Kijin Sentai
奇人戦隊
Chapter 01
In the middle of the Sea of Japan, several hundred kilometres from the Japanese mainland, was a group of three islands known as the Hatsushima Shoto, or the First Islands. Known for their natural beauty, crystal-clear waters, and its sleepy port town, this far away from civilisation, these islands were as much a paradise as they were a prison.
"I want to get off this god-damned island…!" exclaimed Commander Kirigaya Sora, a slender young man of twenty-three. He skipped a stone over the still waters of the bay, while watching cargo ships sail by. "It's boring here!" His straight and spiked hair bobbed as the sea breeze blew across his face.
"Commander, poi!" exclaimed Yuudachi, pouting. "Am I boring?"
Just as he wound up for the next skip, Sora paused and dropped the stone in his hand. "Oh, no, no, that's not what I meant." He reached out to her and patted her on the head. She instantly perked up and jumped for joy, spraying sand all over Sora's freshly polished boots. He looked down and took in a deep breath. "Oh, boy, the Chief Petty Officer is going to kill me for this…"
"Oyyyyyyy!" exclaimed a familiar voice from behind him, over the droning of an automobile engine. Sora spun on his heels and made eye contact with Fuji, a fellow Commander around his age. By contrast, Fuji was easily one and a half times Sora's weight, most of it muscle mass. "Sorry to interrupt, but we're late! Get in the car!" Sora and Yuudachi hurried into the vehicle, and Fuji sped off shortly.
Minutes later, they pulled over by the barracks and hurried to the docks – the kind meant to accommodate ships rather than shipgirls – and saw everyone lining the pier.
Sora looked up at the sleek-looking ship that had pulled into the harbour. It was a newly-minted command cruiser, and the number of white, neatly pressed uniforms lining the port side of the ship reminded him that this was a very important day. He hurriedly wiped the sand from his boots with his handkerchief.
"… What? You carry that around with you all the time?" asked Fuji, straightening his uniform in preparation for the coming ceremony.
Sora folded his handkerchief with a frown, trying to understand why Fuji even asked this question. "… Yes, I do. I never leave my quarters without it."
"And you're using it to wipe your boots? Seriously?"
"Yes… seriously. Your point…?"
"O…kay…" Fuji muttered as he awkwardly walked away from Sora and Yuudachi, making his way to the parade square. "Time to fall in!"
Yuudachi gave Sora a puzzled look. Sora shrugged and pulled his peaked cap over his scalp, such that it fit snugly without ruining his pretty hair. They quickly made their way to the pier, where the majority of the Hatsushima Fleet had fallen into formation, lined up for a welcoming ceremony.
The command cruiser had docked, and the gangway ladder had been set. From the ship descended half a dozen men in white uniforms, most of whom looked to be in their 30s or more. Several shipgirls – Akagi, Kaga, and Fuso – followed immediately behind the leading officer.
"Salute!" barked stout and plump Chief Petty Officer Sugihara, standing ramrod straight and rendering a salute unto the officers disembarking the ship. The majority of staff lined up at the pier rendered mostly half-hearted salutes, without the slightest hint of pride behind them.
Koizumi Kuroaki, a fellow Commander, even yawned as she lazily saluted. Sora nudged her in the side with his elbow. "He's watching!" he hissed while maintaining his pose. Kuro met Sugihara's judging eyes for just a moment, and she quickly fixed her posture to get his attention off her.
"Welcome to Hatsushima!" greeted Sugihara, addressing the first officer to step off the gangway.
At first glance, he did not seem like much of an officer. By the insignia on his shoulders, they could see that he was a Kaigun Daisa, or Captain. He was a sturdy-looking middle-aged man with a neat and well-maintained goatee, and had his hair tied up in a ponytail. He casually returned the salute, and took two more steps forward to give his fellow officers room to move.
"At ease!" yelled Sugihara. The fleet's staff and shipgirls relaxed.
The officer took in a deep breath as he surveyed the personnel lining the pier. Most of the humans looked dishevelled; some of the men's faces were unshaven, and the shipgirls were chatting and giggling amongst themselves, completely oblivious to Sugihara's growing irritation.
