Opening

Somewhere in the ocean just east of Japan, on a secluded area, Tenkai continued to meditate on a large piece of rock. The ocean waves ravaging the sides of the rock. He went there after he was beaten by the Teikoku Kagekidan Hanagumi. He was sitting in the middle of a special formation with seals on the edges which have a straight line to a symbol where he is meditating. Chanting some words, he lit the candles around him. It was ironic because instead of the candles illuminating a yellowish-red glow, it had a blackish-purple glow. This triggers the seals to glow with dark energy. The seals lit up the symbol and gave Tenkai an awesome amount of power which he used to open a gateway. "Bestow upon me the power of darkness!" His eyes slowly turning purple. The gateway opened and shot a beam of pure dark energy on the ocean. Every living thing in its immediate vicinity perished. A huge Kouma surfaced from the ensuing hurricane, covered in an energy barrier much like an armor which was brimming with dark energy. This one had no wings so it lacked the ability to fly. In its belly is a smaller gateway similar to the one that summoned this creature. It made a bellowing growl. Tenkai placed a hand on the creatures' chest and started to merge with it, becoming one with the creature. He started to swim slowly towards Japan and Teito. The strong pacific winds and raging waters are powerless to stop the monster's continuous approach to Japan.

"Finally! The day of my retribution arrives! Teito will fall on its knees and the Teikoku Kagekidan shall crumble as well!"

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Chapter 2: Peaceful days?

An emergency alarm rang not in the Teigeki but in the Imperial military headquarters. Commander Yoneda and Assistant Commander Ayame were called to the headquarters along with the wise men council.

Yoneda hastily went into the room. He and Ayame were greeted with salutes. "Report. What is the disturbance?"

One of the staff answered "Sir, our steam radar network has picked up a large creature from the Pacific ocean on its way here. We dispatched four navy patrol ships to stop it." The radar showed a large blip and four smaller blips moving towards each other.

The lead ship opened up communications and its captain spoke, "HQ, we have visual."

"Good, put it in the screen." Everyone gasped at what they saw.

"Oh my...! that looks like a Kouma!" Count Hanakoji, one of the oldest council members exclaimed.

The four ships started to battle it. They look like they were getting the upper hand when the Kouma started to charge its energy. The ships still continued to fire at it. Shells explode on different parts of the Kouma but it barely damaged it.

Tenkai started to grin. "Now, it's my turn." The Kouma released its energy, creating a beam which completely destroyed three of the ships, leaving only the lead ship.

Everyone in the headquarters were shocked at what they saw. Only a third of one ship's skeletal structure remained. While the other two completely vanished.

"That voice..." Yoneda thought "I-impossible!"

"That's... no way!" Ayame gasped.

"That can't be... T-Tenkai! We...we disposed of him last time!" Yoneda pounded his fist on the table.

Nervousness started to fill the room. The staff tried to keep their nervousness hidden but their sweaty foreheads and clammy hands gave them away. The steam computers started to procure data about this mysterious being.

Back at the ocean, the captain of the remaining ship ordered his men to continue fighting for the sake of Teito.

"That should even the odds a bit," Tenkai smirked. "You must be the lead ship? Well, let's have a little fun, shall we?" The Kouma grabbed the ship's bow as the ship continued firing at Tenkai. The gateway in it's belly opened and three ordinary Koumas came out of it. The sailors turned their attention to fighting the Koumas on the deck. The Koumas slaughtered the helpless men and destroyed the whole ship piece by piece.

The people in the headquarters just stared in awe on what they witnessed on the screen.

Count Hanakoji asked, "Any more info on it?"

"Sir, we got some data but it's not fully complete. The creature seemed to have come from a secluded rock judging from the huge amount of dark energy gathered on the rock. It is moving at a constant speed of 25 kph. There will be a typhoon on that area so at this rate with the typhoon, it will arrive in Yokohama harbor by 6 pm tomorrow. That's all we got sir." The man analyzing the data felt his palms becoming sweaty. "This is not good." he thought. Just as peace came to their reach, it will be yanked off their hands.

"Yoneda, should we dispatch the Hanagumi?" Count Hanakoji asked.

"We can't. The Kobu is not designed for sea battles." Ayame answered since Commander Yoneda was absorbed in thought.

