Bismarck braced herself, preparing to leap from the end of the deck onto the water.
That… monster was out there. The Abyssal that had once been an Admiral of the German Navy… and was now little more than a single-minded demonic battleship hell-bent upon sinking Bismarck, uncaring who or what she had to tear apart to accomplish that.
It was a wonder that the Re-class, with her seeming lone-wolf attitude, hadn't simply chosen to storm the base by herself, just to finally get Bismarck in her sights.
"Bismarck, stop! I order you to stand down!"
The blonde-haired battleship shipgirl turned as Admiral Reinhold approached, slightly out of breath as he slowed his run to a halt – unlike Prinz Eugen, who gave the man a curious glance from her accustomed spot behind him.
As the Admiral's aide, Eugen was required to wear standard office dress. Brown blazer over a white blouse, a dress skirt, dark hose and heels… an outfit that didn't really suit the younger shipgirl, in Bismarck's opinion.
Poor Eugen had made the mistake of mildly complaining about it during one of their infrequent Skype chats with Iowa, and they'd had to listen to Iowa rant about how Eugen was supposedly doomed unless the cruiser backed away from the job at full steam.
"She hurt my sister, Admiral," Bismarck stated in a frosty tone, before the Admiral could remind her why he wasn't allowing her to deploy. "We all know that the only way to stop her now, is to sink her. If we don't go on the offensive and take her out, she's only going to try bigger, crazier and far more destructive schemes just to get at me."
"Where will you look for her?" asked the Admiral, in a quieter voice.
She hesitated. "…What?"
"We presently have no idea where the Abyssals' base is – not that I would ever let you approach it with anything short of a full assault force. Are you planning, then, to wander around, using up your fuel on multiple trips per day, hoping to draw her into the open?"
She stubbornly averted her gaze.
"Bismarck, you're far more likely to draw the entire enemy fleet doing that. Or any other Abyssals that might be passing through the area. For all we know, they may have surprises far worse than a crazed battleship in store. We haven't even seen any indication of the Princess leading them, if there is indeed one."
"Worst-case scenario," he added, after a beat, "Are you prepared to fight two or more Demons, Princesses or Installations, all at once?"
Bismarck sighed, a low, terse sigh that drifted dangerously close to becoming a soft growl of frustration. "All right, I'll admit it's not the best of plans. I know that. I just…"
"I understand. Believe me, I do," the Admiral soothed. "You want… need to do something about Dietrich." He moved to stand beside her at the end of the dock, and surveyed what he could see of the distant, quiet waters. "But until she emerges from hiding, again, there isn't much we can do."
For her part, Bismarck merely muttered something under her breath.
"And, if Tirpitz' force did manage to heavily damage her, as they stated in their reports, I would expect her to be stuck undergoing repairs for a while. Let's hope the Abyssal repair facilities aren't anywhere near as good as ours, hm?"
Or that those things scuttle their heavily-damaged ships rather than commit resources to repairing them, he told himself. If only they were so lucky… if the Abyssals could turn a Human into one of them, a battleship, they probably had some dark power or magic that let them fully repair their ships in an instant.
Hell, the Abyssals were demons, weren't they? No doubt they had ways to resurrect sunken or damaged ships.
He closed his eyes. "With Tirpitz undergoing repairs in drydock with Widder, you're the only one with the knowledge, experience and rank necessary to lead the Fleet. I'll release you to do just that, but only if you promise me you won't have them out there at all hours of the day, scouring the ocean for one Abyssal battleship in particular. Everyone's already tired and irritable from being on permanent standby."
Bismarck nodded. Oh, she could certainly sympathize with the other members of the Fleet in that regard; how she had ever managed to get any sleep while the Abyssals were harassing Naval Base San Diego, she didn't know.
…And then there was Iowa, who had no problems catching up on her sleep whenever and wherever she desired, from curling up wrapped tightly in a U.S. Navy-issue thick blanket on a cold barracks floor, to falling asleep on her feet, propped against a wall at the docks as they waited while on reserve. But the American battleship was an extreme case – Bismarck wasn't sure if her friend could do anything in moderation.
She cast a final glance out into the ocean, a small part of her hoping to find… something, some indication the enemy was out there that the Admiral would have missed.
Yet there was nothing, as far as her optics could see. The water and skies were both peaceful and clear.
Bismarck relaxed, letting whatever tension she still retained to bleed away.
The Admiral and Eugen turned to look at her in surprise. "Bismarck?"
