The sea was quiet. All one could hear were sounds of the ship hull splitting waves as the Sakura fleet embarked on a journey to a certain naval base.
Zuikaku stood at the bow of the ship, Ayanami's physical vessel, and stared to the dark horizon. It was past bedtime and closing into midnight. She had been thinking for a while, but as she figured, she couldn't take her eyes off from the place where it all began. The Pearl Harbor base of Hawaiian Island, the international Anti-Siren headquarters of the north pacific front, and one of the Azur Lane's main bases. Her memories were not clouded. In fact, it had become more vivid the closer the fleet was to it. Her previous incarnation had fought there together with her sister, providing the vanguard fleet with only the least amount of protection as ordered to. The tactic used then and now seemed to be no different, but only slightly.
Even in a less than ideal circumstances, kansen had no reason to fight against each other in a battle to the death. However, something felt amiss this time. She wasn't sure why or how; she just had this sense of assurance that something smelled fishy. But what is it…?
"Mm. As I thought, it's hard to figure this out." Zuikaku lifted her chin before hanging her head as she sighed. Thinking wasn't her forte, but she had decided to be better than that. Diligently learning and reviewing her errors would one day bear some fruits. Unfortunately, she wasn't virtuous enough to endure the long struggles. "Ugh. Fighting is much better. Why can't learning be the same…?"
It was difficult for seagulls to reach this far out to the sea, so only the blowing winds could heed her lamentation. Needless to say, her question went unanswered. After deeply exhaling once again, she glanced at the vessels sailing behind Ayanami. The First Carrier Division opted to carry themselves on Akagi's hull with Tone as an escort. In the meanwhile, the Second Carrier Division chose Takao's hull to carry them. There were also Kirishima and Haruna to consider. With that in mind, the current fleet was pretty much balanced. Zuikaku chalked this setup as them looking out for each other, so she believed she still had much to improve to even get on the same level as her seniors.
Yes, that's right. Brushing her hand over the hilt of her sword, Zuikaku reaffirmed her resolve as a warrior one more time. A big war is coming, I must be ready for it.
After all, she must protect her sister and her friends. Oh, and Commander as well though it wasn't like she'd let herself be caught dead saying it.
As the night grew old, the moon waxed and waned. To avoid detection, any spotlights and outside light were switched off. A curfew was set, and a rotational watch duty was employed.
At the captain's cabin, Aoto worked through the night on his lonesome. Scribbling documents one after another, he pondered, read a reference book laid open on the desk, and continued to scratch away with his pen. The cup of coffee Shoukaku made before she retired for the night had turned cold, yet the faint sounds of the rolling waves tilted the ship's hull comfortingly. He had grown accustomed to living out at the sea. In fact, he felt safe by once again living out this rough lifestyle even sailors would get fed up of, but it was merely him setting aside the issue that would soon arise from picking a fight with the entire world. Stopping his hand, he looked at the opened pages with an unreadable gaze. In the following moment, he heard the door of his cabin knocked; Aoto lifted his head.
"Um, this is Ashigara… Rear Admiral, are you still working?" When Ashigara slightly peered into the cabin, the girl's eyebrows furrowed down. She walked over to the desk but soon looked at the many diagrams Aoto had just made. Picking one up, she soon came to realize the nature of his late-night work. "This is all… tactical responses?"
"Hmm. I was trying to come up with appropriate commands once the battle started," he admitted. "I have never once fought in wars between people. Now that it's no longer the case, I must rethink all of my strategies. I don't want to make the wrong decisions when the time calls for it."
He had responsibilities to fulfill, expectations to match, and a hope that everybody would come back alive. However, a small voice in the back of his mind often whispered that there was no way he could possibly do all that. Real combat was a hell of a mess no matter what the circumstances. War, on the other hand… well, the variables multiplied and turned every existing plan to always deviate from the tracks no matter what. The question was whether it happened at first, midway through, or right in the deciding moment. Human factors, quality versus quantity, geographical advantage, logistic, raw power as well as momentum; so many elements to consider, so little things that could be achieved with the hands of just one man. And the sin of sending these girls out to that loathsome hell will all be on me.
"Are… aren't you working yourself too hard…?" Ashigara eventually inquired, concerns in her voice.
Aoto smiled sadly and shook his head. "This is what I must do. This is also the least I can do for you all. I'm sorry that I couldn't do much more than this."
"That's…" Ashigara looked away, but after some moments, met him in the eyes. "I don't… I don't think that's true, Shikikan!"
Aoto blinked, staring dumbly at the Heavy Cruiser who had suddenly raised her voice. He had never once thought he'd see Ashigara to shout with all of her heart. However, he sensed no anger. As a matter of fact, her expression twisted in pain as she averted her gaze. And as the faint sounds of waves crashing against Ayanami's hull, the girl lowered her head.
"...truthfully. Truthfully, I… I have been feeling uneasy." Ashigara harshly inhaled. "Many from our fleet have previously worked together with the Azur Lane. However, they are also bound by loyalty to serve our homeland. Surely… surely, they all feel the same at the idea of fighting against each other, Shikikan. That is why, that is why, I… we are…!"
