Chapter 1: Turbulence

Staring off into the sea is often considered a symbolic act. Contemplation, Zen, loneliness. The idea of a surface so vast, covered uniformly by a single color, brings into mind those terms. It was natural for any person, who are born in a world so confined by ordinary objects, to feel detached when looking at a world with none. Same cannot be said, however, to the girl sitting at the end of a pier. Her back faced against a rocky beach, she stared off with expectations and worries of a mother waiting her son to sail home. The closest word, for her particular case, would be 'expectations'.

A spotted cat was lying in slumber beside the girl, comfortably placing its belly on a puffy cotton hat with a stripe of greenish-blue, adorned with a small yellow-green chevron logo. The petite girl was wearing a similarly colored sailor uniform, the impatient kicks of her legs against the water betray the monotony of ocean's natural rhythms. The horizon was straight and clear, with the faintest trace of a landmass located a significant distance away. Sky above was likewise clear, the all-too-familiar afternoon sun placing itself slightly off to the south of the zenith. Despite that, the girl's mind found itself in a rather cloudy state.

"They sure are taking their time, Batsubyou." The girl said. The cat, barely reacting, only purred in response. The girl had always known that patience was not exactly her strong suit, yet for this particular occasion, or more precisely, errand, she made it a point to wait. "For me to make an appearance, the affairs at their end must've been pretty bad," sounding slightly dejected, the girl withdrew her legs from the water and stood, "be it eighty years ago or now, they're sloppy as always. Always a bit late to make their move, or to consider its consequences." She said, wearing the hat. "No wonder we lost." A bitter smile decorated her face as she spoke.

It was then that her kicking came to a sudden halt. A strong chill washed over her back, as if storm clouds have dropped their jolt right upon her. The scenery around her remained unchanging, but she knew that the time has come. As the shock wore off, her bitter smile had taken new, more palatable flavors.

The girl picked up the cat by its front legs, exposing its underbelly. The cat, apparently named Batsubyou, made no attempt to resist. "Well, complaining about it won't change a thing." She said. "Batsubyou, we have a duty to pass."

The cat let out a single meow, which was met with the girl's chuckle. A strong sense of confidence enveloped her mind as she walked off the pier, onto the water, still carrying the cat in her uniquely odd fashion. As her feet trod atop the gentle waves, she hummed the nostalgic melody of Gunkan March.


A dose of heavy, muffled metallic sounds awakened the man. Wearing white suit and pants, prim and proper, he looked like the spitting image of an admiral. However, an inconsistency lies in the fact that the man was not, in fact, an admiral by any definition. 'A lowly crew of the navy', he'd put it. Employed as a support crew aboard Kongou on the expedition, and being the errand boy for some of his superiors bearing less-than-savory personalities, was a part of his life at sea. He came to his senses quickly, perceiving that he was sitting slouched on a chair, his cheek pressed on a cold, metallic table.

Compared to the scathing cold of the deep sea, the table was preferable. When he forced himself upright, he found that, to his surprise, there was no table. There was one, but if it was the one he had been resting his head upon, it was now half the room away from him. He had no time to express his confusion, for another subject had been granted greater precedence in his mind.

Occupying the other side of the table was a girl in a sailor uniform, a cat on her lap. Like a lone jewel lost to the sea, the emerald-blue color of her eyes made for a striking contrast with the dull grey of the room. She petted the brown tabby gently. The scene seemed inappropriately calm, given the situation.

The situation.

The man felt a dull pain on his head. Now reminded of his situation before he somehow got here, his questions became so numerous that none successfully escaped his mouth. Unsettled, his feet began their constant tapping, his finger began seeking for something easy to grasp. The girl had definitely noticed the man's restlessness, as her face broke into a smile, a tinge of mockery ever so slightly felt from it. Giving up on panicking, the man gave himself some room to sort his thoughts out, before asking what he deemed as the most crucial and relevant question:

"Am I dead yet?" he asked the girl.

The girl let out a chuckle, "We're off to a great start." She said. "That's difficult to answer. If I have to say, you're still more alive than dead." The girl said, her eyes still fixated on the cat. "Right now, you're like a certain infamous cat." She picked up the cat, Batsubyou, again by its front legs, and placed it on the metallic table. "Depending on the situation, it can be alive or dead, but on a special occasion involving poison and radioactivity, it is both dead and alive, you see?" she said.

The man's eyebrow almost winced painfully from her analogy, which the girl definitely made in advance. She was not taking him seriously. Mustering all of his ignorance, he replied, "Well, that's not a good thing." to which the girl only smiled. The cat seemed to grow restless under the man's stare, as it jumped off the table and began walking around the room. "Who are you?" he asked.

