Hello everyone, before you start chapter 2, I just want to give a few announcements/shout-outs!

First, thank you all for the favorites and follows so far!

To starburst98 – Line break is fixed, unfortunately I didn't realize that it didn't save correctly when I initially added it. In regard to the story, they do seem a little chummy huh? Don't worry though, I had this happen with a plan in mind; and the same can be said for Victoria, she will help tie things up and remove some loose-ends that came to mind as I was plotting this story. You'll find out part of what I mean in the chapter below actually haha.

To Leonais Frostwind – Thank you! As I'm rather obsessed with anything Azur Lane, I do plan on incorporating both anime and game! More specifically: I plan to make this story take place after the events depicted in the anime thus far, but it will not necessarily follow the anime story. Hope that makes sense!

Now onwards to the story!


Chapter 2: An Unbreakable Human Will

"If you wanna to make people dream, you've gotta start by believing in that dream yourself!" – Seiya Kanie, Amagi Brilliant Park

After finally waking up from his coma, the young man found himself undergoing physical and mental therapy in preparation for his new role as the commander of the newly reformed Azur Lane. The young man was currently in a highly advanced looking examination machine in an observation room. While the young man seemed to be healing physically at a questionably high rate, the same can't be said for his mental therapy progress….

"Hmmm..." Dr. Sen hummed as he stared at the monitor outside of the examination room.

"What's the matter Doc?" Questioned Victoria, who was in the middle of her daily visits to see the young man's progress.

"His physical wounds are healing quite fast, terrifyingly so if I might add. It's almost as if his body is in a 'fast forwarded' state. Not once in my 50 years of doctoral experience have I seen anyone come even remotely close to how fast he's healing."

"Isn't that a good thing? How come you seem so concerned?" Questioned Nurse Jenny.

"Normally yes, but the scars all over him right now are what bothers me." Dr. Sen points to the monitor he's looking at and what was shown was almost surreal. Through an x-ray view shown on the monitor, the trio could literally see the young man's body heal. Wounds closing and forming scabs, broken bones regenerating, and scars fading at an absurdly fast rate.

"Look closely at the scars now," directed Dr. Sen, "The areas they are located are not just everywhere, but when you look at him as a whole, the scars seemed to have been planned ahead, almost as if he was the subject in a dissection lab."

"W-wait….then..that m-means the Sirens.." Started Victoria

"…I'm afraid so, lass. While I have no way of figuring out exactly what they did to him, I do know that they definitely did one of two things: either they put him under such immense stress that his body was forced to adapt quickly in order to survive, or, in my honest opinion the more likely story, they used him for human experimentation purposes."

Victoria and Nurse Jenny stood there dumbfounded, shocked, angry, and teary-eyed as they heard the doctor's diagnosis. 'Those monsters…How could they do something like this?' The two thought, almost as if they were in total sync with each other. Sure, humans experiment on living creatures all the time, but the fact that they kept their subject alive for almost 5 years, performing who knows what on an innocent young man was what appalled them. They couldn't even bring themselves to imagine the type of pain he must have went through all those years.

"Then is his amnesia caused by the stress of being experimented on?" Questioned Nurse Jenny.

"Most likely yes. Speaking of which, I want you two to take a look at this." Dr. Sen said as he pulled up a file on the monitor. "While he's healing rapidly physically, his mental state is rather concerning. I performed EEG, PET, and MRI scans to see how he was doing mentally and at first, he seemed to have only showed signs of potential PTSD issues. However, during last night, I had him hooked up to another EEG for further examination."

The file on the monitor of the screen showed very high readings at night in comparison to the day scan. "It seems that he's feeling a lot more than he's letting on. He was tossing and turning a lot at night and it seemed like he was having a rather awful nightmare. Based on his scans, I can't say for certainty that he won't have a mental breakdown if he encounters the Sirens again. I tried asking him about how he was doing mentally, but he kept insisting he was fine and ready." The doctor concluded.

"..May I go in and speak with him?" Asked Victoria?

