DISCLAIMER: I do not own the series or the characters. I definitely don't own the ships, but I do find Kancolle enjoyable.
"Uwa~n~! So tired," yawned the destroyer girl, Akatsuki as she wandered through the destroyer dorms within the navel district. She glanced out the window to see the stars twinkling in the night's sky. "I fell asleep while the Commander was working, but I'm still so sleepy."
Being the secretary ship was difficult on the ship girl. All of the paperwork that had to be done often took until long past midnight to be finished. She felt a little bad about falling asleep while with the admiral, but even she had her limits. Ladies had to have their beauty sleep.
"The others are probably sleeping already," Akatsuki mumbled. "Let's hurry up and join them."
The room for the Akatsuki class held four destroyers: Akatsuki, Inazuma, Ikazuchi, and Hibiki. Inazuma was the worrywart of the four while Ikazuchi, who resembled her, was an energetic girl. Hibiki was the soft-spoken destroyer and Akatsuki herself was responsible for them all, being the name-sake ship and the secretary ship. She was in charge of her sisters.
Quietly opening the door to her room, the destroyer girl adjusted her eyes to the darkness. She saw Inazuma sleeping while hugging a large pillow while Ikazuchi had kicked off the blanket. Those two were the same as ever, Akatsuki couldn't help but notice. She wondered if Ikazuchi would notice if she put her blanket back on over her.
"Eh? Hibiki?"
Something was out of place within the room. Hibiki was not in her futon. Actually, her futon was nowhere to be found. Hibiki, who slept between Akatsuki and Inazuma, had left an empty area between their futons.
Turning her head from left to right, Akatsuki searched the darkness of the room for her sister ship. She was relieved but more than surprised to see the girl still in the room. For some reason, Hibiki was in the corner of the room, wrapped in a blanket. She appeared to be sleeping, but Akatsuki noticed something on the girl's face.
Reflecting off the moonlight shining through the window were stains of tears on Hibiki's face.
Was she crying? What happened? Was Hibiki okay? Akatsuki couldn't help but worry about her normally stoic sister. But what could she do? Hibiki was already asleep. She couldn't just wake Hibiki up and ask what was the matter.
She would sleep, Akatsuki decided. Hopefully whatever was the problem would be settled by the time she woke up. Tired, the secretary ship moved to the dresser and changed into her pajamas as quietly as she could. She crept into her futon, staring at the empty space between her and Inazuma that Hibiki always filled.
It would be better tomorrow…
It was even stranger the next day. When she awoke, Hibiki had already left and the futon was back in its proper position. Inazuma and Ikazuchi hadn't noticed, but Akatsuki couldn't forget what she saw. Hibiki curled up into a ball in the corner of the room… it was unnatural.
"Ah, it's Hibiki," While carrying documents to the filing room, Akatsuki noticed her sister ship outside the window. She stopped to see the girl with her light hair and small build. "Hm…?"
Akatsuki knew Hibiki was the quiet type. Hibiki spoke softly and quietly all of the time. But the Hibiki she saw outside was more than just quiet. She was observant. They were off duty but for some reason, the ship girl did not appear relaxed. She stared intently at what was in front of her, watching every little thing as though even the slightest change was dangerous.
Hibiki was staring at Inazuma and Ikazuchi.
That was when Akatsuki realized it. Hibiki was worried again. The ship girls all had memories of their pasts, but Hibiki was one of the most affected. Back then, Hibiki was the one who was left behind. Ikazuchi, Inazuma, and she, Akatsuki, did not make it through until the end. It was painful to remember for Akatsuki, but the loneliness Hibiki felt must have been even worse.
Akatsuki bit her lip. They were sisters. She had to do something.
When she was finished in the filing room, Akatsuki made her way back to the commanding office. She would have entered immediately, but when she reached for the knob, she heard Hibiki's voice.
"A-are you sure…?"
Why was Hibiki in the admiral's room? Akatsuki remained silent, intent on listening in.
The admiral was the other voice in the room. It was gentle, as though he were trying to reassure her. "I'm sure, Hibiki. You have nothing to worry about."
"But it can still happen again!"
Akatsuki froze. Hibiki had raised her voice. She was definitely afraid of losing her sisters. What would the admiral do now that Hibiki had come to him? Akatsuki hoped the Commander could resolve Hibiki's concerns and convince her that everything would be alright.
"Hibiki, Hibiki, Hibiki. Your worries are unnecessary. There's nothing wrong about being afraid," were the Commander's words to the concerned ship girl.
Akatsuki heard them. The Commander was doing a good job. As expected of their superior.
"It's no problem at all. Besides, if it does ever happen again, we can just replace them before anybody notices."
"Eh?"