The girl sighed, "It's always the difficult questions that gets asked." she said. She then twirled a strand of her hair with her finger, "Let's see… my existence is kind of like a mistake, or a response to one. Going by that, I guess you can call me 'Error'." The girl said, seemingly unfazed by how odd a nickname that was. "By the way, the cat's name is Batsubyou." She added.

The man wondered how the girl could so easily say the cat's name when she was vague about her own.

The girl corrected her relaxed stance, "This is getting a bit dragged out, since I've been left waiting long enough for you to wake up. It'll be problematic if our chat got interrupted." She said. "Right. Getting into the point, how would you react if I say that you're the only survivor?"

"…Am I, really?"

"Well, no. Like I said, you're kind of alive right now, but the chance of you turning up dead is quite high, as well. Should I explain it again?" The man couldn't resist wincing this time, to the girl's slight dismay. Still, her attempt to change the topic was quite successful. "Either way, I saw the fleet you were part of. It appears there are some problems dealing with the Abyssal Fleet." Error said.

"Now that's an understatement." The man said. "Coastal Japan's a wreck because of them. What are they, really?"

Error placed her arm on the table and leaned forward, "Abyssal cannons tore through that small boat of yours like paper, which quickly capsized and sank. During the process you hit your head somewhere, and now you're here, thinking that you must've gone mad to have a chat with a girl and a cat inside some weird steel chamber. That's your situation. At this point, does it make a difference, what they are?"

"…No." The main said weakly. The strong-hued irises of Error was intimidating when used to glare at someone, and she made no attempt to hide the fact that she could use them well. Although he had some reservations about this girl calling a JMSDF missile destroyer a 'small boat', he found himself readily accepting the surreal situation he was in right now. Taking the girl's silence as the cue for another question, "So, why am I having this conversation?" he asked, to cover for his lack of better questions.

The girl seemed to catch on, "Alright. Here comes the meat of the matter. The purpose of me being here. I'm offering you a chance to turn it around." Error said, her expression taking on a hint of seriousness. The cat meowed, then she made a throat clearing sound, "That's too good a deal. I mean, I'm offering you the responsibility to turn it around. To become the admiral, leading a campaign to win the war against the Abyssal Fleet."

The man took seconds to process what she said.

It was first a smirk, then a chuckle, then he laughed openly. Throughout the process, the girl did not react, "I've gone mad, indeed, and quite a long time ago, to boot! Become admiral? Win the war? Stuff of dreams, those are, when I can't even recall a single time the fleet has successfully sunk an Abyssal ship. To think I signed up for this. The higher-ups even called it a 'high-risk operation'." he said. His tone became severe, "which is quite likely an alternative term for 'suicide'. You better have some sort evidence to make this 'offer' of yours feasible. Numbers, speed, firepower; they're overwhelming us. This is a hopeless war we're fighting."

Error sighed, "Although it's preferable if you stay sane throughout this, I wouldn't disagree that the situation is maddening," she said, "I'm certain quite a few of your comrades had given up hope a long time ago. But not you. You shouldn't say that. It reflects badly on your grandfather." She said, her gaze regaining its ferocity.

The man froze. His laugh long lost to cold air. He made a throat-clearing noise and corrected his stance, "What does my grandfather has to do with all this?" he said, "Do you know him?"

"I wouldn't exactly say that I 'know' him, but he's quite the man. He served at Yamato for a while, didn't he?"

The man made no reply. While he didn't know what exact role his grandfather took on when he was on duty, the man did recall that his grandfather was in the Imperial Navy back at World War II. Years ago, he'd often tell stories about the war, stories that sometimes fascinating, sometimes heart wrenching. He was a person who did not sugarcoat his words, or made light of the events transpired. The man harbored to him a great degree of respect, even before he became interested in the navy. The man pondered this fact for a while, before he spoke, "Alright, I'll be serious and assume that you, too, are serious. The last thing I remember before coming here is being underwater in a ship turned coffin. Then I'm here, and you want me to become an Admiral." He said, "I'm going to be back underwater if I decline, right?"

"Yes. But I still call this a choice. Because if you decline, you can rest feeling you've done your best, and that's all right. An end not too satisfying, but fitting nonetheless, should you take that choice." Error said, a degrading smirk on her face. "But it'll be quite different for matters at large. Just so you know, the Abyssal Fleet is currently limited to areas around Japan. Refusing means there will be no one to thwart the Abyssal Fleet. Didn't I say you're the only survivor?" She confirmed the fact, causing the man to wince, "It'll probably be ten years or more until I can offer this kind of deal again to someone else, and by then, the Abyssal Fleet would've spread across the world's oceans." Batsubyou jumped back onto her lap as she spoke. "But I assure you, it would be their problem and not yours."

"Well, a choice between life and death isn't a choice at all. What's with that 'rest feeling you've done your best'?" The man said, "Given the situation, isn't it obvious that I'm going to take the deal?"