The other members of the council who were at the meeting suggested to let it land then let the Hanagumi engage it so it can be a land battle. It was a good plan except that Yoneda refused. The gateway implanted on its belly can instantly transport hordes of Kouma in a few minutes which led to the fate of the lead ship a while ago. There might even be the possibility of the Koumas merging into the same Kouma that Sakura's father exchanged his life to destroy. Maybe even more. The Hanagumi will be completely useless.

"Can we send the Shougei-maru?" A council member asked.

"No, it's still undergoing repairs." Yoneda replied.

The room fell silent with the exception of faint beepings as the steam computers continued to work.

Count Hanakoji broke the silence. "We have no choice..." He closed his eyes and sighed, "...the Navy is our only defence."

"But we can't!" Yoneda retorted, pointing at the now static screen "Didn't you see what happened just a whle ago?"

"That's the only best bet we got Yoneda! It's the least we can do now!"

"This is human sacrifice."

The council had no choice but to agree with it or let Tenkai destroy their precious city.

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At the Teigeki, life was all hapiness. Everyone were having a good time while unaware of the calamity of a new threat approaching. Ayame and Yoneda arrived from their meeting and found the Hanagumi happily talking in the dining room. Sakura and Ichiro visit them lots of times and sometimes sleep there. This time, they won't be sleeping there.

"Should we tell them what is happening?" Ayame asked while helping Yoneda walk to the manager's office.

"Nah, if the situation becomes dire, we'll tell them. Besides, look how happy they are. It will break their heart if we tell them." Yoneda points at the dining room where Ichiro and Sakura felt trapped in the corner of their seats as they were simultaneously being pounded with never-ending questions about married life. "Ah, it's good to be young again ne, Ayame?" Ayame forced a smile and she continued to help Yoneda to the manager's office.

After the unpleasant dinner, Sakura and Ichiro were excused. So they went outside to breathe in the fresh air.

"Whew! At least we got out of that mess!" Ichirou said while pounding his chest to calm himself.

"Can you believe that? Kanna-san and Sumire-san were arguing about who will get married first which raised the topic about us!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Not to mention being asked...personal questions...!" Ichiro shifted his gaze from the sky to Sakura's shining hair and to her face. "She's very pretty. I must be the luckiest man alive!" he thought as he continued to stick his eyes on her face.

"The sky's beautiful now." Sakura looked at him to find him surprisingly staring at her. His eyes were showing signs of longing for something. She just stared at him and they stared at each other.

His gaze told Sakura what he wanted and she couldn't possibly reject it. They both started to move towards each other. "I love you so much Ichiro."

"So do I."

"Come on, come on, come on, you can do it, you can do it, come on!" Kanna was muttering.

"Oh what the heck, they've done this lots of times!" Sumire whispered.

"Well, not in front of us." replied Maria. She too was whispering. They all didn't want to disturb them. The two might stop.

"Well, well, if it isn't Maria-san." Sumire teased.

"W-well, I-I'm just... curious you see?" Maria said.

"If I was Sakura, I'll give chuu'i a kiss he'll never forget."

Kohran, who isn't saying anything had her jaw hanging and her glasses sliding off her nose until it was suspended by only an ear.

"Hey keep quiet! They're in the climax of their passionate moment." Kanna pointed to the couple as Ichiro slowly removed Sakura's hair from her face. Just as their lips were about to touch, Yoneda came. "Oi! When you guys are done kissing, I need Ichiro to do something for me! Ichiro! Can you get me some sake in the store before going to my office? Thanks!" The two quickly broke off. Their faces redder than roses.

"Aargh! Why!? Shihainin, WHY!?" Kanna clenched her fist.

"Because, I ran out of good sake and Ichiro here knows lots o' good sake!"

"Well, that's too bad. And they were at the most exciting part!" Kohran said as she fixed her glasses.

Sakura noticed them and exclaimed "What are you guys doing there!"

"We were just... well... uh.... we-uh gotta go, we have stuff to do! See you later!" was the answer she got as the others ran back in the theatre.

"Hey Sakura-kun, I gotta go buy some sake *sigh* and see what Yoneda-shihainin wants from me."

"Yeah, sure then we can continue from where we left off WITHOUT INTERRUPTION." Sakura shot a glimpse at the window on the second floor where apparently, the others were watching...again.

"Rats! And I thought they were gonna do it again!" Kanna exclaimed. She was kneeling so as not to be caught.

"Well, you don't always get what you want. Besides, they caught us" Maria replied.