"A very good afternoon to all of you," he said to them. "I'm not one for speeches, so I'll keep this short. I am Captain Akiyama Saito. I am the incoming Frontier Task Force Commander, and we'll be working together starting today. I hope to bring out the best in each and every one of you."
Without another word, Saito continued down the pier, striding forward with purpose.
Sugihara growled as the officers faded into the background, chatting amongst themselves. "Koizumi! See me in my office at 1700 hours, after manoeuvre practise! Dismissed!"
/1705 hours, Naval Academy Building/
Fuji, ever the hardworking officer, had just finished his paperwork for the day and found time to complete a workout at the gym. He was making his way back to the barracks when he passed by the Base Commander's Office, which the Base Commander shared with the Chief Petty Officer.
"YOU'RE LATE! I TOLD YOU SEVENTEEN HUNDRED AND YOU HAVE THE CHEEK TO SHOW UP LATE! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING OUT THERE TODAY? YOU'VE MADE AN EMBARRASSMENT OF YOURSELF AND OF THE ENTIRE HATSUSHIMA NAVAL YARD! WHAT WAS THAT HALF-ASSED SALUTE AND YAWN FOR? YOU HAVE NO RESPECT FOR A SENIOR OFFICER! AND WHAT WAS WITH THAT LAX MOVEMENT ON ZUIKAKU'S PART? AN OFFICER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS FLEET! IF ZUIKAKU GETS LISTED FOR SCRAPPING, THAT'S ON YOU!"
Fuji shuddered as he heard Sugihara's booming voice. He pitied whomever was in the room at that point. He was sure that the Chief Petty Officer was loud enough to be heard from the barracks a good two hundred metres away, sometimes.
"AS IF COMING TO HATSUSHIMA WASN'T ENOUGH PUNISHMENT FOR YOU! DO YOU WANT TO BE DEMOTED THAT BADLY? YOU AND YOUR FLEET WILL TAKE THREE EXTRA NIGHT PATROL DUTIES THIS MONTH! YOU WILL TAKE COMMANDER SORA'S SHIFT TONIGHT. DISMISSED!"
The door swung open all of a sudden, and Kuro marched out as if she were the centre of a hurricane. Her state of irritation sucked the air right out of the hallway.
She and Fuji made eye contact. The latter scratched the back of his head with his towel and awkwardly broke eye contact when he noticed how ticked off she was. She could be quite an intimidating figure; she was just as tall as he was, and she was quite a sharp character.
"Yes?" she asked curtly, clearly in no mood to entertain any of his silliness today. Without waiting for a response, she started walking down the hallway, making a beeline for the barracks.
"What happened?" he asked as he followed her.
"Reprimand. Extra duties. Whatever. Not like I care."
"Wow. Uhh, I hope it's not too bad. Need any help?"
"Look, Fuji, I know you're just trying to help, but I'm fine. I've just had a crappy day."
She picked up the pace and left him behind, looking forward to the only thing that was good on this base – spending time out on sortie with her shipgirls.
/0530 hours, Port Gates/
"Open the gates! Koizumi's fleet has returned!" blared the duty crewman over the PA system. The maintenance crew on standby hurried to their stations. The massive gates rose to unveil Kuro's command cruiser, the Kusanagi, escorted by her four shipgirls, Yamashiro, Akebono, Zuikaku, and Shigure. While the shipgirls returned their equipment, Kuro anchored her ship by the pier inside the hardened shelter built into the stony belly of the island.
With a quick wave of her arm, she dismissed her shipgirls, who headed back to the barracks ahead of her. She filled out the paperwork indicating complete return of equipment in proper order, before making her way out of the underground structure. There was only one place to be, right now: her bed.
As she went down the pathway leading to the commanders' quarters, she spotted a figure leaning against a tree. "Good work out there." It was Sora. He held his peaked cap in one hand and had the other hand in his pocket. Kuro mildly smirked as she approached, tipping her cap in acknowledgement of his presence.
"Hmm, 'Good work'? It's rare of you to welcome anyone back. What business do you have with me?" Anyone might have seen it as rude, but this was teasing banter between old friends. Kuro didn't stop for him, steadily walking past Sora as the latter joined, keeping pace with her.
"Well, you know me, I wouldn't do things without a reason."
