"Suzuya!" I call out. I watch in horror as an enemy bomb falls from above, heading straight towards Suzuya. She looks up just as it reaches her. Suddenly, shes engulfed in smoke as a loud and terrifying sound echoes across the battlefield. I stand there, frozen, unable to move or even speak. My eyes locked onto the smoke screen that seems to stay forever. "S-Suzuya..?" I say quietly. The almost black smoke fades away as a few flames on the surface of the water dissipate. My eyes shoot open wide with horror as I spot the outline of someone barely touching the surface. "No!" I scream, my body acting before I can think. Quickly, I close the distance between myself and the figure. Falling to my knees, I grab hold of her arm and pull her up. I wince at the heaviness of the almost lifeless body as I muster all my remaining strength into holding her above the ice-cold water. "Suzuya! Suzuya!" I cry out. Tears pour down my face, making my vision blurry. "...H-Hey.. Don't cry, Kuma..no..It's o-kay.. You can let me go.." the said girl says, barely above a whisper. Her skin is covered in wounds, her clothing so torn that it serves no purpose. Pieces of metal from her guns and deck sink around us as the flames die out completely. "No! Stay with me, Suzuya. I need you.." I say, cradling her weak body in my arms. Blood pours out of several gashes of her body, mixing with the barbaric sea. "...I'm sorry.." she speaks before closing her eyes, her body becoming increasingly heavier. "No.. No...No!" I yell. My arms shake from the weight before she slips from my grasp. I watch in horror as her body sinks deeper and deeper, before vanishing completely in the dark depths of the sea. "...S-Suzuya.." I whisper. I clench my hands firmly and rest them on my knees. No. She can't have sunk. This can't be! It can't.. I hate this. I hate the sea. I hate this bloody battlefield of an ocean! What's the point in fighting anymore if the one person who made me smile is gone.. "..Ngh...Suzuya..." I whisper. Argh. "..NOOOOOOO!" I scream into the night as I let my tears blind my eyes. If this is how it is, then.. Sink me.
I sit up suddenly, gasping for air. I look around a little as my sense return and I notice that I'm in my room. The sound of ringing catches my attention and I look over to find my alarm clock going off. So, It was a dream, huh? I reach over and turn off the alarm before glancing over at Suzuya's bed. Empty. That's right, Suzuya offered to help some of the destroyers train today. I let out a sigh as I sit back in bed, rubbing my eyes. To my, lesser surprise, my face is wet from crying. I push off my blanket and hop out of bed, making my way to my set of drawers. No point in sleeping all day. I'll go see if the admiral needs a hand with anything. Maybe I'll pay Suzuya a visit afterwards and see how the destroyers are going.
After I've gotten dressed into my uniform I make my way outside. The sun beams brightly through the window, enough to warm even the inside of the dormitory building. I take in a deep breath as I let the clear air and surrounding warmth calm my entire body. "Right." I say to myself. "Off to see the admiral." I make my way down the hall past the other heavy cruiser dorms, taking care to be quiet. Many ships do night battles like I had just last night, so even during daylight it's polite to be quiet around sleeping quarters. Though, I know a few fleet girls who wouldn't be so peaceful; Suzuya and Tone included. I let out a small sigh as I continue down the hallway to the exit. In the distance, hanging out near the door, I spot Jintsuu, looking somewhat perplexed. It's not unusual to run into a light cruiser here, considering their dorms are just upstairs, but it is rare to see Jintsuu without either of her sisters. I give her a warm smile as I approach. "Good morning, Jintsuu. Is everything okay?" I ask, politely. "Oh. Yes, everything is fine. I was just on my way to training when Naka asked me to hang these fliers up around the base. However, it seems shes miss spelt more than a few words." She answers. "Oh, I see." I pause for a moment to let out a sigh before continuing, "I know what you mean, Suzuya is the same. I always have to check her homework for spelling mistakes and improper grammar. On the off chance she -does- do her homework, that is." I finish. Jintsuu nods in agreement, smiling warmly. "It seems that, more often than not, it is the younger sisters who are most responsible. Oh.. Speaking of sisters, you were sortied with Sendai for last nights expedition, correct? I do hope she wasn't much trouble.." She says. I shake my head lightly. "No trouble at all. In fact, she was more than helpful during the battle. I wouldn't mind sortieing with her for another night battle sometime." I answer. "That's great. Well, I best be going. I promised Yuudachi I'd help her and Harusame train. Good talking to you. See you." She waves good-bye before walking towards the destroyer dormitories. "See you." I say, waving. Some wind blows through an opened window and messes up my fringe a little. Ngh. Lucky it's not extremely windy. I wonder how Abukuma copes on those windy days. I quickly fix my hair before making my way outside. It's quite a lovely day today. Only a few clouds in the sky. The sun beaming its warmth upon us. The grass and flowers looking as colourful as ever. I hope the admiral doesn't have too much work, it would be nice to enjoy this day.
