Allies of Necessity
"You're our naval base's supplier?"
To say Houshou was surprised would be an understatement. She had expected Aden to have been a former admiral or perhaps a rogue officer. It was very hard to believe this man somehow formed a fleet of his own and orchestrated this entire rescue without any form of naval training. The man had an aura of confidence yes, but he didn't seem to have much authority from what she could tell so how did he do it? She was tired but she was still awake enough to realize there was more to this story than meets the eye.
"Keeping up with supply drops for about a dozen Kanmusu bases and doing expeditions of our own. Back at the start before they started sending destroyers to go fetch salvage from sunken ships, those destroyers were escorting us while we did that."
She must admit, it did make sense and now that she thought about it that might have been why he was so familiar to her. She had been around since the beginning, she never really got a chance to sink due to her girls being so much stronger and how everyone was so protective of her. She did remember how often times some destroyers and carriers were sent out with these massive ships as they either transported materials to bases or mined the materials themselves whenever the shipping lanes were infested with abyssals. Never once has she know them to fail their quota and that just proves dedication to her.
"So you are still looking out for us. Well... after everything you've done I believe you've earned more than my thanks. And I apologize for not recognizing you sooner."
"Its alright Houshou-san, I barley get to see you girls ever since you could do your own expeditions. But me and my crew know how hard you work to help us out. Every crew member here is in on it, it was actually through a lot of push and pull that I even got the courage to do this"
"That reminds me, why is your crew... uh..."
"Only female? Well back at the start when we had Kanmusu escorts 24/7 the brass didn't want a sailor getting handsy. So we made a deal that if I replace all the crew members with girls that id get a permanent contract. My father owned the transport business before and I lost a lot of good people when I had to switch out so much of the staff with girls who weren't as trained. But after seeing the ship girls in action they wanted to help as best they could and the rest just went from there. I can give you the full rundown tomorrow if you like."
"Yes that would help. I'm sorry but I think I will join the others for a much needed rest.."
"That's fine. Hero-san can help bunk you with the others. Is that okay Hero?"
Hero glanced at him, it seems she was lost in her own little world though by her face it didn't seem like it was the most pleasant one.
"Yes admiral. But we need to make future plans soon. Now that we have done this once it'll make future rescues that much harder"
"We can think about it when we can actually think straight. Go ahead and get some rest"
"By your orders admiral"
Hero said with a salute, though the way her eyes were drifting was proof she wanted to follow those orders as soon as possible.
"Heh admiral... Not quite sure what you girl's fascination with that word is"
Houshou looked at him perplexed at that statement. It was obvious to her but perhaps he really is just that new to this entire thing.
"You lead them and are their main emotional support and friend. That's just what an admiral is to a ship"
He rested his hand under his chin as he thought about those words. He whispered something but she couldn't quite hear what was said, though the chilly wind was getting to her.
"Thanks Houshou."
"Eh?"
She really didn't do much but he seemed honest and sincere with those words. It somewhat reminded her whenever she was first summoned with an admiral who was new to ship girls as well. She was seen as a motherly figure but it seemed sometimes she speaks wise words without realizing it.
"Don't worry about it Houshou-san. I'm sure you'll understand soon enough."
Hero said as she started walking away into the ship. Houshou waved one last goodbye to Aden Yukata, or maybe a better word is the admiral?
The sky was ablaze with a brilliant orange, with smoke coming from every building, every tree, and every vehicle. The sound of gunfire and yelling was so loud it would drown out the noise of even your largest breath. There was bodies everywhere, littering the ground as the road stretched forward undaunted. Kanmusu and humans alike were littering the ground like a massacre and yet it felt like this is the way they wanted to go. If they would fade into the night it would be with a yell and not a whimper.
Houshou struggled to stand, as if she had lost all control of her legs as her body ached in several joints. Her left arm was numb as she held her bow in her right hand, gripping with all her might. With a wheeze and a push she was able to stand as she leaned against the broken street lamp as she saw a single standing figure in the street. She seemed young maybe in her early twenties as she seemed to talked to herself unaffected by the carnage.
With a stir the girl turned around and glanced at her, a earpiece in place and the unmistakable uniform of a foreign military commander. The girl looked at her with eyes of intrigue as Houshou slowly knocked an arrow in her bow. The task itself more trouble then it seemed as her left hand couldn't pull the arrow back to its full draw. Yet the girl stared, her eyes of a blue like the clearest ocean and hair as black as the midnight sky. The girl smirked, almost mockingly at her suffering as she spoke. A voice of authority, pain, leadership, and betrayal.
"It's over Akagi"
With a stir Houshou woke up, a cold sweat dampening her forehead as she quickly glanced around. She looked around erratically at the unfamiliar lodging she was in before she slowly began to remember the events of yesterday.
"That's right... I was rescued..."
She said to herself as to make sure this was all real. She remembered clearly the ordeal of yesterday. How at one point she was eating lunch with her girls, then she was on her way to her own sinking, then she was rescued by three american ships and their admiral. If you would have told her this was all going to happen she would have laughed but at the moment she at the very least was alive and well.