"So, what's this reason you speak of?" She faked a cough to emphasise the point she was about to make. "I've been up for 24 hours, so I'm not going to waste precious bedtime waiting about. Speak your mind."
"Saito. What are your thoughts on him?" Sora's eyes shot in the general direction of Saito's bunk. Kuro, tired as she was, followed his gaze uninterestedly. Kuro paused while searching for
her first impressions of Saito.
"Hm... just another geezer. Probably got demoted and sent to this isolated corner of Japan, just like us. His fleet doesn't look like much either. I mean, yeah, he has the two sisters of the First Carrier Division, but it's not like that means a whole lot. The war with the Abyssals ended a long time ago."
"Nothing else? Any assessment of his personality?"
She tried to recall her what specific thoughts she had about Saito, and found it hard to recall any opinions she had about him… which was odd.
"... He's weird, if I can say so myself. A hard nut to crack. Usually I'd be able to gauge what sort of character a person is from observing their behaviour and appearance, but he's just a mass of… oddity. He seems to have certain levels of foresight, and I'll credit him for that. Hopefully there's experience to back that up. Beyond that, I haven't been able to properly size him up. How about you? You don't seem to like him at all."
They paused on the connecting bridge between this sector of the commanders' quarters and the next one, where their quarters were located. Sora leaned against the railing and gazed across the ocean, towards the red and rising sun. He smiled to himself.
"Heheh, that's very much like you. You're always analysing people, which is precisely why I chose to talk to you instead of that klutz, Fuji. Anyway, as for what I think, it doesn't really matter… does it? As long as he does his job and we survive as the misfits of IJN instead of dying and being forgotten. Personally, I don't like him much, for some reason. There's something about him… I can't quite place it. So if he fucks up, I'll punch him right in the face."
Kuro raised her eyebrows. She would not put it past him to hit a superior officer in the face. It was what landed him here in the first place. "Huh... well, as long as he doesn't prove to be a waste of space and resources, all is fine with me." Kuro flashed a playful smirk and pulled her peaked cap lower.
"You and your resources. I wouldn't be surprised to find drum canisters all over your quarters."
"How astute of you! I do, in fact, have drum canisters scattered around. They make excellent storage compartments. Would you like one?"
"Hell no, you resource freak, I need space in my quarters to plan my tactics."
Kuro chuckled. "Well, enough joking for now. I've got to hit the sack and get at least three or four hours of sleep. I took over your patrol duty, after all."
"That was totally not my fault. You should rest up. We've got manoeuvre practise in the afternoon."
"IF I can be found! Hahahahaha~~" exclaimed Kuro, her laughter trailing off into the distance as she made her way to her quarters.
/1500 hours, Open waters/
"Kirigaya! You call that Crossing the T?" barked Sugihara over the radio. "Fujiwara! What kind of formation is THAT? Are you Line Ahead or Line Abreast? Or are you too busy enjoying the view?"
They were in open waters, practising formations and combat manoeuvres under the supervision of everyone's favourite person, Chief Petty Officer Sugihara. They were not even halfway through the exercise, and the shipgirls were already hunched over, moving sluggishly.
"And you! KOIZUMI! Your echelon is sloppy! Why is Zuikaku in front of Yamashiro? Why are you trying to defend a dreadnought with a carrier?!"
Standing in the bridge of his command cruiser, the Tadakatsu, Saito rubbed his bearded chin with a gloved hand. The formations were, indeed, sloppy… but if this was how training was conducted out here, it was no surprise at all that they were sloppy.
Saito grabbed the mouthpiece of the radio and held it close to his face. "Everyone, this is your new Task Force Commander, Captain Akiyama. I'll be taking over as the conducting officer for today's session. All fleets, follow my orders. Return to your starting positions. Sugihara, I would like a word with you later this evening."
Zuikaku growled, waving her bow about in frustration. "Is he for real? Urgh. I'm sick and tired of doing the same thing every day. And now we have to do it with a new commander?"
"Calm down, Zuikaku-san, maybe it won't be so bad. Right?" suggested Shigure.
"Maybe. Let's give it a try. Shireikan! Sorry about the mistake. Who should be the lead ship?"
Kuro sighed as she adjusted her cap. Sugihara was right on this point, as much as she hated to admit it. "Let's have Yamashiro in front. Zuikaku, second in line. Shigure; Akebono; third and fourth, guarding the flank."
