"He's an ass ain't he?"

After what happened minutes ago, Tenryuu wasn't sure if she's in the mood to answer her fellow ship girl's question. Looking out of the window, leaning and seating on her bed inside the room that she shares with her two fellow ship girls, Tenryuu tries to ignore Maya's presence. Said Heavy Cruiser is leaning on the door frame, her head pointed downwards; focusing on the floor as if to find it interesting. Maya stood with arms crossed; her expression flat, yet the hint of irritation and anger are visible on her blue eyes.

Tenryuu did not respond, choosing to be silent. She finds the morning blue sea to be a relaxing and calming view. From the window's reflection, she could see the state of her own face. Silent, irked and tired. But most of all, she is disappointed. Not at the admiral, but at herself. She shouldn't have barged out of the room acting like a child; now how will she look at her CO in the face whenever she'll have assignments? Though that probably won't be a problem… she's definitely suspended anyway.

Maya has similar thoughts. She too is disappointed to let her feelings got the better of her. If only she were to stay and be quiet… but at the same time, she can't let someone act like an absolute ass in front of her; especially if that attitude is directed towards her and her comrades. The brown haired humanoid ship pursed her lips; unconsciously gripping her arms. What will she do now? She had just started operating on this base for about two months; if she were to get transported, what will she say to the other girls later on?

"Ne, Maya…"

A sudden voice and question from Tenryuu brought the Heavy Cruiser off from her thoughts. Her eyes flickered towards the form of Tenryuu's back; which is still facing her way. "Are… are we really useless?" there's so many things wrong with that voice. Not in sentence; but there's no feelings and emotion at all. Tenryuu's voice is dead, seemingly literal. There's no excitement and teasing just like what it holds usually; it is all replaced by dead resolution.

Maya kissed her lips. "No. We're not useless. We're ship girls, that's what." She answered.

Then silence resumed once again, shrouding the place in an uncomfortable atmosphere. Clicking sounds came from the window; it has rained. The rain grew stronger; falling down from heaven even faster. Then thunder makes its vocation, letting the Pacific know that there is a storm approaching. Tenryuu ignores it. But what she can't ignore are the questions building up in her heart. These questions that slowly and steadily changes her willpower into none…

It's as if she is rusting in terms of mentality. She began to question herself from the past few days. What are they in the eyes of the admiral's? Are they nothing more than toys? Weapons? She couldn't really say anything against it; after all, it is true. She is not human. She is a machine, a weapon, created in the form of a human. The only reason why she and her fellow ship sisters could feel is because of the program which is installed into her main software.

But now that she could feel, thinking about such things is… scary.

Imagine, a robot with a heart and mind of a human. What is that if nothing but a failed product? Even if she knew the purpose of her kind being created, she doesn't know the exact reason why. Is it just to battle and prevent any attack from sea? Or something deeper, something much complicated than what it is installed in her? Tenryuu could only think; think and wonder. This is her second month in this base, along with Inazuma and Maya; but…

She has to admit. The second month is way better than the first.

Suddenly, she stood up from her bed and walked out of the door. Maya, of course, notices this and follows after her; walking three steps behind. "Where are you going?" the brown haired ship girl said.

"Apologizing." Tenryuu replied without stopping or looking at Maya. She continues to walk; determination brimming from her one eye.

"Apologizing…?" the girl behind parroted slowly. Her face changes into pure disbelief. "You're going to apologize to that kind of man? He's an asshole! Bastard can't even send us out on sorties properly!" argued the girl. "Tenryuu, if you're sure as hell going to apologize; think first! He'll still send us on sorties without armaments; he'd might as well send us out without our basic equipment!" but her reasoning did not stop. "Think! He's sending us out on suicide missions; do you think he's someone who deserves apology?"

Tenryuu did not consider Maya's warnings; she walked on ahead towards her CO's office. "I still did act brashly in front of an officer; our CO. Protocols installed in database says to obey our CO without any condition. By acting like I did;" a large grin appeared on her face. "I've disobeyed protocols. I need to apologize."

"Tenryuu, we'll die if we keep on following that lunatic's order!"

At that, Tenryuu stopped; causing Maya to do the same. The eye patch wearing kanmusu turned slowly to face her fellow ship girl; showing the ridiculously large grin on her face. "Ufufu, remember, I am Tenryuu. I don't die easily. In fact, they all should be scared of me. I don't care if I was sent without any armaments anymore. I'll prove that bastard that I'm more to than what he thinks of me." Then she resumes her walking, leaving Maya who is the only one remaining in the hallway.

Her disappearing figure raised a hand; then says, "And who says that you need to be sorry to apologize?" after that, her figure completely disappears deeper into the hallway, leaving Maya alone.