I greet fellow fleet girls as I continue my walk to the admirals office, having to pass different buildings and training areas. As I walk further along I catch sight of a group of destroyers with their equipment on. They're talking to two girls in a green and black uniform and I instantly recognise them to be Tone and Chikuma. I make my way over to the group, a small sense of worry inside of me. As I approach I find that the destroyers are; Maikaze, Nowaki, Hagikaze and Arashi. Odd, since they were the girls Suzuya was supposed to train. "Kumano, good to see you." Chikuma greets me. "You too. It's been a while." I answer. I look around to see if I can spot Suzuya slacking off somewhere, but no such luck. I let out a sigh. "Uhm. Have you seen Suzuya? Last I heard, she was taking care of these four today." I ask. "Oh. She had to go out on sortie. It was last minute so she asked us to take over her training." What? No way. She wasn't scheduled to sortie for a few days. A heavy feeling inside me starts to stir as my head fills with worry. There's no way. What if that nightmare comes true? What if she sinks. I have to stop that from happening. "D-do you know where they sortied to?" I ask, eagerly. "Hmm. Something about a resupply crate to the west." Tone answers. "Th-Thank you. Sorry, I'll be going now... Oh.. Uh, good luck with your training." I state as I hurry away. Chikuma and Tone wave me off as I leave. I can't help but think, what if I'm too late. What if she has already sunk. I try shake the negative thoughts away, but they return stronger each time. I don't even know how long she's been out for. Maybe I should wait.. But, I can't. I can't sit by and let her sink. That dream must have been a sign. It would have to be. Whats the coincidence that she has a surprise sortie on the day I have that dream. Whatever the case, weather it be true or not, I need to find her. I stop outside of the admiral office and begin looking around. I don't have time to find a group to sortie with and even If I could there's no telling weather or not the admiral would let us sortie. If I tell him, then I'll just come across as weird. No way! I'll go out by myself. In secret, too. No ones going to stop me that way. Right, time to sortie!
[Sometime later, Naval District, Suzuya.]
"Man, that was a quick trip, huh?" I remark to the group.
"Indeed. Even when we had to change directions to the north, it still took little time." Shoukaku answers.
"Yeah. What's with that? Giving us wrong directions." Amatsukaze adds.
"Perhaps the coordinates were off." Shoukaku suggests.
"We could have been quicker if you guys were faster." Shimakaze remarks.
"You sure like to go fast, Huh? Well, it was fun sortieing with you guys. I'll be going now, catch ya's later." I call out as I rush off to find Kumano.
Hmm. Now that I think about it, she took part in the night expedition last night, right? What am I gonna' do if shes still sleeping?! Gah. Maybe I should have hung around with those guys a little longer. But, whatever. Maybe I'll go see if Tone and Chikuma are done training the destroyers. Or.. I could go to Mamiya's.. I did earn a few coupons the other day. Man, what to do..
As I walk along the path, headed towards Mamiya's Cafe, I catch sight of Tone and Chikuma. Looks like they've finished training. "Yo! Tone, Chikuma!" I wave my hand around in the air as I call out to them. They look my way and begin walking towards me. "Heya' guys! How was training?" I ask, as I run over to them, closing the distance. "It was rather enjoyable! How was your sortie?" Tone asks. "It was cool. We didn't run into any enemies, however. Mogami and Mikuma struck up a few conversations to distract as from the boredom, so like yeah, it wasn't too bad." I answer. "Oh, Suzuya, did you find Kumano?" Chikuma asks. "Kumano~? Nope. I haven't seen her yet. She's probably still asleep from her late night sortie~" I answer. Chikuma tilts her head slightly, a worried look on her face. "But.. She was looking for you.. She seemed pretty upset about something, too." Chikuma answers. Tone nods slightly as she places her hand on her chin, looking like shes deep in thought. "..Yeah. She was rather surprised when we told her you were out on sortie." Tone adds. I let out a sigh. Maybe I should have wrote her a note, or something. It looks like I've just made her worry. "No worries~! I'll go find her now." I say, stepping backwards. "See ya's round~!" I call out as I head towards the dormitory. Just as I walk away I hear someone call my name. Turning around I spot Abukuma running towards me. Man, am I popular today? "Yo, what's up?" I ask. She stops in front of me and hurriedly fixes her bangs. "A-ah.. I was just returning from a sortie and well.. I spotted Kumano sallying out by herself..." She states, nervously. I feel my entire body freeze up on the spot. By herself? Like, alone?! No way! "W-w-what?! Where?! Where was she heading?! are you sure she was alone?!" I ask, aggressively. "Ah-Ah.. Uh.. Heading west.. I-I'm sorry, I needed to refuel, so I c-couldn't stop and..-" She exclaims. "It's okay. I'm sorry, I've got to go. Thanks for telling me, Abukuma!" I take off running towards to launch deck. There's no way I can let her be out by herself. Man, who knows what will happen. What if somethings already happened?! No. I need to stay focused. I need to find her! Hold on, Kumano.
