The sea; a miracle of the Earth, vast and deep, sustaining life for as long as this world has existed.

Yet its everlasting, blue hue and unimaginable depth only fills us with questions, as the true nature of its contents is still a mystery.

The Abyssal Fleet, a vicious group of monstrous maidens in possession of technology and weaponry one would not expect to see emerging from the depths, has been making its appearance and terrorizing the shores of the world, threatening the extinction of humanity.

But few were the forces that could combat such otherworldly beasts.

The nightmarish maids could only be countered by equals to themselves, thus the Fleet Collection was born.

Originating in Japan, the enhancement and weaponization of young capable women was established as a necessary government-powered program to help fight against the Abyssals.

They were dubbed the Ship Daughters, named after famous warships of the past and weaponized accordingly, and only they had the power to dare to defy the merciless Abyssal Fleet.

Soon, the entire world would begin to follow Japan's example, and thus a war had broken out: the war against the unknown but surely dreadful Abyssal Fleet, the war to decide humanity's ultimate fate.

This is the story of this war, as told by the Ship Daughters themselves.

It's been only 2 days since my construction. I have been resting within the construction site along with several other girls around my age for the last couple of days, waiting to be dispatched to my assigned base. The procedures are taking longer than I thought, though I believe government staff is probably really nervous and rushing to dispatch as many Ship Daughters as possible in a very short amount of time. They weren't so anxious about it until last week; the Abyssal Fleet had only so many disposable units to launch at us until it developed stronger ones. They say that the Abyssal Fleet's weaponry resembles that of warships, with few modifications which depend on the type of Abyssal. I wonder, what do they truly look like from up close? But I'm not sure if I want to know.

Honestly, I'm a little nervous myself. I have been named "Fubuki", prototype of the Fubuki-class Destroyers. I've noticed that the girls selected to become Destroyers are all around my age. I'm in the last grade of middle school, but I've seen girls as young as middle school juniors, barely out of elementary school. I wonder who approved of the usage of children for this program… I heard from some other girls that Destroyer firearms are only compatible with young girls like us, but I just can't seem to understand it. I can't understand what's going on. Why am I here? Why can't I become a normal human again? What if I never taste mother's katsu don again? I miss my mom. I miss my dad. I miss my dog.

For the past few nights, I've been lying sleepless in my unclean futon, feeling like I've wronged the universe somehow. I can't bring myself to talk to the other girls during the day, and I think they think I'm weird. But they must be feeling bad as well, and I don't want to disturb them. It's the dawn of the third day in the construction site camping area. Finally, my class is called upon, with me, the prototype, being the representative.

"Fubuki-class Destroyer, Fubuki, assemble."

I sluggishly pull myself together and rush to the couple of government officials calling my new name. One looked very strict and uptight, constantly repositioning his glasses, the other serious but in a more leisurely fashion, sporting a week-old beard. The uptight one looked at me and made an expression which I can only describe as "disgust", which I'm assuming is due to the dark circles under my eyes and the miserable expression on my face. Am I miserable, though?

"Right, she's present." How could I not be? Where else am I to go? I just want to see the sky again.

The officials began calling the names of several other girls from the Fubuki-class.

"Fubuki-class Destroyer Murakumo. Present." A girl with icy blue hair, and a troubled expression. I wonder what she's thinking about.

More girls appeared.

"Fubuki-class Destroyer Hatsuyuki. Present."

"Fubuki-class Destroyer Uranami. Present."

"Shirayuki. Present."

"Isonami. Present."

"Miyuki. Present."

We were all here. Ready to face war.

"You will be transported to the base of ███████." Said the bearded one. "Make sure there is nothing you forget at the construction site, for you will never see it again." But mister, I wanted to say, there is nothing anyway. Nothing is left of us, or for us.

