Chapter 186 - 170

Shigure-chan and I waited anxiously outside the infirmary. Right now, Rei and Akagi are operating on Shigure and Murasame.

The damage was more severe than what I initially thought. Akashi's initial checks reveal a broken vertebrae in Murasame, along with some other broken bones. The docks can fix her, but the vertebrae needs to be set properly otherwise there will be permanent damage to her back. Even then, she will be out of action for a while until she regains full mobility. Shigure will need to have her entire right eye removed. Her optic nerves are completely destroyed and the docks won't be able to heal the damage. Leaving it in will become life threatening as there are also traces of bacteria infection.

For the time being, I send everyone else to the docks, for repairs and to wash up. The whole fiasco woke up the most of the sleeping shipgirls, all curious as about the sudden sortie. I managed to get them back to bed except for Shigure-chan. She was concerned about a sisters.

What was that? It looked like an Re-class, but it was anything but one. It's movements and attacks are like of an animal, wild and erratic. From whatever footage and information I have, I can only derive a few things. It's extremely strong when it comes to CQB, being able to bring down Murasame and Shigure and piercing through their armour with one attack. This fact isn't much of a surprise since it's a battleship, and battlesh.i.p.s are expected to hit hard. In fact, that was it's preferred mode of attack. Despite being a battleship with aircraft capacity, it didn't use it's cannons or launch any planes during the battle. It attacked with punches, kicks and scratches. Although strong enough to penetrate shipgirl armour, it's attacks are still blockable, with the use of equipment such as Yahagi's gun mounts or Shimakaze's torpedo launcher. It can't pierce through hard metal.

Next, it is extremely fast, easily rivaling Shimakaze and Amatsukaze. That's not a trait a Re-class would possess. True, a Re-class is a fast battleship, similar to the Kongou-class,but that one was way too fast. It's speed, combined with its close quarter prowess, made it hard for the girls to land a hit on it. Catching it first was a good idea. It became useless once it couldn't utilize it's speed against them.

Finally, I'm pretty sure that Re-class wasn't responsible for the destruction of a nearby JMSDF vessel. Based on the footage, there were traces of burning debris scattered around the scene. Yahagi even told me they heard an explosion and concluded that the JMSDF destroyer they passed by a few hours before was attacked. They were about to conduct a Search-and-rescue when a shell struck the remains of the doomed vessel. That was when they met the Re-class. Yahagi thought that the Re-class was responsible for the destruction and murder of the sailors, but I disagree. It didn't use it's cannons against them, and it was in close proximity when they discovered it. The whistling Yahagi heard indicates that the attack came from a distance. If the Re-class was the one that fired the last shot, there won't be whistling. Moreover, that Re-class didn't fire a single shot throughout that fight. Something else was in the area.

Whatever the case is, I will submit a report and send the footage to HQ. This is really bad timing. We are going to have another operation soon. I planned to have Shigure and Murasame involve but that's out of the question now. I will create a new roster and submit it later. If possible, I would like to remove our involvement in this operation but that will obviously be rejected. I need to focus on taking care of Shigure and Murasame for now.

"Will Murasame-nee-chan and Shigure-nee-chan... be alright?" (Shigure-chan)

Shigure-chan is barely keeping her eyes open. I already told her she need not stay up with me.

I pet her head, and gently laid her on to my lap,

"She will be fine. Akashi and Rei are good at healing and repairing shipgirls. They will definitely be all right. Trust them. Now, get some sleep."

"How can... I... sleep when..." (Shigure-chan)

And she is out like a light. The younger the destroyer, the more child-like they are. They usually can't stay up late despite wanting to. Zuihou-chan and the other Coastal Defense shipgirls are also like this. They are still in the 'child' stages.

"How are they?" (Zuihou)

Zuihou, walked up to me. I can tell she is fresh from the bath.

"Still inside. You can sleep first if you want. And that was a fast bath."

"I hate to admit it, but I didn't do much this time. So I didn't have to take a long one. Besides," (Zuihou)

Zuihou sat next me and laid her head on my shoulder,

"How can I sleep when you're here all worried?" (Zuihou)

The two of us remained silent, patiently waiting for the two injured girls to come out, or at least some kind of news about them.

About a hour later, Akashi and Rei came out, each pushing a bed with Murasame and Shigure on each. I want to stand up but I can't wake the sleeping destroyer on my lap.

"Don't worry. They are both in stable condition now. I will bring Murasame and Shigure to the docks and monitor them there. For Murasame, I have fixed her bones with bio-sealant. The docks will take care of the healing process. With a bit of rehabilitation and training, she will run on no time." (Akashi)

"That's good. What about Shigure?"

"Shigure... She is going to be okay, but as I told you, we removed her right eye. The docks can't do anything to fix it since it was the removal of an entire biological part. She is going to be blind in the right side. Commander Rei will bring her to the docks to once she has finished cleaning and dressing the wound." (Akashi)

"I have something to show you later. I believe it is important. Go get some rest. Leave these two to me. I will see you in the morning." (Rei)

"Will you be alright? I can help with you need me."

"Not yet. Erm... I can handle Murasame's physiotherapy. Can I entrust Shigure to you? She will be shock once she wakes up. If you are around, maybe she can be at ease." (Rei)

True. If I wake up being unable to see anything all of a sudden, I would be shocked as well. Both of them are injured, mentally and physically. I need to do my best to help them get back on their feet.

"Good idea. I will take care of Shigure myself. I will leave Murasame's physiotherapy to you. Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Now then, see you in the morning." (Rei)

The two medics left the area with Shigure and Murasame. Now, it's my turn to work.

"Zuihou, bring Shigure-chan back to our room first and get some sleep."

"What about you?" (Zuihou)

"I will write up an incident report and submit it to HQ first thing in the morning. They are not going to like this one bit."