A knock on the hatch snapped her out of her thoughts. The sound itself was that of metal sense her room at the moment was within the belly of the ship. It was by no means luxuries as it was bear essentials with as little open room as possible like that of a military ship. She didn't think ill of it however as most none luxury ships had this design.
She looked around briefly seeing it was a tiny room with 2 beds that were bunks. Slowly she got up, not seeing Murakumo whom she had slept with and baely she realized she had slept in which was very rare of her. But she relented in the excuse she was just that tired as she went and opened the hatch.
No one was immediately there to greet her as she looked, seeing the other occupants of the other rooms getting up and filing out. The time showed it to be 12:30 in the afternoon so she could only guess it was time for their mid day duties. As people filed by she realized no one familiar was around so quickly she flagged down one of the members as they past by their door.
"Ummm excuse me miss, but I need to speak to the admiral. Where can I find him?"
The girl in question looked at her quite confused. Her short black hair and tanned skinned showed signs of being in the heat, and of course the one piece jumpsuit had her guessing it was an engineer of some kind.
"Admiral?" She said with a raised brow. "Ohhhh. Your one of the Kanmusu, I'm sorry. You can find the 'admiral' in the mess hall right about now eating with the rest of the fleet. If he isn't there try his room. Its four floors up and just find his name plate."
"Thank you. I'm sorry for bothering you. Where might the mess hall be?"
"One floor up, cant miss it. Just follow the people"
"Thank you once again"
Houshou said with as much sincerity as she could muster. She had forgotten that Aden did not view himself as an admiral so why would the crew. This was all a very strange situation for her but her biggest question at the moment was what was going to happen next.
He must admit, never in his life did he believe he would ever get into a situation as hellish as this one. Right now he was surrounded and in unfamiliar territory with nothing but his wits, a girl so protective of him she is a borderline stalker, and a spoon. Never mind the fact that the opposing force wasn't running out of ammo anytime soon. As was the hell that was sitting at a table full of various girls and being the only male.
He could see the other crew members laughing and glancing at him on their spare time. Just waiting to see how all of this unfolded. Well he was alive, so it was so far so good. Now all he had to do was survive this onslaught and wait for his support to arrive.
Currently Aden was sitting at a long table in the cafeteria. His sister was at his right enjoying her meal as well with the Kanmusu all eating with them. He had Indie to his left who was rather too close to be considered anything but friendly and Harder was to the left of her. Hero was checking on the others currently and the Japanese Kanmusu minus Houshou were seated in front of them eating.
"So how did a simple supplier get his own fleet?"
To say Marokumo was subtle in her meanings was like saying water is actually H2O. She was straight to the point on just about everything, including anything that scrutinized him or inclined he was having sexual relationships with his girls.
"Well I had a lot of extra resources since bases aren't using as much and are becoming overstocked lately. I had too much steel, oil, bauxite, and ammo so it was just sitting here until someone needed it. When I heard about the treaty I got some contacts of mine to get me that development material. Then I summoned some Kanmusu and well you have already met them."
"So all three of them are ones you summoned yourself?"
Suzuka had a good head on her shoulder and actually he found it pretty relaxing to have a conversation with her. Unfortunately however she seemed to stare at him a lot, it sorta reminded him of Indie but it seemed more curious. At least right now that was all he guessed it really was.
"Yep. I really didn't know what to expect since it was random to a point. Harder showed up when I was trying to get a destroyer and Indie came when I was gonna go for a battleship. Though I'm glad it turned out this way cause a battleship is a lot more noticeable..."
"And we've been his go-to fleet ever since then"
Indie chirped in as she learned into him. She always tried to get a rise out of him but he knew it was only that. If she really wanted to get in his pants she would have done something in private but so far she keeps joking around in public. Honestly it seemed to sadden him a bit, plus the fact she knows he doesn't have a girlfriend or wife.
"Wow. How long have they been with you?"
Maruyu he actually liked a lot, she was small, sweet and reminded him of his sister. She didn't like to fight, yell, or get into trouble. She is easy for him to get along well with but he doubted he could rely on her when the going got tough. That is if the going got tough, he would rather it not.
"About two weeks"
"EH!?"
"Wow Harder... Just wow..."
He glanced at Harder as she ate her sandwich, unaware of what she did but he supposed it didn't matter. He was going to be more subtle but he was going to tell them anyway.
"Wait, wait, wait! You summoned three Kanmusu without any naval knowledge, initiated a rescue that would end in the entire naval arsenal of japan on your doorstep, and you got away with it!?"
"Basically"
Harder said as she bite into her sandwich again. Murakumo seemed like she was about to have a heart attack, but Lily was too busy laughing at the weird faces she was making and how her head arrays were changing color. They actually looked really cool, but how do they float?
As Lily was laughing at Murakumo he saw a new figure entering the cafeteria and look around. He smiled, knowing he promised Houshou-san some answers so he waved her down. She saw him quickly enough as she walked over and sat in the seat across from him where Hero-san was sitting before she left.
"Hey, you get enough sleep? Murakumo claimed you were a rock this morning"
Murakumo seemed to look away while Houshou just smiled and didn't seem to think anything of it. He liked Houshou-san from what he has seen and heard. The only question now was what was going to happen to everyone now.