"Please do, you might be able to get more out of him than either Nurse Jenny or I ever could… It's a shame that I can't treat him myself without needing to ask for outside nonclinical help, but with the state he's in, I'm willing to swallow my pride as a doctor. He seems like a good lad and I personally just want to help him in any way I could." Admitted Dr. Sen.

Victoria smiled and put a hand on the old doctor's shoulder and walked into the observation room.

"Hello Shikikan, how you are feeling?"

The young man turned to look at the entrance to see Victoria. Her long hazel brown hair flowed as she moved closer to him. She was wearing a fitted business casual magenta uniform on top of a white blouse and had modest 3-inch black heels on.

"Physically I feel fine, but Dr. Sen probably talked to you about my mental state huh?"

Victoria hesitated before speaking. "Yeah…he was talking about how he was unsure of how you would be able to handle meeting…..them again."

The young man remained silent for a bit before speaking. "I…I honestly don't know how I will react and just thinking of it just makes me nauseous. All the stuff they did to me…it's almost as if it just happened yesterday." The young man paused before continuing. "Last night, I had a nightmare. It was the same nightmare that's been haunting me every time I fall asleep. I saw that day happening again and again so many times. No matter how many times I saw it…the sight of…..the one who took me always left me feeling as if I lost the ability to even breathe. The stuff they did to me…burns, freezes, shocks, poison, injections, cuts, punches, kicks, scratches, bites…..was….awful….I felt so much sadness, anger, and fear for so what felt like an eternity."

Victoria was unable to look at him, let alone speak after hearing him pour out his thoughts and feelings to her. Before she was able to even think of some sort of response to help ease the young man, he spoke once more.

"But…despite all that, in that hell I was sentenced to, despite all that they had done to me…..despite everything I felt….."

When the young man paused, Victoria looked up to see something that she had never seen before.

The young man's eyes…They were…filled….with such….life!

More specifically, his eyes looked as if they were glowing and were emitting an intense blaze that signified stubborn determination.

"They had almost broken everything in me physically, mentally, and emotionally, but they failed to break one that I refused to let them break: my will to see the promise I made to myself a while after being captured that day through to the bitter end.

The young man's eyes sparked with a fiery determination that gazed through Victoria's shocked emerald eyes straight into her very being.

"After they had their fill of torturing and experimenting on me for the day, I lied down on a cold rough floor with darkness all around me. My memories before that day were already long gone, but the memory of that day in of itself was as fresh as if it just happened. The chaos that day, the screams and cries of all those people around me clinging to life, the sight of utter devastation, I remember it way too well. And then it hit me, what if those monsters do this again? At that moment, I felt something stir in me that I thought I would never have felt there: Hope. More specifically, the hope and determination I had to make sure that these Sirens pay for what they had done and to make sure that no one else would ever have to go through what I had to."

The young man's word seemed like they spoke from the bottom of his heart and straight into Victoria's. She felt every bit of fiery passion and determination he expressed in his story, almost as if she felt a fire all around her, but not a chaotic, raging, painful fire, but a warm and energizing flame that embraced her. "

"From then on, each and every day, I endured and endured and endured all of the things they did to me while planning a way to escape. At first I had no idea where to begin, but I noticed that they would take turns as if they were on a tight schedule, always taking the same amount of time having their fun for the exact same amount of time each and every day, with a few minute intervals in between as the next monster got ready. After memorizing every single detail of their schedule with me to the closest to every second as I could have gotten, I began my escape."

The young man paused to take a breath before continuing.

