Nagato was woken up by rays of a morning sun. The only thing she remembered from her dreams was that warm, motherly smile disappearing in a white flash, over and over again. She still couldn't remember who it belonged to. For several minutes she lied motionless, lost in her thoughts and anxious, until it came to her. If she's here, maybe that girl also found her way to this place, whatever it was. She broke out of her bed and, unable to keep balance, quickly fell down. In an attempt to stop the fall, she grabbed the curtain surrounding her bed, but only managed to tear it down. Falling down, Nagato hit a small stand next to her bed, dropping a small, metal lamp which hit the ground with loud clang. She was still not used to this body.
The commotion caught the attention of a pink haired girl standing next to the bed opposite to Nagato's. She quickly rushed to the fallen battleship.
"No, no. Get back to bed now, I'll be back with you in a second.", she said, helping her patient get back on the bed. "Hara's not paying me enough…", she mumbled and went back to the other bed.
Now ridden of curtains blocking her view, Nagato realized that the room was some kind of field hospital, with around fifty beds, half of them occupied by girls of different ages and in varying conditions. Some looked just slightly roughed up, others missed some of their limbs. Nagato wondered why women would be allowed into armed forces. Are they humans, or is their situation more like hers? If so, maybe she can recognize some of her old friends? What about that blonde girl? Did she miraculously survive? She started frantically looking around but couldn't recognize anyone. Lost in this frantic search for a friendly face, the battleship didn't notice that the pink haired girl approached her, until her face appeared right in front of Nagato's eyes.
"Good, you're alive after all. Hara would have killed me if you died here.", that second sentence was barely audible. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but most of them will probably have to wait until tomorrow." she put down a plastic plate, with some tin boxes on it, on the nightstand and sat down. "We're kinda in hurry here. So first off, my name's Akashi…"
"Wait, THAT Akashi? The repair ship Akashi?!", Nagato interrupted.
"Yes, you may remember me as a technological wonder. One could say some things never change.", Akashi seemed filled with pride, pointing her thumb at her chest in a show-off gesture. "Secondly, feel free to eat.", she pointed at the plate and opened the boxes. They were filled with unappetizingly looking pulp. Not convinced at first, Nagato soon felt a movement as her stomach let out a loud growl, and an inexplicable craving set it. She quickly reached for the nearest box, but her shaky hands couldn't hold it and it landed on Akashi's lap.
"I… I… I'm sorry!", Nagato cried out bowing her head as low as she could in her position.
"Nah, don't worry. This happens all the time with new arrivals. It's gonna be some time before you get used to this body. In the meantime, let me help you.", Akashi took another box and started hand feeding Nagato, who despite being reluctant, had no other choice. The repair ship, on the other hand, seemed extremely happy about this. "Now, before I explain to you what's going on and where we are, I'll need to know your name and confirm your identity."
"Nagato-class battleship, Nagato. Flagship of the Combined Fleet and the First Battleship Division.", Nagato answered after a longer while.
"Oh, seems like we've caught a legendary Pokemon.", Akashi's comment confused Nagato. What the hell is Pokemon? "Ok, now, if you could answer some questions.". Nagato nodded. "Firstly, 28 August of the sixth year of Taisho era. Does it mean anything to you?"
"That's the day I was laid down.", Nagato answered nearly immediately.
"Good. How about your launch day?"
"November of the eighth year of Taisho era, I don't remember the exact day. My apologies.", Nagato needed a while to answer this one.
"That's ok. Just two more. 8 December of sixteenth year of the Showa era?"
"I sortied with my sister ship, Mutsu, Ise-class battleships Ise and Hyuuga, Fusou-class battleships Fusou and Yamashiro, and an aircraft carrier, Houshou. We headed to the Bonin Islands to escort the First Air Fleet returning from the attack on Pearl Harbour.", this answer also took Nagato a while, but brought some much-needed details.
"That's correct.", Akashi mumbled focused on her questionnaire. "Last o-".
"Akashi! What about that blonde girl?! The one who lost her hand! What happened to her?!", Nagato abruptly interrupted her in one breath, as if some calmness spell was broken, spitting out whatever it was Akashi was feeding her.
"Ah, Yuudachi… She'll be fine. She keeps taking heavy damage from these suicidal raids of hers… I'm telling you, this girl will be the end of me.", Akashi massaged her forehead, shaking her head. "Luckily, we already have a spare arm waiting for her in Japan. She'll be like new in 2-3 weeks.", Nagato was confused, this was too much information for her, but seeing Akashi's face she forced herself not to ask any more questions.
"Now, if I could continue…", Akashi went on. "It's the last one. 1 July of twenty first year of the Showa era.", the question made Nagato freeze. She remembered this date with her entire being. How could she forget that atrocity?
"That… that smile… and then… just a flash of white… Sakawa's crying…", she immediately forgot about her confusion and broke down, repeating these words like a broken record. It wasn't until Akashi's hand touched her arm that she snapped out of it. "I… I have to find them!", Nagato tried to get off the bed, but couldn't overpower Akashi.
"Sakawa's alright. She's back in Japan. I'm sure she'll be overjoyed to see you, Nagato-san. I'm not sure who's that smile you are talking about, though."
This information calmed Nagato a bit, so Akashi continued.