"You have my word," she told them. "I won't go out there, with or without the Fleet, unless we have to sortie." So saying, she spun on her heel and began to walk past them into the base.
"What are you going to do?" Eugen asked, taking a tentative step toward her 'big sister.'
The battleship paused long enough to peer over her shoulder at the younger shipgirl – an effort promptly ruined as Bismarck's thick fall of blonde hair swept sideways to cover her face. "I'm going to spend some time with Tirpitz."
"But Widder–" It was hardly a secret that the repair cruiser tended to be incredibly vocal in wanting anyone not being repaired or upgraded to stay the hell out of her workshop.
Then again, mused Eugen, if Bismarck truly was dead-set upon spending time with Tirpitz, would Widder be fool enough to stand in Bismarck's way?
Nagato could pinpoint the exact instant Yahagi spotted the other Abyssal Princess who was a member of the Fleet.
The Abyssal's eyes widened in an almost comical manner, and Yahagi's speed decreased ever so slightly, so that she was no longer steaming beside Nagato but drifting behind her.
"What do you think you're doing?" inquired Nagato.
"That's the Abyssal whom you are taking me to meet?" Yahagi urgently hissed, edging further behind the battleship. "The one you say joined the Fleet before me?"
"Yes. Why do you ask?"
There was a note of panic, of fear, to Yahagi's voice, even if it wasn't immediately discernible in the Abyssal cruiser's countenance. "She's – she's an Installation! She considerably outranks me AND is far more powerful than I am!"
"And, she's expecting you."
"She is what!?"
Nagato's stony expression did not falter in the face of the outburst. "The two of you would have encountered each other sooner or later. I suggested, and she agreed, that it would be better for you to meet under peaceful circumstances, as opposed to anything that led to you assaulting each other."
A blink. "But, that IS how Princesses usually greet one another," Yahagi insisted, confused.
Pretending to scan the bay opposite Yahagi, Nagato rolled her eyes. Abyssals.
She'd had her suspicions for some time, after an extensive study of the enemy – appearance, behavior, ship configurations, tactics and more – that the Abyssals were somehow conscripting shipgirls into their forces.
But how? Were there shipgirls voluntarily joining the Abyssals, allowing themselves to be transformed and corrupted?
If that was indeed the case… then, why?
Or were the Abyssals capturing shipgirls, brainwashing and transforming them into Abyssal reinforcements?
The latter theory had picked up steam with the revelation concerning Bismarck's Admiral Dietrich. If the Abyssals could kidnap a disgraced German Navy Admiral and transform her so thoroughly, mind, body and all, into a Re-class battleship, they would undoubtedly be quite capable of doing the same to a shipgirl. Shipgirl magic and strength were no guarantee against the Abyssals; even a powerful shipgirl like Yamato had to limit her exposure to Oki and Yahagi's darkness.
Peripherally, she studied the Light Cruiser Princess as Yahagi reluctantly moved back into position off her starboard side.
Yahagi was undeniable proof the Abyssals were bolstering their ranks with corrupted shipgirls, to some extent. But, again, the question was why? Were the Abyssals running low on ships… or did they simply take a perverse glee in sending Humans and shipgirls to fight their own forces?
At the same time, however, Yamato had proven that the… 'Abyssalization process,' for lack of a better description – was imperfect, that the victims' true selves could be brought to the fore, albeit still trapped in their Abyssal forms.
The scientists had yet to find a means of reversing poor Oki's Abyssal transformation, which in turn now applied to Yahagi, as well. Nagato maintained faith that they would eventually find a way… through technology, magic, or both. Preferably in the form of an antidote that was easily distributed – or better, fired en masse into Abyssal forces.
Ah. One could dream.
Yahagi continued to fidget nervously as they steamed ever closer to the rock formation the Installation had claimed. "Stop that, please," Nagato admonished, unable to keep a mild note of irritation out of her voice. "I assure you, I did not bring you here to be sunk by an Installation or anyone else. Nor would I have arranged this meeting if I had any indication she wished to harm you."
She met Yahagi's gaze. "Remember, you are Yahagi, formerly of the Imperial Japanese Navy. You are not afraid, no matter the circumstance, and always behave with decorum."
"…Yes, ma'am." The Light Cruiser Princess finally relented, letting herself relax after what appeared to Nagato to be a very brief moment's pout.
The calm lasted until they followed the path to the top of the Supply Depot Princess' rock formation… and the Installation was there, fully Manifested and glaring at her with suspicious eyes, daring her to try something. And when that happened, the Installation would draw forth her full arsenal, and…
Nagato sighed. "Was this really necessary? Especially when we arranged this meeting in advance, and I warned you we were on our way?"