The left alone Maya stood frozen; looking at where the other girl had just disappeared from. Slowly, the corner of her lips twitches and stretch, transforming into a smile. She sighed into her palm, shaking her head. "Haaah… that girl…" but never, never that smile disappeared from her face. In fact, it might as well get wider.

"Hmm… man, the previous guy who was stationed here sure suck as hell… no wonder the old goat sent me here."

Muttering, the blonde admiral grumbled distastefully as he reviewed the mission reports from the base's catalogue. He flicked through the terminal's screen like a person who is bored out of his mind. Low fuel supplies… little to no bauxite… insufficient amount of steel… ammo barely remaining… how did this guy even become an admiral? It's a good thing that he sent his ship girls on for expedition for the first few weeks; or else he'll be forced to feed the girls konyaku and ramen.

From seeing the catalogue, there's no particular data of ship scrapping, which is good. Maybe it's also due to the fact that this guy had been spending out way too many resources instead of getting them. Too much redundancy… things like 'improving ship efficiency' is not going to work if you don't send your girls to get more supplies! You'll lose way more than what you spent due to it. Improved girls needs more material; and more material is something that this base lacks.

Being a proud son of a gun he is; he's not going to go and ask the neighboring bases for supplies. Nope. He's just too much of a man to even be requesting for supplies. The result from the many expeditions he sent his girls to won't last long; provided the need to maintain them. Seeing the girls' status, Tenryuu has been remodeled, along with Maya and Inazuma. No wonder they're able to escape from enemy ships without even sinking… perhaps that is the only thing the previous admiral thought good of; remodeling his ship girls.

Of course, in order to remodel, he needs to get materials. And how did the previous guy get materials? He asked for supplies from HQ. Naruto could see how things went already; in short, HQ was tired of this guy not being able to get his own materials and decided to dismiss him. Then why did the old goat said that the previous guy was dismissed due to court martial? He didn't try to hump on steel did he? For the goodness of things, he is not going to go there.

Okay, now that reviewing history is done, time to check his own history. The admiral tapped a few times on the tablet, a screen pops up and he tapped on the button. Naruto raised his eyebrow in mild surprise when he saw the base's status; now that it has been managed by him. "Heeh? Not bad, not bad me. But I could do better." Proud he may be but an arrogant show off he isn't. He's not just going to go and declare to the whole neighboring bases that he got the most materials than them.

5 seconds later…

"Ha ha! Who got the most shit, I do! You better remember that ya noob!" he slammed the telephone down, a grin plastered on his face.

Moving on…

Now that he has enough resources, he could construct another ship girl as an addition to his fleet. But the problem… he can't decide on what class to choose. This base has three kinds of classes already. A Heavy Cruiser, Light Cruiser and a Destroyer. What he doesn't have are Battleships, Subs, Carriers, and along with the other important classes out there. But doing construction as of now isn't necessary, not to mention, he got that.

KNOCK

KNOCK

…who is it?

"Come in." Naruto said in response to the knocking on the door. The door opened, and he couldn't hide his surprise. The one who entered is none other than Tenryuu herself. He hide his surprise by shifting in his seat; leaning forward so that he could rest his elbows on the desk's surface while perching his chin on his knuckles. His mouth hidden behind his palms is actually stretched into a small smirk; something that he shows when he feels that something interesting is going to happen.

"Ah, Tenryuu. How may I help you?" he asked, cheerfully just like he always do.

It took the CL a moment before she could answer her CO's question. "I…" she fidgets and begins to constantly switch her attention between the floor and him. It is a definite that she is nervous; even so, nervousness alone won't hinder her. She took a deep breath in; preparing herself. "I am deeply sorry!" she bowed her head deeply to express her sorry.

.

.

.

"Meh, okay. It's not like I'm mad or anything." Shrugged the blonde admiral while glancing away briefly. He sets his eyes back on Tenryuu. He could see the confusion on the ship girl's face; she must be expecting a different reaction from him.

"…Hai? That's it? That's it!?" Tenryuu half shouted half asked, completely incredulous over the fact that someone had just forgiven her so easily. "You're not going to give me a penalty? Banned from sorties? Expeditions?"

Naruto looked at her as if she had grown another set of antenna ears like receiver thing. "No, no. Why would I? You're an important part of my fleet Tenryuu; along with Maya and Inazuma-kun. I don't think that I would do something as unbeneficial such as suspending you from mission duties." He explained before shrugging once more. "Besides, if I want to punish you; I could go and ask you to paint the whole base in orange." He grinned.

The CL suddenly prostates herself. "I am deeply sorry for my actions."

