DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kantai Collection or any of the characters whatsoever. This includes the actual ships, their histories, etc. I'm just a fan of Kancolle as a gamer and of the ships as a history lover, nothing more.

(3)

The order came quickly from the fleet admiral. The removal of the Light Cruiser Kiso from the ranks of Sukumo Anchorage's fleet was given immediate priority. As a result of an anonymous tip, Heavy Cruiser Aoba published the sudden development in an extra special emergency issue of her newsletter. Rumors circulated around the base that very morning, ranging from a long term expedition to a transfer to sinking. Surprise and confusion spread through all of those who had been close to Kiso. They searched for her, but she was nowhere to be found.

Having returned from a night time mission and learned of the news immediately from Aoba's paper, the first to break down the doors to Admiral Aoi's office early that morning was Light Cruiser Kuma along with Kiso's other sister ships.

"Ooi, Kitakami, keep watch, -kuma," the eldest sister and namesake ship of the Kuma-class ordered her torpedo cruiser sisters. With their equipment still loaded and ready to fire if necessary, she stomped into the room with her equally angry sister Tama in tow.

Admiral Aoi sat solemnly at her desk, dark rings around her eyes. She was buried in a mountain of paperwork and had an ice pack on her head. She showed no surprise from the sudden arrival of her subordinate ship girls. After all, she had seen it coming from the minute the fleet admiral's order arrived.

"Kuma, Tama, you should know better than to barge into my office guns blazing. Oh, and welcome back from your mission, in any case."

"Shut it, Admiral," Tama's cat-like eyes narrowed as she approached the woman. "Where's Kiso, -nya?"

"Our sister better be safe or you'll wind up scrap at the bottom of the sea," Ooi shouted into the room. Her sharp tongue was dipped with venom from worry and stress. Kitakami on the other hand kept to herself. Her worries were only revealed when she clicked her tongue.

"So annoying…"

A sigh escaped from the tired Admiral Aoi as she put down her pen and ice pack. She adjusted the pins and medals on her white uniform and stood up. Unconcerned for her own safety, she commented, "One order from the fleet admiral and now my respect's all gone. And even the Kitakami-minded Ooi is targeting me. That's sisterhood for you."

Kuma and Tama did not take lightly to the admiral's remark. The 14 cm naval gun on Tama's rigging jerked, and Kuma took a step forward. "Please, tell us what happened to Kiso, Admiral. None of us are in a good mood after coming home to hear she's gone, –kuma."

Unfortunately, the admiral was unable to give the girls the reply they wanted. "The fleet admiral has forbidden me from saying a word regarding the matter of Kiso's removal, her status, and her location. This issue will remain confidential until the order is rescinded."

"Are you honestly not going to talk because he said so, -kuma?" Kuma slammed her hands on the admiral's desk, shaking the unsteady pile of paperwork in Admiral Aoi's 'Completed' box. Tama also placed a hand on the table. She gripped it tightly. Her long, sharpened nails dug into the wood.

"Aoba's paper said Kiso's rigging exploded when she was training with Tenryuu, -nya," Tama informed the admiral of what they knew. "Kiso wouldn't break it on purpose. That shouldn't be the reason she was punished, so tell us the truth, -nya."

Admiral Aoi merely shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't say a word, girls. I've done all I could, so I'd be happy if you four could just wait until the dust settles. I'd be glad to tell you when it's all over."

"How about telling us what you're allowed to say now then?" Kitakami reasoned. "Wouldn't that be fine?"

"You can get all of that information from Aoba. What hadn't been made confidential was already disclosed to that reporter," the admiral shrugged. "You'll find pretty much everything I'd be able to tell you in print form, or so I hear."

Ooi disagreed. "Let's hear it straight from the horse's mouth."

It was not going to be possible for the admiral to escape her interrogation. She knew she would be confronted and was prepared to face her ship girls' anger. "I have my orders. And I'm honestly growing tired of this conversation. Kiso is in good hands. You'll just have to trust me on that."

"You can't expect us to ju-"

"Enough, -nya."

Kuma was getting impatient, but Tama was the first to act. The cat-like light cruiser moved her right arm in a wide swing, knocking all of the admiral's papers right off the table. Immediately after doing so, her left arm shot forward, and gripped Admiral Aoi's neck tightly.

"T-Ta-?" the admiral could not speak with the light cruiser at her throat.