And then, we were on the truck on our way to our base. Nobody lifted her head or tried to talk while we were being transported. My head was in a mess. I am in so much pain. I want to cry, but no more tears will come out now. I made mom cry, I made dad upset, I made my dog hate me. All because I left like this, because I was taken to fight in a war against a truly awful enemy. I wish I had another chance to tell mom I love her. To taste her katsu don again, to go shopping for a new school uniform. It's almost March. I should be shopping for new shoes and socks. Mom, I'm so sorry. I promise at the end of this war, I'll come back alive. I will dare to step ahead and finish it all with what little power I have. Mom, I'm going to come back. I'm going to be alive. Please wait for me… Be a little patient.

And then, I was in a trance, and ended up falling asleep.

Inside that truck, I saw a dream. It was a gorgeous Sunday morning. Mom, Dad, and my dog Aki were all sitting around our dinner table with me. We were having a wonderful meal packed with Mom's delicious recipes. "Misaki," my mom would say, "are you enjoying your meal?" And "yes" I would respond in a rush, making sure she knows how much I love her and her cooking. We were all smiling. We were all happy, until the sun disappeared and clouds covered the entire sky. Our house began to flood with seawater, carrying my family far away from me. But I stayed there; under the pressure of the water, I couldn't move. I was drowning. I was not human anymore, and I was alone, and I was drowning. I was sinking.

The dream ended with me submitting to the ocean's tight but serene embrace, but I did not wake up immediately. I remained there, deep down in the wet abyss.

I opened my eyes. I saw the ceiling of a large room, painted in the color of daffodils. I slightly raise my head to see three pairs of curious eyes around me. They look worried, too.

"Hey... She's opening her eyes!"

"Really? Woah, she is."

"Fubuki, please wake up!"

What is all this commotion? I'm still floating in the ocean of my dream, but I can see in front of me now. Right next to me, there's a girl with green clothes and short, brown hair. To my left, there's a girl with eyes like emeralds and long blonde hair. And next to her, there is another girl with long icy blue hair and golden eyes... I'm pretty sure I've seen her before. Isn't she part of the Fubuki-class?

"Fubuki, are you here with us?" said the girl with the short hair. I looked at her and I nodded.

"I'm glad! I'm so glad!" She exclaimed. She's quite odd... Her eyes are so big and expressive.

"What happened? Where am I?" I spoke in a weak tone.

"You fell asleep on our way to the base, and when we arrived, you wouldn't wake up!" She said worryingly. "Everybody got worried, and now you're in the dorm you've been assigned to."

I passed out? And I created such a fuss too. I didn't mean to make such an entrance...

"Forgive me for making this a big deal. I'm just very tired." I apologized.

"No need to worry!" Said the golden-haired girl, full of excitement. "Mutsuki, who's right next to you, and I are going to be your new roommates! We're Destroyers as well, but from different classes. I'm Yuudachi!" Mutsuki... Yuudachi... So that's the situation at hand. This place is starting to feel more like a school rather than a warzone, somehow. I don't know if that's a good thing.

"And you?" I asked, looking at the pouty girl with the blue hair. "You are a Fubuki-class Destroyer, aren't you?"

"Yeah." She responded with an attitude. "I'm here to pick you up. Because of you, Fubuki-class has not been introduced to the Admiral yet." The Admiral... the one in charge of the Ship Daughters and the base. The one doing all the string pulling, the one deciding our battles. I'm scared of the face I will be greeted with when we do go introduce ourselves to him. "So. Get up and get ready now, the rest of the class you represent is already waiting outside of the Admiral's office. Don't be any more of a nuisance and hurry up." She surely isn't very forgiving. But I'm assuming that she is also quite tired. She's trying to hide it behind snarky and mean comments. Her name... or well, the name assigned to her... it was Murakumo, wasn't it?

I got ready, and I made my way to the Admiral's office where I was greeted by the rest of the girls I saw at the truck and the construction site. They all looked quite nervous, and so was I. Not Murakumo though, she just looked angry. When we were all gathered, a woman in some sort of secretary outfit emerged from the Admiral's office and proceeded to count us one by one.