Ashigara started to talk rather incoherently, her composure falling apart as the seconds passed by. He had thought of getting off from his chair to comfort her, but Aoto immediately connected the dots. He softly smiled as he closed his eyes.
"Thank you, Ashigara." Aoto looked her in the eye. "Still, let me be selfish a bit more. You should rest up. Your shift may already be over, but that's no reason to not be careful."
The girl took a sharp intake. Her eyes widened, her lips opened wide as a word was about to leave her tongue. However, she closed her mouth and hung her head low. Aoto could sense guilt creeping up on his back when he saw shame and disappointment deep in her eyes, but he restrained himself from saying any further as Ashigara excused herself from his cabin. The Rear Admiral shook his head and looked at the half-opened drawer of his desk—a torn envelope with a half-folded letter sitting within. As he breathed out, he unpinned his collar; turning his gaze to the dull gray ceiling.
Those girls are wasted on a terrible adult like me.
Days had passed. Under the cover of the darkness, the Sakura Empire's fleet was closing in on the defense perimeter of Hawaiian island. The timing of the attack was planned to be thirty minutes before dawn broke out. They'd strike with everything they've got before quickly retreating. Of course, some energy conservation had to be achieved, so the Fifth Carrier Division was ordered to stay back, much to the seething annoyance of Shoukaku. However, Ayanami couldn't really remember anything beyond her own role in this operation. After all…
"Ayanami-san, this is not a good place to sleep."
Atop the control tower of her physical vessel, Ayanami sat down while hugging her knees. After she sensed the familiar presence and hearing her voice, the demon looked back to find her friend standing with both of her arms held akimbo. Her amethyst-colored eyes reflected her figure and the way she crinkled her nose and eyebrows made her disapproval clear for anyone to see. A deep sense of joy and comfort washed over Ayanami, even as the feeling quickly faded as the awareness of the huge battle that would decide the fates of many came to her. Still, Z23 was correct.
Even though kansen retained a good portion of their true strength in their humanoid form, they still had to look after themselves to ensure battle readiness. The war would soon commence, so everyone must already be in position. Ayanami smiled until her crimson gaze fell upon the tiny island far in the horizon. The Pearl Harbor base—a name engraved in her memories and heart as a place where the beginning of the end began. Yes, even the entirety of her new memories could never forget what had happened in the world's previous incarnation. Now, though...
"...Niimi… I'm scared."
Their friends were there. Their former Commander was also there. That Azur Lane base was the place where the four of them had crossed paths together. It was where everything began in this second life of hers, but now… now, Ayanami wasn't sure anymore.
"I'm scared," Ayanami confessed as she pressed her forehead against her knees. "I know that it can't be helped that things go this way, but… but—"
She had made friends in that place. She had come to embrace that place as her second home. And yet, their friends… What would happen to their friendship once this battle took place? Ayanami had no doubt that those two would be disappointed, hurt, and saddened. In fact, there were chances of them hating her. Ayanami didn't want to be hated because betrayal hurt. However, however… she could not choose which was more precious between her best friends and the people of her homeland.
"Ayanami-san…"
"I'm sorry, Niimi… It's, it's probably too late to say this, huh?"
As Ayanami expressed a resigned smile at her friend, she knew deep down that the Iron Blood girl was in the same boat as her. Politics, nationality, ideologies, way of life. All those things mattered less than the idea of hurting their friends who had once entrusted their backs to them through the countless battles against Siren. However, she could not allow herself to stay as the whiny girl who always cried over each and every unfortunate turn of fates. Therefore… therefore—
"...I have to fight." Ayanami slowly stood up. "This is what I can do, after all… right?"
Z23 didn't respond with words. Unbeknownst to Ayanami, her friend had given a tiny nod even as she held her arm as if to reassure herself.
Time waited for no one. Everything became all the more precious because of that. As the sand flowed, events were set in motion. With thoughts and prayers held tightly, the world waited with bated breaths, seemingly in anticipation of the impetus to change. And then, with one word—the trigger was pulled.
On the mark of hour five hundred, communications with the patrol boats abruptly vanished. It was only three minutes in when unidentified planes soared to the sky. As black dive bombers cut through the airspace, communication towers were destroyed in succession by their missiles. Aerial bombardment then fell over the supply warehouses, hangars, and the dry docks. Once the armories ignited, a giant detonation followed, sparking more and more enormous explosions. The sea waves shook as the scarlet flames seethed, black smokes rising to choke the lives of the survivors who had somehow avoided the surprise attack.
Panic enveloped the base. A mix of Eagle Union and Royal Navy ships hastily jumped to the sea only to face a merciless barrage of the mass-produced Piece-class Siren. USS Pennsylvania had thought that the Siren was attacking when she saw dozens of A6M Zero joining in to sow seeds destruction.