"Hahaha, funny one aren't you?" The blonde haired admiral cleared his throat. "In all seriousness; I have no need to punish you nor did you do something wrong for acting the way you did before." He raised a gloved finger, pointing to the ceiling. "First, you have to remember that I am your superior. If I ask you girls to do something; it will always be for a good cause." He raised a second finger. "Two, there is no way that I will ban my girls from going from duty. In fact, you three can feel free and barge into my office just to ask for expeditions." The third finger. "And third," he smiles. "There's always a part in life where everyone makes mistakes. I am human, I make mistakes. You girls are designed to simulate and replicate human behavior despite having the aspect of military weaponry. Making mistakes are a part of you girls now; think of it of one of your protocols."

"One of my protocols…" muttered the eye patch wearing Light Cruiser.

"Yup, as easy as that." Naruto nodded. "See Tenryuu; you girls being a ship girl means nothing to me. As long as you are willing to accept my flaws and edges, then I am willing to accept you. As long as you respect me, I will respect you even more than you do to me. Remember; we are no winners in this war." He tapped the wooden desk to prove his point. "We are survivors. Servants. We serve the people who we are fighting for in their namesakes. We are willing to dirty ourselves in blood and oil for their happiness, for their wellbeing. But remember that we must not forget to be selfish; even if the slightest bit." He winked. "Do you get that, Light Cruiser Tenryuu class; Tenryuu?"

"H-Hai!"

"Good, good." Naruto nodded in satisfaction with his eyes closed. "Now…" he suddenly yawned, drooping his body over his desk; while his hand made an effort to wave dismissingly at the ship girl who is still entranced by his 'wisdom speech'. "You can dismiss yourself. I'm going to sleep the whole evening out; oh, don't forget to prepare yourself for an assignment tomorrow."

As Tenryuu was about to leave, she remembers one important detail. "Are you finally letting us go with our armaments this time?"

"… I'll consider it."

That night, Tenryuu can't sleep due to the excitement of tomorrow's expedition.

Tomorrow has come, and it starts with a very loud awakening.

"BASTARD ADMIRAL!"

The usually peaceful, quiet and silent base is shook by the sudden outrage that is Tenryuu's voice. In a particular hallway; the one that leads towards the admiral's office, things like the floor, walls and even ceiling are shaking. The sound of repetitive thumping noise slowly becomes distinct; the louder it becomes, the nearer it is. A flash of white and gold went by; moving agilely and swiftly. The flash was followed by a blur of purple and black, not wanting to lose in terms of speed.

"Nyahaha! Wassamatah Tenryuu? Ya scared?"

"Come back here you bastard!"

So, the day starts with a scene of Tenryuu chasing the admiral from hallways to hallways; with her having no luck in capturing the blasted man. "You little bastard, come back here and stay still!" shouted the irritated and out of hell pissed off ship girl as she runs along the hallway to capture her target. Her face consorting to an expression that shows anger, embarrassment and ire; her arms raised and ready to grab a hold of the man should she come near him. Waking up in the morning has never been so… what's the term… hectic. Yes, hectic. The fact that she was just doing her morning routine the bathroom minutes ago; doesn't mean that she could continue it without having to face the biggest problem.

"No way, you'll do some scary things to me! Hahaha!" the blonde haired CO laughed and ran like a sparrow striking the air; his constant laughing only to serve as a fuel for the Light Cruiser who is hot on his trail. But that's no problem; in fact, it isn't a problem at all. She could chase him all day if he care, but she won't be able to get him. Why? It's simple.

Being a badass is one of his passive skills, along with being ridiculously handsome, smart, wise, cool etcetera, etcetera.

So, running away from a ship girl is as easy as solving an 8x8 Rubik's cube with one hand strapped to the back. Especially while they are on land. The fleeing admiral took a moment to glance back; but he was greatly surprised that Tenryuu had managed to keep up with him after a whole twenty minutes of playing cat and mouse. But see here… he isn't the mouse.

"Think fast!" suddenly stopping, the admiral of the Pacific naval base throws something from within his sleeves. He grinned; thinking on how the girl will respond to the sudden attack.

"W-Whoa!" Tenryuu ducked underneath the incoming items, she looks back to find them to be a tennis ball sized orange paintballs. "Hey! You're going to get my clothes dirty ya bastard!" she the resumes on the comical chase once again; but she's angrier than before.

Still, Naruto is always further ahead of her, not even showing any signs of exhaustion. Tenryuu was incredulous; just how much stamina does this person has? He's not even sweating, unlike her. Their chase began to take twists and turns, with Naruto finding his way skillfully around every corner, planning on completely losing Tenryuu. "Oi! Just slow down will ya!" their path came to a point where they've reached the other side of the base's main building. Beyond them is an opened window, with two intersections that could be a perfect way for the admiral to make the chase his win.

But nooo, he just have to jump out of the window.

"YAHOOOO!" The blonde haired officer cheered out like a stuntman on acid.

