Flashes of white and black streaked across the ocean surface as bullets and torpedoes rained down upon the shallow sea. Through the maze of rising water pillars, Kaga chased after the retreating figure of Yorktown who maintained her distance to send out airstrike regularly. True to the fame of the Yorktown-class, the opposing aircraft carrier managed to fight back in spite of her injury. As expected, this wasn't going to be easy, but...

Strange, the white fox pondered as she cut down a Devastator that fell in her track. By no means is she trying to stall for time, but there is no sign of this being an elaborate scheme.

Yorktown's movement was erratic. Uncertain. The only reason why she hadn't lost grounds in this battle was that she refused to budge any further. Her willpower was something else, and her discipline could be counted as a powerful blessing. If Kaga truly wished to vanquish her, then she must give it her all.

In that case…!

Her gaze sharpened, the pair of deep blue eyes shining as her Wisdom Cube crackled with power. Yorktown's eyes widened in response, her rigging moving in a hurry to deploy the next aircraft squadron. Instead of running away or going for the defensive, the old warrior instead chose to confront the challenge head-on. Even though she was wounded. Even though she had no ally to back her up. Even though she was fighting a lonely battle—

Kaga's curved her lips into a predatory smile. "Excellent! This wouldn't be as entertaining otherwise, my enemy!"

Akagi looked up to the sky, sensing a tingle akin to an electric current running in the air. It was faint, but she detected a sudden spike of energy coming from the naval base. She gazed down at the sea, and then to the cube in her hand. Lifting it up so it was level to her chin, the dark Wisdom Cube glowed brighter than before, ethereal purple lines flashing and vanishing across its sides. Akagi's eyes narrowed; there was a slight increase in data gathered.

"I wonder what's occurred…" The woman pursed her lip, thinking over the situation. She had a few hunches, but it was still premature to jump to a conclusion. Akagi tilted her head and a faint static noise reached out to her expanded sense. "Oh my. How is it going, Takao?"

[We have reached the facility,] the heavy cruiser reported, her voice lacking any tension as if to hide her personal opinions. [There was a slight resistance before we could break into the premise, but they have been subdued. However, as expected, database security is as thick as a fortress. We could only take a few bundles of research papers as well as small apparatus.]

"Is that so… and then?"

[We could not find Akashi,] Takao sounded apologetic for once. [Her inventions show that she works here, but only that. We are not sure if she is even currently stationed in this base.]

Ah, what a shame. "It couldn't be helped, then. Recovering one of our lead scientists would have been a great boon, but it seems we must make do with what we have."

[Our deepest apology…]

"Now, now. I am the one responsible for having sent you out for a wild goose chase. The fault lies in me, my dear. You simply followed my order."

Then again, Akagi had expected as much. Information pertaining to Wisdom Cubes, Kansen, as well as the Siren was an extremely guarded secret kept only to a select few. Naturally, all of the technological blocks as well as people responsible for managing it were kept under a tight lid. Only after reaching her current position could Akagi comprehend the scale of this war, and even then, she was still lacking in grasping the true essence of it all.

But with this, the woman declared in her mind. With this, I am once again one step closer…

Suppressing her glee, Akagi commanded Takao's group to rejoin the fleet. However, what she didn't expect was an odd silent completely unfitting of the steadfast warrior's character.

[...Akagi-dono, may I make an inquiry?] Takao eventually spoke out what was in her mind. Her voice carried out an invisible weight that was impossible to ignore.

"...speak. You have earned the right to do so." In response, Akagi said thusly.

[Will this war truly benefit… nay, save our homeland from destruction?]

…

At first, the abrupt silence permeated in the air. It lingered and turned into invisible pressures that weighed the physical vessel of the Sakura Empire's Flagship. However, not even one minute had passed when a chuckle broke out atop the empty flight deck. Akagi sighed, feeling herself having done something utterly impulsive. Takao's tone did not carry accusations nor doubts. It was a genuine worry that always appeared when someone talked about their dearly beloved people's futures; an act of concern blunt as a hammer.

"That is true." The woman shook her head, knowing that there was no point in arguing. What Takao and the others worried over was a matter Akagi could understand. After all, she too carried the same burdens. Therefore… "For better or worse, we have declared our intention through this battle. There is no turning back for us, but what you are most worried about is whether this will truly change our destiny. Our homeland's future which is currently at stake."

Takao soon interjected, [...I am not worried.]