"Yes I was, it was strange that I was having a dream and time just slipped by. I suppose I was really exhausted."
"Oh? I hope it was pleasant. We left port about 4 hours ago so I cant go dropping you girls off in the city just yet. I have to refill our supplies with an expedition. Which by the way, where would you girls like to go?"
All the Japanese Kanmusu looked at him with quite an expression of confusion. It seemed the thought had not crossed their mind, maybe because so many other things were on their mind.
"Like I told the girls it was a rescue, not a recruitment. I'm not adding you to my fleet or anything. I've got enough money from this business so I can get you girls Id's and housing. You could live regular lives, maybe even in the navy if fate allows it."
They all seemed to ponder that statement as Indie chipped in, her energy was always so unfounded it scared him most of the time.
"Or you could join us and rescue Kanmusu! I'm sure with some effort we can change things around and make it like before when we all were working together"
A positive attitude as always, which is why he still viewed her as a godsend. Her, Harder, and Hero-san were his fleet and he has to take responsibility for that. If it meant being their admiral then so be it. However recruiting like this seemed like he had an alternative motive, but in reality he had to admit it would help out immensely.
"I'm not too sure about just betraying my admiral. It wasn't his fault all of this started, but I'm not too sure about becoming a civilian either."
I must of been hard on Houshou being in this situation. None of them were in familiar territory and it must of hurt them a lot to know they couldn't go back just yet. However if they stayed with him it might cause even more problems. They were all in a sticky web now and he knew it was his fault. But he had to own up and get them through this, but how?
"I understand completely Houshou-san. Ill respect your decision when you make it. As of now your just a girl aboard a ship, I'm not going to ask anything more of you."
"Thanks... Now about those answers you promised?"
Right, time for the fun of explaining all of that again. He hoped he didn't slip up or else things would get even crazier at this table.
"Well while your doing that I'm gonna go give the 'expedition crew' their lunch"
Indie said with a wink as she got up. She was a good girl but subtlety was not her strong suit. In fact it was her weakness on so many levels.
"Expedition crew?"
Murakumo said as Maruyu leaned in, clearly she was interested as well so he sighed and knew he was going to be here awhile.
"Yes we have an expedition crew. We have a opening in the bottom of the ship as well as a mini-sub to grab salvage. We have divers for shallower areas and plenty of underwater gear."
"Right. You mentioned you would mine the supplies whenever the shipping lanes were not an option"
Maruyu looked off as Indie left the cafeteria while everyone was enraptured in the conversation. She must of not been thinking strait because she completely forgot to get the food. Though she actually really wanted to see what they had. She always did expeditions and people often made fun of her for it but its just what she loved. Glancing back at the table no one was paying attention so she quietly excused herself and and grabbing some of the food bags on the counter before she left after Indie. She just wondered about all the kinds of equipment they must have.
As she left the mess hall and began to walk down the stairs she saw Hero-san walking up looking at her curiously. She waved hello as she continued her trek down the stairs quickly, she figured from Adens explanation it would be on the lowest level but hopefully she wouldn't get lost or be missed.
"Hey!"
Turning around at Hero-sans words she glanced at her wondering what was wrong.
"Who is that food for? I don't think submarines eat much?"
"Its for the crew. Indie forgot it"
She said in a stir as she continued to walk. Hero-san stood at the top of the stairs thinking about it before just waving it off and continuing to the cafeteria. She had to give the admiral an update on their status.
Maruyu continued her trek into the bowels of the ship before she could no longer go down. She began to hear the swishing of the water against the hull as she made her way forward with the two food bags. She lost sight of Indie but hopefully seeing her would be a pleasant surprise. She wanted very much to be good friends with the crew.
Going through a short hallway she arrived at what she assumed to be the room. Stacks of equipment were everywhere and when she heard the swishing of water nearby she knew she was in the right place. She could see many canisters and goggles, with scuba gear nearby at the ready. The area had some very much accommodating tables and chairs with a computer in the room as well.
As she passed a set of crates she saw something wondrous. It was a yellow mini-sub laying next to the water opening. There was a crane nearby ready to lift it into the water and across the room she saw a door that was open.
She heard Indie's voice coming from it so that must be where the crew was but the sight of the submarine was really tempting. Putting down the two bags of food she gently rubbed it, she had never seen a modern mini-sub before in person. They had of course military mini-subs during the war but this thing was entirely different. Its job was only to explore the sea floor, not for warfare.
Looking in the water she could see it was nowhere near flooding into the room. This ship seemed to be built specifically for this in mind as well as transport. There was a ladder leading out of it but the lights were off and all she could see was black water. The shadow of the ship was ruining the image of the ocean floor.
Glancing up she heard Indie talking to someone, obviously another female crew member and then she remembered they are not at port. She smiled as she started to grab one of the goggles and put them on. A swim would sooth her nerves, plus she didn't need the air tank so she wouldn't be wasting resources. Her old rigging of shoes, ball, and goggles were taken from her. The feeling of something on her head reminded her of it at the very least.