"I figured you'd accept anyway. You're still a young man."

"Does that make you an old lady, then?"

With a loud bam, the man felt like he had been elbowed at the stomach. After the initial pain took off, he found that the table had been shifted back to its original position, or rather, shifted back a bit past that. As the man glared sharply at the only possible perpetrator, he was surprised to found that Error had disappeared from the room.

"That girl's a handful of trouble." The man said. He then noticed another change on the table. There was a hat, an admiral's peaked cap. Colored white with a dash of black, and a symbol of a golden Sakura petal on its front. 'Wear this to accept', those words were practically written all over the hat. "Oh, please. The symbolism makes me blush!" He spoke out loud, his voice loudly reflecting off the steel walls. He stood up from the chair and picked up the hat. Around the same time, a drop of water struck the metallic floor. Then two. Then three. The man looked upward, to find that the ceiling was slowly detaching itself from the rest of the room, and beyond that was, most likely, lots and lots of water.

"Give me a break." The man said as small rivulets of water formed on walls. His mind was more than slightly panicked, but no less made up. With little reason to hesitate, he put on the pristine white hat.

The ceiling disappeared completely, sending a violent torrent of water to fill the room. Along with the torrent, the man's consciousness disappeared.


The journey to the shore was a poor swim.

The man drew ragged breaths as he inspected himself, clad in the white suit and pants, his admiral's hat tucked safely on his belt. All three are drenched wet. After calming himself down, he mumbled, "That's enough salt for today." The early spring breeze became extremely chilling as a result. The man quickly took off his top to squeeze some water out of it. "Talk about a goddamn surreal experience. The least that girl should do is to put me on land." He said, surveying the rocky beach.

Far off, visible above the horizon is a faint projection of a landmass, which he quickly identified as one of the Izu Islands. Slightly relieved that he was not half a world away from his homeland, the man then inspected his closer surroundings. A tall, lonely palm tree was visible nearby. Some nondescript rock formations are visible to the side, while view inland was blocked by dense vegetation not entirely unlike a forest. Some distances away, a small wooden pier was visible, with a small ship docked on it. He couldn't make out the details of the ship from the distance, but it was a small one.

Without having the chance to sort his next steps, he noticed a swift movement behind the nearby rocks. There was no mistaking his eyes: that was a person hiding there. In fact, a child, judging from the size of the rock hiding the unknown observer. The man then dropped off drying his shirt, and proceeded to slowly sneak around the rock, slightly guarded. Just as he was within a step's distance, the figure popped out again for another peek, only this time, he'd be greeted with his face.

What followed was a high-pitched scream sending birds off their post.

"Wha-what, don't surprise me like that!" The girl said, panicked and red on the face. It was rather amusing to see how she tried to avert her eyes from the man's bare chest.

Naturally, the man was just as surprised to find a brown-haired, clad-in-sailor-uniform child peeking at him, although the chain of events left him unable to express it proper. The girl's eyes match the color of her hair, a badge of the roman number 'III' was tucked on her shirt, "What are you doing there?" he asked.

"I-I was told to bring you over to the ship." The girl said, looking away from the shirtless man. "But commander, please put your shirt on! It's embarrassing!" she shouted. Her blush was almost visible through her ears, to the point that the man guessed if he were to remain as he was, her face would soon turn into the color of a cooked lobster.

The man decided that being shirtless with a girl spouting such innocent lines (on an unknown island) might not be such a good idea, and proceeded to don back his still-wet white top. "So, who told you to bring me to the ship?" The man asked. His eyes rolled to the small ship docked at the pier along the coastline, before a likely suspect formed itself in his mind. "Never mind that, just tell me what is going on." he said.

The girl said, "Commander, can we walk as we talk?" she asked.

The man gave a slight nod, his mind pondering the circumstances he had found himself in. Why is a small girl here? Why is she calling him 'Commander'? Was it real? If it was, what was he in for? What of his comrades he sailed with until a while ago? The weight of his worries nearly had him tripping on sand a minute into the walk.

"Currently, we're on an island located around a hundred kilometers off Honshu, and around five kilometers east from the Izu Islands. The Abyssal Fleet has been spotted in waters around this island, so we should head North return to the Port of Yokosuka as soon as possible." The girl said.

The man nodded, this time with more apprehension than before. Having the immediate situation explained to him cleared some doubts he was currently having, despite creating new ones, such as how the ship he would soon board fare a hundred kilometers in Abyssal-infested waters, when a convoy of missile destroyers and armored transport ships got annihilated thirty kilometers in.

He must've been given the issue more thought than he himself expected, because when he realized he had arrived at the pier, and immediately got shouted at.

