Mystery of the Reincarnated Shiratsuyu-class

Hi, my name's Alisa Crawford, and I'm apparently a ship reincarnated into a human.

I wish I was joking there, but that's a fact unfortunately. What's even weirder is the fact that the ship I'm supposed to be already has a 'Ship Girl' already in existence.

Maybe a quick backstory would help first. Let's see, a few years ago at the end of 2012, mysterious beings what we now call Abyssals appeared around the world's oceans and proceeded to wreck shop on every commercial and naval asset they encountered. Seriously, it was quite annoying to hear those Mayan apocalypse weirdos screaming that their prediction was coming true. Not to mention all the conspiracy theorists popping out the woodwork about the origins of the Abyssals...

Anyway, the navies of the world tried fighting back, but those Abyssals weren't exactly conventional enemies, and simply put, the ships of today just weren't cut out to fighting them properly. Six months later, and low and behold, Japan of all places pulls something out of it's ass to turn the tide. Ship Girls, or Kanmusu in Japanese, were the moe...something-something of World War Two-era warships, essentially taking the form of cute girls using WWII naval weaponry to fight against the Abyssals.

Japan then sold the method of producing Ship Girls, some kind of ritual from what I've heard, to the other countries that could afford it, and now other countries have fielded Ship Girls, like America and Germany.

Now here's the mystery that has confused the world as the Abyssal War went on. Despite fielding numerous Ship Girls, some have still not made an appearance, or summoned as it were. Even more famous ones like Yamato for Japan and Enterprise for America have failed to show up. No one really knew the reason why they weren't showing up despite efforts from their home countries, until a certain incident in the UK shed some light on the situation.

Honestly, I wouldn't have known about the whole Abyssal-Ship Girl detail if it wasn't for my step-brother, Ren Crawford. Due to our parents...deaths at the hands of the Abyssals while they were vacationing on a cruise liner back in December 2 years ago for their wedding anniversary, my brother has kept many tabs on the Abyssal and Ship Girl situation as he could while working to support us. Not quite on the level of total obsession, but he has a bit of an urge to be 'in the know' as it were.

Back on topic, the incident in the UK was about a woman in college (who's name I can't remember at the moment), who turns out to be the reincarnation of the IJN Kongou, one of Japan's Ship Girls they haven't been able to summon. To find out about that caused something of an uproar around the world, which makes me glad I'm living in New York. I wouldn't be surprised if Japan started something of a manhunt for Ship Girls reincarnated in their population.

Anyways, my situation is a bit more problematic, as I already said the Ship Girl that I'm the reincarnation of already exists. Again, I know this due to my brother, and it annoys me that that particular Ship Girl is one of his favorites. Seriously, I think he jerks off to all the Shiratsuyu sisters...

It doesn't help that the Ship Girl and I looked kinda alike! Well, we used to before that Ship Girl had her Second Remodel. But before, we had the same long, blonde hair in a hime-cut and green eyes, though mine were a duller green.

From that description alone one could guess which Ship Girl I'm supposed to be. So I'll just come out and say it!

Fourth Shiratsuyu-class Destroyer, Yuudachi, at your service, poi!

...Urk, and I was holding back from saying 'poi' at the end of my sentences so well too... One thing I found a bit annoying about Yuudachi was that verbal tic of hers. I know it has historical reference (thank you brother~) but it kinda makes her look like she's trying to hard to be cute. And now, it's bleeding into my speech patterns. I need to get it under control else I'm gonna be seen as a Yuudachi fangirl. I already got enough flack about my appearance resembling hers before the remodel.

As to how I 'awakened', I'm not sure. It was after the UK incident that I begun to have weird dreams. At first it started of as some kind of hazy flashback about warships, but then I started dreaming about Ship Girls in what I assume is their daily life, with two other Destroyers being prominent in them, Fubuki and Mutsuki if I recall correctly...

That kept going on for a week, and it was affecting my sleep in a bad way. Ren didn't really notice as he worked late at that fancy hotel as a full time bellhop, until I literally fainted in his arms after a week of that nonsense. Ooh, I remember waking up in a hospital bed with Ren looking very worried for me. It was so embarrassing...

Ahem, well, after that, I had a sneaking suspicion about being a Ship Girl after seeing Yuudachi's pre-second remodel card on the dining room table along with the other Ship Girl trading cards. As I held that card in my hand, I couldn't help but image myself in Yuudachi's uniform and rigging when this massive headache hit me like a freight train and I fell unconscious.

I think it was an hour later that I woke up, and the first thing I saw was that the living room was in disarray, like a storm just blew through it. The next thing was feeling a certain around the back of my waist and when I looked down, I saw very familiar rigging along with a uniform that I definitely wasn't wearing before I got knocked out. The last straw was when I went into the bathroom to look at myself in the mirror in an awkward manner, due to the rigging.