Not expecting something like this, Tenryuu did not hold back. "YOU STUPID ASS WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?!" her voice is useless since the man is now outside of the building. She rushed over to the window, worried. Looking down, she saw the smiling face of Naruto waving for her attention. Then she saw him tracing on air; slowly, she began to decipher the message. "'Fu…fu…fu… ya… scared?'" a vein snapped on her forehead. "THAT'S IT YOU BLONDE BASTARD, I'LL SINK YOU TO HELL!" she leaned over the window, before jumping down with murderous intent.

But this doesn't scare the admiral who is seemingly standing like a sitting duck. Tenryuu comes, soaring from above; something that a ship girl wouldn't normally do. Then again, the same goes for an admiral. Tenryuu cocked her fist back, planning to give her admiral a piece of her… bridge. The second she was about to hit the man; he disappeared from her sight. She landed, looking back and forth; trying to find where on earth did the admiral went. She felt a pricking sensation on her back; as if her sonar had just bleeped. She ducked to avoid a set of paintballs thrown at her at a terrifying rate. No human could throw ten paintballs as fast as Naruto did.

But it did not stop there; Tenryuu finds herself dodging another incoming volley of paintballs aimed her way. She skillfully dodges them as if they were nothing. But she has to admit, for a human, this guy is fast. Way too fast. "Yaaah!" she ran, charging for the hit; not giving time for the blonde to restock on more paintballs. But Tenryuu did a careless move, she got hit by a ball straight on the head; right on her forehead. The impact was hard, it's enough to stagger her for a second; even if it did not hurt. The impact caused a mess of orange to spread all over her face; pissing her off even more. "You little…"

"What's wrong Tenryuu, ya scared?" the naval officer raised an orange ball on his hand, preparing to throw them. On his face is a grin; way wider and deadlier than his previous ones. He launched one ball directly at Tenryuu, but the shot missed. Tenryuu took this as a chance to advance, yet unfortunately, the girl did not get far seeing that she was forced two incoming attacks simultaneously. Naruto too did not want to lose on performance; it's still a mystery on where does he store those paintball. Yet it is even more mysterious on how could he keep up on close distance combat with CL.

Tenryuu charged forward, in a speed that Naruto did not expect her to have. He's fairly surprised; causing him unable to act in time. Tenryuu reached a distance where she could potentially harm him; but really? Will he let her? The answer is obvious.

No.

"Suck on this!" The CL launched a well aimed knuckle sandwich; aiming for the guy's head. But Naruto was too quick; far too quick. In a fraction of a second, he raised his arms to his head level, taking in the form of a boxer. He ducks underneath Tenryuu's punch, while searching for possible weak spots at the same time. Tenryuu, while skillful in offense, isn't so skillful when it comes to defense. She has her lower parts exposed; legs, abdomen, groin. All three of them could be easily targeted in case if she were to fight on close range during battles. Naruto lands a jab towards the ship girl's right rib, before moving on to kneeing the other side.

"Urk!" Tenryuu was not expecting the two hits. She stumbled back; fazed from the counter attack. In her fazed state, Naruto dives in for the strike. He took two steps forward, leaping closer to the girl. He aimed for a jab right at Tenryuu's left shoulder. The hit connects, but he did not stop there. The follow up is another set of two punch lefties aimed for the girl's torso before finishing with a chokehold. He spins skillfully, grabbing Tenryuu's arm as a lever. Then he sweeps her legs using his own feet; also with a little help of his hands to put more force into the takedown, taking the girl down swiftly.

"GAAK!"

She can feel her body being pulled by gravity. The feeling is almost the same as sinking. She can also see the sky, or is it the admiral's eyes? Yet the impact never came. She could feel a pair of strong hands gripping her at her shoulder and hips; preventing her from coming in contact with the ground. Tenryuu blinked, still shocked at what happened.

"Good job Tenryuu, you passed." She can see him smiling clearly. A nab of foreign feeling pierced her chest, almost like her center hull being breached by a torpedo. Tenryuu pushes the man away from her, helping herself onto her feet.

"W-W-Well of course, I'm the great Tenryuu-sama after all." She said bashfully. "Wait, what do you mean I pass?" she asked, her one eye blinking.

The admiral grinned, somehow making him slightly intimidating. "Today's surprise training. But I'm doing it my way." He then gestured by a nudge of his neck to look at the other side of the dock. Tenryuu follows his silent command; she couldn't contain her surprise. Both Inazuma and Maya are laying on the ground, panting and twitching. "Those two were done earlier than you. Consider yourself lucky." His smirk transformed into a flat line. "Anyways, I'm giving you girls time to dock before you girls could go for your expedition."