"I counted that the time I had at night to sleep was about 16,200 seconds, or about 4.5 hours sharp before their so-called playtime began again. During that time and every second I had in between their turns, I used a sharpened pebble, that I quietly sharpened against the floor, hidden underneath an open wound I had in my wrist and began scratching the shackles on my arms attaching me to the walls with it, hiding it again right before they would come in. I had to repeat this step time and time again to the point where I lost count after a thousand counts of attempts to finally break through those metal shackles. I didn't know for sure if it would work, but after stubbornly pushing on day after day after day, I noticed that the shackles began to feel looser and looser come passing every so day. When I finally felt confident enough that I could break out of them, I waited until the end of the 'day' and as soon as I counted to a about 8,100 seconds, to make sure that no one would be conscious enough to hear me break the shackles, I did just that. I was so malnourished that I could barely walk, let alone run, but if I didn't push past my limits then this would have been all for nothing. So I limped and struggled my way through out to the shoreline of their island hideout, where luckily there was still some metal and wood debris and seaweed washed up near the beachhead. I would usually hear cannon fire and explosions every so often, most likely from one of those monsters' equipment firings. So doing what I could, I made a makeshift raft as quickly as I could with limited amount of time I had and then sailed off. I couldn't believe I managed to have gotten this far, but as luck would have it, the seas I was in was quite turbulent and threw me for a loop. After that, I woke up on something that wasn't bedrock, but an actual bed and here we are."

Victoria could not believe the story he just told her, and neither could Dr. Sen or Nurse Jenny who were secretly listening through the microphones hidden in the room. The stubbornness of the young man and his sheer willpower was almost beyond human reasoning they thought. Before they could think of anything else besides of how amazing the young man was, the person in question spoke once more.

"Now that I've made it this far, I'm as determined as ever to see my promise through, despite my fears of those wretched monsters. I may hesitate and stutter, but I promise you Victoria, and to you Dr. Sen and Nurse Jenny," the young man said speaking louder at the latter, "that I WILL not give up and let them have the chance to do what they have done to anyone else EVER again.

Shocked and feeling guilty that they were caught, the two eavesdroppers walked into the room as well.

"Sorry…but how did you know?" Nurse Jenny asked

"After having to observe every little detail during my time incarcerated in order to figure out a way to get out, you'd have to learn to spot the most minute of details of world around you to succeed. That and I saw you staring at me through the window the whole time." The young man explained, causing the nurse to blush at her inability to be discreet at the second part.

"I understand your mental state a lot better now, but it still boggles me how you remained sane all that time" Said the dumbfounded old doctor.

"Now that I look back at it, it does seem absurd that I'm not broken mentally huh? I don't really know how to explain, but the thought of others having to go through what I did that day just fueled my determination to put a stop to them." The man answered with honest eyes that showed a lot more signs of life than when he initially woke up.

"You really are like a hero straight out of a comic book huh Shikikan?" Victoria said with a sigh that followed up with a smile that virtually radiated relief and joy.

The young man could do nothing but smile a small smile, a major improvement from his ghost of a smile he had before and especially from his empty expression during his time with the Sirens.

"…Alright, I'll trust that you know yourself best and that you won't do anything regrettable. Well from the story you've told us so, you're probably the most stubborn person that I've ever met, even surpassing myself" The old doctor said that last part with a brief snicker. "However, do promise me that you won't do anything too reckless alright? I was only joking about the part where I'd reserve a bed for you, being a doctor is hard work you know?" Dr. Sen said jokingly before continuing with a serious expression. "But in all serious, please do not push yourself too hard, I trust that you will know your limits, but as a doctor, I still am not 100% convinced about your mentality. If you ever feel that your mental state is weaker than what it is right now, you are to come straight here capische?" The doctor ordered as if he was talking to his reckless son.

"Will do Doctor, and I will personally make sure of it. You have my words." Pledged Victoria.

"Alrighty then, once we finish your examinations and tests three days from now, I'll allow you to leave and start your new journey, Shikikan."

"Thank you Doctor." Said the young man with a small, yet sincere smile.

After Dr. Sen and Nurse Jenny finished up the rest of the day's examinations, the young man and Victoria headed back to the young man's bed.

"Alright let's get down to business then."

"Are you finally going to explain this Shikikan role and Azur Lane organization to me?" Questioned the young man.