"Roger!" the shipgirls exclaimed in unison, switching positions.
Once everyone was in position, Saito started giving orders again. "Fujiwara, form a line ahead with Hiei in the lead. Make heading zero-four-five. Advance at ten knots."
"Roger. Heading zero-four-five, speed, ten knots. Advance." Fuji complied, placing his fastest battleship in the lead and keeping his command cruiser in the rear. Properly lined up, they advanced at the stipulated speed.
"Very good. Keep it up. Now, Kirigaya, form an echelon with heading one-three-five. Advance at fifteen knots."
Sora paused for a moment to take in a deep breath. He didn't want to say a word if he could help it… but he had no choice. "… Roger. One-three-five. Fifteen knots."
"Your fleet is on combat patrol. The echelon affords excellent field of vision for every ship, and multiple overlapping fields of fire. You will soon spot the OPFOR fleet. Once you spot them, increase speed, reform into a line ahead, with all guns to starboard."
I don't need you to tell me things I already know, Sora thought to himself with annoyance. But I guess it's easier when you've got direction.
"Commander! Enemy fleet spotted, bearing zero-three-zero. Your orders?" reported Haruna, holding clenched fists up to her waist in preparation for simulated combat.
"Form a line ahead! Advance at twenty knots! Let's cut them off!" ordered Sora.
"Roger!" acknowledged Haruna. "Yuudachi, Katsuragi, Fubuki, follow me in that order! Katsuragi, launch torpedo planes!"
Katsuragi was taken aback by the sudden order. "Huh? B-but I've never launched-"
Haruna cut her off mid-sentence, focusing completely on the operation. "All guns to starboard! Full broadside! Fire!"
Their guns roared, and training shells flew in the general direction of Fuji's fleet, throwing water into the air and splattering paint all over Hiei.
"Shit, what do I do?!" Fuji said aloud, not realising that his radio mouthpiece was still transmitting. Blinded by the focused fire, Hiei slowed down and hurriedly returned fire without proper aim. Some of the training shells hit his command cruiser, which was the last ship in line. "Oh, shit!"
"Cease fire. All ships, cease fire," ordered Saito with an audible sigh. "Congratulations, Lt. Commander Fujiwara. Because of your doubt and indecision, you are dead, and Hiei has sunk. We'll review this later. Commander Koizumi, your fleet has spotted the ambush taking place and is approaching to provide support. Proceed with the manoeuvre you find most appropriate. All ships, resume combat actions."
"Roger," she replied nonchalantly. "All ships, wheel to starboard. Zuikaku, launch all dive-bombers. All ships, set course for the enemy's port flank. Yamashiro, provide support fire from long range while the fleet approaches the enemy's flank. We'll catch them in a pincer."
Zuikaku nocked an arrow and pulled back. She focused her mind on the spot in the sky where she wanted her aircraft to be. Altitude, heading, and – wait, is that Kaga and Akagi observing from the deck of the Tadakatsu? It just had to be them, huh? I'll show you the pride of the Fifth Carrier Division…!
In that moment, she lost her focus. The arrow struck Yamashiro's gun turret, causing an explosion.
"Exercise, cut! Deploy emergency response team!" exclaimed Saito into the radio. He heaved a sigh. "All fleets, return to port immediately. Fleet commanders, report to my office this evening for a review of today's practise."
/1900 hours, Saito's office/
"Good to finally meet all of you," said Saito, taking his peaked cap off and setting it on the simple wooden desk by the windows. He looked up at the three officers lined up in front of the table in the centre of his office. Kuro and Sora looked rather nonchalant, and Fuji stood as still as he could, which made him tense and jittery.
Saito silently appreciated Fuji's discipline, something that was clearly looked upon with scorn on this base. He leaned over the large square table at the centre of the room, where he had laid out a map of the Hatsushima region and a stack of wooden pentagons. "At ease. Come to the table." Fuji, Kuro, and Sora took positions around the table as instructed.
Saito set up the wooden pentagons to represent the fleets under their respective commander's control. As he spoke, he moved them to represent the movements of each fleet during the day's practise. "Let's review today's practise. Fujiwara, you advanced as instructed. Kirigaya, your fleet's echelon formation and approach speed were excellent. You crossed the T properly, but there was one fatal flaw. Can you tell me what it is?"
