Nimbus Try I: Arpeggio of Hurt Steel [English Version]

~Rewrite 10~

Kongō's hands played lazily across the tiles of her piano, mimicking a melody she had heard somewhere.

There was admittedly not much to do here below the sea, it might even become boring given enough time, but right now it was nice.

She looked down at her shoulder when the head placed there jolted and tired eyes blinked open: "Good morning."

Zeitwächter made a sound that might as well could have come from a surprised cat – on the other hand, maybe it was Churchgrim, laying on her and looking exactly as half-dead.

The battleship gazed around blearily: "...Did I leave my drawing things here?"

When she had fallen asleep, sketchbook and all in hand, it had begun sliding at some point. Seeing this, Kongō had taken it from her hands and placed it on her other side before it could clatter to the ground – now she handed it over.

Accepting her things again, Zeitwächter opened the book to the last page she was working on and… did nothing.

Kongō looked on with a raised eyebrow, Churchgrim with a cocked head.

Zeitwächter, simultaneously, was having a little crisis: the thing she was working on was supposed to be fanart, if you could call it that, of Kongō – she was not going to draw Kongō with the original right there.

"Uhm… Kon-chama, how about a culinary expedition?"

Kongō's other eyebrow raised, Zeitwächter sweated bullets.

--

Thanks to powers Zeitwächter would maybe pray to starting today, Kongō actually agreed and so they had headed to Italy because

1. Italian food is nice
2. Perfect reason for bothering the Second European Fleet.

Their second-in-command, battleship Betelgeuse, looked ready to tear Zeitwächter apart in a this-shit-again manner: "If you want a "culinary expedition" then I can recommend you perfectly fine restaurants."

"Hahaha, but Ojī-san-"

"Who are you calling an old man!?", she was ignored.

"Surely it would be more welcome by the locals if someone they knew went and visited them to do business?"

Betelgeuse actually lunged forwards and aimed a kick at her legs, which Zeitwächter avoided with an undignified squeak and hiding spot behind Kongō: "You just don't want to talk to people!"

"People are scary!"

"I will show you-"

"Sister."

Zeitwächter had to actively suppress a "no actual sisters call each other "sister" like that", because she got almost thrown into the ocean for that sentence once before.

None the wiser, Betelgeuse's sister Orion held her back with a hand on the elbow and tugged her backwards a few steps: "Don't force the child, let's get them food."

"Are you dumb?", she followed along nonetheless, complaining all the way.

Kongō watched their interaction with a smirk, completely ignoring how Zeitwächter and Churchgrim were cowering behind her.

Said Mental Model sighed: "That was close, lol", then she stood up as if nothing had ever happened and made a hand-heart towards Orion, "I love dad."

"Why is she your dad?"

"Because I'm a bitch."

Sure, whatever.

The actual explanation was most likely that Vanisher called everyone "kid" and "child" – which, looking at her age, was fair – and Orion's unfortunate habit of adopting strays.