Chapter 4
"Excellent!" said Kongou as the first combined fleet returned to port. "It was a good thing we brought you four along. Otherwise those submarines might have wrecked us."
"Thanks," said Akatsuki.
"Yeah…" said Inazuma.
"It was AWESOME!" said Ikazuchi.
Hibiki remained silent. Akatsuki looked a Hibiki with a worried face.
"… What?" asked Hibiki.
"Well," began Akatsuki. "It's just that you've been silent for the past few hours. Are you okay?"
"Yeah," said Hibiki. "I'm fine. I'm just tired."
"Well get some rest, okay?" said Inazuma.
"I'll do that."
A few minutes later…
Hibiki emerged from her room as Akatsuki, Inazuma, and Ikazuchi ran by. They were carrying buckets of water.
"What's wrong?" asked Hibiki.
"I saw smoke rising from the hill over there!" said Inazuma.
"We're putting out the fire," said Ikazuchi.
Someone tapped on Hibiki's shoulder. Hibiki turned around. Standing next to her was Tenryuu.
"You go too," said Tenryuu. "You're worried about your sisters, right?"
Hibiki smiled. "Yeah," she said. "I'll do that."
By the time Hibiki arrived at the hill, the fire was already out. The forest was charred and burnt. The ground was rather barren. The place said death everywhere. Hibiki felt like she was going to vomit. Then she heard a scream. She ran towards the source and found Inazuma on the ground.
"What happened!?" she asked. Inazuma did not answer. She then raised her hand slowly and pointed at something on the ground. Now Hibiki DID vomit. Lying on the ground was a body. Blood was splattered everywhere. The features of the person's face were burnt and distorted. Hibiki leaned on a metal box to catch her breath, but flinched as the box burned her. Then she realized. That's not a box. It's the hull of a tank. Akatsuki and Ikazuchi also arrived on the scene. Ikazuchi screamed and Akatsuki covered her mouth to prevent herself from vomiting.
"We… We need to tell the others," said Akatsuki. "I don't like the look of this."
"Yeah, me neither," said Ikazuchi. "I'll go get Tenryuu."
"Shouldn't we inform the admiral about this?" asked Inazuma.
"He'll know soon enough," said Hibiki.
They hurried back to the base. They told the news to Tenryuu. When they finished their story, a crowd had gathered around them.
"That's… bad," said the Aircraft Carrier Akagi. "With something like that happening so close to home… I'm glad I can operate on land."
"We all can, Akagi," said Kongou. "It's just that those of us who have torpedoes can't use them."
"I don't believe it," said Soryu. "No one told ME that there's war going on on land."
"Me too," said I-401. "If there was, why would it be on our doorstep now?"
"You want proof?" asked Ikazuchi. "Follow me."
"He's late."
Fritz slammed the table next to his bed. Tears were streaming from his eyes. "That damn ASSHOLE! I TOLD him that he wouldn't make it! I TOLD him!"
Marie sat next to him. "There was nothing you could do," she said. "He made that decision by himself."
"I know! But… but… I could have… I…" Fritz collapsed onto his bed. "I'm powerless, aren't I? I can't do anything alone."
"Well," said Marie. "Next time, I'm coming with you."
Fritz suddenly bolted up. "NO!" he said. "I don't want to lose you too!" Then he realized that Marie was giggling.
"Wh… What?"
"Nothing," replied Marie. "I just thought that you actually WERE worried about me."
"Wha-!?" Fritz blushed. Marie smiled.
"It's fine," she said. "Besides, I don't think that Jager is dead. He's not the type to just die." Her face was suddenly glum again.
Fritz stared at Marie. She was worried for Jager as much as he was. He sat down on the bed again and looked up.
"He should be all right," he said.
"Are you sure?" asked Marie.
"Yep," said Fritz. Marie sighed and smiled.
"By god…" said Kongou as she scanned the battlefield. Smoke was rising everywhere.
"Well," said I-401. "This is worse than I… GAAAH!" She collapsed.
"What's wrong?" asked Soryu. I-401 was pointing to something on the ground. Soryu's eyes widened in fear. I-401 was pointing at the dead Panzer III, the one that got part of his body blown off.
Hibiki was walking around the perimeter of the area at the time. She was deep in thought. Many questions floated through here head like, "Is the Abyssal Fleet our only enemy?" or, "Why did they fight here? Why now?" However, here attention was drawn by something in the air. It was purple. It was being blown through the air by the wind. Hibiki jumped up to catch it. It was a handkerchief. It was purple with an ornate flower design on one corner. It felt soft to the touch. Soft and smooth. Hibiki thought about keeping it as her own, but something near the edge of the handkerchief caught her eye. Blood. Hibiki's heart beat faster. She looked in the direction the handkerchief came from. There was some smoke. Hibiki ran there with Akatsuki calling to her from behind, "Hibiki! Where are you going!?"
There. Hibiki came to a clearing near the shore. There were bits of blackened bent metal everywhere. Smoke was rising from a black can that looked like an oil barrel (fuel tank). Hibiki heard a moan from behind. She turned around. It was a boy. He looked to be fourteen or so. He was covered in mud, oil, and blood. He wore what looked like a German Infantryman's uniform. On top of that, he had bits of armor plating. On his right arm was a Kwk L/24 75mm gun. Hibiki walked over to the boy. She put her hand on his neck. She felt a pulse. Her heart beat faster. She called to the others, "Over here! There's a survivor over here!"
Author's notes: Well, finally we meet some of the ship girls. Our main focus will be the sixth destroyer squadron (Akatsuki, Inazuma, Ikazuchi, and Hibiki)
Also, who in the world could the survivor be!?... yeah I'm not fooling you am I. Also: More character backgrounds! Woooo!
Schmitt: A Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer tank destroyer. He arrived in this world after stepping on a land mine on the way home from school. He has a cheerful personality and enjoys brightening up the mood when everyone is down. He is also one of the survivors of the fall of the Eastern Line aka the first events of Chapter 1. His favorite tank is the Maus.
Leon: A Panzer II Luchs who likes using the rather comically long 20mm flak gun. He arrived in this world after he helped attack the terrorists that hijacked Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. (sorry. he's really important.) He is part of Fritz's anti-artillery brigade and has a total of twelve artillery kills. He likes playing World of Tanks and enjoys watching Mech anime (particularly the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise). His favorite tank is the YMT-05 Hildolfr.