[Sometime later, somewhere out West, Kumano.]
Rain pours down hard from the dark clouds above, making it hard to see. I hold a hand above my eyes to try block some of the incoming raindrops, but it does little and my vision remains a blur. Gosh, what ever happened to the beautiful sunshine that beamed down just moments ago? That of which was warm is now freezing cold. It's almost like I stepped foot into another world. But, that's ludicrous. As if something like that could ever happen. Though, I'm sure it's something Tone and Suzuya discuss. The wind sprays heavy amounts of water at me from the sea, blinding me over and over as both my outfit and handkerchief become to wet to wipe my eyes clear with. Heavens, with this weather I can hardly tell what's left from right. I don't know how I'm ever going to find her. If she's even out here.. She could have well and truly sunk by now. How far have I even come? Surely, I'd be more than close to the resupply drop by now. My nose begins twitching before I let out a small sneeze. Bless me.
I try looking around again but find it impossible to see anything further than 7 feet. In truth, I'm rather scared. Not only have I failed to find Suzuya and her fleet, but I appear to have gotten lost, too. It's not really all that rare, me getting lost. Whenever I'm alone it happens. It's like I'm cursed. Unlucky, they call it. Though, for how many times I get lost, I'd say I'm even more unlucky than Shoukaku.
I shouldn't have sortied by myself. I knew it. Here I was in such a rush to find Suzuya and I can't even see anything. It'd be like finding a needle in one hundred hay stacks. I just hope shes okay. That the dream I had meant nothing. That I can return to the Naval District and find her laying in bed, reading manga. Nothing changes. I don't ever want to return to a home where shes not there. I clench my fist close to my chest and continue forward, further into the swell.
A few minutes pass by before an uneasy feeling sets in my stomach. Before I can even think about it two torpedo's hit me from under the water surface. They both explode underneath me, which in turn knock me over. I open my eyes to find where the attack came from but my vision blurs momentarily as my ears ring. My whole body cries out in pain, but I ignore it as I return to my feet. The ringing subsides and I'm able focus much better. Glancing around, I spot three enemy abyssal's; two destroyers and one heavy cruiser. Although, I suspect there would be more of them somewhere around here. One of the destroyers open fires on me and I jump into action, speeding out of the way as quickly as possible. "There's no way I'll let you sink me.." I state, mostly to myself. Once there's a break in the firing line I spin around and aim my turrets at the enemy destroyer. "Fire!" I yell out as I open fire. The impact damages the destroyer but not enough to do the trick. The other destroyer begins open firing at me and I'm forced to evade their attacks again. Just as the firing seizes the first destroyer begins firing again, before I have the chance to fire back. Suddenly, I catch sight of a torpedo below the surface, heading straight for me. I quickly use my flight deck as a shield to ward off some of the impact, being unable to evade the attack. I feel my body become light before crashing onto the water surface. My eyes open and I find myself on my back. My flight deck almost completely destroyed, clothes torn, skin bleeding from a few places. Ngh. No. I won't let them sink me! As I get to my feet once more I spot one of the destroyers about to open fire on me. I freeze up as I'm caught unaware. There's no way I can dodge this and my flight deck won't be able to save me this time round. A loud bang catches me off guard as I flinch, closing my eyes shut tight. Seconds pass before I dare open my eyes, again. To my surprise I find that the destroyer is instead sinking. Fully torn in half and on fire, I watch as it slowly descends into the depths of the ocean.
"Kumano!" I hear a voice call out.
I turn to find a familiar blue haired girl waving her arms around.