She hoped the crew would see the food she got for them as she put the goggles over her eyes and stepped back before leaping into the water with a splash. The splash however was little as she was only in the water for about a foot. She was standing on something and she didn't know what.
"Was there a bay door I didn't see?"
Suddenly she dropped to her knees as she was raised out of the water. A giant black form that filled the entire diving area and was equal in size to the mini-sub. The black slimy skin of it and the teal colored eyes left her with little imagination as to what it was.
Shuddering she tried to remain calm as the abyssal destroyer came to float in the water and growled. Its giant mouth big enough to easily eat her. The growl echoed throughout the room and that was all that was needed to break her composure and she let out a yell that would always be heard.
As they talked Hero showed up and sat down quietly. Houshou-san was quite understanding of his predicament as she explained how several times in his story were so silimar to her admirals first start. He was basically a green admiral to her which he couldn't argue against. A cough from Hero-san in the middle of their conversation though rude to most, was actually seen as serious when it came to her. She was rough, that was for sure but it was really only out of good reason.
"Is something wrong Hero-san?"
She looked at him, her blue eyes beautifully accenting her features as a women, while her demeanor showed that of a veteran soldier. She was someone he would fall in love with at first sight, if only the circumstances were different.
"Somewhat. Damage was moderate. I ask that you avoid anymore encounters with kanmusu fleets. It'll take over a week to repair on its own."
"Damage? Wait you fought a Kanmusu fleet?"
Houshou said in surprised while the other kanmusu leaned in. Though as they did so they noticed the lack of a member.
"Yes, a small fleet of destroyers was in the area of the crash and we had to force them to retreat. Don't worry we didn't even try to sink them. But like I said avoid further engagements. That is unless we have reinforcements."
Glancing at the group Aden immediately knew what she was getting at.
"Out of the question Hero-san. I'm not asking them to fight their own nation."
"Sorry..."
She said in a hushed voice. It seemed the admirals words were law to her, but even so Houshou knew the reasoning. To go into a fight damaged was asking to be sunk. But if they didn't go then they guarantee a kanmusu would sink. Ether its highly likely his own girls would sink, or he guarantee's someone else's does, it did not paint the prettiest picture.
"Where is Maruyu?"
Lily asked as she glanced around not seeing the little submarine with them. Everyone else looked as well but Hero-san didn't seem to care.
"She was going after Indie. She forgot food apparently."
"Indie was going to see the expedition team.."
He said in a rough voice as Hero glanced up at him.
"Expedition team? Wait..."
He got up without another word as Hero did as well and began to move as quickly as possible without running.
"Huh? Is something wrong?"
Lily asked as everyone else began to get up as well, obviously interested in just what all the fuss was about.
"Harder stay with Houshou and the others. We are gonna go get Maruyu"
He said as he and Hero left the cafeteria. Houshou left as well and saw them walking down the stairs. She knew something was up and they didn't want them to know. It was a gut feeling but she know something bad was going to happen.
"What exactly is this expedition team?"
Houshou said from over the railing as the others gathered behind her. She never got a reply though as a scream that was clearly Maruyu's echoed from the bellows of the ship.
"Shit!"
Both Hero and Aden said in unison as he began to run down the stair and Hero taking the quicker route jumped the railing to the bottom floor. The fall was a good 40 feet and she landed with a thud as her boots met the metal and ran forward. Being a kanmusu meant she was tougher, and hopefully that would mean quicker as well.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
She screamed as she sat atop the abyssal killer of submarines. She dared not move else it would get a clear shot off on her, or worse and eat her. She heard running as she looked back seeing Indie looking at her terrified.
"Indie help!"
She immediately ran to her offering comforting words as she sweated.
"Its gonna be okay. Just stay calm and don't do anything drastic"
God she had no idea what she was going to do. This was turning into her second worst nightmare.
"Maruyu!"
She heard Hero scream as she ran in from the opposite direction. Upon seeing what was happening she let out a curse and ran. Maruyu couldn't register what happened next as Hero jumped aboard the destroyer and tackled her off of it as quickly as possible. It wasn't the softest landing but Maruyu was crying with joy at being off of the monster.
"What is with the screaming?"
Looking up at the voice Maruyu inhaled deeply, trying to resist popping her lungs from screaming a second time as a Re-class battleship walked up behind Indie. The girl did not look as monstrous as most abyssals but she knew this girl had enough firepower to flatten all of them without even trying. Her red eyes and white hair may make her seem beautiful if you would compare her to most abyssals but the appendage coming from her back that formed a type of tail with cannons on it was not a pleasant sight. A runway of sorts ran along her tail as well as a black hood and dress that revealed her chest except for her breasts which were covered in a bra. She was an aviation battleship and a very strange one for not killing her instantly.
The abyssal looked at the scene in front of her and laughed. She quite literally seemed to be busting a gut as Indie sighed.
"Geez we would have told you given enough time..."
"Maruyu!"
Aden yelled as he ran in. He came as fast as he could but it just wasn't practical of him to jump 40 feet like Hero had. Upon entering the room he was treated to the sight of Maruyu crying her eyes out as Hero lifted her up in her arms.