"You sure are taking your time, you no-good admiral!" Came the voice of a girl, standing upright on the ship's deck. Her two hands holding the forelegs of Batsubyou, she was unmistakably Error. "Why are you soaking wet, anyway? You shouldn't swim in Abyssal waters, you know? They might drag you down to the abyss, literally."

Having developed a resistance against her mocking tone, the man spent a brief moment before replying, "Never mind that. This old ship has about a snowball's chance in hell to travel all the way to Yokosuka unharmed." He said, "If you can spout those lines about the Abyssal you should know this. Any plans?"

Manning a know-it-all expression, Error spoke, "Simple. We'll have Inazuma sailing ahead, clearing the path while we follow behind. I've mapped out a straightforward route where we won't encounter the Abyssal fleet from any other direction but our front."

"Inazuma?" The man looked to his side and found the girl looking at him expectantly before looking back at Error, "You mean this girl?" he asked.

"Hmm? You haven't introduced yourself, Inazuma?" Error asked.

"N-Not yet. Sorry." Inazuma said in a low voice. She faced the admiral and made a slight bow, "I'm Inazuma, nice to meet you, commander." She said.

That's a weird name for a girl, the man thought. But that was among the least of matters he found wrong. He decided to flung some of his objections, "Hold it, how is she supposed to sail ahead when I see no other ship here. Besides, having this child man a ship all by herself is just plain wrong."

Error merely sneered, the glint in her eyes suggested she knew more than what she was letting on, "You saw wrong, then. Looks are deceiving, you know? Has the salt, of oceans and tears, burned the vision off your eyes?" she said.

His pride tickled, the man was about to commence a round of trading insults, until Error forced him, and (in a less forceful manner) Inazuma aboard the ship. Without much of a fuss other than the one coming from its own engine, the small ship, an antiquated, small multipurpose craft, set sail. It was headed straight off the shore, heading to the far-off island Inazuma pointed a hundred kilometers away.

The man found the experience really refreshing, despite having sailed in a similar fashion before. Of course, he could hardly express it given the Abyssal might just pop out any moment. Error's statements of reassurance didn't sound so convincing when the ship looked like it was stitched together from old parts. Inazuma stood still on the deck of the ship, looking out calmly at the sea. Beside her was several metallic implements he couldn't make heads or tails of, but they vaguely looked like they were made for her.

"So, Error, mind telling me what this whole 'admiral' thing is?"

"Well, you should have some idea of what you'd be doing. An admiral's an admiral. You command a naval fleet to fight the Abyssal fleet. That's the job description, layman's version." Error said, lazily sitting on the helm of the ship, occasionally tinkering with the wheel. "Don't ask more just yet." She interrupted the man's upcoming question, "Wait until we safely dock at Yokosuka, at least." She said.

"Fine by me." the man said. He then approached Inazuma. He noticed that she was holding a silver compass, which, the man perceived, was not doing its job. The needle was pointing south, back to the direction of the island, which, by then, was only a faint shadow on the horizon.

"It's really fortunate that we left when we did, right, Inazuma?" Error said, clutching a similar compass in her grasp. The compass in Error's possession was gold-colored. "Sometimes I don't know whether the forces that be wanted us to succeed or fail." she said.

In response to her words, Inazuma gave a slight nod.

"That compass, don't tell me..."

"Right. It allows us to detect Abyssal ships. They gave off a special sort of vibe, you see. The compass was able to capture that. A mini-radar against the Abyssal Fleet, and a lucky charm of sorts." Error said, "It's a special system, the COMPASS, short for Complex Oscillation Mapping: Precision Abyssal Sensing Structure." Error said.

The man cringed so hard he almost flinched, and what followed was an intent to throw Error into the sea, for the acronym was so forced it hurts. He could almost tell that whoever came up with the name worked it out from 'compass' first. "You totally made that up just now, don't you?"

"My, now that's an unlikely accusation." Error said.

"But if this 'compass' works as you said, then safe travel towards base is definitely possible. We just need to avoid the direction the compass is pointing at, right?" the man said.

"How naïve. No wonder you are without rank when I found you." Error said, "The disadvantage of the compass is that is has but one needle. Situation: two Abyssal task forces are closing in from two directions, North and East, what direction do you think the compass will point at?" she asked.

"You have a point. I assume it'll point to the closer of the two forces." He said. Error only nodded, "Then your escape plan isn't foolproof. What if we got into a similar situation?" he asked.

"Well, that's how it is when we see it. But in her hands it's a different story." Error shot Inazuma a glance. "What do you see, Inazuma?" she asked.

"Ah, yes." Inazuma snapped out from what the man thought was a daydream, "A small convoy of Abyssal cruisers are surrounding the islands we left from earlier."

"Well, I guess after we shot down their destroyer patrols they're bound to send a bigger force eventually." Error righted her hat as she spoke, "Really, we're lucky to have left when we did."