"Considering the occasional visitors I get, yeah," the Installation countered, keeping her attention focused squarely upon Yahagi.
"'Visitors?'" echoed Yahagi, her curiosity getting the better of her. Was the Installation referring to regular Abyssal attacks, or something else? The Supply Depot Princess was helping the Fleet keep the bay as Abyssal-free as possible, according to the short briefing Nagato had given her.
She noted Nagato paying closer attention, as well.
The Installation shrugged. "Mostly idiots trying to convince me to use them in building a fleet of my own."
Yahagi nodded in spite of herself. It was an unfortunate annoyance – lower-ranked Abyssals were naturally drawn to a Princess, eager to join her fleet, or have the honor of becoming the first ships of her new fleet. She'd refused… oh, only the Abyss knew how many of those bids, so intent on completing her self-appointed mission to search for Yamato-sama was she that she had wanted absolutely nothing to do with commanding or maintaining a fleet.
"A few of them only wanted to talk, if you can believe it. But before you ask, Nagato-sama, none of them were interested in defecting. They all tried to get me to turn my back on the Fleet and humanity."
"I doubt it will be easy to find Abyssals willing to defect, if there are any." Nagato frowned. "It's a nice thought… but at this stage, highly unlikely."
Unnoticed by either Abyssal, she casually took a step backward. She had decided it was better – and more polite – to slowly increase the distance between her and their presently-Abyssal allies, to lessen the toll the thrice-damned Abyssal miasma took upon her.
If Oki-chan had noticed her adoption of the tactic these past few weeks, the girl-turned-Abyssal hadn't made mention of it.
"Yahagi," she began, "I would like for you to meet Watanabe Oki. Oki-kun, this is Yahagi. Like you, she has been transformed into an Abyssal without her consent, although she is truly supposed to be a shipgirl."
"You're… You were Human?" Yahagi asked, turning a newly-appraising gaze on her fellow Abyssal.
"Yes. And… you're a shipgirl?" Oki's reply was carefully neutral.
Yahagi exhaled. "I should be." She raised her arms slightly, glancing down at herself. "I have no idea why I am Abyssal, instead."
Another frown surfaced on Nagato's lips, and she hesitated. She wasn't eager to share intelligence the Admiral had ordered kept quiet for the time being – but it was something the two Abyssal girls needed to know, in her opinion.
"We have received intelligence reports that suggest the Abyssals may be able to transform Humans and shipgirls into Abyssals at will. The Abyssal fleet near Germany was somehow able to kidnap a disgraced German Navy Admiral and transform her into an Abyssal Re-class battleship."
"Why are you– oh." Oki's mildly-confused stare dissipated as comprehension dawned. "You're hoping that if we know how it's done… we can also reverse it."
As one, she and Nagato turned their attention to the third member of the group. The Light Cruiser Princess' forehead was furrowed in thought. "…Yahagi?"
"I only know as much about this… 'transformation' as you. Until I found Yamato-sama, my only concern was the search. I didn't care about anything else."
Another thought, a memory, drifted into place. As far as she was aware, she had recovered all of her memories and self… but on occasion, she had to aggressively chase and seize a memory, as if something was actively muddling her mind. A heavy storm, causing the tides to toss everything about and the rains to cause visibility to drop, making it difficult to see herself. "Oh… I may have overheard two higher Princesses discussing it, once. I think I remember them mentioning something about 'summoning forth the dark spirits of the Abyss' before I lost interest and steamed away."
"…Well, it was worth a shot." Oki reclined back on her foundation, shoulders slumping dejectedly.
"It's more information than we previously had," corrected Nagato. She took a hesitant step forward. There were times – like the present – where she wished she could comfort the poor girl with a pat on the back, or arm about the shoulders… but that was Something She Just Did Not Do.
Yamato had no problems pulling others into a hug, if the younger battleship believed it was warranted. Even Mutsu wasn't as reserved when it came to physical contact, though her sister preferred to save that for moments when the two of them were alone. Mutsu feared the possibility that they could be separated once more, and wanted to enjoy her new-found freedom and ability to remain by her sister's side far more than they were previously able as full-sized dreadnoughts.
In public, Mutsu's weapons of choice were humor and teasing, to lighten any situation.
Oki put up a front of good cheer and dedication to her new role. But Nagato had been working closely with her, and knew what the Abyssal girl was hiding behind that front. Best not to let Oki spiral into depression.