"I can't believe you would cry that badly over a simple Ro-class destroyer. Geez admiral you sure know how to pick em."
"Not a word Tal, not a word"
Quickly pacing the room to Hero he checked to make sure she was alright. He didn't see damage of any sort which was a relief. Then again he didn't hear gunfire so that was a plus.
"Sorry, sorry!" The abyssal known as Tal said as she waved her hands."I just didn't expect them to come down here so quickly. I thought you wanted to wait awhile?"
"I did" He said affirmatively as he was sure she was unharmed. Now came the hard part of breaking all this to the others. Though turning around he could see all of them staring at the scene in quiet amazement. Mouths open and everything as he sighed, wishing it was all just a dream."Though it seems that will come sooner rather than later."
In the bunch of kanmusu who were staring at him in disbelief he saw Harder just looking at the seen impassively as always.
"I thought I told you to stay with Houshou-san and the others?"
"I did"
Right, she took the order quite literally. He needed to work on these covert ops more at home before trying to do something against the military next time.
"Aden, this is... uh..."
Houshou said as she glanced at the abyssal destroyer and battleship. It was a mix, match that she didn't want to see but here it was for all to love and hate.
"Look, I can explain"
"This'll be interesting"
Another voice chimed in from behind the battleship. Everyone regarded her presence as it was a strangely remolded abyssal aircraft carrier. However its face was different, with whiter skin and white clothing with black stripes, the classic headpiece of an abyssal carrier was still there but was significantly smaller like it was simply a hat and it lacked the appendages most had. A staff in her left hand and a black mantle that covered her back with yellow eyes. She was a lot shorter than previous ones they had ever seen, maybe it was the head gear?
To say that he would get out of this situation peacefully wasn't his main concern at the moment. Getting out alive was actually quickly becoming his top priority. Though Harder didn't seem to think so as she walked up to the abyssal destroyer which was a giant to her.
"You made Haruyu cry" She said as she smacked the destroyer on the nose. A hit from a Kanmusu was by no means a small hit but the destroyer seemed to growl after getting hit. "No back talk" It growled lowly again before sinking back into the water somewhat hiding from her. The Japanese looked at the scene quite curiously as a submarine just made a abyssal destroyer its pet.
Everyone was quiet after seeing such a display, though the battleship still had the biggest smirk on her face. The abyssal carrier decided to step forward after the display.
"Perhaps we should start with introductions. I am Dell, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am an abyssal De-class light aircraft carrier, formerly a flagship. I hope we can all get along in these times."
The mysterious abyssal said as she bowed, though the Japanese Kanmusu seemed a bit taken aback from such a greeting. They hadn't expected one to be friendly to them, never mind formal.
"I'm Tal, elite Re-class abyssal battleship. Pleasure is all mine!"
The battleship said with a smile and salute. The surprise was still there but not as much as before as they seemed to be calming down, even Maruyu was looking at them with a different set of eyes this time.
"And that destroyer is... well really its just a destroyer. It can't talk."
The battleship said matter of factually as the destroyer let out an echoing moan. Clearly it knew when it was being addressed at the very least. But the situation was still a bit strange to them. However the american ships seemed to view the abyssals indifferently.
"Um I am Houshou, Japanese light aircraft carrier and namesake of my class."
She bowed slightly, showing respect while the abyssals seemed to nod at it, looking for the next person to introduce themselves. No one seemed to be wanting to speak however until Harder walked up to where Hero and Maruyu were.
"This is Maruyu. She's a submarine but doesn't like to fight. So please take good care of her."
"I see. Well its nice to meet you Maruyu!"
The battleship said with a smile. Maruyu was still a bit uncertain about her but she didn't see any reason to not see the sincerity in her words. Her excited speech pattern made her think however either the girl had a voice problem, or perhaps a hearing problem.
"Well I guess I shouldn't be left out. I'm Suzuya, Japanese Mogami-class Heavy Cruiser."
She said with a smile and peace sign, doing her best to smile and emit a positive aura as well as anyone realistically could do in this situation.
"And this is Murakumo. Shes hardheaded so I hope we can all get along"
Suzuya said as Murakumo glared at her, not enjoying her introduction being taken from her.
"Hey you didn't even say anything nice about me!"
Suzuya just waved her off as they finished their introductions. Its was still pretty rocky but at least they were attempting to break the ice.
"So yah... I bet your wondering how this entire thing started?"
A nod from Houshou summed up the answer as the group looked at the abyssals who seemed to act, well not quite like monsters.
"Well we met about a month ago. Before Indie, Harder, and Hero showed up. They were trying to take some of the resources we had stockpiled. They could have easily blown up the ship, but instead of attracting that sort of attention that would end in their search and destruction we made a deal."
"If we help with expeditions and supplies and in no way try to bring death to humans or kanmusu we could live here and hide."
Dell finished up as the group looked at the two. It seemed like it was a deal out of survival more than anything else. The abyssals were just trying to live while the rest of the world was just killing them off.
"However things changed two weeks ago when the treaty was made. I wanted to help you girls but three ships were not going to cut it. So they gave me the knowledge and resources to make Kanmusu."