Without saying anything else, he walked off back into the building while stretching his limbs. Tenryuu could only dumbly stare at her superior as if she's seeing an entirely different species of life form. "T-This guy…" she muttered in half fear and half wonder. She never knew admiral who acts like Admiral Uzumaki; she doubt that there are others like that who came close to him in terms of attitude and skills. He's damn good in combat too it seems; but she still has yet to see his skills in naval strategies.

She really needs to dock. But before that…

"Oi you two, you guys thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yes." Both fallen ship girls answered at the same time.

"That guy's a freak." All three answer as one.

Ship girls are docking…

"Puaah! It feels fresh after hitting the docks." Tenryuu sighed in comfort as she walks out of the docking area, or in human terms; bath. It took her way longer to dock, and that is just from her chasing the admiral around and facing him in hand to hand combat. Come on, it can't be possible to think that he is just a normal guy after making her dock for about two hours, right? In any case, she and her fellow comrades need to report in for duty.

"Nggh…" Maya winced as she stretches her sore muscles by twisting her arms back and forth. "You can say that again… never expected the guy being able to fight like that. Then thinking again, we aren't supposed to fight on land; so why is he making us fight him?" rubbing her neck and face with her towel, her voice came out muffled. "Not that I have any problem with it though…"

"Hawawa… I-I may not know the cause but, I am sure that the admiral is doing it for good cause." Inazuma said softly. Unlike the others; who are still half dressed (Tenryuu) or drying herself (Maya), she is all prepped up to take assignments. All that's left for her is to choose her armaments; should they have the okay on using them. She smiled. "The admiral is a nice person, after all." Then she noticed that both Tenryuu and Maya are staring at her weird. "H-Hawawa! W-What's wrong?...!" the Destroyer class ship girl's face flushed a pretty pink color due to the attention she receives from her fellow ship girls.

Tenryuu, who drapes her towel over her shoulder, narrowed a single eye and focuses it toward Inazuma. "Hey… you seem to know the guy well, what did he do to you?" she asked, half concerned and serious.

Not expecting such question from Tenryuu, Inazuma flails her arms upwards due to not knowing how to respond. "N-N-Nothing! Hawawawa!" the girl panicked, causing the redness on her face to become thicker in terms of shade. Maya saw this and snorts. "P-Please, you have to believe me Maya-san, Tenryuu-san!"

The purple haired CL grinned; placing her palm on top of the Destroyer's head, ruffling her hair messy. "Heh, no worries about that kiddo. We're just teasing ya." She retracts her hand from Inazuma's head. "Well, we need to get to the guy's office now; we have assignments to do." Tenryuu said.

After a while, the three finally heads of to the briefing room or also known as their admiral's office. They make short work of the hallways; even if the office is literally like at the other side of the base. Inazuma took the courtesy to open the office's door, where they are all greeted by the sight of their admiral sitting with his chin perched on top of his knuckles. They get into line, with Tenryuu starting at the most left followed by Maya then Inazuma.

"First fleet reporting for duty!" All three salutes their superior as per Tenryuu's request.

"Ah, it's about time. You girls won't be going for sorties today;" Naruto said. This surprises the three but they are not dumb to not notice the seriousness of the situation in his tone. "You girls will be out on an patrol." He pressed the button underneath the desk. The hologram is projected, showing a 2-D view of the world map. The map zooms in to their coordinates; somewhere in the Pacific. "Satellites reading have detected foreign fleet incoming our way; there are a lot of them and these are not one of us." He stated. On the map screen, red dots are seen bleeping and approaching their base.

This information caused all three ship girls to tense. From their time staying here, never, never, ever was there an attack. Hell even the previous admiral had never really sent them out on any real sorties. And now that they are finally going to get their first assignment; this happens. Naruto noticed the grim expression on the girls' faces; he himself can't help but do the same. "I know that this is sudden; but I need you girls to do your best. I sent you girls out there in previous assignments without armaments for one reason, and that is to teach you girls how to retreat. If you girls can't fight them, retreat. I'll activate the defense system and call for back up from neighboring bases as soon as I can."

"Hai!"

"Now go! Prevent them from entering our perimeters." Naruto ordered.

Tenryuu, Maya and Inazuma rushed out of the room in order to prep themselves with their gears. Naruto is left alone inside; sitting quietly. "Kukuku…" a dark chuckle emanated from the bottom of his throat. "I just can't wait to see the reaction on their faces…"

He spins his chair so that he could take a look outside of his window. The view of the morning sun, the sparkling blue sea and the infinite blue sky greets him like any other day. For a fraction of a second that view flickered into something disturbing. Explosions, fire, smokes, black water, sirens, gunshots… it's all fresh, as if it had just happen yesterday. He closed his blue eyes, easing his mind slowly. He don't have time to remember about the past; he can't and he won't. But his past lingers around him far closer than what he originally thought.