"Fubuki-class, please step inside. You will now meet the Admiral." She said with a smile and she went back inside.

Murakumo gave me a little push, implying that as the prototype I should lead the way. And so, I did, and the rest of the girls followed.

We went inside to find a quite large, but minimalistic room with a wooden office in the back, close to the windows. There, we saw a man in a white uniform, looking at us like a scientist examining his test subjects before an experiment. The secretary woman was standing right next to him with a catalogue in her hands.

"Katori," he said silently. "would you please go and instruct Takao-class Heavy Cruiser Takao to assemble Ayanami, Akatsuki and Mutsuki-class in the training area so they can be informed of their schedule from now on?" He turned his gaze to us. "The rest will be informed by Heavy Cruiser Atago." The secretary woman named Katori nodded. "Certainly, Admiral." And then she left the office.

We were nervously expecting his first words towards us, as his attention was now purely focused on us. I gulped.

"Welcome to the Base of ███████, I'm Admiral ████ and I'm in charge of this place and of all of you." He said in a solemn tone. "I understand that you were late in your introduction because of Destroyer Fubuki's deteriorating state of health, but I'm assuming everything is as it should be now, Fubuki?" He stared at me with his emotionless eyes. "Yes, Admiral, I'm sorry for the disturbance." I managed to say something. "Very good," he said and he got up from his chair.

"As you know, you are no longer humans. You might still have human functions, but you are no longer like your mother or your father or your former classmates." The mentions of mother and father stung a little bit. He's very straightforward. "You have been carefully chosen as appropriate vessels for this war against the unknown threat that is the Abyssal Fleet." He walked away from his chair and made his way in front of his desk. "From now on you will be staying in this base where you will be housed, fed, educated and of course trained just like regular humans, with the exception that you will function as a military unit. There will be many battles, there will be expeditions, and there will be tragedies, and maybe even casualties." My heart stopped beating for a second. "However, you are Ship Daughters now, meaning there's nothing about you that isn't repairable. The Base contains numerous advanced facilities to cater to the need of every Ship Daughter. The facilities will be explained and introduced to you by an older cruiser soon." He repositioned his hat and looked straight at me. "However, you're warships now. Your duty is to serve humanity, to fight and to excel at fighting. You will still attend a type of school, and there will be time for hobbies, but that is to be kept at a minimum." His gaze turns my blood ice cold. "Everything will be explained to you soon. Normally, you would have the introduction to the facilities today, but due to the harsh circumstances of your initial construction, it's been decided that you will have this day off. Do not wander outside the base, and try to relax. Tomorrow, at 7 A.M. sharp, you are expected to be present in the Base Yard in front of the main building to meet your instructor ship and you will be given your class uniforms. Is this clear?" "Yes, Admiral." We all nodded in agreement. "Good. I expect great results from you. You are dismissed." And with that, he went back to his chair and sat down. We made our way outside the office, but as I was leaving, I caught a glimpse of him starring into my eyes again. He's truly frightening, without even doing anything to appear that way.

I sometimes wonder if I will ever live to see the world outside of this place again. Aki is always at the door in the afternoon, waiting for me to get back from school and play with her. I promised Mom to always tidy my room once I arrive home. I broke my promise now. I want to make amends. But even if I was home right now… there would be nothing to clean up. Not now that I'm gone.

I miss home.

Will I be able to survive?

A few hours passed, it was 9 P.M., and I was looking out the window of my dorm. The sky was clear, and you could see the stars. The moon reflected on the sea, it was a spectacle to behold.