"Wait!? ABYSSALS gave you the means and knowledge to make KANMUSU!?"
Murakumo said in disbelief. That entire sentence just screamed wrong to here and everyone else caught it as well.
"Your entire creation is intertwined with ours. Perhaps you have forgotten, but we are the exact same save for one thing. Purpose"
Dell said as the others took in those words very carefully.
"Purpose?"
Houshou didn't like were this was going but she was willing to hear them out since it was pointless to not ask now.
"Consider this, a Kanmusu has a nationality. Japanese, American, German, English you all have a nation while we do not. You all have an admiral that gives orders and that you rely upon for support, most abyssals do not"
"Most?"
That didn't sound good to her.
"Yes most. I say that because Aden is our admiral. Which is why we are happy being docile and not picking fights."
"Your happy?"
The two nodded a yes, the battleship doing so much more vigorously though. Even the destroyer growled in approval as Aden rubbed the back of his head. Clearly he was not believing in himself very much.
"But still, what do you mean our creation is intertwined with yours?"
"Because you showed us war. You showed us warships, planes, strategies. You may not have realized we were there but think of us as ocean spirits. When you sunk your souls joined ours and through the method that births us, so too could you become flesh."
Houshou was having a hard time believing this, it all seemed too tied up. But she didn't have any reason not to believe them. Nor would believing them hurt anything, except maybe her reasoning for this entire war.
"We caused you..."
"Yes. Your war was so powerful, with so much emotion and spiritual energy behind it that it became part of us. Though now most of us have died off along with that feeling of battle. We fight because that is what your souls cried out for. Well the souls of the humans at least."
"And the ships?"
"That is for you to figure out. I am not a kanmusu nor will I pretend to know you."
They stopped to think on those words, just what it all meant. If its true then this entire thing was there fault. However it didn't seem like they were blaming them for anything.
"We gave what little shards we had left to the admiral so he could summon help. You call it development material, but to us it is a crystallization of life at sea. It can only be found in extremely deep water. But even then its around the world."
"But why didn't he summon other abyssals then?"
"When summoning you must add the components such as steel, oil and the like into the spirits natural habitat, in this case it is the ocean. Then when the water begins to shine it acts like a portal to the spiritual world, but its only that, a portal. You must speak through it to lure a spirit from the other side. Most nations will simply play their national song and that will lead ships of their nation through. If you want an abyssal, well, spout a lot of stuff of war and destruction. The admiral spoke about saving lives, freedom, and doing the right thing. Very childish, however it attracted american kanmusu. Language does not matter to spirits, simply resolution. The words must be honest else it will fail."
That explanation sounded true but were they? Certainly she never asked about such details of their summoning nor could she remember her own. But could all of this really have been explained to her right here and no one ever have known?
"Why isn't this common knowledge then?"
Dell seemed to look at her for a second before closing her eyes to think.
"I do not know. I am not old, what my predecessors and your admirals have done is beyond me. We have only known war, but war has survival as a goal does it not? Had we not been put in such a compromising position it is most likely we would have sunken this ship and no one would have this knowledge."
"And at this point I don't think it actually is relevant to anyone."
Though harsh Aden did have a point. The war was practically over and done with. A new era was coming but it was still scary about how little they actually knew about the abyssals.
"Indeed. Bringing this information forward would only lead to our death indifferently of any other. It's useless information now, but I believed you would appreciate knowing."
"I do and thank you" Houshou said as she thought about what all she's been told. Her days were getting stranger and stranger. Sooner or later either she will be a crazy old carrier spouting nonsense or become Junyou's newest drinking buddy.
"Why don't you girls go relax. Like I said once we hit land you can leave if all of this is too much."
Aden was sincere and it seemed he was thinking what was best for them. She remembered the days when the Japanese and American ships fought with each other. The nations were so scared they would start another war they were alone for the longest time. But as time passed things changed so what was different here?
"There's not much for us to go to. Like they just said we have purpose, I'm just trying to think of a way to fulfill that is all..."
Suzuya said looking off to the side. They really had no where else to turn in these times. They were alone without an admiral and in an unfamiliar situation.
"You can always join us on expeditions. Its normally just me and Harder since that destroyer doesn't exactly have hands."
"Uh no thank you. I prefer sorties over rock collecting."
Suzuya said a bit perturbed at the offer.
"That reminds me, how are you doing Tal? I heard you got hit during the rescue operation"
He started to walk over to her to inspect the damage but she put her hand up and moved her tail preventing him from getting by.
"Uh I'm fine sir, just got nicked by a destroyer after all. I'm a battleship so I will be fine, I cant even feel it anymore."
He looked at her curiously, noticing the hint of red on her cheeks and of course her cheesy smile that was a tell she was attempting to lie.
"Really cause Hero-san said you were moderately damaged and would take over a week to heal?"
"I'm fine sir I promise! No need to do a checkup, nope nope!"
His face didn't seem the most convinced, and though he was in the middle of a situation with everyone he also didn't want to forget that she was hurt.
"Tel, as your admiral I want to know just how badly you are hurt. I don't want you putting up a front."