"Yes, now that I'm 100% certain after hearing Dr. Sen's approval of your health, I'm as confident as ever that you will meet my expectations. Alright first thing's first, allow me to introduce myself once again." Victoria stood at attention and saluted. "My full name is Victoria Alexandra Knight, Vice Admiral of the newly reformed Azur Lane alliance. I have been designated as your supervisor for your role as Shikikan of the Azur Lane ship girls."

The young man was shocked to hear how high ranking his former classmate was and confused as to when he heard her say "ship girls", but he decided against interrupting his much higher ranked superior.

Victoria couldn't help but let out a lighthearted laugh seeing his shocked face. "Don't worry, I prefer familiarity over formality when given the option and I would much rather prefer our friendly relationship to grow and continue." Victoria said with a smile, but underneath she was half happy to finally formally introduce herself and half worried that her hint might've been too obvious.

"I'm looking forward to working with you and appreciate you taking me under your care." The young man said while bowing his head slightly.

'….Sigh I can't tell if I'm relieved or disappointed at his obliviousness right now.' Victoria thought before continuing.

"As Shikikan, your role is to not only defend the seas against the Sirens and eventually go on the offensive, but to try and learn more about this." Victoria proceeded to pull out a small box she had in her bag. She opened the box to show some sort of blue cube that surrounded a smaller sphere in it. Inside the smaller sphere emitted a light white glow that seemed as if it was alive in the young man's eyes.

"Remember how I told you how the Sirens have almost completely taken over the seas? Well, thanks to our science division, we were able to come up with this: The Wisdom Cube." She held it up and brought it to him to hold. Upon contact with the young man's hand, the light in the cube glowed brightly and danced around before calming back down. The young man couldn't help but stare at the fascinating cube in his hands.

"In short, wisdom cubes boosted over naval power tenfold by transforming our ships into ship girls."

"Wait w-" The young man was about to say.

"I know, I know, it sounds insane but bear with me. By transforming the ships into ship girls that serve as their individual ship's 'heart and soul', the combat prowess of our naval force has risen tremendously thanks to them. And believe it or not, these ship girls were able to stop those monsters' aggressive domination of the world's seas! They seemed to have quieted down a bit, which is relieving and concerning to say the least, but we needed the time to recuperate from their onslaught." Victoria sighed a tired sigh before walking to the window and speaking again.

"As ship girls, they have all taken on various forms of the female human form and have developed their own personalities and will. And as such, they have emotions as well, and that's where you come, Shikikan." Victoria turned around at that last part, pointed, and smiled at the young man.

"…" He had no words nor could he think of words to say and thus he wore a very confused yet interested expression on his face.

"Your job will be to guide these girls and work with them to defeat those monsters and bring about peace to the seas once again. Think of this like a mentor job combined with the job of a commanding naval officer. Soooo, what do you think? Besides confused and lost that is as clear as day on your face right now haha." Victoria jokingly asked.

"Besides that? Very curious to meet them to be honest. Seeing is believing after all."

"True, true, but before we get to that, are you able to remember anything from the naval academy classes or any of the experiences we had?"

The young man paused to think before responding.

"I…I don't think….so?" The commander half answered, half questioned.

"Hmm that's not good, but I expected as much due to your condition. But very well, it looks like I'm going to have to give you a naval warfare crash course over the next couple of days. I hope you're ready, I'm a tough teacher and I plan on living up to my reputation as an honors World Maritime Naval Academy graduate!" Victoria proudly stated while emitting a rather intimidating aura all with a kind-looking smile.

The young man, after all he had gone through the past half-decade had only one thought on his mind right now: 'This might be bad.'


Hope y'all liked the story so far! Have you noticed the character Easter eggs and references I had placed throughout the story so far lol? Let me know in the comments!

Also for future reference, would y'all prefer longer chapters than this or are these small chapters okay? Also let me know in the comments haha.

Finally, my updates are going to be infrequent due to holidays and work, but I'm really enjoying writing a fanfiction of my favorite mobile game so don't worry about lack of updates! All I ask is for your continued patience, support, and not too painful remarks!

'Til next time on Azur Lane fanfiction: An Unsung Legend, Chapter 3: The Ship Girls Appear!