"That's true. Maria-san's right Kanna-san, like what she said, you don't always get what you want. Damn chuu'i he chose that clumsy country girl instead of me! He will be longing for more when I kiss him!" Sumire's face turned red with her anger.

Kanna waved her hand "Calm down Sumire, you don't always get what you want, remember?"

"Oh, shut-up!"

"No wonder taichou chose Sakura over you! When you kiss him, his lips will be full of thorns!"

"And I suppose he didn't choose you because when you kiss him, he'll suffocate with the size of your head?" Sumire then knocked on Kanna's head.

"Get your hands off my head or you'll puncture it too, you thorny cactus-woman!"

"What did you say you gorilla-woman!?"

"I said, get your hands of my head or you'll puncture it!"

A huge catfight ensued.

"Oh well, here they go again." interrupted Kohran "I'll be in the hangar if you need me."

At the manager's office, Yoneda was getting his glass when Ichiro knocked. "Yeah, who is it?"

"It's Ichiro. Shihainin, you wanted to ask me to do something."

"Oh yeah, come in, come in!" The old man suddenly remembered.

Ichiro slowly opened the door and stepped inside, a bottle of fine sake in his hand.

"Here's your sake. Shihainin, what can I do for you?"

"Oh yeah, can you get me the Kazegumi? I need them to do something. Maybe they're in the basement or something."

"Hai. I'll bring them here." With that, he left.

A few moments later, Ichiro dropped off the girls in the office.

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That night at the apartment, the couple caught a glimpse of Teito one last time before retiring to the bedroom. They shared a quick kiss and slept. A few minutes later, Ichiro opened his eyes. He quietly got out of their futon being careful so as not to disturb his sleeping wife. Somehow, he couldn't sleep. He went over to the window of their room. Staring at the direction of the ocean, he kept on thinking. "Something's not right here." he murmured. "Something is terribly wrong." He looked at Sakura. He could tell that she was having pleasant dreams by the look of her face. "She's so kawaii when she's sleeping." He thought. But he still couldn't shake this feeling of uneasiness.

Sakura was having a dream. She and Ichiro were sitting on a bench in Ueno park admiring Teito and the cherry blossoms. It was a very happy dream. She could see Ichiro smiling at her while she smiled back at him. Ichiro took a short walk around for a bit, stopping at some sakura flowers which have fallen to the ground. He picked up the best looking sakura and stopped to look at her, a smile spread across his face. Sakura couldn't help but smile a bit more. She looked at the flower but when she returned her gaze at Ichiro, he was slowly being consumed by blood and he himself was bleeding badly. He was slowly fading as blood consumed him. Sakura stood up and tried to run to him, reaching to him, but it was too late. He was gone. Only a small puddle of blood was left on the floor. "ICHIRO!!!"

Then, she woke up, breathing madly. While staring at the ceiling, she placed a hand on her side trying to feel Ichiro with it.

But, she felt the futon. He's gone. With a gasp, she quickly turned her head to look at it. He wasn't in the futon but she was relieved when she saw him looking out the window. With tears starting to form in her eyes, she stood up and walked to him. She thought he had left her like in that dream. She then wrapped her arms around him.

Ichiro spoke in a sweet voice, "Hey," he continued to stare out the window. "I thought you were sleeping?"

Sakura tightened her hold and replied with a slight tremble in her tone. "Ichiro, I'm just worried. You're not sleeping. What's wrong?" She was trying to forget that dream she just had. Her tears stopped forming. She closed her eyelids to let them slide down her cheeks and drip down her chin.

"It's just that... I feel something terrible Sakura." He finally turned to look at her.

"You just need some sleep. You're thinking too much." Sakura forced a smile.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I was just thinking to much." Ichiro sighed. They hugged each other then Ichiro went back to his futon.

"I'm gonna go get some water. I'm pretty thirsty." Sakura silently went to the kitchen and helped herself with a glass of water, thinking, "What was that dream all about? Is it real? Please I hope not." after drinking, she returned the glass and quietly went back to the room. Much to her surprise, she saw Ichiro still awake. "Why aren't you sleeping yet? You need to rest."

He replied, "Yeah, I will."

She lay down on their futon and they started to sleep.

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"Admiral Sato" Yoneda spoke. "Is it okay for you if we send Naval vessels to fight this threat? I know that you know the risks. We have the Navy as our only choice. The Hanagumi can't fight it. The Kobus are useless on water."

