises in the room and sat in silence for a bit. "Arkansas?" someone asked. Arkansas stayed silent and then started feeling his leg. "Vestal..."

"Where's my leg?" Arkansas asked. The room got noticeably tense and silent as Vestal gulped. Arkansas asked once again, this time more shakey. "Vestal... where's my leg?"

Enterprise patted Arkansas on his shoulder and said "When Laffey and Javelin found you, your leg was cut off. I found your leg, but it was already long gone."

Arkansas sat back and grabbed his hand. "I'm more machine than man at his point." Arkansas said. Prinz Eugen only grabbed the hand and shouted "That's not true!"

Arkansas' smile faded and he said "But it is." As he was saying that, he started reaching up for one of his eyes. Digging his hand into his right eye, he removed it and in his hand was a glass eye.

"Torn out so I couldn't aim."

Then he grabbed his right index finger and it twisted off.

"Chopped off so I couldn't shoot."

As Arkansas felt his left arm, he said "Lost when I lost myself. And now... yet another limb." 

Eugen was fighting back tears as Arkansas just sulked a bit and said "Do I have any right to be called a man anymore? Will I just be eaten away piece by piece till nothing is left?"

Arkansas felt someone hug him suddenly and he heard Eugen crying, he returned the hug and said "I'm so sorry, Eugen."

Many hours passed and many health checks were done. Arkansas was working with Vestal and Akashi to piece together a new leg. If not for Nagato paying for it, Arkansas felt like Akashi would've stolen even the jacket he wore for this leg. A difficult transition period with using the leg happened a lot.

Arkansas was walking around the base and sat down on the bench. Sipping some scotch out a flask, he leans back and says "Tonight is my court marshal. I'll likely be punished with time in the brig.... if they can hold me that is." 

A slight dry chuckle as he drank some more scotch, he started getting his stuff together and threw some more bread crumbs on the ground for the manjuu to eat. (This is still against base protocol. Stop feeding them, they're fat as is.)

As he was getting him, he took a bad step with the prosthetic and fell on the ground. "Are you alright?" a voice said, Arkansas turned and said "Ah, Juno. Yeah, I'm alright." Juno helps Arkansas up and he thanks the destroyer, walking away to the court.