Inazuma continued, "To the west beyond Izu islands are a task force. I can't see much, but there are Abyssal battleships there."

Error dove into thought, her brows slightly knitted, "Battleships, huh? I take this task force is the one you ran into, admiral. I guess this means we can't stop by Oshima Island. If they got us there we're as good as done." she said.

"I can't see too far to the East because of the weather there, and there's nothing to the North except for a small destroyer patrol to the East of Oshima Island... I'm sorry..." Inazuma trailed off, "Error-san, I assume we will engage them?" she asked, her voice slightly meek.

"We can avoid the patrol by taking the roundabout route to the East, but then there's no telling what we'll meet there. Or we can sail directly north and lay waste to those poor Abyssal Destroyers." Error said, "Do you hear that, admiral?"

"Uh, yes." The man said, not sure how to respond. "How do you do that, Inazuma? That's amazing." he said.

Error cut in, "Hey, don't change the topic." she said. "This is your first decision as the admiral. Do we head north and engage, or take the roundabout route?"

"I'm the one calling the shots?" he retorted, more than a bit surprised.

"Well, I recall that you are the admiral, if that's what you're asking." she said.

The man stayed silent for a moment. "Say, Error, if we engage those Abyssal destroyers, can we really win? No, can we survive? Just so you know small arms doesn't do them a scratch." He said. From his perspective then, they had nothing they could throw at them.

"Of course I know that. Do you think I'd be here if machine guns is all it takes to destroy the Abyssal Fleet?" Error said. "Believe me. We have a ninety-percent chance of making it through with zero casualties." Just when the man asked where she got her figures from, she continued, "Or you'd rather take the roundabout route? I'm perfectly fine with whatever your decision is." The briefest hint of mischief in her voice was all the man needed to know that she's not taking his indecisiveness well.

The man made a sigh, "Alright, I'll believe you this once. You probably have more idea of what's going on here." he said. The way Error chose her words, and the way she acted. He figured out that she was holding back some information, or a lot of them. Still, she was waiting for him to decide, in which case, "We're heading North." he said.

Error also made a sigh, "When faced with the decision between danger and uncertainty, pick danger. Typical human behavior." she said.

"I'd say you're in no position to say that, being quite the typical human yourself." the man said.

"My, my, aren't we quick to assume?" Error gave off an evil smirk as she replied. "Well, Inazuma," Error turned to Inazuma, who had been partial to silence ever since her report. "You had your first, actual order. I'm still effectively vice-admiral now, so gear up." she said.

"Understood." Inazuma replied. She walked to the metallic pile of equipment to her side. A metallic backpack with a turret over her shoulder, two set of mini-torpedo holders on her sides, each stocking three shots. Inazuma quickly donned her equipment in natural, practiced motions, as if she knew them like the back of her own hand. More than prepared for combat, she jumped over the ship's perimeter into the sea.

There she stood, gently riding the waves with her foot, which had developed some sort of paddle-like hold against the water.

The man merely watched, astonished.

"There are no problems... right?" Inazuma said, looking herself over for any particular oddities.

Error shook her head, "None at all, the admiral's just a sheltered man" she said, "But really, you really are her spitting image. If he's still here, Lieutenant Tokiwa would be proud."

Inazuma smiled in return, before giving force to one of her legs, pushing herself forward, "First Fleet, First Destroyer Squadron, Sortie!" she shouted. With haste, she easily overtook the ship.

"On high spirits, isn't she? That girl, she's just so adorable." Error said, a big smile evident on her face. "Well, you see that, admiral? In addition to combat and usual maritime duties, you shouldn't forget to establish a good relationship with the fleet you will command." she turned back to the admiral, which was still wielding an expression of bewilderment. "Anyway, how long are you going to stand there looking surprised?"

The man felt that he had been thrust into something beyond his wildest expectations. "I don't even... What is she?" he asked. He kept trying to make some sense of what just happened. "Did she just stand on water?"

"You just keep on asking questions, don't you? Well, not that I blame you. Still, why'd you be so surprised? You've seen Abyssal ships, haven't you? Those and Inazuma are similar in nature." Error said. She then paced back to the ship's steering wheel, "As for what they are... A weapon, a ship, a human girl, a spirit. You can use any of those words to describe them."

"Spirit. Well I didn't see that one coming." The man perched his arms on the edges of the deck. "So this is supernatural territory already, huh? Figures." He said. "Well, now that I think about it, the Abyssal units stand on water, too. Will she be fine? I don't know about her and the Abyssal being similar in nature, she'll be outnumbered. Abyssal patrols aren't made up of a single destroyer."

"Abyssal ships cannot be damaged by anything short of a ship's cannon. Inazuma, too, is not the fragile child she looks like." Error threw the admiral a small binocular, "Admiral, watch the battle, and take note, because this is the moment humans have their first triumph over the Abyssal Fleet."