Pinching the bridge end of his nose, he muttered, "I need a drink…"

Later, with the Fleet…

"Ne, Tenryuu…" as they set sail for danger, Maya strikes up a conversation. "Are you… scared?" she asked softly, her eyes gazing over the horizon.

"I swear bitch, if this is a way of you pissing me off…"

"No, no you retard." Maya interrupts with a vein pulsing on her forehead. "I'm serious here… we could sink you know." Inazuma who is taking the rear postion of the formation knew that well too. She's… she's not eager in having to fight in the first place; yet if circumstances are given, she will try her best.

"…Nah, I ain't scared… well, not that much at least."

"Hmm, thought so."

As the group of three sails along the sea, Tenryuu's sonar picked something off. "Detecting foreign signature!" She then switched to the intercom on her ear. "What's your order, command?"

"Hold your fire. Investigate first and make sure that they are hostile; should you be forced to fight, try not to sink them. Bring them in for interrogation." Was the admiral's reply from the other end of the line.

"Roger that!" all three ship girls chorused at the same time. Inazuma, Tenryuu and Maya charged on straight ahead, changing to V formation. The girls went full sail; their objective is to determine whether the incoming fleet is a friendly or not. Over the distance, they could already see multiple silhouettes moving in towards them. As they press forward, the Pacific base fleet can now see the other party. They're outnumbered, three to six.

What stood before them are large vessels. Six vessels coming in at a speed of at least twice of theirs; their huge metallic and particular structure is enough to tell which class they're from. "Three ships inbound! Foreign vessels stop; you are intruding in a naval base territory! Stop your ships or we will shoot!" Tenryuu shouted with her cannons loaded. Maya and Inazuma took their position behind; acting as support even though Maya is ready to fire with or without Tenryuu's order.

The communication must have already stabilized, yet they have not receive any form of reply from the incoming vessels. Clicking her tongue; Tenryuu growled in irritation. "Command, they aren't answering! What are your orders?" she really, really do not want fight those vessels. It will be plain suicide. Maya and her might be able to deal a good damage; but she's not so sure on the Destroyer they have with them. She switched the frequency of her intercom to base; in hopes of receiving new orders from their admiral.

"Girls… it's time to put your training to use." Came the small, buzzed reply from the other side of the intercom. "GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE THIS INSTANT!" roared the commander's voice, commanding his unit to return to base. Back in the base; Naruto is grinning like a mad fool.

"Shit…" Tenryuu cursed as soon as she cut off the coms. "Guy's, we're retreating. This is a damn suicide mission… let's go!"

"T-Tenryuu-san, they have Destroyer class fleets inbound too!" true to the Destroyer's words; smaller ships are inbound for their flank. Three of them coming in fast and steadily approaching; getting closer and closer.

"One of those vessels is a Heavy Cruiser! Tenryuu, let's go, we'll sink if we don't hurry!" Maya screamed in alarm. Even if there's no shooting happening at the moment, the number of incoming fleet is as intimidating as it is. "Fuck this, I'm shooting!" Maya readied her cannons. "Inazuma, drag Tenryuu out of here; I'll go and get their attention!"

"M-Maya-san, we can't!—"

"I don't care!"

PAAAAFOOOOOOOOONG!

After the shout, the sound of cannons being fired exploded throughout the area. The sound is loud, almost like a warning; yet everyone knows that it isn't one. It's a sign. The 20.3cm bullet fired by Maya went soaring and spinning for one of the ship; unfortunately, the ship's hull armor is too strong for it to be pierced. Maya didn't manage to land a solid hit; her bullet went tilting by a few centimeters, missing the fuel storage located inside the ship.

"Maya you bitch! It's not clear whether they're friendly or not; YOU DON'T FIRE WHEN YOU HAVEN'T GOT THE ORDER!" Roared the one eyed CL. She too is busy on thinking whether they should escape or not; looks like days of being out from combat had caused them to be like this. "Screw it! Inazuma, let's go!" Tenryuu change courses and head south to return to base.

"C-Come on Maya-san, let's go!" The brown haired Destroyer called out to the Heavy Cruiser who had just fired her first shot. She instinctively step back when Maya fired off another round off her 20.3cm cannon towards the foreign unidentified ships; this time a different one. Explosions began to erupt from the vessel; soon they too begin to aim their cannons towards Maya.

"You go Inazuma! I'll go and hold them from here!"

"Maya-san!"

Inazuma's warning falls on deaf ears; Maya speeds up away to get better maneuver over the battle. She aimed cannons as soon as she's finished reloading them. She adjusts her arms; aiming her cannons towards the nearest target she could find. Off goes the cannons, shooting and blazing; releasing ear piercing gunshot, ringing as far as the distance goes.