Someone had theorized that the Abyssals thrived on the darker side of emotions and thought – yet while that certainly seemed to hold true for most Abyssals, depression did not appear to benefit Oki as an Installation any more than it did a normal Human or shipgirl.
"We now know that the process may involve spirits, and from the wording we can infer that it may also require a ceremony of some sort."
Nagato could see Oki arrive at the obvious question, though for some reason, the Installation refused to voice it. If it requires a ceremony, then how in the world did it affect me, in my home?
Instead, Oki adeptly changed the subject. "So… Yahagi, I was told you were going to ask the Admiral about staying at Yamato-sama's side all day long. How did that go?"
Oki, Nagato suspected, already knew the answer to that question. Especially if the small smile Oki-chan was doing a terrible job of hiding was any indication…
"The Admiral denied my request," groused Yahagi. "He has no objections to me acting as Yamato-sama's protector, but as people are using her as a powerful anti-Abyssal symbol, I cannot be seen associating with her or in her presence."
Yamato had been surprised to discover the recruiters were using her face and voice without asking her permission to boost enlistment – a strategy that was working quite well, reportedly. But… Naka and Ayane had been in the office, checking in before they departed on one of Naka's tours, and Naka had demanded point-blank to know whether or not Yamato had ever signed any contracts.
Five pairs of shipgirl eyes turned to look at the Admiral as one.
"The JMSDF handles Yamato's affairs, and she doesn't require a contract because she isn't performing, licensing her image or voice, or producing anything for sale."
Yamato's expression was one of slight puzzlement. "I, Yamato, may not require a contract," the battleship began, her tone carefully measured, "but, do I need such a thing?"
Fortunately, whatever spiel Naka would have launched was lost when the idols' driver burst into the office to drag his charges away.
Nagato wasted no time in catching Yamato's attention. "No, Yamato. You do not require a contract."
What was Naka thinking? Yamato wasn't a performer! Why would the cruiser waste her time filling Yamato's mind with that nonsense?
…And what else might Iowa and Naka be teaching her?
"You just need to approach the problem from a different angle," Oki was telling Yahagi.
"How so?"
The Installation absently bit her lower lip. "Umm… try thinking more like a ninja than a samurai, maybe? You're an Abyssal right now. You can actually watch from the shadows and strike without warning."
Nagato frowned at the description, though unable to muster an appropriate argument – not that she wanted to interrupt. Oki-chan seemed to have an idea how to encourage Yahagi, which beat any of the woefully-underdeveloped notions she'd been entertaining after the Admiral issued his verdict.
She could do without the prospect of having to be wary of every shadow in her path, certainly.
"Perhaps," conceded Yahagi. Another thought occurred to her. "Though, I'm not sure I can consider myself to be either ninja or samurai, when I barely fit those roles. I… I don't even have a sword, for instance."
Oki shot her fellow Princess a perplexed look. A sword? Yahagi was choosing that as her sticking point? Why… One of her imp foremen prodded her internally, barking out a reminder as her imps were wont to do. Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. Guess I need to get in the habit of checking the logs and manifests now and then. Honestly, her imps were so efficient at running everything, she rarely had need to concern herself with the mundane operations of the day save for the occasional executive decision.
Being an Installation was definitely a unique experience, that was for sure. How many people could say they'd gone from being an ordinary girl to being the personification of a demonic fortified naval warehouse complex?
Oh, and she was also an Abyssal battleship. Somehow. Trying to work out the logic of existing both as a naval fortress and a sea-faring warship of a completely different shape at the exact same time hurt her brain.
No wonder Abyssals tended to be violently unstable.
Oki reached a hand into the warehouse she'd designated for personal storage, and rummaged around until she found the item.
It was, in fact, a sword. A katana, forged black from Abyssal steel, that she had processed. Or, the best approximation of a katana she and her imps could produce. She wasn't an expert bladesmith by any means… but the sword looked like a katana and cut, which was good enough for her.
She'd only tested it against blocks of her own processed Abyssal steel and fair-sized rocks from her private island – although the latter was hardly a useful test, as she constantly leeched so much from the island through her physical connection to the rock, slowly destabilizing the entire formation, that even the stones resting upon the ground were structurally weaker than they had been a month ago.
"Here," she said, offering the sword to Yahagi. "You'll need to find a sheath for this, but you can have it. It can cut the steel I create. Haven't tried using it on an actual Abyssal, though."
Nagato stared. "You forged a sword?"