"..Suzuya.."
"What the hell do you think your doing? Coming out here all alone!" She asks, angrily.
I disregard the anger in her voice and race over for a hug.
"Huh? Uh, hey, whats up? Dinner first?"
"I don't want to hear your stupid jokes! You idiot, I thought you were in trouble. I came out here to save you." I cry out.
She wraps her arms around me and sighs. "I worried you, huh? I'm sorry. Next time, I'll tell you before I leave, Kay'?"
"It's not that. I had a dream..-"
A few explosions go off around us and I snap back to reality.
"Sorry, looks like we'll have to handle these guys first. Just leave it to Suzuya! I'll handle them with ease!" Suzuya states, heading towards the enemy.
"Hmm. Guess I'll teach these impatient swines a lesson." I state.
I follow after Suzuya as we approach the enemy whilst evading incoming attacks. Once close enough we aim our turrets and open fire on the enemy heavy cruiser. She tries her best to evade our attack but ends up taking low damage. "Kumano, you take the destroyer, I'll take care of her." Suzuya calls out. "Right." I agree. I head towards the destroyers, swerving around to avoid enemy torpedoes. "Take this!" I shout as I launch two torpedoes. They head straight for the destroyer, only one making contact however. Still, it's enough to do the trick. The destroyer bursts into flames and begins sinking, slowly. I fire one last torpedo at the sinking abyssal just to be sure. It makes contact and bursts, engulfing it in a curtain of black smoke. Now that that is taken care of.. I'll help Suzuya out with this heavy cruiser. I turn around and race back towards Suzuya just in time to watch her deal the final blow to the enemy. She fires four torpedoes at the abyssal, three of witch make contact. There is a loud explosion. After the dust clears the enemy heavy cruiser is nowhere to be seen. "Ha ha. That was easy~! Suzuya handles abyssal's with ease. I'm totally like some sort of heroine, right?" Suzuya beams, fist pumping the air. "..R-right.." I answer. She continues babbling on about how she's a heroine while I look around. The swell as dissipated enough to see our surroundings now. We best make our way back whilst we can see. Besides, the other abyssal's could be on their way here now and I don't want to be here once they arrive. I've had enough fighting for one day. I can't wait to go back and have a bath. "Hey, Kumano~! Let's head back and get dinner. I have a few Mamiya coupons so my shout, kay'?" I roll my eyes but nod in agreement afterwards. We begin making our way back, Suzuya in the lead, since my compass fairy somehow went missing again. My stomach begins to churn as the heavy feeling returns, just like before. "Hey, Kumano? What was that dream about you were talking about? You never finished what you were saying." Suzuya asks. "O-oh, uh.. I'll tell you once we get back.." I answer, nervously. I'd feel bad telling her that she sunk in my dream. No one would ever want to hear such a horrible thing. Hopefully she just forgets about it. Maybe I will too.
A light breeze begins to blow, slightly messing up my fringe. Though, I don't particularly mind at this stage, since my skin and clothes are an absolute mess. I'm sure my hair suits the picture. A whistling sound catches my attention. Before I can act an enemy bomb falls from above, hitting Suzuya straight on. The explosion forces me to fly backwards a fair way, landing on my backside. "O-ow..Ow... Agh.." I whimper. I look around to see Suzuya has taken moderate damage, bare skin showing from her torn clothes, along with several scars. "S-Suzuya, are you fine?" I call out, standing up. She gets to her feet, too. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. You?" She asks. I simply nod in return. I am fine, though, my body is definitely screaming for mercy right now. I catch sight of an enemy carrier in the distance, followed by a heavy cruiser and three destroyers. I knew there would be more of them! I really thought we could avoid them though. Enemy planes circle the skies above us, waiting for the perfect opportunity to drop their bombs on us. "Kumano, anti-air attack!" Suzuya calls out. "Right!" I answer, adjusting my aim to the best of my abilities. "Fire!" We both call out simultaneously. Our anti-air guns fire at the targets, shooting down multiple enemy planes. Suzuya shoots out two torpedoes, which head towards the enemy carrier. However, the attack does nothing as the enemy planes shoot them before they can make contact. "Ngh.." I hear Suzuya snarl.
The enemy launches a counter-attack, as two destroyers open fire on Suzuya. She blocks the attacks with her flight deck, only receiving minor damage. However, her flight deck is heavily damaged.. Before I can think an enemy plane drops another bomb. "Suzuya!" I call out. I watch as the bomb falls from above, heading straight towards Suzuya. She looks up just as it reaches her. Suddenly, shes engulfed in smoke as a loud and terrifying sound echoes across the battlefield.