"Hold your fire! Hold your fire!" their commander's voice from the other side of the radio boomed; fury and anger leaking from the shout. "Maya! I did not order you to shoot; I told you to retreat! They could be friendly for all we know! Now hold your fire or I'll go there myself and force you to do it!"

Maya gritted her teeth; not in shame, but in irritation. She lowered her armaments; unloading the ammos that she loaded earlier into them. "Tenryuu, try to establish contact once again; I want you to do it." The intercom buzzed.

The eye patch wearing CL gulped down hard. "Foreign vessels! We ask again; identify yourself or we will sink you!" hah, as if… is what she thought at the back of her mind. Suddenly, things got uncomfortably quiet. The three Destroyer class ships that are headed their way suddenly change course; returning to their fleet to regroup, it seems like. Tenryuu did not like this one bit. 'What the hell is this…' true to her thoughts, something like this is definitely fishy… pun not intended.

Inazuma is somewhat relieved knowing that the commander is not ordering any of them to fire; even if Maya did fire first. Still, there's no telling on how things will go from here. Only two things could become of this. One, the ships will return fire; forcing them to resort to combat too. Or two, coms are established they would hopefully forgive the earlier thing, Maya's reckless behavior. Inazuma hopes that the second one would happen. She hopes on whatever luck she has in store; the second one!

.

.

.

"Command vessel to ship girls; try not to damage us good, a'ight?" a voice replies to the order that Tenryuu gave earlier. "Damn, girls; ya' really got us good. 'specially that feisty one o'er there." It's no doubt that whoever's on the other side of the radio is referring to Maya who becomes red on the face due to the command. "Anyway, we're transport ships sent out to dock on this base. We try'ta use our radio but things' broken from the looks of it… anyway, we managed to fix it good. In fact, it may'be 'cause of the shots that that she-wolf fired 'there."

Tenryuu sighed in relief. "Permission to dock granted. We will escort you back." She turned to her fellow comrades. "Come on! Orders been made by the bastard, we'll be escorting these ships to base in one piece."

"Wilco!"

And so, began the journey back home.

At Pacific naval base…

"Yooooouuuu biiiitch!"

"GAH!"

Tenryuu grabs a hold of Maya's collar, lifting her up to her eye level. "What the heck were ya' doing back then, huh? You fired without orders, that's violation!" she asked heatedly. Sparks seem to have clashed between the Heavy Cruiser and the Light Cruiser.

"S-Shuddup! I haven't done anything wrong; it was that bastard admiral's fault for not giving a clear order!" Maya countered in hopes of defending herself. She then pushes Tenryuu away from her, getting defensive. "Besides! The ships are not damaged aren't they? It's not like anyone's in danger." She crossed her arms, looking away with eyes closed.

"H-Hawawawa! P-Please don't fight you two!" Inazuma is definitely unable to do anything at the moment.

"You're right, no one got hurt. But that doesn't mean that you should disobey my orders." All three ship girls' attention are drawn to another person's. They all turned sideways to see their CO approaching them; his uniform still neat and the only difference is that he has a sabre strapped to his right hip. The girls could see the serious look in his blue eyes; and it looks like it's no time for jokes now.

Behind them are the ships that they encountered earlier, they are docking for the minor damage that Maya had done to some of them earlier. It was actually a good thing that none of them got sink; or else things could get way complicated from here. Tenryuu straightened her back, saluting the approaching officer. "Attention!" the remaining two followed in suite.

Naruto stopped, standing and observing the three of them at the same time. His steel azure eyes scan them like hawks, providing a good amount of intimidation as well. He then crossed his arms; not losing the serious expression on his face. "At ease." All three complies. "You girls did a good job on escorting those ships back here; but not so much when encountering them." He sighed, relaxing the firm and hard expression on his face for a little bit. "I suppose it is also my fault for not providing better intel; but it is a necessity to not lose your head while you're out there." He points a gloved finger over the vast ocean beyond them.

"Tenryuu." Said ship girl tensed at hearing her name being called. "You did well for being the flagship. Though I expected better of you."

"Inazuma." She too makes the same reaction like Tenryuu when hearing her name being called. "You lack confidence. Show me your serious side; be tough when you are out there. But you did a good job on providing team morale."

"And Maya…" as if she could feel his cold, piercing stare; the Heavy Cruiser flinched. "I am disappointed at you. You fail to follow the simplest of commands out there; when you're told to hold your fire, you. damn. well. do. it." She flinched at every word he uttered. "Follow your flagship's instruction; if those weren't allied ships out there you'll be putting everyone at risk. You'll be there, knowing that they sink because of you."

Harsh he may be, but cold hearted he is not.