"We're currently on Wake Island and will be departing for the American base in Pearl Harbour within few hours. From there we will return back home, to Japan. It's Momiji season, so you're in luck.", Akashi explained, but Nagato's mind went blank after the mention of Wake Island and Pearl Harbour.
"What do you mean by American base?", confused, she asked with a still shaky voice.
"Oh right… After the war Japan and USA have become very close allies… Although, after Zuikaku's stunt yesterday, the relations will surely take a huge dive… Stupid Crane just can't use her brain… But, anyway, where was I… Ah, right. We co-operated with the USN to retrieve you, so there's nothing to worry about.". Nagato, however, wasn't persuaded. "You've probably lost the connection with your hull, right?", Nagato only nodded. "That's because your spirit had left it and materialized in a human form. In other words, you are now a shipgirl. I'll walk you through the details later, but in short, from our, very limited, understanding, we're all the non-violent, or evil, emotions carried by the ship and her crew in life."
"What about these other, evil, emotions?", Nagato asked nearly instinctively.
"They materialize as the Abyssal. Of what we know, each shipgirl has her Abyssal counterpart. They can affect the nature around them to create nearly endless fleets of slimy, zombie-like minions.", this Nagato wonder what the hell is a zombie. "On a bright side, we suspect that your Abyssal counterpart was sunk during the rescue operation.", Akashi made a short pause, checking her questionnaire. "Now, it's time for the real shocker… The year is 2025. You've been asleep for nearly 80 years, a lot has changed.", Nagato was left speechless. How did the world change in this time? What kind of warships are sailing the seas now? She was already powerful enough to snuff out a destroyer, what threat can a human-sized enemy pose to battleships and carriers of eighty years later?
"I know this is a lot to digest, so if you need anything just press this.", Akashi, seeing that Nagato's having trouble comprehending all that, pointed at a button sticking out of bed's railing. "You should rest for now though. Journey home will be quite tiring. Oh… I nearly forgot, but… welcome home.", Akashi smiled warmly and left to tend to other patients.
Nagato's mind was full of conflicting thoughts and emotions. She had no idea what to expect of this new life. What kind of enemy were the Abyssal? How… Why is she even here? How many other ships are still in their sleep? Will they ever wake up? Will her old comrades remember her? Filled with thoughts and doubts which she couldn't ignore, Nagato laid on her bed staring at the ceiling with an absent gaze. She was only broken out of her trance when Akashi, assisted by another woman appeared with a stretcher and informed her that it's time to move.
"Ooof… Battleships sure weigh a lot.", Akashi's companion coughed up. Nagato couldn't see her face, but short, blue hair felt nostalgic. They reminded Nagato of the sea.
"Vestal-san, it's not nice to tell a girl she's heavy!", Akashi protested.
"Yes, yes, I'm sorry, mom.", Vestal teased Akashi. "Oh, by the way…", she continued not letting Akashi protest. "This little project we've been talking about, I think I know how to handle it. I'll give you the preliminary blueprints at the helipad. Take a look and let me know what you think after getting back home."
"Oooh! As expected of an American engineer! You've got me all hyped up!", Akashi's eyes lit up and she sped up, ignoring Vestal's whining.
Nagato's attention was caught by this exchange. What would this project be? Some new, secret weapon? Her chest was feeling hot, thinking about it! Hoping to hear more, she mustered all the focus she could, but Akashi and Vestal started talking about some technical mumbo-jumbo which Nagato didn't understand, and so, her tired mind started slipping away, until she's finally fell asleep.
Her dreams were once again filled with the most beautiful smile she's ever seen, but the face behind it was still shrouded in thick, black mist. Each time she thought she'll finally pierce the veil, the smile disappeared in an explosion of white. Again, and again, but despite knowing the futility of her actions, she kept on pressing each time the light subsided. After countless attempts, a voice. Cold, soft and feminine, a voice reverberating in the depths of her being. Only death awaits you here, so come, meet your end… Yet, her dream self didn't give in. She relentlessly pressed on towards Sa… Damn! It's so close. Her name's so close! Please remember! She kept pressing on, and as the veil got thinner, no white light appeared. Instead, she was staring at a white, rotting face, covered with coral and donning no expression at all. A face of death. Welcome… to the deep blue. The face closed in. I'll take a great pleasure in devouring you, it whispered softly into Nagato's ear.
She woke up in a dark, unknown room. Covered in cold sweat, shaking and panting like dog on a hot day, she tried picking herself up, but felt something weighing on her legs. Resting on her elbows, Nagato focused her sight to pierce the darkness and noticed a girl kneeling on the floor, her head resting on Nagato's lap, faced turned towards her. This was a face Nagato would never forget. Tears in eyes, she delicately poked girl's bared cheek and gently shook her arm.
"Pyaa?", she raised her head slowly and rubbed her still swollen eyes.
"Sakawa… I'm back…", Nagato was happy that the room was so dark, because her eyes wouldn't stop tearing.
"Pya!", Sakawa jumped on her long-lost friend, locking her in tight embrace. "Welcome home, Nagato-san!", she started crying like a little baby.
"There, there…", Nagato patted cruiser's head and stroked her hair, not caring for the tears anymore. She was home once again. At least for tonight, she wanted to be carefree and happy, but the fear and anxiousness of that dream weren't planning on letting go so easily.
/* With this, chapter 1 has come to an end. Chapter 2 will focus solely on Nagato, but also introduce at least one new main character and offer some more Maya x Atlanta goodness. */