"H-Hey, Tama!" Kuma was shocked to see her sister take such drastic action. Certainly, they were angry, but Tama was lifting their admiral a good ten centimeters off the ground. "That's going too far, -kuma. You could get in trouble for insubordination –kuma!"

"Spill it, -nya," hissed Tama. The strength of a ship girl was not to be underestimated. Rather than just letting go of her superior officer, the angered ship girl effortlessly threw Admiral Aoi back onto her chair like a rag doll. It tipped over along with the woman who fell onto the ground with a loud and heavy thud. "I don't care if this is insubordination. Kiso's our sister, -nya."

"Gwah!" Admiral Aoi took in a deep breath to make up for her nearly suffocating in Tama's grasp. "I didn't think you'd get this angry. I'm impressed by your courage and dedication to your sister."

Tama was unconcerned with the praise she was receiving. Her anger still hadn't been quelled. The assault strike wasn't enough for her. Her guns were locked onto the defenseless admiral. She showed no sign of mercy. "Quit the small talk. I said to spill it, -nya."

Admiral Aoi stood up slowly. She winced in pain as she could feel the pain in her sides, back, and neck. Moreover, she was still being targeted. She wouldn't be able to take a single hit from Tama's weaponry. Compared to ship girls, she was as fragile as a snowflake.

"I told you… Kiso's fine…," the admiral picked her seat up and sat back down. She tried to act as though she was unafraid, but the sweat just wouldn't stop running down her face. "I called in a few favors… to make sure of that…"

"Then why was she removed, -kuma?" Kuma spoke up. She positioned herself in-between the admiral and Tama. She was worried about Kiso, but Tama acting out of line and attacking the admiral was something she had to stop from happening again. "Sorry, Admiral. I don't know if I can hold Tama back, -kuma."

"She has every right to be angry. You all do," Admiral Aoi understood Tama's anger. They had just returned from a mission to hear their sister had been removed from the base after all. That was why she did not mind being assaulted by the ship girl. "And I'm sorry, but even if you want me to act out of line, I can't mention the details to anybody."

"And why is that, -nya?" Tama tried to maneuver around her older sister, but was unable to.

"Well…"

Admiral Aoi did not continue speaking. She glanced at Ooi and Kitakami, who were still standing beside the door, as though to guard it. With a simple hand gesture, she requested for them to come in and shut the door. They did as they were told.

"It's in the terms of those favors I said I had to call in."

Now that the door was shut, the woman could relax a little. She was happy to be able to use the table to support her body, but then she turned her head to where her paperwork had been, only to remember that it was all over the floor. Really, she had worked so hard through the night to get things done. She closed her eyes and sighed at her misfortune.

"I hope you girls get it. These favors are outside of official jurisdiction, and the people who are helping me out have secrets to keep as well. It'd be trouble if any of us get exposed, so we have to keep a lot of the details to ourselves. Any detail I was allowed to mention was sent to Aoba."

"So you're working off the record?" Kitakami tilted her head. "I've heard rumors you were a shady admiral, but I didn't figure they were true."

Aoi nodded the best she could with her head resting on the tabletop. "Kiso's one of my best girls. Do you honestly think I'd sit here twiddling my thumbs? Hate me all you want, but I'm telling you that this is for that girl's sake."

"… Kiso's been with you the longest," Ooi crossed her arms. Reluctantly, she had to admit her admiral wasn't the type to leave things be. "And you've always hated when things don't go your way. I guess you're telling the truth."

The Kuma-class namesake ship nodded in understanding. She knew Kiso was one of the closest girls to Admiral Aoi. There was no doubt in her mind that they would never abandon one another. But even so, she still wasn't completely convinced. "If you're helping Kiso, I have no problems with that, -kuma. But is what happened to her so bad that you can't even tell us what it is, -kuma?"

"Aoba only mentioned the explosion and the removal." Although she had calmed down slightly, Tama maintained her aggression. "Everything else is interpretation, -nya."

"Of course it is. I'd be in trouble if anything else was released," groaned Aoi. "The fleet admiral's orders are preventing me from leaking information to the public, and my contacts would withdraw their support if I leaked any information in private. The slightest slip up could alert either side, so even with the door closed, I'm being vague. For Kiso's sake, I can't afford to reveal anything."

