Chapter Two: Family

"Okay, Kii! Now summon your rigging!" Mutsuki shouted from the water. Her features carried an expectant smile. That Nagato, flagship of the kanmusu fleet and member of the Big Seven was watching the exercise didn't help, Kii thought nervously.

"That… That is much easier said than done!" Kii responded. She took a careful step into the water, and, just as she expected, her foot sank deep into it without even a semblance of resistance. "How do I do this?"

"Just… Uhh, do it!" Mutsuki said and smiled. "It was hard for all of us the first time."

'Just do it.' Yes. Yes, she would like to 'just do it'. The issue was that she didn't know how. Again, Nagato's silently judging gaze did plenty to increase her nervousness. She was probably thinking what a failure of a battleship they had summoned!

Kii tried the foot again, with the same result.

"Uuh… I, Kii, am embarrassed…"

"Nah, big one." Mutsuki said, and somehow her smile became even brighter. "Just try again, you'll do it eventually. Just trust your instincts!"

Kii hesitated. Her eyes were affixed to the water of the training pool, where the waves she had caused with her boot were slowly dying off. From the water, her face stared back at her, with green eyes and her own long black hair and wearing her own green kimono.

Since her summoning two days ago, Kii had felt something was amiss, something was not quite right about her existence. Something, or someone, was missing, Kii knew it in her deepest of hearts, but until now she hadn't quite been able to place her finger on it.

Now however, the realization hit her like a truck.

"Kii, where are you going?" Mutsuki shouted. Nagato huffed dismissively as Kii walked away from the water, from the docks, slowly at first, and then bursting into a flat-out run.

She remembered now. Not in vision, no, but in feelings. Someone was missing. Someone important.

Puzzled base personnel scurried out of her way as she ran, asked her if everything was alright in passing, shot her worried glances. Kii had no time or thought to spend on them however, for she needed to see someone. She needed to talk to the Admiral.


She didn't get very far. As soon as she threw open the door to the Admiral's office, Ooyodo got out of her chair and stepped into her way.

"Sorry, Admiral's in a video conference. You can't get in."

Kii fixed the office door with her gaze, looking past the cruiser. "I just need to ask him about my sister!" she said, panting from the run.

"Your sister? Owari, right?"

The battleship froze for a second. Yes, Owari was her name. She nodded.

"We haven't tried summoning her yet, so you can't meet her."

"I need to know if Owari is alright! Please!" Kii begged. Maybe she also yelled. She wasn't sure afterwards.

Either way, the discussion was loud enough to filter through the door and catch the Admiral's attention, because Admiral Fukuda was now standing in the frame. Her uniform was without stain or wrinkle, but her eyes were tired and bloodshot.

"Admiral!" Ooyodo turned around to face her superior. "You need sleep!"

"Yeah, yeah…" she muttered in return, his voice hinting of strength but dripping with sleep deprivation.

"You really shouldn't push yourself like this, ma'am." The secretary ship said and continued to advise the Admiral on the matters of the day.

Kii stood in the room and tried to make her tall, slender frame seem as small as possible. She had not wanted to interrupt her superior in such important work, that was uncourtly. But she had a feeling that the matter was urgent, and she was impatiently fidgeting with her fingers until she couldn't wait anymore. "Admiral, we need to summon my sister Owari!"

A moment of puzzled silence as the Admiral considered how to deal with this new situation. Ooyodo shot her a scolding look but didn't raise her voice.

"Your sister?" she finally spoke after what to Kii felt like an eternity.

"Yes…" the battleship responded.

"Do you miss her?" she asked.

"Yes!" Kii said. But she did not get her point. "But that is not the issue."

Now both Ooyodo and the Admiral frowned. "Speak up, sailor." Kii just fidgeted even more furiously.

"Sir, I, Kii, feel we need to urgently summon her." Ooyodo's frown turned from curiosity to annoyance. "I can't explain it… But I feel efforts to summon her must be made as soon as possible, Admiral ma'am!"

Kii stood at attention as the woman looked at her. Again, instead of talking, she walked over to Kii and placed a hand on her shoulder. The touch reassured her, and suddenly she felt a wave of trust and affection for her superior. The Admiral cared for her and for her sister.

"Okay, we'll do it." She said and looked Kii in the eyes. "I'll have Ooyodo make the necessary arrangements. Don't worry about your sister too much, she will be with us soon."

Kii's eyes lit up with anticipation. "Yes! I, Kii, thank you sincerely, Admiral!" she said, eagerness and anticipation in her voice.

"Fine. Now, please excuse us, I need to talk with Ooyodo in private."

Kii snapped a salute and turned on her heel. She had what she longed for! Soon, she and her sister would be united again! Maybe they could even get her two other unnamed sisters! Oh, the Admiral truly was a kind leader!


As the office door closed, Ooyodo shot a sideward look at the Admiral. "Miné, are you sure this was a wise move?" Ooyodo asked the Admiral. "She's new, she's probably just confused. Is it clever to let her antics influence your command?"

"She seems a bit confused indeed." The lady responded. "She sure does… But we will need every kanmusu we can get soon. And, yes, I agree, the No 13's should have a higher priority."

She sighed. Ooyodo looked at the door where Kii had stood a moment ago.

"You see, Ooyodo, I don't believe in coincidences. If Kii is worried about her sister like this, there must be a reason. Maybe she knows something, maybe she doesn't and it's just her instincts telling her something, but it's not a risk I fancy taking."

"Risk?" Ooyodo asked and looked at her superior from the side.

"The risk of something going wrong with Owari. I mean, we've had failed summonings before, we shouldn't risk losing a powerful battleship if we can afford it."


The sea far away seemed to burn as the sun slowly disappeared underneath the horizon. The sound of the waves, the screeching of the birds, and the complete absence of anyone accompanied Kii while she stood silently, gaze affixed on the horizon. It looked like a thousand battles were raging in the distance, but of course it only was an illusion created by hundreds of kilometers of atmosphere deflecting a star's light.

Kii was alone, but she knew she would not be alone much longer. Soon, her sister would come to join her! Soon, they would be reunited to fight side by side! Standing on the beach, her mind reached out to find her sister like she had done a thousand times before her summoning. But she couldn't find her. She must be sleeping, or otherwise occupied wherever she was now.

"Sister, watch!" Kii whispered to her, and then she stood on the water a dozen meters off the shore, proudly brandishing her rigging as the sun's final rays drenched her turrets and funnels in golden light. Soon, both of them would stand united, and they would finally answer the call to defend their people, their beloved homeland in the direst of times. They would finally live the lives the politicians had robbed from them before birth, and they would live it as sisters in arms and in blood.

"I'll be expecting you, sis!" Kii spoke to the horizon. "Don't be late!"