Where Your Core Rests

Black Fleet Sailing Homewards

Surprisingly enough, the United States Navy didn't try to stop them. They did contact them, did ask what they were here for and also sent destroyers to supervise them, but that was it.

On the other hand, what were they supposed to do? While tensions were still partially high, officially there was peace between humanity and the Fleet of Fog and no one really wanted to provoke them.

"Found anything, Ojō-sama?"

Kongō had submerged, leaving Nagara on the surface to chat with the US Navy through morse code while she, Luigi and the human scouted the underwater area.

"Not yet", neither with eyes nor with sensors.

"Me neither", they deflated, "Lui?"

Luigi shook his head, sitting down with a pout.

"Maaaan, at least we know Arizona is still here."

Kongō threw her a look which made them instantly duck away in fear of getting punched.

Of course Arizona was still here! She was both dead and a memorial!

"We're not going to break into Arizona, are we?"

"No, my scanners can reach inside her", she grabbed at her forehead in exasperation.

But there really is nothing here.

What were they supposed to do now?

Their only clue was a piece of nanomaterial, a piece that was slowly falling apart to add, and a Philadelphia-class of the Fog of whose status and whereabouts they had no idea.

"Ah, I'm an idiot", she acknowledged the human as they crawled out of whatever corner they had vanished in, "we're resurfacing."

"Huh?", they and Luigi blinked, but soon had to hold on tight as the large vessel cut through the surface, Nagara greeting them excitedly, "woah! That was awesome, really fucking terrifying, but also really awesome!"

Please never do that again!

It had also been really really sudden.

"Apologies. Nagara, we are leaving for neutral waters."

Click!

She said goodbye to her new friends and then trailed behind her flagship happily until the destroyers stopped following them and Kongō slowed down to a stop.

"Ojō-sama? Are you alright?"

"Yes...", she walked past them, ignoring Nagara's questioning sound, "I just need to concentrate for a moment."

"What are you trying to do??"

"I'll be getting the CCS back in order."

When all of the High Flagships had sunk, the massive outburst of energy had partially disrupted the Concept Communication System and while it had rightened itself to a certain amount, some of its functions were still out of order. They could still trade information, for example, but they couldn't tell who was currently active.

If Kongō could get it in working order again, then, at the very least, they would be able to figure out whether Arizona and Philadelphia were still alive or not – thinking back on the fleet she had annihilated back then, if they had been hunting a corpse all this time she would cry.

"Oh, ok? Good luck?"

"Thanks."

Apparently, getting everything running again was a partial headache, but Kongō managed it somehow.

(Not that anyone doubted her abilities).

When she reappeared again she was looking annoyed as all hell, but more like in the "I'm done with this bullcrap" way, and waved both cat and human over: "Only Arizona is still active. I was able to pinpoint her position from past coordinates, but she has gone under radar since."

They had hurried over the moment she had called, Luigi on his friend's shoulder so that they could look at Kongō's screens: "But that's good news, right? Sure, we only have a vague idea now and maybe she already moved further, but that's more than we have now! So where is she?"

Kongō pointed to a blinking dot on a map.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"You gotta be kidding me!?"

Luigi the drama queen wailed with them.

The dot on the map was... the old man's villa from the beginning!

Kongō still looked less than happy, but now she was being smugly amused because she had felt the exact same way.

"Tell me you're joking!"

"I wish I could."

"Waaahahaaaaaa!", they wailed, hiding their head in both hands, backing out, walking in a medium sized circle and coming back to hide in Kongō's shoulder.

Luigi licked their cheek, Kongō patted their head.

Lying here was nice, they thought with a dramatic sob, but it had to end – the sob this time was a real one.

"Ok", they lifted their head again, "so we're going back home? Cool, nice, long time no see. Really missed it."

"I'll act like you're serious."

"Thanks."

Nagara began moving first, rushing past them with so much enthusiasm that they almost were swept up in it. Almost.

The human looked after her: "Is she actually that enthusiastic or...?"

"No idea", Kongō was a bit afraid to ask, in all honesty, "let's go."

"You're saying this as if I could actually move."

"I hope that you can move."

"I- wh-", they sputtered, "what's with that sudden sassiness??"

Kongō rested a hand on her hip: "I've always been sassy."

Which... was true, she was just trying to be at least a bit serious about things that interested her.

"Well... yeah, fair", they had come to the same conclusion, "then let's go!"

"You don't get paid for fake elan."

They slumped forwards as if shot.