Admiral Sato is currently the commander of the Imperial Navy. He is thinking about the request that was asked of him and this old demon which poses a great threat for Teito. He can see from the corner of his eye Commander Yoneda anxiously waiting for his reply. He was about to decline the request when he saw the naval ensign flag hanging beside the national flag of Japan in the corner of the room. He started to have second thoughts about his decision. He knew that the military is there to safeguard their citizens. He knew about the honor of dying for Japan and its citizens. He knew they would do whatever it takes to serve and protect. It's a pledge they took.

"Have you made your decision Admiral?" Yoneda impatiently asked.

"Okay. Lets do it."

"Good! But how can we be sure of this? I know that your fleet are powerless against such a being."

"We have a vessel stocked in the storage for a pretty long time. It was assigned to lots of skirmishes it had in the past and it came out victorious. It can withstand much pounding and it has the most number of weapons any ship can have and it's pretty fast. Maybe we can send that along with a fleet." Admiral Sato then told them of the ship's profile, the missions it took and its assets.

Yoneda felt a little hope rise.

"It will be..." Sato added, "...its last battle. It's getting pretty old you know, having problems and all, but it's still sturdy enough for this task."

Count Hanakoji and the other council members started talking with each other and agreed. One question sticks to their minds: "Will the Navy still be able to beat Tenkai even with such a sophisticated vessel at their side?" Even as they speak, he is slowly advancing on his way here.

One council member finally spoke. "Would you mind if we take a look at the vessel?"

"Of course." The Admiral quickly answered.

They left the building and they took a convoy of steam cars to the docks. Naval ships patrol the area with searchlights illuminating dark places in search of intruders. The convoy slowly moved around the docks passing through dock 6, 7, 8, and continued to move towards dock 21, 22, 23. The wood creacked silently as the weight of the cars and its occupants pass over it. The last dock they passed is dock 33 but they still continued on until they reached a huge building with a fence around it. It's positioned just like the other docks but the building was longer and it had a gate in front of it with military policemen patrolling about. They stepped out of their steam cars. The ocean breeze is fresh at this time of the night. The soothing sound of the crashing waters comforted them even if they are tensed.

"It's too bad we might not be able to feel this beauty again." Ayame thought as she breathed in a big gulp of fresh air. She was looking out at the murky waters. Yoneda called her and she instantly followed them into the building. The two military policemen guarding the gate weren't moving. Alert for any threat, they held their rifles like it's their only companion. The only time they moved was when they greeted the council members with a salute as they entered. Then, resumed their lifeless stance.

"Here it is." The Admiral led the council around the inside of the building. What is more important right now is the centerpiece in the middle. A huge ship, possibly a destroyer. The lights then flickered on. It was a first class destroyer... only bigger and beefed up with weapons. In the bow were deck guns. Four cannons in two pairs which can turn independently. One pair a little above and behind by three feet of the other pair. Each pair had two cannons. Each side of the ship except the bow and the stern had four sets of machine gun nests. At the stern were two deck guns positioned similarly like the ones on the bow but it had one cannon instead of a pair. They too, can turn independently.

It had two ship engines to help it move. Four propellers, with two rudders. At the edge of the bow was a long rope which passed through a hole in the side of the bow. No doubt it was the anchor. The bridge had a wide set of glass with windshield wipers. On top of the superstructure were four exhaust pipes for the steam. The metal which the ship was made of was reinforced with three layers. At the side of the ship were thick white letterings that show the figures, Harusame 0017. It is the proud flagship of the Imperial Navy.

"Impressive." Yoneda commented. "Let's just hope the fleet in addition to this can destroy it." he added.

"Sir, let's consult Kanzaki Heavy Industries on upgrading this ship and possibly some of the others while there is time." Ayame suggested.

"We can do that." he replied then looked at Admiral Sato "Admiral, do you mind?"

"Sure, as long as it can help protect Teito."

"Ayame, call Kanzaki Heavy Industries and have some engineers come here."

In an hour, Kanzaki engineers had arrived and discussions about the ship's upgrades started. The engineers started inspecting the ship's engines, weapons and rooms, checking if they could do something. After the inspection, they had concluded that they couldn't do much more but supply the ship with special shells and bullets which have some power to repulse darkness. "This ship is advanced. It is highly capable for the job but it's pretty old." They said, "Nothing much we can do about it. We can just provide it with these shells and bullets. It might sink if we added or changed something. It's too old and worn-out and it's not as stable as before."