"But you do find the present situation disadvantageous." Akagi grinned, taking the silence as her cue to continue on. "Have no fear, my dear. I am simply teasing you. I do not find fault."

Takao seemed to want to say something at her words, but in the end, she settled with an annoyed grunt. It was cute, it sounded almost like a pout to Akagi. Both Takao and Kaga shared the same stubbornness in refusing to accept defeat. Then again, Takao was much more of a swordswoman than Kaga who regularly fought with her fists before she accepted the refitting. Perhaps such a term was ill-fitting for the heavy cruiser.

"You will find yourself reassured once we are done here," Akagi followed. "This is, after all, only the opening move. The Azur Lane will undoubtedly focus on recovering this base first before they could think of launching a counterattack. Even then, we have done our part in disabling all of the important facilities needed for them to operate optimally in the north pacific front. At the very least, we have one less avenue for them to exploit at the moment."

[And so it will free us some of the resources needed to guard our territories,] Takao paused. [I do not think this will be nearly enough, however.]

"Indeed," Akagi agreed for once. "Hence why I gave you your second directive. We need to make use of everything we can use. By no means is your second mission a trivial thing, for we shall become even stronger with the information you have obtained."

[I see… that makes sense.]

Akagi smiled to herself. It seemed she needed to give one last push. Let's see if I need to—

"Oh?" Her ears twitched upon detecting a distinct sound. When she looked over her shoulder, there she found a Zero landing on her flight deck. As the hull trembled, the rotors gradually came to a stop once it reached close to Akagi. The plane then dissolved into a piece of paper before floating toward her. "Well, now…"

[Akagi-dono?]

Akagi took the shikigami paper in her hand, the information recorded by the warplane quickly absorbed through the art of onmyoudo. The woman turned silent, and she almost immediately dropped her smile. Was it the timing, or was it mere coincidences? Regardless... It seems the god of fate has dictated who it favors today; sending out Kaga turned to be a mistake.

"Apologies," Akagi slowly answered. "An urgent business has just come up. Takao, gather your unit, and regroup with the others. Use my name if necessary."

[Akagi-dono!? What happened—]

"A pest has arrived," the Flagship explained. As she stared at the mouth of the canal that leads to this faraway naval base, she could see the silhouettes of large naval vessels breaking the waves. "One so familiar it makes my blood boil just from seeing it."

"Yes, I can see it. A fleet mainly comprised of aircraft carriers is fast approaching."

Had the circumstances been any different, Aoto would have let his breath stolen away by the sight of so many warships. The Eagle Union was famous for its robust aerial control, tilting the flow of battles with judicious usage of their frankly obscene amount of firepower only a powerful country like it could achieve. It was also said that they were capable of repairing their ships in the midst of battles by using auxiliary repair ships, and from the looks of it, there was one closely guarded by a gray-colored aircraft carrier.

[It pains me to admit this, but the vanguard fleet is far too isolated from each other.] Akagi's voice was stern and commanding as she delivered those words. [I shall reorganize the fleet as quickly as possible. In order to achieve that—]

"We are to buy you some time, is it?" Aoto suppressed a sigh from escaping his throat. "I do think that my fleet is rather ill-equipped for this engagement. Nevertheless, it shall be done."

[Hoh? You are certain of your success?]

Aoto tipped his cap, feeling the cold wind warming up as afternoon was soon to arrive. "I do not think victory is easy to achieve. Mitigating losses and reducing risks, however…"

[I see,] as if filling the blank, Akagi's voice rang out. [Then, I shall send Takao and Fubuki your way first. May the Creator's blessing be with you, Rear Admiral.]

Aoto nodded. In the following moment, the red shikigami burst in flame, vanishing into thin air.

The man looked up to the embers scattering to the sky before he looked back. Standing in line while dutifully awaiting his orders, none of his subordinates seemed to have the desire to even feel hesitant on their next task. It was a little unnerving; if the kansen were truly built for war, then could they even have a place in the world once this war was over? Aoto shook his head to erase another sign of his weakness. Compassion and ruthlessness had places and time. What mercy he could give to them was his abysmal tactical support, thus…

"I'm sorry," he started with an apology. "Even though you just took a break, we have to fight again. This battle will be much more severe than earlier."

"What are you saying this late?" Zuikaku snorted, placing a hand on her waist. "This is the job we signed up for. We'll be fine!"

Ashigara stepped up next. "Indeed, Rear Admiral. No matter what enemy we must face, all we must do is cut them down!"