The dream...
...It's real.
I stand there, unable to move or speak. The black smoke shields Suzuya from view as fire dancing around on the surface of the water.
...Just like the dream...
It's all my fault..
I caused this. If I had stayed, then.. then..
Suzuya wouldn't sink.
As the smoke clears I race over to Suzuya. I fall to my knees and hurriedly pull her almost lifeless body into my arms. The scene plays out over and over again in my head. How she gets hit. The fire. The smoke. The injuries. and.. how she falls from my grasps. Sinks, into the deep sea. Vanishes. Like she was never there. The sea just.. takes her.. right out of my hands. No. I won't forgive the sea. I can't accept this. "..Kumano.. Your dream... It was about me sinking.. right..?" Suzuya asks, her voice low and shaky. My body fills with guilt as tears roll down my cheeks. "..How did you know..?" I ask. "Intuition." She says halfheartedly. A smile forms on her lips as her body grows increasingly heavier. "..It's not.. your fault, Kumano... Suzuya was meant to sink... You couldn't have.. ch-anged that..". I look away, unable to handle her smile. It's not fair. She should be mad at me. Upset with me. But, smiling?! "Don't talk like that.. I could have.. I should have. It's my fault." I state. My arm begins aching and I turn back to look at her, tears still falling down my face. Her face turns pale as blood drips from her mouth. "S-Suzuya..?" I cry out. Tears now trickle down my face like an endless waterfall, blurring my vision."...H-Hey.. Don't cry, Kuma..no..It's o-kay.. You can let me go.." Suzuya says, barely above a whisper. "No! Stay with me, Suzuya. I need you.." I say, cradling her body in my arms. Blood pours out of several gashes of her body, mixing with the barbaric sea. "...I'm sorry.." she speaks before closing her eyes, her body becoming too heavy to hold. "No.. No...No!" I yell. My arms shake from the weight before she slips from my grasp. I watch in horror as her body sinks into the unforgiving sea. "S-Suzuya.?..Ngh...Suzuya...N-no..." I whisper. Argh. "..NOOOOOOO!" I scream into the night. If this is how it is, then.. Sink me!
I rise to my feet and head towards the enemy carrier. It's blue eyes match that of the ocean. Barbaric. Unforgiving. A killer.
"..S-...S..SINK ME!" I scream at it.
The second those words leave my mouth bombs fall from the skies, hitting the enemy fleet in front of me. I jump back with surprise as I catch sight of friendly planes above. They continue to drop bombs onto the enemies, taking them down one by one. Torpedoes make contact with them from below, catching them off guard. I stand there, shocked, watching as each abyssal quickly sinks. The carrier, fighting to stay alive, gets pummelled by more torpedoes. Once the smoke clears, they're completely gone and I'm left shocked at how suddenly it had all happened.
"Kumano!" I hear voices call out repeatedly.
I turn to find fleet girls from my Naval District racing over to me. "Kumano!" Chikuma cries out as she wraps her arms around me. She pulls me close and I feel Tone wrap around us, too. The sound of light sobbing can be heard and I instantly know It's them. "I'm sorry.." I say, weakly. "Don't be. There was nothing you could do." I hear a voice say, and I recognise it to be Kaga's. Tone and Chikuma release me from their hug, though, still holding me either side to help me stay up. I look around at the group of girls with me. Kaga, Akagi, Maikaze, Nowaki, Hagikaze, Arashi, Chikuma and Tone. "..I.. don't want to go back.." I state. I muster all my strength into standing myself up. "..Kumano.. It'll be okay. We're here for you.." Chikuma states, warmly. "No. I'm sorry, but, I can't go back.. I just can't do it.." I say. Kaga and Akagi exchange looks before turning back to me and nodding. "If that is what you wish." Kaga says. I nod in return as both Tone and Chikuma let me go. Slowly, I make my way over to where Suzuya had sunk and face the group. "..Thank you.." I say, crying once again. Maybe if I told Suzuya about the dream when she asked we could have avoided all of this, or if I had just waited at the District like I was supposed to. But, instead it had to end like this. Letting our souls be swallowed by this sea. The four destroyers try to hold back their tears as they aim their torpedoes and I find myself again feeling guilty. How cruel am I to make them do such a thing? But, I'm sure inside, they understand. I look down at the dark water as I hear their equipment adjusting.
"Fire."