Screams and yells could be heard across the base, but help would not arrive. They would never arrive in time now that the base's communication modules were cut off. Behind the Siren fleet which would weaken the enemy, humanoid figures cruised forward to execute their own directives. Swords were drawn to cut down stragglers, turrets loaded with explosive shells were aimed at surviving important facilities, and ironclad convictions crushed the confused opposing force. With one fell swoop, almost thirty percents of the Azur Lane base were deemed lost at the hands of the Sakura Empire. Akagi joyfully hummed as Kaga shouted orders through their transmission channel.
"Now, then…" The Flagship of Sakura Empire's Combined Fleet flicked away a red paper that burned in the air before a fighter aircraft flew out of the blazing flame. The tiny airplane enlarged in size as it took off to join in with its comrades. "Let us bestow divine punishment upon this world."
In the darkest hour before dawn, not even the starlight could shine down on the sea lit with a blazing flame. As ships moored at the harbor fell apart in succession, smokes and explosions rose one after another. Beset from all directions, the base could only helplessly endure the surprise attack.
Ah, this is familiar. A detached voice wormed to the forefront of his mind. Just standing at the catwalk, the winds had already brought him the scent of rust and gunpowder. The low groan of ship hulls torn asunder, the raging waves that crashed against , and the bright flames that dyed the landscape. It all was so very familiar that he wanted to puke. This is… war, between people.
The absolute impunity of the air raid certainly did a number to the base's facilities. The hangars storing military vehicles, the supply warehouses, armories, communication tower, and the barracks. It seemed there were merits in having past intelligence related to the Azur Lane, but using that information to lay down a beating on those dedicated to combat Siren… Aoto screwed his eyes shut as he stopped himself from going down that road. There was no use in regretting or lamenting. What was done was done, and so—what he must do was to make the best out of the situation. Tapping into the channel shared between his subordinates, he gazed down to the deck where they waited for his order.
Aoto took a deep breath. "The first phase of the operation is completed. We will now move on to the second phase. Are you ready? Ayanami, Ashigara, Zuikaku."
Among the three, only Ashigara gave a salute. Ayanami hung her head before she looked up to meet his eyes. The girl gave a slow nod. Aoto briefly smiled but when he saw Zuikaku, he could only tilt his head as the kansen folded her arms under her bosom. She was definitely glaring at him… Ah, I guess my current position does make me look like a haughty officer standing above her.
He gave her a slight nod. Zuikaku huffed and looked away. Shoukaku forced out a smile and Z23 stared from the side with disapproval at the brunette's manners. Well, at least he didn't need to worry about his Division's battle readiness.
After the air raid, the base's defensive mechanisms should be active by now. A broken line of light was appearing just as he had anticipated, spotlights being cast to the sea so the base could identify their attackers. The kansen currently stationed there must be moving out as well, but Aoto couldn't say for sure who and how many. The intel was somewhat outdated after Sakura Empire's departure from the alliance, and he was also curious about the base's responses being not up to his expectations. Could it be that our main targets aren't even here…?
"Hey, Rear Admiral! What's the holdup!?"
Aoto blinked, looking back down at his subordinates. Zuikaku's irritated mood was at full swing now, but he quickly shook his head as he pinged Shoukaku to not hit her sister from behind. He honestly didn't mind Zuikaku's attitude, no matter how much he gotten used to it. In fact, he was grateful that the girl could easily break him out from his reverie, though he noted that it had been a long while ever since Zuikaku last addressed him by his title. As such…
"Then, I'll be brief." Aoto straightened his posture and clicked his heels together. "I will not order you to do as you wish, and neither will I tell you to cast off your dignity for your orders. If, by any chance, you find yourself doubting the orders given to you, however…"
He swept his gaze over the girls whom he had come to trust. He could not lose any of them. Hence—
"Know that you are fighting because I tell you so." Aoto lifted his arm parallel to his chest, extending it forward like the orator of an orchestra. "Now, fearless warriors of the empire! Draw your swords and load your guns! Fight to your heart's contents—and return without fails!"
A pair of eyes gazed upon the sea illuminated with scarlet brilliance. Even without using her terminal, she could witness a historical moment where fates scattered across the seven seas. The symphony of fired shells, soaring warplanes, and detonating torpedoes filled the air as a mist made out of ashes as well as gunpowder descended upon the battlefield. It was an exquisite riot, a writhing chaos that was slowly but surely consuming everything; a marvelous "reenactment" of the war from the olden days.
"Once again, the fate of this world headed toward this direction, hm?" The being lurking in the dark depth narrowed her eyes in delight. "Be that as it may, we are slightly behind the schedule. Well, no matter. Tester and Purifier could fill in the blanks rather easily."
Her heart was singing. Artificial she might be, a processing terminal she could ever hope to be, this black core that composed her existence was filled with fulfillment. Though this was but another step to accomplish her dearest creator's wish, she could not stop herself from feeling giddy at the idea of her effort being rewarded. With the upcoming arrival of her old "friends", there was no doubt that the gears of destiny could eventually be reversed. Ah, but was she talking about the inevitability of the future, or was it the sophistry of mankind? The creature laughed at the slight increase of her idiosyncrasies.
Well, then. As her figure melded into the mist, the pair of the inorganic yellow eyes looked back to the opening act of the stage. Do your best out there, o "kin" of mine.