"But, in any case, you three had done well for today. Come to my office; you will be surprised for what I have for you there." He then dismissed himself, walking towards the other direction.

The warm southern wind blew past them, waves breaking and the seagulls cawking. All three blinked at the mention of a surprise; it's Inazuma who decided to speak out their thoughts. "Surprise…?" she muttered just enough for the two to hear. She looked around, facing Maya and Tenryuu respectively.

The CL shook her head. "I don't know… knowing him, it'll probably be a can of paint waiting to explode in front of our face…" she uttered dryly, to which her fellow ship girls agree. "But… can't hurt to check it, right?" eventually, all three came to an agreement of deciding to check what's this so called 'surprise' is.

The three slightly tired ship girls walked towards the admiral's office; walking through the main hallways and other hallways in the main building. Since there are only the three of them stationed here; they used the guest rooms in the main building for their bedrooms. All three of them are sharing the room, there's really no reason to occupy most of the rooms here. So their walk to the office has come to an end, all three are invaded with a sense of nervousness and alarm. There's no telling what will happen from here and on.

Things could fall from the ceiling, maybe a small explosion of paint bombs, maybe even itching powder… who knows?

With sweaty hands, Tenryuu opened the door.

"Waaah! It's Inazuma-chan!"

"Aah~ it's Tenryuu-chan."

"Oh! It's really is you, nee-san."

Three thumping noise could be heard, followed by Inazuma's silent scream of surprise. Tenryuu's sword fell to the ground, emitting a resound clanking noise. Maya's jaw opens, agape with her eyes wide as saucers.

Three short stature, girls dressed in similar uniform as Inazuma is wearing; glomps the Destroyer all at once. One of them has a long black hair, the other one has a short brown hair and the final one has an uncommon color of white. One could call it whatever they want; surprise, shock, incredulous… if it's necessary to say, Tenryuu, Maya and Inazuma are currently greeted by the sight of their sister ship; ships in Inazuma's case.

With Naruto…

"Huh… never knew it'll be so easy to convince HQ on transferring those girls here…" he slumps over the railing on the dock; his head bowed low. It's still morning; the sun is still rising. He knew that the transport ship will be arriving of course; after all, the newly 'transferred' girls got here by them. Of course, on a side note, he also requested for more materials; mostly ammo though. He got an idea that is of greater importance on the future.

The whole thing today was a faux. A… pooper. It's just nice, once in a while but hopefully more to come in the near future, to see those girls getting in trouble and getting rewarded in the end. Maybe it's his S switch flipping up or it's just him being him.

.

.

.

It's definitely his S switch flipping up.

He requested HQ to deliver three Akatsuki class Destroyer, Light Cruiser of the Tenryuu class Tatsuta and Heavy Cruiser from the Takao class; Choukai. Of course, they denied him straight away. But since he got something… necessary… in his hands, he could blackma—convince the fellows at HQ to transfer the ship girls here. He could send them out on sorties right now; maybe patrolling further waters or maybe invading enemy bases.

But now… it won't hurt to let those girls have fun for a moment. Leaning over the railing, the blonde haired admiral gazed upon the vast sea and sky; his twin azure orbs not losing in terms of color. He really, really is lucky to be tasked on becoming a naval officer. He get to enjoy the calm sea, enjoy the view, have his own office… but he can't help but miss those old days. Those days that will never, ever disappear and be forgotten from his memories.

Even now; every time he closes his eyes… he could still see them. Explosions, flames, people killing each other… and that was not at sea. If there's one thing he's glad about becoming an admiral is that; he won't have to fear the thought of touching land again. Unlike the sea, you can still swim to shore if you fall from the deck. While on land… you can only run; run to add a few more seconds to that short life of yours… better at sea than on land, he says.

But most of all; out of all the things out there… he feared the people. The names of the people that he had killed back in the day. Both on sea and on land. He grips the railings tight; almost as if he's clinging for something important. The names are still in his head; he could list them one by one if he wants to. Being sent to the frontline is like going to school; except he might or might not return. Well, that is all in the past. There is no use wallowing in the past.

"…Isn't it…?" he looked skyward, up towards the sun. The corner of his lips stretched; forming a beautiful yet bittersweet smile.

"Hinata?"

Oh how painful it is for him to say that name.

A/N: Wooooooaaaaah! I can't believe that I decided to continue this; so soon, moreover! I don't know whether you guys are really into this or not but, I'm having fun writing this. You could say that I'm taking a break on writing Touhou fics… been doing that all the time that it eventually gets into me, rusting. But don't worry, my flames of passion for Touhou is still burning.

On a side note… I'm announcing that this story, will have its twists and turns. Ya'll be surprised.

Well, anyway, that's it for this time. Hope ya'll have a good day/night!