"Hey, it gets really boring standing around here all day. And, yeah, I can do pretty much anything I need to function as an Abyssal supply depot, including generating metal to use in repairing or creating whatever I want." She stopped to watch in wonder as Yahagi reverently appraised the sword in her pale hands, the light cruiser taking a few practice swings with what looked to be perfect kenjutsu stances, proving that Yahagi was somehow experienced in wielding a sword. Oki's own experience was limited to kendou, having been a member of her schools' kendou clubs since middle school.
She'd chosen to create a katana, because one simply did not waste steel forging a shinai.
"Nobody at the outposts reported seeing me mess around with a sword for a while, about a month ago?"
"The Admiral and I only read the incident reports, and anything the outposts mark 'urgent' or 'important,'" replied Nagato. "We trust you. You should be able to live as normal a life as possible, without people documenting and recording your every move."
Oki's cheeks turned a darker shade of pale, what Nagato had decided was the Abyssal equivalent of a blush. "Thank you."
Yahagi, meanwhile, had graduated to assaulting an invisible foe, executing a feint thrust with her new sword that transitioned into a vicious throat-cutting slash.
She handed the katana to her imps to store and turned to offer Oki a deep bow. "Thank you for the katana. I will ensure it is always well-maintained and put to proper use."
I never could have done it without your help, Sempai.
I promise I won't let you down!
Inwardly, Oki felt her spirits drop, just a little bit. She had always found time to help any underclassmen who brought their problems to her. But that was… Before. What would they all think now, if they discovered the truth?
Wasn't Yahagi her kouhai, too? Her junior. And the light cruiser deserved her help no less than any of the underclassmen who had preceded her. It didn't matter that they were both currently demons with enough firepower and strength to sink several full-sized warships, rather than ordinary girls trying to survive high school and juku. They were still good guys. Good bad guys? Whatever.
"I want you to know, that if you ever need help for any reason, feel free to drop by anytime. I'll always be here." With effort, Oki kept the sarcasm from leaking into her voice at the last; her own fault for being an Installation, really. "Or even if you just wanna visit and talk. I won't mind."
The approving nod Nagato gave her as Yahagi's eyes brightened told her she'd chosen wisely.
Jintsuu raised the back of her hand to rap it against the frosted-glass window set in the door to her Admiral's office.
Most visitors to the office used the same form of knock. She had seen it in use for the first time after being forced to make the base her new home for the foreseeable future, although Jintsuu still wasn't aware of the reasoning behind it. Was it military protocol? Merely a polite gesture?
All she knew was that it seemed to allow her to control her new shipgirl strength just a little better when knocking, and that was reason enough for her to use it. Pushing her knuckles through one pane of glass was one too many – especially when the costs to repair any damage she caused as a shipgirl were deducted from her next-to-nonexistent paycheck.
"…Admiral? You sent for me?" she asked.
"Yes, I did. I'm sorry for calling you here on your day off, but there's someone here I believe you should meet."
A feeling of dread washed over her. There were only two people in the world she wanted to 'meet' – her mother and father. And Admiral Robinson would be in a rush to locate and retrieve her if there were any important developments whatsoever in the search for her family.
So, whoever this person was the Admiral wanted her to meet… was a distraction. Another one of the Admiral's attempts to convince her not to be so bloody single-minded about her problems.
It had been… so long since the attack. The chances of her parents being found, alive, were probably well off into the negatives by now; everyone had stopped mentioning the odds to her when she'd made it abundantly clear she did not care.
Until she saw conclusive proof of her parents' fate, she would not dishonor them or their memory by giving up. By letting go.
Still… it was unlikely they'd been swept out to sea. They couldn't have been too far from civilization. As long as they avoided detection by the Abyssals, all they had to do was slip farther inland, and the monsters would have no reason to leave the water to pursue them on land. Then, it was just a matter of finding a phone, a radio, someone capable of relaying a message…
"Jun?"
She started. I'm doing it again.
Gathering her nerve, she pushed forward, opening the door and following its path into the office… and almost immediately, collided hard with the aft end of a battleship.
Jintsuu staggered backward through the door, landing on her own rear on the cold ceramic tiles of the hallway floor.
The battleship shipgirl rushed to help her up. "Hey, are you okay? I'm so sorry! I shouldn't've been standing close to the doorway like that!"
She shook her head to clear it. "I… think I'm okay. Nobody's reporting any damage." Don't you dare say anything about my pride, Jintsuu warned her crew.
"Both of you, get back in this office and close the door."
The battleship grimaced. "Right away, sir."