She seemed to be swallowing her words with her cheeks glowing as red as her eyes as Dell spoke to break the silence.
"Admiral she got shot in the ass"
"Dell you Mother F$^&$! why'd you tell him!?"
"Ouch my poor virgin submarine ears"
Harder said mockingly as she covered her ears and started to help Maruyu stand.
"Oh..." That was not what he was expecting to hear but based upon Dell smiling in victory and Tel crying he would say Maruyu wont be the only one that will need consoling. And now that he looked at her tail that was blocking him he could see some of the runway was chunked off. It must be very uncomfortable to move that thing now. "Uh... I hope it feels better soon?"
"You asked admiral" Dell said with a triumphant smile. Indie of course was withholding her own laugh while Hero was dusting herself off trying not to think about it.
"Just get ready for the expedition. We will be at the site within the hour, and girls" He said as he faced towards the group of Kanmusu who stood before him. "I'm sorry for all the trouble, go ahead and relax for now. We will be making port late next evening"
Houshou was actually quite surprised with the entire situation. She never expected to be sentenced to sink, then rescued by a rag tag group of american kanmusu, and now having tea with an abyssal. Well It was pleasant none the less but she hoped somehow she was dreaming or in a coma.
"I apologize if my tea isn't up to par. I have only begun to understand the human world"
The green tea in front of her honestly looked well done, and a quick sip confirmed that its taste matched its look. She never expected to be having tea with an abyssal aircraft carrier in a cafeteria with humans who really didn't seem to be threatened by her.
"No it's good, thank you. I didn't even realize that you would even like this kind of stuff"
"We used to eat fish all the time. And would drink rainwater to handle thirst. It was just a survival instinct so we thought nothing of it. However human food has shown us new things. Tal actually really loves human sweets, if you give her a cookie I'm sure she would consider you her best friend."
This was weird beyond belief, to think that it was the abyssals they were fighting this entire time turned out to be her rescuer. Had they not found their way to Aden she would have sunk and never knew not all abyssals were that bad, given purpose that is.
"So have you always had the name Dell?"
"No, but its actually quite an interesting story. Most abyssals do not have a name except for very strong ones like princess's. We don't have names because that would give you something to remember when we died, which happened quite often. It was a way of dealing with the moral of our girls. The admiral actually gave us our names."
That actually saddened her, did they know it was that bad? That they were going to die yet they kept fighting even knowing it was futile.
"So when I began to study aboard this ship I came across a marvelous finding. The internet seems to be a network of all human society on a digital plane for all to see. I became enraptured by it until the admiral gave me the nickname Dell, as apparently it was the device I was using to access the internet. Even if it started out as a nickname it made me happy so it has become my name ever since."
"And Tal?"
"She became jealous that the admiral gave me a name to the point she began to try and seduce him to get on his good side. Obviously as a battleship she plays rough however so he gave her the name Tal. Though inside I believe it was for his own well being as Tal has very low self control."
That sounded like a smart call, she couldn't imagine Tal actually taking the time to be sweet or wait. He was probably on the verge of getting kidnapped until he gave her a name. It was actually pretty funny, in a sense she guessed they actually were his ship daughters.
"So before you said that you were a flagship. How did that change?"
"I was originally the flagship and leader for our abyssal fleet. But after losing half of our members I relented to hiding and then the admiral showed up. I acted as flagship for him, however I don't believe he quite realized what that entitled." She sighed as if she recalled a sad memory as she continued. "Then the american Kanmusu showed up, thanks to my idea and my title of flagship was taken."
"Taken? What do you mean?"
"Hero-san has taken to being around the admiral as much as possible and has become his main confident when dealing with matters he personally cannot attend. She has become his secretary and she knows it, but I do not believe he knows it quite yet."
Well she supposed that explained it, she even figured Hero-san was the secretary with how much she is around him. Though why Hero-san had such a fascination with him so quickly was a bit strange.
"I know it may seem rude, and you don't have to tell me but did Hero-san ever say her true name whenever she first arrived?"
Dell glanced at her as she took a sip from her tea, obviously taking her time as to best word the answer for such a loaded question.
"She did."
It was a quick straight answer that gave away no information. She supposed that Hero-san personally requested no one tell.
"I know it may seem wrong of me. But id like to know, I know she is an american Kanmusu because of her planes, but id like to know which one."
"You haven't realized?"
The quirked eyebrow as she sipped her tea and her fingers tapping against the table proved unsettling. Was it meant to be obvious or was she just joking. No, Dell didn't seem like the type to joke around a serious matter like this.
"My first thought was Enterprise but she is a secretary ship in Hawaii. I just would like to know which one Hero-san is. Kitty Hawk, Hornet, Langley?"
"Enterprise is in Hawaii?"
She asked in quiet surprise. Well she did meet her personally on a trip several years ago and by enterprises record and what she saw she was strong and capable. She was most likely still alive and kicking as she hasn't heard anything about her sinking.
"Yes, I met her personally. She has brown hair, an admirals jacket hangs from her soldiers with a black shirt with several emblems and medals on it. She is smart, funny, and I believe strong like her ship was during the war."