The sheer optimism the two exuded almost took him aback. However, by this point, he had already grown accustomed to it. No matter what he'd have said, there was no dissuading the vanguard members of his fleet. Although one of them is an aircraft carrier, anyway…

Accepting their votes of confidence, the man turned to Shoukaku. Unlike the usual, she was staring down with two fingers pressed to her chin, her gaze seemingly thoughtful. Aoto called out to her and after a brief moment, Shoukaku lifted her head to meet him in the eye.

"Shikikan-kun… this battle does not have any clear victory condition, isn't it?"

"I see that you noticed." Aoto nodded, and then gazed back to the ashen-colored fleet. "Our objective is only to buy time. We are free to choose our strategy."

Ignoring the strange noise elicited by a certain brunette, Shoukaku responded to his words with a troubled face. "But our options are limited…"

Acknowledging her concern, Aoto glanced to the side. Z23 and Ayanami were standing next to each other, yet their behaviors couldn't be any more different. The Iron Blood girl tried to make it less visible, but she clearly wasn't entirely paying attention. Often, she looked to her friend as if not knowing what to do. No, perhaps that wasn't quite the right word to describe the girl's inner turmoils—and he only had a few things to work on his conjectures. Alas, that was all he could do. Aoto quietly inhaled; this isn't going to be easy to break out...

"Ayanami."

When he called out to her with a stern voice, the ruby-eyed girl finally snapped out of her own reverie. She flinched and looking so timid, yet Aoto had no plan to corner her. He softly smiled and addressed not of the matter he vaguely knew she was worried about.

"If you don't mind, can I ask you one thing about Azur Lane?"

"Huh…?" Ayanami blinked, unable to follow the direction this conversation was heading. "W-what are you… going to do, Shikikan…?"

"I'm a bit curious you see," Aoto smoothly replied. "Are they the type to cut their losses whenever possible?"

"Wh—"

"Shikikan-kun, it's not nice to bully your subordinate, you know?" Shoukaku swiftly and curtly interjected. Drawing the focus away from Ayanami, the aircraft carrier sighed as she stepped forward to cover for her trembling junior. "Besides, you should know better that there is no way an international organization like the Azur Lane could have regained world order with such a fatalistic mindset. Logic can only go so far in a long war rift with human elements."

The Rear Admiral laughed. Yes, he supposed that was true. He felt kind of bad for raising such a question to Ayanami of all people, but his secretary's blunt answer allowed a weight to slide away from his shoulders. He knew what was awaiting him after this disappointing battle was over, but he was already prepared for the future sermons. What he could do, what he did not have to do, and what he must do was clear, now.

"Then it's good to know that." Aoto nodded to himself, closing his eyes as a plan solidified at the forefront of his mind. "Looks like I can have it my way for once."

As he took notice of his subordinate's gaze, the man's smile deepened.

"You and Shoukaku will be with me." At his words, the Fubuki-class Destroyer's eyes rounded up like dinner plates. "Niimi-kun, can I count on you this time around?"

At first, the flaxen-haired girl looked clueless. Before long, however, she nodded once, her mind set up on what she could do as of right now. Her amethyst-colored eyes dismissed any clouds of hesitation and she tugged her lips taut. Straightening her back, Z23 clicked her heels together and gave a salute. Aoto's eyes crinkled; what a reliable subordinate he had.

"Understood, Kommandant! I shall not disappoint you!"

A ship turned to point their way. She wondered if this was supposed to be a form of reckless bravery or suicidal madness, but she chalked it up as a reason for her to prepare the aircraft elevator of her rigging. However, a hand stopped her before she could ready her warplanes.

"Hornet, you shouldn't be so hasty." A young woman in a nun habit laid her hand on Hornet's shoulder. The kansen in charge of medical assistance then raised a finger and shaking it to the sides. "Remember the task given to you. You should try to consider your moves before charging ahead, okay?"

"Ugh… but Vestal…" The blonde dressed in what could only be said like a cowgirl costume with a black naval coat on her back whined. "I also want to fight too! I can't just ignore what these bandits have done to our home port!"

"Your mission is to be my escort so that we can help everyone still left in the base," Vestal interjected. "Please do not forget that we don't even know what our guests are capable of."

"But still…!"

The young woman, Hornet, raised her voice until midway through where she realized that this train was getting nowhere. Stomping the floor, the youngest of the Yorktown-class sister ship blew a long sigh. Lowering her cowboy hat to cover her face, the shade allowed her to see nothing, and it gave her the opportunity to think over, well, everything.