From Inazuma's position, Error's ship was but a small dot on the horizon. It would be dangerous if it were to get too close. She now had the distant visual of three Abyssal units on her twelve o' clock, two destroyers and one light cruiser in a line ahead formation. They're headed west, to the direction of Oshima Island. It appears that neither of the three has noticed her, although that would quickly change.

"This is your vice-admiral speaking, Inazuma, can you hear me?" came the voice of Error.

"Hawawawa, you surprised me, Error-san!" Inazuma replied. "I'm still not used to this..." she replied, her voice low.

"Eh, that compass is a lot more useful than it looks." came admiral's voice.

"You stay quiet for a second and let me show how it's done." Error barked. "Anyway, Inazuma, report the situation."

"Y-yes! There's a light cruiser and two destroyers, they're heading towards Oshima Island. I haven't been noticed." she said. "My armaments are in good condition. Ammunition is currently not a concern."

"Hmm, so it's true that the small Abyssal ships have poor detection. This works to our advantage, then. Still, if they're heading towards Oshima, then we can actually avoid combat and pass by unnoticed."

Inazuma pondered the thought. She didn't exactly wanted to fight the Abyssal ships. But... "No. I'll do it. Error-san, we can't risk being flanked later." she said.

"Well, that light cruiser is going to be a bit problematic, but if you want to do it, I know you can." Error said, "Have at them."

The voice went silent.

Inazuma figured the rules of naval warfare changed quite significantly with the Abyssal, and the Fleet girls like herself in play. But the fundamental rules of combat still apply, hit the enemy, and don't get hit by the enemy.

She has fought before. Several days before the admiral's arrival, Inazuma had fought Abyssal destroyers to protect Error, and island they sailed from earlier. The destroyers here are exactly the same as the ones she fought back then. Having only a single forward-facing cannon, their strength lies in their ability to maneuver themselves.

The light cruiser, on the other hand, sports many cannons facing forward and sideways, and they are more flexible as the destroyer's in terms of their aim. Its higher durability also made it a higher-priority target.

"Torpedoes loaded."

Inazuma concentrated, the makeup of her mind constituted only her and her three targets, taking into account their distance, direction, velocity and maneuvering ability to the best of her abilities. After a long breath, Inazuma pushed the trigger inside her mind, and from the case placed on her sides, a salvo of four torpedoes were set loose.

The four torpedoes entered the water and gained momentum from their turbines, accelerating like the ship killers they were built as. However, their travel was noticed. Mere tens of meters before they made contact with their target, the Abyssal ships scattered from their formation.

Yet one was too slow, the Abyssal Light Cruiser didn't even have the opportunity to turn before it was struck dead by two torpedoes, which detonated in quick succession, blowing off almost all of its side turrets. The cruiser then collapsed on its broadside, and began its dark descend to the bottom of the sea.

The other two were more fortunate, having the speed to dodge the incoming torpedo. Quickly locating its origin, the Abyssal destroyers paced around and repositioned themselves to face her. In the process of doing so, however, one were met with cannon shells multiple times, sending an Abyssal destroyer to the place of its namesake.

The sole remaining destroyer sped up and opened its maw, revealing a cannon nested within. Without wait it fired at Inazuma. Fortunately, the move had been anticipated, concurrent with the blast of the cannon, Inazuma strafed quickly to her right, avoiding incoming fire by an inch's length. The sound of ripped wind were fresh in her ears, but the sound of her cannon firing was even more so.

However, it was her miss to fire without taking into account her own strafe, as her shots landed inches off its target. Despite landing on water, these shells detonate, disturbing cubic meters of water around it. Shrouded by the brief cover of water, the Abyssal destroyer fired again.

This time, her instincts failed her. The incoming shell was small and steadfast, squarely landing on the torpedo casing placed on her left flank. The worst outcome that was an ammunition explosion is, fortunately, not to be.

"This much... is still okay." she mumbled. Ignoring the burning pain on her left side, Inazuma quickly picked up speed, trying to outmaneuver the speeding Abyssal destroyer, all while sending shells its way. Her accuracy was shaky when moving, but the suppressing fire seemed to slow down its movements.

By chance, a shot landed squarely on its back, indicated by a small explosion and a horrific metallic noise. It was not enough, however, as the Abyssal destroyer's pace was not disturbed. It was not until another ten seconds of shelling that another lucky hit redirected it to the bottom of the sea.

The sea was calm, albeit slightly smoky after the engagement. Inazuma assessed her left torpedo casing and found that the damage was quite extensive, although not severe. Just in case she unloaded the torpedoes remaining there and transferred it to the right casing.

"This is Inazuma, Error, commander, can you hear me?" Inazuma said, initiating the connection.