"Fubuki! You've been staying there all day! Don't you want to come with me and Yuudachi? We're going to other Destroyers' dorms to meet them!" Mutsuki said in an excited tone behind me. "No thank you, Mutsuki. I'd rather stay inside and rest." I said. I must sound very boring. "Alright, take care!" Yuudachi made her way outside the dorm and Mutsuki followed after. I stopped her a second before she left. "Mutsuki, wait." She turned around. "What's wrong, Fubuki?" I hesitated at first, but I can't understand why she's so happy. I must know… "What... What is your name?" She stared at me in confusion, and then laughed awkwardly. "It's Mutsuki! What else could it be?" "No... I mean your real name. Your human name." Her expression became dull, and I could almost see her shed a tear there. "My name is Mutsuki. I have no other name, and I don't understand why you would ask this, Fubuki. I'm just Mutsuki! Mutsuki-class Destroyer Mutsuki!" She said, and then she ran away. It appears Mutsuki has either completely accepted her new life, or hasn't at all. I don't blame her for being confused, however. None of us is taking this lightly.

I looked out the window again. The sky, the sea; they were the same. But this time, I saw Murakumo sitting on the dock. It's definitely her, I could recognize her fluffy, sky-blue mane from everywhere. "Maybe I shouldn't stay in here the entire night…" I thought to myself. And so, I made my way downstairs and towards the dock Murakumo was sitting on.

"Murakumo?" I called out to her hesitantly. She turned her head, only to pout at the sight of me.

"Oh, it's you. I thought you weren't planning to leave your dorm." She said as she directed her gaze back to the night sky.

"I decided against that when I saw you here. Stargazing and a little fresh air couldn't be too bad now." I said with a smile, but her expression did not change. I could have sworn she blushed a little, however.

We stared at the sky in silence.

"You know," Murakumo ruined the silent tranquility by speaking up. Not that I mind. "back at home, there was a cliff that I always went to since I was a kid. There is no other place in Japan where you can see the sky and the stars as clearly as there." She said in a very calm tone. "I'm surprised," I said. "No one else seems willing to talk about where they're from before this place. Not that I've spoken to a lot of people…" She chuckled. "It's not easy to accept you know. One day you're at school doing club activities and then coming home to a delicious homemade meal, the other day you're in a military base being trained to become a weapon to service humanity." She averted her gaze from the sky and looked away from my direction, as if trying to hide her face.

"What's your name?" I asked in a rush. I needed to know. "What does it matter?" She said in an angry manner. "It's not like it matters anymore. We're just machines now. And that isn't even an exaggeration, like I wish it was." Sadly, she was right. When the war is over, what's going to be left of us? Our names have been deleted from the registry. I am now Fubuki. She's Murakumo. And even if we do survive, there's nothing about this we can leave behind. We will never be human again, so we had to abandon our human names for eternity. But, is that really the case? The only way for something to truly die is for it to be forgotten by everyone on this Earth. But something, a name, a person, is truly immortal only when the memories of their existence are carried on through people. I want to be remembered. I want Murakumo to be remembered.

"The only way for us to stay alive, even after the death of our human identities is for the memory of our names to be passed on. From now on, we are to be named Fubuki and Murakumo. But who we were; no, who we are as humans is what's really to be remembered."

There was a long pause. Murakumo stared down at the sea, counting every single wave with her eyes.

"Mariko." She whispered. "Huh?" I couldn't hear her.

"Mariko. My name is Mariko." For the second time tonight, she turned her gaze towards me and looked at me in the eyes. Somehow, I could see it in her eyes; she was lifting a huge burden off her chest.

"That's amazing! I'm Misaki!" I said excitedly. Mariko looked surprised at the sight of me actually smiling and cheering this way. She'd only known me for a day, which I spent looking miserable.

We stared at each other in awe for a few seconds. I think that's where we both realized, even if physically we're not "human" anymore. Even if our bodies are filled with wires or mechanical parts, even if we're human sized weapons. We're still humans. With names, with families, with consciences, with precious, precious memories.

"Mariko." I said lovingly and looked into her eyes. I felt happy.

"Misaki." She said in a similar manner, and looked back. She finally smiled.

The moon shone above us, the sea kept gently hitting the shore.

We are humans, like everyone else. And we're going to fight for humanity's sake, and even if our names are different now, even if we have to erase our past in order to become what we are expected to become, our memories will still last.

We will never be forgotten.