Jintsuu took the opportunity to appraise the other shipgirl. Definitely a battleship, some part of her mind verified, recognizing the configuration. As a shipgirl, the battleship was notably larger and taller than her, and stronger – both in what Jintsuu could see of the armament the other girl's ship-self wore, and… horsepower.
She shot a jealous glare at the battleship's larger chest, but had to break it as the girl proceeded to guide her into the office.
The newcomer's hair was roughly the same dark shade of brown as Jintsuu's, though shorter, and a cap styled after the battleship's bridge helped to keep the carefully-trimmed bangs away from her face.
Curious eyes of the same color peered at the Admiral from behind an old-fashioned pair of pince-nez glasses secured by a loose silver chain clipped to her collar.
She was an Italian ship, as evidenced by the Italian flags hanging from her masts, as well as the predominant green-white-red accents given to her uniform as a result. Almost… regal, a mantelet with long sleeves attached draped over her shoulders, secured with a cravat pinned in place by a round brooch that also resembled the very top of her bridge.
A steel-gray corset with camouflage markings served as a brace for her rigging clamps, and her anchors descended from it on fine chains. Underneath that, a pleated red skirt that gave way to garter-belt stockings sporting the wide red-and-white stripes Jintsuu could see painted on her foredeck.
The Admiral glanced between them for a moment, her face unreadable. As if intent on drawing out the wait, she removed her own wire-rimmed glasses and cleaned them with a cloth pulled from the organizer atop her desk.
Only after she'd reseated her glasses did the Admiral clear her throat and push herself out of her chair. "Jun, I'd like you to meet Sophia Marino. Miss Marino has recently Awakened as the Italian battleship, Roma, and has asked to join our Fleet." Here, she paused, nodding to the shipgirl in question. "So… Roma, this is Jun Kamitsuu. She's the Awakened Japanese cruiser, Jintsuu, and my personal aide."
Roma offered her right hand for Jintsuu to shake. "Pleased to meet you, uh, Jintsuu," she greeted, then winced at how she hadn't quite pronounced the Japanese name the same way the Admiral had. "Er… unless you'd rather I use 'Jun,' instead."
"I don't mind. I… haven't thought about it, so whatever one you want to use is fine."
That had to be a lie, Roma told herself, but let it drop at the sight of the wan smile that Jintsuu raised. Awakening exposed one to a past life, which then started to bleed over into the current life. There was no way Jun had neglected to give her identity any thought.
"Jun, would you mind giving Roma a tour of the base, while they get her quarters ready, and then show her to her barracks?"
"Me?" blurted Jintsuu, taken aback. "I'm not sure I'm the best choice to play tour guide." No one had ever given her a tour, let alone explain where and what everything was. She had since learned enough through living at the base and working as an aide to form her own map of most of the base, save for the restricted areas… and she had to admit that even after all this time she couldn't tell one section of the barracks from another.
But she was a civilian. Roma had enlisted and was a battleship shipgirl – Naval Support Activity Saratoga Springs' first battleship, unless she missed her guess – thus, the tour.
The Admiral smiled. "You'll do fine. Just show her around, mention what the important places she needs to know are. You don't have to go into depth about anything unless she asks, or you want."
Jintsuu sighed. "Okay." She stepped over to the door and opened it, holding it in place. "Roma, shall we go?"
"Lead the way."
Roma waited until they were outside and well away from the small cluster of offices to try striking up a conversation. "So, what's your story?"
"Excuse me?"
"Somehow, I doubt that the two of us both being Awakened shipgirls is the only reason the Admiral stuck us with each other," she stated, only loud enough for Jintsuu to hear.
The cruiser continued to walk in silence for a moment. "Do you remember when those… things attacked a ferry, back in August?"
"In August?" Roma repeated, skimming through her memories. "Oh, yeah. They were talking about it on the news for days. I don't recall anyone ever mentioning your name, though. You were there?"
Jintsuu nodded. "Yeah, with my Mom and Dad. Well, the shipgirls from here sent to respond to the attack said they found me floating unconscious among the wreckage." She slowed to a halt. "My Mom and Dad are still missing."
"I remember it, because the news reports never did say all that much about the survivors or the missing people."
"They didn't?"
"No – and I always thought that was a little weird. But, everyone seemed to be more worried about what it meant. If the Abyssals were getting more brazen, stepping up their attacks, and so on."
Jintsuu opened her mouth to argue. Try as she might, however, she couldn't decide upon an appropriate response, and so chose to turn away and resume walking. Was that all she and her family were, now? A side note to a single skirmish in the Abyssal War?