Error replied, "Loud and clear. I saw some smoke from here. Battle report."

"I did it. The three Abyssal ships are sunk. There's minor damage to the rigging, but it's negligible." Inazuma said. She looked back to the South and saw the ship, still quite a few kilometers away.

"Alright, Inazuma, perform a detection right there and give me the results." instructed Error.

Inazuma took out the silver compass from her pockets and held it tight. The metallic device was colder than her hands, yet reassuringly reliable. As she concentrated on the red-tinted needle, across the sea her senses wandered.


The admiral was standing with binoculars held up to his eyes. "Amazing." He simply said. "They really can take down Abyssal ships. Normally you'd take a full squadron against that." he said. He then took off the binoculars and turned to Error, "But really, aren't you a better fit to command them? I'm really new to this thing, and, to be frank, I don't really have the charisma."

Error stayed silent, still clutching the compass in her hands. "Inazuma's battle is still sloppy. Despite having more than sufficient ammunition, firing randomly at the general direction of the enemy is not a good way to utilize them." She said.

"...Really a handful of trouble." The man said.

A small crackle came from the compass, "Reporting detection results. There's nothing to the North until Yokosuka base, the storm system to the East has receded further... I spot several Abyssal destroyers and... I've never seen this kind of reading before." came the voice of Inazuma, slightly meek.

"Something you can't recognize?" Error said, her tone slightly worried.

"B-but they're really far away, more than fifty kilometers... I think." she said. "The Abyssal task force near Izu Islands have moved south. I don't think we should worry about them anymore. And the Abyssal cruisers beyond your South... Error-san, they're heading towards us!"

Error sighed. She already half expected it to happen, as of recently, the Abyssal Fleet seemed to possess increasingly worrying amounts of brain. "Either they detected us somehow, or they figured we're heading to land." She quickly headed back to the steering wheel and ramped up the ship's engine to its limits. "We're heading to your position. Inazuma, sail within one kilometer of our ship."

"Understood." Inazuma replied.

"Sounds like bad news." The man checked the direction where they came from, the South. There he didn't spot anything even with his binoculars. The pursuing force was still quite far away. "Any plan besides going as fast as we can?" he asked.

"Well, this ship can only go to just shy of twenty knots, tops." she said. Error then played with her fingers, calculating, "At this rate, we're going to arrive at sundown, that is, if we arrive at all."

A quick glance at the sun confirmed the time, "That's still two hours away!" the man shouted. "Are they going to catch up?"

"Don't quote me on this, but if it's entirely light cruisers, the Abyssals have this ship beat." she said, "Either way, I suspect they will be visible just after we pass by Oshima, and get us into their range half an hour later." Error paced around the control room, "I figured they somehow detected the battle just now and are going to check the site. In that case..."

Inazuma's voice came on again, "Commander, I can engage the force to the south."

Error sighed. "Don't let that victory get into your head." Her tone was almost scolding. "Destroyers aren't cut out to engage ships larger than their size. You only got the cruiser earlier because the element of surprise." She added, after which she cut the connection. A long breath accompanied her steps as she stared at the small dot in front of them that was Inazuma, "This is quite a pinch we're in…" Error's eyes slowly moved to the man, who almost expected her to ask, "Admiral, do you have any ideas?"

Amongst many things, there was one that kept on bothering him since he saw Inazuma's fight, "Inazuma is the name of an IJN ship, right?" he asked. The man recalled that Inazuma was also the name of a JMSDF Escort Destroyer, but the air Inazuma the girl had around her, and the torpedo armaments she had, convinced the man that it was not that one.

"Eh, yes?" Not exactly anticipate a question in return, she was caught off-guard, "As she is right now, Inazuma should have capabilities of her namesake…" Her eyes lit up, "I get it! That's one unusual idea. For someone who said he's new to this, you're developing the right mindset already, not bad." She said, to which the man only smiled. Error then hailed Inazuma through the compass, "Inazuma, I've got orders for you." She said.


Inazuma returned to the ship, which was then approaching the scene where the battle took place, "Error-san, I'm not really sure what plan you are thinking of…" Inazuma said, almost visibly shrinking when the admiral stared at her; he seemed to be perceiving Inazuma's equipment. Error was tinkering with the large part of her rigging on her back with little success. She had heard awfully specific instructions from Error, who seemed to have a solution to their predicament. "This feels weird." Inazuma said, which elicited a small groan from Error.

The admiral seemed to notice this, and moved around Inazuma to see what Error had been up to, "Error, don't tell me you're that bad at making knots." The admiral said, his expression a little bit condescending. Inazuma noticed that he seemed to be a bit more spirited, as opposed to his deadpan disposition during the first moments she met him. "At this rate we're going to be done in by the Abyssal Fleet, they can appear to our south any second now." He added.

