SEPTEMBER 19, 11:47 a.m.
145 miles south of Aogashima
Y-467 Harekaze, Kagerou-class destroyer, training
Captain Akeno Misaki currently missing in action
The day slowly unfolded as a day of searching. The crew of the skipper-less Harekaze, in this case, now had two things to look for: the missing cruise ship and their beloved lucky charm of a captain. Every crewmember spared no nook and cranny, even looking in empty pots and engine tubes, as well as places too small even for Isoroku to hide in.
Here's a little gem from the engine room, where Chief Maron stuck her head inside a panel in search of the captain, much to her friend Kuroki's frustration.
"What makes you think the Captain would be in there?" Kuroki asked.
"Expect the unexpected, Kuro-chan!" Maron replied loud and proud. "That's how you live life!"
"No, that's not how you put it. And get your head out of there."
Not only did the search turn out to be in vain, the nature of Akeno's disappearance added insult to injury. The two skippers accounted for aboard guaranteed the crew that she didn't ditch her ship. It would've also been foolhardy, even for her, to dive into the ocean, especially into foggy waters with little to no hope of rescue (unless a conspiring submarine was lying in wait, according to Kouko, which Mashiro instantly sunk).
"We've looked from bow to stern," Tsugumi got the unfortunate job of breaking the bad news to the bridge an hour later. "The Captain's really gone!"
"It's as if she never boarded the ship in the first place," Kouko commented.
As much as she didn't like it, Mashiro turned to the one person who might know. "Listen, whoever you are," she snarled at Fubuki, the ship's unexpected guest. "I don't know where in the Pacific you came from. And I honestly don't care. Where's our captain?"
"I'm telling the truth. I really don't know," replied a frantic Fubuki. "I remember being in the middle of a sortie and…"
"A sortie?" Mashiro snarled some more. "Are you a Blue Mermaid?"
"Blue…Mermaid?" Fubuki replied.
"She's a bit too young to be a Blue Mermaid, don't you think?" Mei commented.
Fubuki felt the pressure of everyone's varying stares pressing her like jam on a sandwich—pressed even further by a hydraulic press. As modern-age destroyers normally don't come with a dungeon, the stares will have to do to keep her from escaping. Fortunately, she had at least Rin on her side. "Everyone, wait," she said. "Maybe Fubuki-san's telling the truth."
"Shiretoko-san, whose side are you on?" Mashiro retorted.
Rin cowered behind the helm, like she often does, but continued speaking her mind out. "Without the Captain, there's…nothing we can do but trust her."
Rin's remarks were slow to set in, but the resulting silence gave Fubuki a well-deserved breather, not to mention her first friend in the Harekaze. Then silence also gave the crew ample time to take a deep breath themselves.
"At least, let's make her feel at home," Kouko said. "The Captain would do the same thing."
Mashiro simply sighed, to which said sigh suddenly rocked the ship from bow to stern. "W-What's happening?"
"Deputy Captain, you might want to take a look at this," Machiko told the bridge from her station.
~O~
Columns of water erupted around the Harekaze, now bracketed inside a prison of water. The sound of cannon fire rippled across the air and broke the silence. In the most unprecedented situation, the skipper-less Harekaze has been dragged into battle once more.
The fight, however, was no longer ship against ship, classmate against classmate. Off its port bow, the jet black hues of monstrosities let loose with cannon fire from their left arms. Their shots ever grew more accurate, inching closer to the Harekaze and the deadly fate waiting for it. One can only wonder the faces of terror wishing the Harekaze's death, hiding behind its mask and flaming eye.
Mashiro could barely hold onto her binoculars while peering into the enemy attack. Her fear soon spread among the rest of the crew, just as the virus threatened to do so many months prior. "What are those things? Why are they firing at us?"
"Can I take a look?" Fubuki walked up to the deputy captain.
This was no time to be hesitant. Mashiro handed over her binoculars to Fubuki—who exactly knew the threat to their lives. "Two Chi-class torpedo cruisers…one hit from their torpedoes and we're done for."
"Torpedo cruisers?" replied Mashiro in disbelief. "You mean to tell me that those things are ships?"
"In our world, we call them 'Abyssals," Fubuki explained. "They rise from the ocean depths to wage war against humanity."
"That's absurd! I've never heard of 'Abyssals' before. They aren't even human."
The shower of gunfire continued without relent, creating more columns of water. The frantic cries from damage control echoed across the ship. "Storehouse four is on fire! We're extinguishing it!"
Another shot found its mark near one of the torpedo tubes, the kind of firepower the ship needs the most right now. "Torpedo Tube Two just took a direct hit!"
"Kayo-chan, are you okay?!" Mei called out from the bridge in a panic.
"I'm okay," Kayoko responded.
"Get out of there right now," Mei said. "The whole thing's busted."
"Hard left rudder, now!" Mashiro ordered. "Get us out of those things' range!" With all haste, Rin turned the helm left. The Harekaze responded smartly, leaving what would've been direct hits in its wake. Regardless, the enemy cruisers gave chase, turning with the Harekaze to continue the attack.
"Prepare for artillery battle!" Mashiro added. "Fire at will!"
The undamaged five-inch main batteries turned to face the threat, returning the favor with salvos of their own. The barrels erupted in a ball of flame, hurling armor-piercing rounds to the cruisers. No doubt that Tama's uncanny precision translates to hit targets. The enemy cruisers would've been no different, if not for the red shield that took the hit instead of the cruisers themselves.
"No way!" Mei exclaimed. "The cannons didn't even make a dent on them!" Even Tama reeled from the realization of the opponent's strength.
At this point, Fubuki had heard enough. To the bridge's surprise, she ran to the side of the ship and climbed over the barrier. "Whoa! Whoa!" Mayumi said. "What are you going to do?"
"I have to stop them," Fubuki replied halfway over the barrier. "I'll distract them while you use the chance to escape."
"Don't be stupid!" Mashiro caught up with her. "What can you do against them?"
"We're the only ones that can stop them," Fubuki left a stern look for everyone to keep, reminding them of the time a brave soul gave her life to save thirty or so others. As the bridge looked on in silence, she left a smile for them as a bonus before jumping into the water, disappearing beneath the ship's wake. The encounter may have been brief, but they've begun warming up to their guest.
"What do you think she's going to do?" Mayumi asked.
"I don't know," Mashiro answered. "But if she and those things came from another world, she would do something about it."
Mashiro and the others hurried back to their stations, only for Machiko to report in. "Someone went overboard! She's drowning!"
"What?!" everyone in the bridge exclaimed in disbelief.
Take away a kanmusu's rigging and she ends up like any ordinary human overboard.