Sora's brows furrowed in consternation. "What flaw?" he asked defensively. "We sunk the OPFOR fleet's lead ship, just as I'd planned. Don't underestimate my genius."
"If Fuji had reacted as I had hoped, you wouldn't be saying that. Fuji, what do you think you should have done when you were busy asking what you should have done?" prodded Saito with a muted grin on his face.
As she watched her fellow commanders interact him, Kuro sensed was no ill intent behind the questions; it seemed that he just wanted to get people thinking. It was a pleasant change from the usual unwarranted beratement she received from the officers on this base.
"Uhhh… Frankly, I don't… know… I put my strongest ship in front but she got blown up. What should I have done?"
"Think. Your heaviest ship was in front. You were advancing at speed. What could you have done in response to a disadvantageous T?"
"Form a diamond? Or a double line?"
"Not the best solution, but it's not too bad an option… I personally wouldn't have done that. In the time it would have taken you to form a diamond in that position, your fleet would have been annihilated. Koizumi, what is the best move he could have made?"
She paused for a moment, analysing the fleet composition and positioning of each ship on the map. Once she was certain, she gave her answer. "He should have advanced at maximum speed."
"Correct," confirmed Saito, making a slicing motion with his arm just above the wooden pieces representing Sora's fleet.
"But why? Isn't that pretty much suicide?" Fuji asked, scratching the back of his head. "Getting caught in that kind of position pretty much means I'm screwed anyway, right?"
Saito moved the pieces representing Fuji's fleet closer to the ones representing Sora's fleet. "That's partly right. When caught in a disadvantageous T, the enemy fleet can bring all their guns to bear on the front of your fleet, and your firepower is far weaker in relation to theirs. However, the correct response to such an ambush is to disrupt it if possible. Your ships are designed to move fast in a straight line and comfortably take some damage from the front. By closing the distance in a short time, you minimise your exposure to effective enemy fire, negating their firepower advantage, and you can force them into a melee, where your fleet is strong. Plus, you would have made use of the flaw in Sora's formation."
"You still haven't pointed it out to me," insisted Sora, folding his arms in defence. "What was wrong with my formation?"
At this point, everyone could tell that Saito was getting a little ticked off. Not that Kuro or Sora really cared. "Just take a closer look at the formation. Haruna led the formation, and that was fine, but crossing the T and placing your smallest and lightest ship in the centre was the one weak point I would have found and made full use of in this situation. If I had control of Fuji's fleet, Yuudachi would be at the bottom of the sea, crushed by the sheer size and weight of Hiei."
Saito paused to let that point sink in. Sora gritted his teeth and mentally retreated, unable to retort in a manner that would win him the argument. He did not want to admit it, but Saito had a point.
"As for you, Koizumi – your movements were within reason, and I have no complaints about your adjusted formation. I'd suggest you talk to Zuikaku, though. She seemed distracted today."
"I know. It's because of the First Carrier Division. She saw them aboard your command cruiser. I'm assuming you put them there to 'motivate' Zuikaku. Are you done?"
"Just one more thing. Keep your clingy thing away from my clingy thing. I know they're sisters, but I don't think it's necessary that they meet… yet."
"… You mean Yamashiro?"
"… Yes."
"… Roger."
Authors' Note #1:
Hey, reader! Thanks for following us this far. This is a collaborative Kantai Collection fanfic by three friends who are huge Kancolle fans, and we hope you've enjoyed this first chapter.
We're not experts in naval warfare by any means, but we've tried to do our best for this piece. We've got lots more exciting content in the pipeline, so stay tuned!
Please tell us what you think of our work! ^^
Authors' Note #2:
For those who're confused by "heading" and "bearing":
Heading – The direction in which a vehicle is pointing, relative to the North. Measured in degrees (out of a maximum of 360 degrees), with the degrees always running clockwise.
Bearing – The direction in which an object is located, relative to the observer. E.g. The fleet Haruna spotted was 30 degrees from her front.
Also, degrees are read out digit by digit, to avoid confusion (zero-niner-zero versus ninety degrees, which could easily be confused for nineteen degrees in the heat of battle).