The only noticeable difference in my looks were my hair being a shade lighter, a ribbon in a bow above my forehead, and my eyes became more of an emerald green. Oh god, and when I tried speaking, the first word that came out of my mouth was 'poi?'

I admit I was really close to freaking out again when the rumored fairies started popping out of my rigging, looking really concerned. Somehow, they helped me calm down and with their guidance, managed to take off my rigging before I sat down on the couch.

...Oh god, how the hell am I supposed to explain this to Ren, poi? Is he gonna treat me weirdly because I became a Ship Girl, poi? He has a healthy interest in them, but he has never met one in person like most of the civvies in America. Will he ship me off to the Navy, poi? Are we still family, poi? 'Cause my Ship Girl instincts are telling me about my nine other Shiratsuyu-class sisters, ten if you include the other Yuudachi, poi...

I...I need to calm down. The 'Poi Effect' bleeds through easier when I get worked up. ...Speaking of the Shiratsuyu-class, for some reason...I have this really strange feeling that Umikaze and Kawakaze are nearby. Could they be like me, ships reincarnated as people?

Oh no, I hear the door lock opening. Ren's home early and I still don't know what to do! Damnit, I'll just have to wing it and hope for the best, poi!

...I really need to get the 'Poi Effect under control.

A/N: So here's my first attempt to get back into writing. This little piece was inspired by 'A Burning Legacy' quest on the Sufficient Velocity forums, with the added idea that some summoned Ship Girls have reincarnated counterparts due to soul splitting or something. The below omake is the flipside of things, while the second omake is essentially my thoughts on three of the new Ship Girls that were released for the summer 2015 event.

Omake: The Connection

"...Poi..."

In Yokosuka, Yuudachi gave a sigh as she sat on the pier, staring out to the ocean. Normally she was bright and cheerful, but her current state was one of thoughtfulness and calm. That's the state Fubuki and Mutsuki found her in when they went looking for her.

"Yuudachi-chan? Is everything alright?"

"Fubuki-chan, Mutsuki-chan? It's nothing really. poi..."

Yuudachi gave a sigh as she slumped slightly, looking back out to the ocean. Fubuki and Mutsuki shared a look of concern; Yuudachi definitely wasn't acting like herself. Her current attitude was something they expected out of someone like Yuudachi's ship sister Shigure.

"Umm, Yuudachi-chan. What's wrong? Do you want to talk about it?"

Taking the initiative, Fubuki sat down beside Yuudachi as she asked her questions, with Mutsuki sitting on Yuudachi's other side. Meanwhile, Yuudachi looked thoughtful for a moment before she asked a question.

"Ne, Fubuki-chan, Mutsuki-chan. Have you ever wondered what it's like to have a family, like humans?"

While Yuudachi's question sounded innocent enough, Fubuki and Mutsuki's minds immediately went to places a bit more perverse in nature. Mutsuki had an odd look on her face as she gave a hesitant reply.

"Yuudachi-chan...I think it's a bit too soon to be thinking about having children..."

"Eh? No, no, no, poi! Not like that! What I meant to say, is that I wonder what it would feel like to have parents or a brother or something, poi..."

Yuudachi's friends looked a bit confused at that wording as they tried to imagine what she just said. However all the two Ship Girls came up with was getting along with their ship sisters, something Fubuki voiced out loud.

"Um, we have ship sisters, isn't that being a family?"

"It's not really the same, poi. I do love Shiratsuyu-nee and the others, but I wonder if there's soemthing beyond that..."

Fubuki and Mutsuki looked at each other with a bit of concern. Yuudachi was usually a carefree and cheerful Ship Girl, so her being all philosophical-ish was pretty weird. At the same time, Yuudachi thought back to the dreams she was having which brought her to her current predicament.

About a week ago, Yuudachi started to have dreams of herself, yet not herself living in America. The dreams themselves were fuzzy, but one detail that stood out was a guy that she calls her brother in her dream. One that was apparently her (Yuudachi's) fan, along with the other Shiratsuyus.

Also, her english comprehension improved by leaps and bounds for some reason, though she wasn't aware of it yet.

"...Ren-nii-san..."

Unfortunately for Yuudachi, the dreams stopped a few days later, only to be replaced by a nagging feeling that something relating to her was happening somewhere else. However, she only needed to wait a few more weeks before startling news from America reached her ears.

Omake: The One Left Behind, aka The Last Unimplimented Shiratsuyu

Yamakaze: Why the hell wasn't I implimented!? Am I being hated or something!? ...Oh well, at least I'm not Hayasui; poor girl got lewd fanworks right out the door because of her name.