Kuma, Ooi, and Kitakami lowered their heads. Their admiral was speaking seriously. They had been convinced of that much. The only one left who wouldn't go down so easily was Light Cruiser Tama.

Tama ground her teeth. Now that Aoi had conveyed her intentions and her reasons, her sisters had been won over. She knew the woman had good reason to be telling the truth and even more good reason to keep them in the dark. It just made her mad that her reasoning shut their interrogation down so perfectly.

"Tama…," spoke Kitakami to her tense sister. "Maybe we should just be happy the admiral said Kiso's safe. I mean… if all goes well, she'll be back… right?"

The admiral nodded. "I can guarantee that. Kiso is in a place we can trust will take care of her right now."

Tama bit her lip. Her knuckles were turning white from how hard she was clenching her fists. She was reluctant to give in. At the very least, she wanted something more to reassure herself that her sister was safe.

"Your contacts… are they ship girls, -nya?"

Aoi blinked. Although Tama may have only been asking to see if she could trust the woman's contacts, the light cruiser had asked a good question. The ship girl's wit was as sharp as her instincts. She had to hand it to Tama.

"Yes…"

Tama nodded. She relaxed her shoulders and her rigging's weaponry retracted. She accepted Aoi's honest answer.

"I better not find her in Manila, -nya."

Turning around, Tama moved passed her sisters and opened the door. The light cruiser girl said nothing else and simply left the room. As Kiso's comrade and sister, she could only hope for the best. The admiral had to keep her word.

Sigh!

"If things take too long, I'll get that girl to write some letters," was Admiral Aoi's mere act of kindness. It was simple, but to the Kuma-class girls, it was something to be grateful for. Kuma, Kitakami, and Ooi all bowed their heads and then saluted the woman before they left the office. As for Tama, the sound of her footsteps seemed to have softened.

"Thank you," was the last word she heard from the light cruiser girls.

Finally alone in her office again, Admiral Aoi stood up and tried to steady her legs. They shook wildly without the support of the woman's chair.

"So early in the morning, and I'm already shaking in my boots," she laughed weakly at her misfortune, her eyes drooping from exhaustion. At the very least, she had survived the reaction she had been expecting from her independent and strong girls. Her subordinates were strong, but she was able to endure their interrogation. Admiral Aoi stomped her foot, hoping the recoil of the impact would wake her up. "Come on, Yukiko. You're stronger than this…"

Really, fighting against the higher ups. What on earth was she thinking? They were in the middle of a war with a dangerous, unknown enemy. They would have her head for such treason. The world was unfair, and the orders of her superiors were law so far as she was supposed to be concerned. To go behind the back of the fleet admiral for the sake of a single overheating light cruiser, she was an insane woman.

But even so, she stuck to her decision. Kiso would have been shut in quarantine for who knows how long had she not stepped in. She had arranged for a certain somebody to convince the fleet admiral to transfer Kiso elsewhere. Even though that person owed her originally, it still cost Aoi an arm and a leg considering the risks being undertaken. And by an arm and a leg, she meant a boatload of resources. Even so, the admiral was unconcerned of how many strings she would have to pull. So long as the navy needed her and her actions went unnoticed, she would remain in with her fleet. And as long as she was responsible for those girls, she would be damned if she'd let her cute subordinates down.

Admiral Aoi looked down at the scattered mess of papers that covered her wooden floor. As she scanned the room, her hand rubbed her throat. It hurt to move move her head. Even so, she continued searching until her eyes centered on a single sheet of paper. The admiral knelt down and picked it up. It was a mere budget appropriation document, but to her, it was a lot more than that.

Resource Transfer Request for Remodeling.

Tama may have felt comforted knowing a fellow ship girl was with her sister, but Aoi was still uncertain about the matter. Unfortunately, leaving things to her was, above all others, the best choice the admiral had in her repertoire. She was the only girl with enough knowledge to find a solution for Kiso's problem.

"Tch! I can't believe I'm giving that Akashi this much free reign…"

Because an angry Tama was on my wish list. Actually, after a looking it up, Tama and Kiso were in the same cruiser division, which makes this Tama's reaction seem a little more justified. I love it when the story compliments the history in some way. This tale will end up a bit longer than I thought. Kiso wasn't in this chapter, but she'll show up next. I'm currently enjoying the V-day CGs BTW. Especially since they're all part of my expedition fleet and Shigure's my beloved secretary whenever Jintsuu's away. ~Richi