"Hmmmmm" Dell said as she soaked the information in, to say she looked interested would be an understatement for how focused her yellow eyes were. "It would be best if you kept that information to yourself."
Wait, why? Had she said something wrong to her? Sure she gave away military information but that was over three years ago. And if anyone with military records actually tried they could easily find her since she was so iconic.
"Is there something I'm not aware of?"
"More than you can possibly imagine."
It was dark, cold, and quiet. Just like how it normally is in the wide open sea. She floated their unmoving as she rested, even after all these decades she was still tired. She had fought her war, she had seen it to the end, she had achieved victory. She had achieved a victory for her nation and her admiral. Yet she was denied her own self victory. And so she floated there unmoving in the darkness. She was so very tired and it was so very cold.
Her thoughts were torn from her as a light began to take shape in the darkness, calling out to any soul that would listen. But she would not go for she was tired. They had tried dozens of times, with cheers, with names, with promises of victory. But she wanted none of that, she only wanted to sleep for she was so very tired. She was the Hero they needed maybe but she didn't want to become that again. She had failed in her self appointed duty and she did not want to repeat it.
They called her with drums, they called her with banners, with patriotism, with promises of live anew. But It would make her so very tired, why would no one understand. She was tired of being the Hero, she was tired of being relied upon as the trump card, she was tired of promises that she couldn't keep. She had gave everything for her nation and yet it meant nothing to her. For everything she wanted was taken from her and her way had become lost.
And yet the lights continued one after another, with voices, with promises, with victory. But they didn't need her, so she would sleep. And yet these lights were so persistent in seeking her out. They called out a name she held alone, called for deeds she had done, to ask and ask and ask. But she was so very tired.
Today was no different as a light appeared in front of her on the wide open darkness. It would interrupt her sleep to promise a life she didn't want. And yet the words were different, they were not of a brave man but of a desperate man.
"I don't know if you can hear me. I don't know if you will even listen to me"
Strange, what fool would call out to dead ghosts to hear their plea? She would not haunt him but it was entirely different from the other times.
"I need someone to help me. To help them, please I need someone strong enough to do this despite the odds"
Despite the odds? But they held victory, she had heard the confidence in their voice time and time again. Why would they need her now? What has changed to upset the status quo. She felt the light glow bright and she knew another soul would reach out and claim it soon. And yet she didn't want that to happen, she wanted to listen to him. To hear his desperation, to hear his true colors.
"I don't need just a ship I need a Hero. I need..."
A hero? What a strange request, but she supposed as much as she hated to admit it they had called her that. Was this man unintentionally calling out to her? She wanted to hear his voice more and the light grew brighter. She dared say she could touch it with her fingertips. But should she... what are his words?...
"Please just... Just someone save them!"
And there it was, the purpose she had wanted to achieve. And as she touched that bright light she felt herself grow wet and weary as she floated above the ocean she slept in and came to breath new life into the daughter of the world she fought for.
She woke up from her nap, half amazed at what she was dreaming and half amazed she fell asleep anyway. She was afraid she would start having nightmares about losing her friends again, but why she remembered her own summoning was a bother to her. Remembering stuff like that would just drag her down if she failed her duty.
Looking around the room she could tell the admiral had left for the supply drop. She had taken to being as close as possible to him at all times, she had taken to sleeping on the couch in his room. He had tried for an entire week to convince her to sleep elsewhere but she wouldn't have it. She knew she was being a bit too protective but she was worried. She had lost so many sisters during the war. She didn't want to even consider the thought of losing her admiral.
The door opening broke her from her thoughts as she got up, putting on her beret quickly to try and look presentable. Though she supposed that was easier said then done, she was always in uniform. But the act of wearing pajamas in a man's room was not pleasing to her quite yet.
A quick look at the admiral had her worried though, he was plotting something which could only mean one thing.
"Did something happen admiral?"
"Maybe." He replied though it seemed the statement was more pointed at himself. "Get the girls ready within two days. Our contact may be getting close to being found out. We are going to break her out of the Yokosuka Naval Base"
AN:
So yah I found various grammar mistakes in the first chapter and I fixed as much as I caught. Apparently I was wrong in saying Kansume, as its actually Kanmusu. I must of heard it wrong or something but either way its fixed now. I'll work on this story little by little but like I said if no one seems interested then I personally wont be interested. If the grammar is so bad that you litterally spent the entire story trying to find them all then please pm it to me so I can fix it for future readers.
Also I know De-class light aircraft carrier does not actually exist in the game. I personally made it cause i like the aircraft carrier look to a point but I could not imagine that huge head so I shrunk it severely(Think of it like the size of Toad hat from mario), but in return she is only a light aircraft carrier so she is less powerful. The others are true classes though. Also I'm sorry if the (He said, she said) thing gets annoying but its the only way I know how to cope with 4+ people talking. and in most of these scenes you had 7+ people so yah.
Also I decided to just forgo any explicit content since it really wouldn't amount to much so the rating is gonna change back to teen. Its not like this is gonna get gruesome like game of thrones or anything. There is death, but not body parts everywhere or anything.
Anyway I hope you enjoy