"Did you or anyone else ever find any clues?" pressed Roma. "Like, when they send you out on missions?"
"What?" The cruiser stopped once more, to hastily rewind what she'd just heard. "Uh… no. They don't send me out on anything. I can't even leave the base."
"Huh? Why not?"
Her eyes dropped to the rather plain office dress clothes she had changed into before heading to the Admiral's office, as if that explained everything. "I'm a civilian. There's no way I'm going out there."
Roma merely raised an eyebrow. "So enlist. C'mon, you're a shipgirl. Don't you want to fight them?"
"'Them?'"
"Yes, 'them.' The Abyssals." Bracing her hands against her hips, Roma hardened her gaze. "It's why we're here, isn't it? They're out there, destroying everything. You're one of the few people who can stop them."
"So why wouldn't you want to help? Who knows, maybe you could find some clues or answers to what happened to your Mom and Dad, or stop the Abyssals from tearing apart any other families?"
Jintsuu rounded on her. "Because I'm not a fighter! Sticking me in a shipgirl body doesn't make me a fighter any more than dressing up like Naka makes all those cosplayers out there able to sing!"
There's a problem with that logic, Roma thought, internally frowning, but I'm gonna let it pass.
"I really doubt one lone Japanese light cruiser will make any difference."
"You'd be surprised." Jintsuu's Long Lances alone had the potential to be devastating, if the cruiser-girl knew what to do with them.
A snort was her only response, as Jintsuu had begun walking again, steadfastly refusing to discuss the matter further.
Well. She'd have to work on that.
After a handful of steps, her glasses bounced slightly down the bridge of her nose. "Dammit!" Roma swore under her breath. One of the disadvantages of wearing pince-nez was how often she had to reseat the damned things.
First chance she had, she was tracking down the base's repair ship, to see if she could switch to a more modern pair.
Did laser eye surgery work on shipgirls?
"I was an honor student," she volunteered.
"…Was?" Now that they were no longer dwelling on the subject of fighting the Abyssals, Jintsuu had relaxed.
"Eh, too smart for my own good, really. I'd finish my work early or get ahead of the classes… then get bored, and often ended up doing something I'd regret."
Jintsuu hesitated, considering, and ultimately her shoulders slumped in resignation. "I'm… nobody special. Just a regular girl who got turned into a shipgirl." What? After all that…
"You've got Naka for a sister, right?" Awkwardly, she fumbled for an appropriate response. "Doesn't that count for something?"
Then again… Naka reportedly had no reservations with heading out for combat, so maybe mentioning The Idol of the Fleet to Jintsuu wasn't the best of ideas. And the dry look the cruiser promptly threw her way only validated that theory.
Hmm. Okay, Operation: Break Jintsuu Out Of Her Shell begins now! Full speed ahead!
She felt her arm involuntarily snap back, and realized to her embarrassment, that she had just executed a fist-pump behind Jintsuu's back. Roma caught the offending arm by the wrist in her iron grip, and glared at it.
I'm gonna regret this, aren't I.
"…and your club sandwich, sir."
Suzuki Kurisu watched his violet-haired friend finish inhaling her burger in the time it took the server to set his order on the table.
As far as he was aware, Ikuni didn't normally eat like a starving… well, shipgirl. She had mentioned in her texts that everyone's schedules were far busier than normal these days – rumor had it the Abyssals were ramping things up again, ending the so-called 'peace' Japan had been enjoying, and Ikuni wasn't privy to the information needed to either confirm or deny that – meaning that she was being deployed as a submarine shipgirl more often than usual.
But with an increase in shipgirl deployments came an upswing in shipgirl appetites.
Shipgirls were both the spirits of warships past and their original full-sized metal hulls, somehow magically compressed into individual Human forms, Ikuni claimed.
He had been surprised to learn that the costs the base paid in resources to be able to deploy Ikuni alone was exactly the same as the costs the Imperial Navy had to pay to deploy her original self, submarine I-19. The requirements weren't lessened in any way simply because the ships were now Human-sized.
A shipgirl could eat raw ores and metals, drink fuel and oil, to help with her own refueling, restocking and repairs. Of course, she could accomplish much the same effect with actual food.
In either case, however, a selection the size of what an ordinary Human considered a meal only went so far. A truly hungry shipgirl was supposedly able to clear out multiple restaurants in one sitting.