Once again, Akatsuki froze. She had heard something she had not expected. At the same time, it was entirely lacking of tact. The implications of his words were just frightening to say the least. Did he really think they were replaceable? That nobody would mind after they were gone? For the Commander to say such monstrous things so lightly… so happily…
Akatsuki clenched her fist. It hurt to think her commanding officer was so cruel. To even think about throwing them away made her sad, but what was worse was that he directly told Hibiki. Hibiki was a compassionate little girl. The Commander's words would sting more than a torpedo strike.
Slam!
"Commander, you big dummy!" Akatsuki kicked open the door to the admiral's room. She jumped on the work desk and pointed angrily at the man in the white uniform. "What do you think you're saying?!"
"A-Akatsuki!" the man was than frightened of the destroyer girl. He had almost twice the girl's height but definitely not the girl's equipped firepower. Akatsuki aimed her guns at her commanding officer, seething with anger. "You're back!"
"Of course I'm back. What exactly are you're telling Hibiki while I'm gone?" the girl wanted to fire. She wanted to hit the Commander so badly for what he had said. "Replace? Are you so heartless that you're willing to tell Hibiki that you'll replace them?"
"Now, now, Akatsuki. I didn't think it'd be that big of a deal."
"Not that big of a deal? Hibiki is my little sister! Inazuma and Ikazuchi are my little sisters! I'm the name-sake ship of the Akatsuki class!" asserted Akatsuki. "If you even think about replacing one, you have to come see me first, you shitty admiral!"
The Commander probably wanted to make a quip about Akatsuki's Akebono-esque manner of addressing him, but the weapons aimed directly at his face made him think twice. Even Hibiki was frightened by Akatsuki's sudden appearance and assault. Hibiki had ducked under the Commander's desk, covering her head for safety, when Akatsuki had made her declaration.
"Hibiki," Akatsuki jumped off the desk and pulled her sister up, hugging her tightly.
"Uwa~h!"
"Hibiki, I'm sorry," apologized Akatsuki. "I'm sorry I left you alone. I'm sorry for everything."
"A-Akatsuki…"
The name-sake ship refused to let her sister go. She hugged tighter and tighter. "I'm… We're not going anywhere. No matter what happens, we'll take care of you. I'll always take care of you."
"Ah…," Hibiki hesitated to speak. She took in her sister ship's warmth. Closing her eyes as the girl hugged her affectionately. "Спасибо…"
It was Russian that Hibiki sometimes spoke. Akatsuki had heard enough from her sister to understand the "Thank you" she had been given. "Just leave things to your big sister. It won't happen again."
"Wow, what a heartwarming sight," the commander was reaching for a tissue.
Akatsuki glared at the man as she hugged her sister ship. "Commander… Don't think you're off the hook. You weren't serious about what you told her were you?"
"You'd be willing to shoot your superior?" the admiral glanced at Akatsuki's weaponry. She was still in a position where she could fire at him at any time.
"Answer the question!"
Nervously, the commander glanced at Hibiki, as though asking for permission. Akatsuki noticed her sister nod before the commander cleared his through to answer. "U-Um… I was serious. My apologies, Akatsuki. I should've asked you first before deciding. I didn't think you were that uptight over your bed sheets. I'll approve whatever you and Hibiki come up with."
"You better believe that you should've asked m- Bed sheets?" Akatsuki let go of Hibiki and saw the young destroyer red in the face with embarrassment.
"I never had sisters, so I don't know much about how girls think," the admiral shrugged. "If it's the big sister's job to deal with bed wetters, then I guess I'll leave it to you."
"H-Hibiki?" Akatsuki took a step forward. Her sister had become quite nervous at the mention of bed wetting. Did she make a mistake? She had assumed the worst and barged in on a secret that the girl wanted to be kept. "Are you okay?"
Hibiki's voice was soft. "Y-Yes…"
She didn't sound okay. Then again, neither was Akatsuki. The namesake ship's face felt numb as she looked at her younger sister. She realized just how embarrassing it must have been for Hibiki to have her bedwetting exposed. Akatsuki's body shook. She had drawn the wrong conclusion and barged into a really private conversation.
Bowing her body at a ninety degree angle, the secretary ship apologized with all of her heart. "I'm very sorry."
They promised to keep what happened in the admiral's room to themselves for the rest of their lives. Even their commander was forced, at gunpoint, to swear to secrecy. The bedwetting never happened and the misunderstanding never occurred.
Thusly, it was peaceful at the naval base again.
I wanted to work on a Kancolle fanfiction for a while. I read a couple doujins then saw my friend play. I was hooked. I thought it'd be good to start off with the destroyer girls, especially the Akatsuki class. Akatsuki is one of my favorites what with her being a lady(lol) and an adult(lol). She seems fun to tease. I might want to make a longer series sooner or later, but shorts like this please me too. ~Richi