"Shut up! I'm great at untying them." Error shouted, trying to defend herself against the man's accusation, which gains less credibility by every passing second. "It's just, I have to make sure it's tough enough…" Her more significant worries seem to be the least of the admiral's, especially taking into account the messy knot of thick rope Error made on a protrusion on Inazuma's rigging, which undoes when Inazuma did so much as to lean forward. "Inazuma! Don't move just yet!" Error barked.

"Hawawawa!" Inazuma yelped in surprise as Error pulled her rigging back into position.

The admiral watched the exchange unfold with the expression of a starving penguin, "This is bad, we might actually die." he said, "Error, let me do it." He said, giving out his hand, "Sometimes you have to hand it to the crew."

Error hesitated for a moment, before replying, "Fine! This is supposed to be a man's job to begin with." Error threw the rope, which the admiral caught. She then took a step back, giving him a degree of space to work with. "It's just, I'm supposed to guide you until Yokosuka, at least. Having you do any work is kind of…" her words trailed off as her finger twirled her stray strands of golden hair.

The admiral moved behind Inazuma, "Alright, Inazuma, stay still for a while longer." His voice took on a surprisingly gentle tone, which, in a way, caught Inazuma off guard. She found herself reddening on the face, "N-nanodesu…" she mumbled. She definitely was feeling like a small child right then. The man had little problem with the thick of the rope, and quickly secured a tight knot in just a short moment.

"Alright, I'll take your word on the strength of the rope, Error." The admiral said to Error, who was standing with a slightly defeated expression. "Inazuma, this ship is not going fast enough to outrun the cruisers, so, we'll have you tow it." He said. "Can you do it?" he asked.

Inazuma blinked, processing the instruction briefly. Then she moved her eyes to one end of the rope, tied to the mooring hook at the stem of the ship, before moving her eyes to the other end, tied securely on the rigging behind her back. Apparently realizing the physical discrepancies involved, Inazuma's eyes widen in realization. She turned around to face the admiral, and her head shook weakly. "I'm not sure I can do this, commander." She said. "It's… impossible." She lowered her gaze to the deck.

The admiral gave off a small smile and kneeled to match his height with hers, "Frankly, neither did I." the admiral said, much to Inazuma, and Error's, surprise. He seemed to caught Error's surprised face and let out a small laugh, to the latter's chagrin. "Today, I've been thrust to so many things outside my common sense that it stopped working. Crushing losses, surreal dreams, even odder job descriptions, people walking on water, you name it." He said. "When people lost their common sense, the facts they previously believed in hardly matters anymore, you know?" the admiral said, "They stopped caring about what's true and what's not, and just take as fact the next thing they're told, desperate for something to believe in." The admiral said. He then stood, "So, if you tell me that a small kid like you can pull the weight of this ship weighing tons, I'd buy it. Hell I'd readily bet my life on it."

"Commander..."

"But if you tell me you can't, then I'll take your word for it, too. We'll think of some other plan that we all believe we can do." He walked to the stem of the ship, to the fence where the other end of the rope was securely tied to. "Inazuma, I ask again, can you do it?" he asked.

Inazuma took a nervous breath, "I'll do it." she said, a new spirit empowering her voice.

The man only smiled in return.

Error watched the two with a smile on her face, "Well, admiral, seems you made the good bet." She said. "And apparently I did, too." she added silently.


There are two things left in the man's immediate list of worries. The first was whether Inazuma could actually do it, which was quickly resolved when the small boat started cruising faster than ever before. Inazuma seemed to feel some strain, and he hoped she could endure it until arrival on port. The second was the rope, which had been making some horrific sounds the man could not associate with a steadfast rope. His solution to this second concern was to stare daggers at Error, who was stoically ignoring it.

"Should be less than an hour left until we arrive." Error said, "the cruisers are not showing up, so I guess our plan worked as well as I expected." She retrieved Batsubyou from a small corner of the ship; the cat had been unnervingly immobile since they set sail from the island. "Thanks to you, of course." In what to him seemed to be a rare moment, Error gave a genuine smile.

"Well, I won't be here in the first place, if not for you." the admiral said.

Out of the blue, Inazuma shouted from the front, "Commander, there are debris sighted ahead." Her voice seemed tired, but the ship was not dropping in speed. "

The admiral headed to the helm, and saw a scene he had seen several times before.

A scene he would never grow used to.

Wood and steel were floating on the surface of the water, surrendering to the waves to carry them away. As the man turned to face starboard, he spotted them.

Not the Abyssals, it was something more mundane.

The corpses of a wrecked ship's crew.

To be continued.


A/N: Added chapter header. I'm currently seeking a beta with adequate English skills that can give their honest input and possess a degree of naval warfare (not necessarily pertaining to the Pacific Theater). PM me if you're interested.