Akagi's appetite was legendary, by now, having developed an infamy or notoriety all its own. Her name would invariably be mentioned whenever the topic of shipgirl appetites was broached. But the Internet… oh, the Internet had given it a life above and beyond that.
…There were fan-made games. He'd seen footage of one on YouTube, something that borrowed liberally from Super Mario Bros., Pac-Man, and Touhou Project at the very least and wadded it all together into a surreal platformer that… he guessed had Akagi and Kaga simultaneously trying to save the world while eating it?
He'd given up trying to make sense of the games and the Internet's weird obsession with a single shipgirl's appetite.
"Did you bring it?" Kurisu decided to ask.
"Huh?" She stared blankly through him, her thoughts clearly preoccupied with something else – getting more food, probably. Then, that passed, and her eyes refocused. "Oh. Uh, yeah. 'It.' It's… I have it stored away."
Her choice of words, and the detached manner in which she was speaking, concerned him. "Umm, is everything all right?"
"…No. Kurisu-kun… I've been giving it a lot of thought, and… I think we should stop seeing each other."
What!? Why in the world was she acting as though they were dating? And, calling him 'Kurisu-kun?' One of the first things he had done after they'd become friends was insist she use his nickname – 'Chris.'
So what if he'd given himself that nickname? All of his friends used it… and that was the only thing that mattered, right?
"I know that if you just stop and take the time to think about it, you'll agree with me that it makes a lot of–"
Ikuni was unable to finish reading from her script, as another Ikuni suddenly stormed up to her, hauling her out of her chair and hoisting her with both hands by the front of her hoodie's collar so that they stood face-to-glowering-face.
Ah. So that was what was going on.
"Imagine my surprise," the twin intoned, voice deceptively calm, "when I went to request a ride into the city, only to be told I already did that."
Ikuni – and he had no doubt it was truly her – tightened her grip on Iku's collar. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Iku?"
"What you should've done weeks ago," Iku sniffed, imperiously.
She growled in frustration. "How many times do I have to tell you, we're NOT dating! But even if we were, which we aren't, it's none of your business!"
The flat stare Iku gave her in reply told Ikuni there would be no escaping her former self's meddling and invasion of privacy.
Damn it, the Admiral had been right.
Still, she had to try. "Do you have any idea what we've been doing?" Ikuni asked, unceremoniously dropping Iku on the latter's rear. Withdrawing her battered old sports bag from storage, she tugged the zipper open and pulled… a model Gundam out of the bag.
An RX-78, NT-1 version 2.0 'Alex' model, she mentally clarified, presenting the Gundam for Iku to see. "'Gunpla.' We build Gundam models." That said, she handed the model and her bag to Chris to hold. "And that's all we do. As friends."
Did Iku even have any friends? Couldn't she tell the difference between friendship and an actual, honest relationship? Or was she too far gone in trying to be lewd to care?
Iku snorted. "What do you think I am, stupid? Hope your boyfriend likes the toy you bought him, 'cause it's the last–"
"Start running."
That gave Iku pause, and for the first time, she recognized the anger boiling in her future self's eyes. "What?"
"I have had it," snarled Ikuni. "I'm done putting up with you ruining my life! So, I'm giving you a ten-second head start…" She summoned her rigging, instructing her crew to target Iku with everything she had. "…before I perforate your hull."
"You wouldn't dare."
"…Ten."
Silence.
"Nine."
"Eight."
"Seven."
Iku twitched.
"Six."
"Five."
"Four–"
"Okay! Fine!" the errant shipgirl exclaimed, a little too loudly, and scrambled to her feet. "I'll leave you two alone to play with your toys. But I… I'm not gonna forget this!"
She vaulted the cafe's small wrought-iron fence and slunk into the streets, presumably making a bee-line for her ride.
Ikuni waited until her crew could no longer detect Iku's presence to stand down, dismissing her rigging and wearily settling into the chair across from her friend.
"Was all that necessary?"
"Yes!" she replied, and he wondered if there was perhaps a touch of mania lurking behind the suffering in her eyes. "I've only told you about a few of the things she's done, and that's all on the tame side. I meant it when I said I've had it with her ruining my life, Chris. I'm done. No more."
He supposed he would have to take her word for it. Nothing Ikuni had ever mentioned really justified threatening to use her shipgirl weapons against her former self.
For that matter… "Okay, different question, then. How did you manage to face off against her like that without either of your minders rushing to tackle you?"
She froze. "I… don't know."
Special thanks: J. St. C. Patrick, Kevin Hammel, Captain Kurt Hoffman, Sheo Darren