Today was supposed to be a day of celebration, the kansen thought irately. For the last few months, she could barely sit in one place before a new order came up. Siren's activity in the pacific ocean was growing a lot more intense, and the higher-ups felt it was foreboding to the point that they decided to accelerate the training of the able-bodied sailors. Of course, she didn't mind the attention she garnered while teaching the Grand Admiral's juniors, but there was another thing that she actually looked forward to more than the short vacation from the frontline. It's not often for us sisters to be together, and yet…

Why did they attack the home port? Why were there Siren this close to the base? Were her sister and the others—

"Hah ha, can't wait to roll out huh? Well, I can understand that sentiment."

"Yeowch!?" Hornet jolted, turning around only to find her superior standing with two fingers on his chin. "C-C-Commander!? When did you get here!?"

"Well, I was just trying to get some fresh air," he explained with a shrug. "it just so happens I saw both of you arguing about something."

The kansen felt blood rushing to her neck. That response paired with a sly grin on the man in white's face told her that she had just embarrassed herself for however long he had been around. There was no way that he'd not use this as a teasing material later, but the bigger problem was that her sister more than likely would find out through him. Aaah, I want to dig a hole and hide—wait, that's not it!

"W-why are you here, anyway!? This place is for combatants only!" Hornet yelled back.

"Now, now. There are not many differences whether you're outside or inside in naval warfare."

"That doesn't excuse your flimsy behavior…!"

The superior—the Grand Admiral guffawed. Hornet truly had no words left to say, so she hung her head in despair. Ugh, whatever, maybe if it's like this we don't have to look for him...

"Hornet, Vestal. Look at that."

Abruptly, the tone of her superior changed. The aircraft carrier reflexively followed his words and looked at him, her eyes tracking the direction pointed by the Grand Admiral. Only a short distance away, a hulking vessel of steel slowly turned around. Her eyes rounded up, seeing warplanes manifesting on the flight deck, the shape of the hull, and the flag on the ship giving away their identity.

"That's…" Vestal trailed off, seemingly in disbelief. "A Fifth Carrier Division ship of the Sakura Empire, Shoukaku…"

"That's not all," the Grand Admiral continued on. With a stare as sharp as an eagle, the man with deep blue eyes nudged his present companions in the direction past the vessel blocking their way from reaching their home base. "They're preparing themselves to attack. Hornet, get ready for combat. Vestal, focus on evasive maneuver. We can't have the newbies injured."

Hornet placed her hand on her cowboy hat and tuck it down. She responded not with words, but with the clicking of her rigging as the mechanisms unfolded at her will. The flight deck slid to the side, the elevator deck having finished loading up her chicks nicely. However, as if the enemy saw through them, a plane bearing the designation of the Zero flew from Shoukaku's flight deck. One after another, birds of steel ascended to the sky while a few figures leaped off to land on the water surface.

Since when did she become so fast at deploying her fighters!?

"The enemy anticipated our arrival, huh..." The Grand Admiral paused, his hand moving to his ear. Similarly, statics buzzed through Hornet's ears, the identification code of a certain ship connecting with the encrypted channel of the training fleet. "We've got a warm welcome from our energetic guests. Can you intercept them?"

[It depends on how hard they hit,] the voice from the other side of the radio communication channel said. [Should we change our plan?]

"Confrontation is inevitable by this point," the man in white then pointed at the approaching group of hostile kansen. "Pierce their formation. Our main priority is to ensure Vestal can reach the base safely. However, do not overextend yourself, and always stick close to each other. We've already lost so much, I don't want to lose any more."

A light sigh could be heard, but whether it came from Hornet or from the person on the other side of the communication channel was not quite clear. Even though their superior was one hell of a slacker that regularly moved around in accordance with his whims, the Grand Admiral managed to have a high standard both for everyone as well as himself. Still, the youngest of the Yorktown-class sister ship couldn't help but spread her lips into a wide smile. That's how we would like it, after all!

[Very well, then.] The girl at the other side of the channel announced, [Hornet, I'm counting on you to protect Admiral and Vestal.]

"Roger that, sis!" Hornet released the order for her planes to fly. "I'll make sure no pest will get close to us, so go all-out for my sake as well!"

[At least you're energetic…] Her sister murmured. [Then—]

"I know." The Grand Admiral inhaled. "You are now in command, Enterprise. Godspeed."

[Mhm. See you later, Commander Gale.]