"Great. But these shells and bullets are not enough. They can't possibly defeat Tenkai with these things only." Yoneda remarked. He looked at the other council members for their opinion but they were busy discussing plans to fight Tenkai.

"We do have a secret weapon that is kept hidden in our basement." the engineers said. The other council members had to look at the engineers. They've got to know more about this 'secret weapon'. "We call it the Spirit Cannon." they continued. "It has Ryoushi crystals installed in it which are similar to the ones installed in the Kobu but these crystals have huge amounts of spiritual powers and are used to fire the Soul Beam. The crystals are blessed by the Yumegumi to be very effective."

"Soul Beam?" The council asked with puzzled look on their faces.

"Yes, the Soul Beam. It's a beam fired by the Spirit Cannon. It takes a tremendous amount of time for the Ryoushi Crystals to gather energy. But when the Spirit Cannon fires at a target, the gathered energy turns into the Soul Beam which not only destroys everything within a half mile radius, but also changes the polarity of dark energies to positive and turn it against the dark being using it. Dark beings won't be immune to such a blast. The down side is, if the cannon is ready to fire, it must be fired or the crystals will overload and backfire, destroying itself and everything in a half mile radius of the cannon. It is the perfect opportunity to use it."

Admiral Sato, with open ears, eagerly agrees to use it along with the other council members. "So, what's the plan?"

The head of the Kanzaki engineers then tells them about the plan. It is a good and risky plan but they had to take their chances if they want todefeat Tenkai. The Harusame will distract Tenkai then render him unconscious while another ship capable of carrying and taking the amount of stress it takes firing the spirit cannon will charge it. The Harusame then, will get out of the cannon's range and when it fires, Tenkai should be annihilated. They don't need a whole fleet for this operation. Just two ships.

"A bold plan. A very, very bold plan." A council member said.

"And risky." One added.

"But, it's worth it." Another said.

"Now, we have to pick the crew members of the two ships." Admiral Sato spoke. He then added, "We can't assign the original crew. The crew we choose must be skilled; our top class sailors who are willing to die for everyone's safety."

A man went up to Ayame and handed her a report.

"Sir, we got news from the headquarters. The typhoon in the region where Tenkai is is getting worse. He is slowing down his approach. He might arrive a little later than expected."

"Good. We have more time to prepare. Let's hurry up while there is still more time." Yoneda lit up a little with hope.

The Kanzaki engineers and a few top sailors were assigned on the ship to carry the Spirit Cannon. The ship named Maya 0013 was used. It was a First class cruiser which always fought alongside the Harusama. A very fine ship capable of doing such a task. The 'lucky' sailors will be notified of their assignment by dawn. Now, they had to pick the crew members of the Harusame....

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I'm sorry about the name of the 'secret weapon' I just can't think of any other name. I'm being time pressured. I couldn't think that straight at the moment but it won't stop me from my love of ST and my determination to write this fanfic even if it isn't that good.

The ship names were researched in the internet. They are based on the system of ship naming during WW2.

The system used through WW2 is as follows:

Ship Type - Source(s) of Names



Battleships - Country/province names

Battlecruisers - Mountain names

First class cruisers - Mountain names

Second class cruisers - River names

Coast defense ships - Old names retained (no new construction)

First class destroyers - Meteorological phenomena

Second class destroyers - Plant names

Torpedo boats - Bird names

Submarines - Numbers

Now, these are examples of the names used and the category it is from:

Category - Examples



Mountain names - Chokai, Akagi, Maya

Province/country names - Yamato, Musashi, Izumo

Island names - Chishima, Yaejima

River names - Tenryu, Tone

Famous locations - Akashi, Hashidate

Elegant names for Japan - Fuso, Akitsushima

Words - Nisshin, Yakumo, Chihaya

Meteorological phenomena - Harusame, Fubuki

Bird names - Sokaku, Kari

This and more info was found in http://www.lise.jp/jnp/shipnames/

There. a little history information. I couldn't find any names for ship naming during the decade of 1920 but since it is somewhat close to the year 1940, and World War 2, I decided to use the World War 2 method of ship naming to name the ships in this fanfic. Please R&R. I hope you like it. BTW, I'm done with chapters three to six. I just don't know if I should still post them. :)