Chapter 8: The True Beginning!

Welcome back y'all to chapter 8! Thanks so much for the favs, follows, and comments thus far! Look forward to more in the near future! Let's get right into it!


"To put things simply, if your past makes your present... Then your present can and will make your future. When you think about it that way... You absolutely have the potential to be anything you want to be, don't you agree?" – Yato, Noragami


After a long day of running around the base, cooking, and meeting the new ship girls, the Shikikan was currently passed out in his bedroom. Sound asleep, he didn't hear the sound of a knock at the door or someone calling him.

"Master? It's morning, time to wake up."

No response.

"Pardon the intrusion." The voice said before opening the unlocked door, revealing herself to be the beautiful Royal Navy head maid herself, Belfast. Walking up to the Shikikan still in a deep slumber, she gave him a light shake in an attempt to wake him up, but to no avail.

"You give me no choice then Master." She said with a playful smirk before walking over to the curtains and unleashing the fury of the rising sun onto the now wide awake Shikikan.

"Ahhh!" He screamed as he was blinded and rolling off the bed. "Who!? What!? Where!?" He said as he quickly got up feeling lost as to what was happening. He looked over to see Belfast trying her best to not break out in laughter after seeing the hilarious display before her.

"B-Belfast? What's going on?"

It took her a couple of seconds to compose herself before she spoke. "My apologies Master, but nothing else I had tried to do would wake you up ufufu."

"Well it worked ahaha…." He couldn't bring himself to feel upset of being woken up so abruptly since someone as pretty as Belfast took the time to wake him up herself.

"I almost wish it didn't, I had one more method in mind." She smiled.

"And what would that have been?" He asked out of curiosity.

She smiled warmly at him before looking intently at his lips and giving him a graceful curtsy.

Still half awake, it took him a second to realize what she was implying. Now flustered so early in the morning, he turned around and walked to the bathroom to cool down and freshen up. Coming back out, he noticed that Belfast had the same smile but now had a tray of pancakes, eggs, bacon, a cup of coffee, and a cup of tea in her hands.

"Care for some breakfast Master?"

"Oh, thank you Belfast, but you didn't need to-"

"Master, as I've said before, it is but simply a maid's duty to service her Master to her utmost capabilities." She said it matter-of-factly with a tone that left no room for argument.

Deciding to give in to Belfast, he thanked her once more before enjoying the breakfast she made for him on his computer desk.

"It may pale in comparison to your wonderful culinary skills, but I do hope that you will still enjoy it."

"Mhm!" He said after taking his first bite. "What do you mean Belfast? It's delicious!" He exclaimed before taking another bite.

"You flatter me Master." She smiled and bowed.

"I mean it though Belfast, if I had the option to, I'd rather always have your cooking over my own every day." He said as he was about to take another bite of his pancakes before he realized what exactly he just said.

Affinity up!

Belfast had an uncharacteristic light blush for a moment before a mischievous smile quickly replaced it. "Ara Master, is that a confession?" She asked completely smug now.

"U-um I- uh…" Shikikan forgot how to speak as he struggled to make a reply.

"Hehe, I'm just joking. Thank you for the kind words, but I must say, your troubled expression is quite adorable. Please do continue to look forward to my future services and performances Master."

"Ahaha….." He chuckled awkwardly. 'She's never going to let me live this down is she…' He sighed in his head.

Finishing up his breakfast and donning his commander attire, he made his way downstairs with Belfast to his office, where a massive pile of paperwork awaited him on his desk with Enterprise, Atago, Prinz Eugen, and Z23 sitting around the coffee table seemingly waiting for him.

"Good morning Shikikan, Onee-san was just about to come wake you up, but it looks like someone beat her to it." She said as she glanced over to Belfast who smiled and curtsied in response.

"Guten Morgen Herr Kommandant"

"Morning Shikikan."

"Morning everyone. What brings you all here so early in the morning?"

"Ara Shikikan, did you forget? Onee-san is your secretary ship." She said before walking up until their noses almost touched. "There's a lot of work to do today, but did you get enough sleep?" She asked while staring intently into his still sleepy eyes.

It took the Shikikan a few seconds to realize he was staring at her and that she was speaking to him. "H-Huh? Oh yeah, I'm good to go." He stuttered.

"Ufufu….Well then shall we get started then?" Atago giggled.

The Shikikan could've sworn he felt eyes boring into him as he made his way to his chair, but he decided to try and ignore that for now. "So, what about you girls?"

"…..I wanted to ask you about the fleet exercise plans." Enterprise stated.

"I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep so I decided to bother you." She smirked.

Z23 was cradling her right arm while looking away with a small frown. The Shikikan took note of this.

"Something on your mind Z23?" He asked

"Huh? Oh no I uhm…." She started before taking a deep breath. "Herr Kommandant! Please have me as your next secretary ship!" She exclaimed with high hope and determination.

Nobody expected her to make such a bold quest and it showed on everyone's faces, while Z23 had a rising blush on her face as she fidgeted and struggled to look anywhere but down.

"Hoo? Little Nimi's gotten quite bold." Prinz Eugen feigned surprise before a smug grin appeared causing Z23 blush to darken intensely.

"I- I mean we haven't been able to discuss or study the naval warfare books I recommended to you and I thought we could kill two birds with one stone if I was your secretary!" She blurted out all while flustered from being the center of attention.

"Are you sure it isn't because of some other reason Nimi?" Eugen asked mischievously before wrapping her arms around Z23 and hugging her from behind.

"E-Eugen-san!" She protested as she struggled to break free.

Shikikan blinked twice before looking over to Atago who only smiled in return, leaving the Shikikan alone with the decision. After a few more seconds he made up his mind.

"I'd love to have you as my next secretary ship Z23."

"R-really!? I-I mean I look forward to working with you Herr Kommandant!" She said with a bright adorable smile.

"Ara Shikikan, are you not happy with Onee-san as your secretary?" Atago had a cute pout and her arms crossed as she looked away with a 'hmph'.

"N-Not at all! You're amazing and really helped me these past couple of days, but I was just thinking of how you mentioned being the secretary ship doubles as a way for you girls and I to get to know each other better, you know?" He said frantically upon seeing her upset.

"Ufufu, just kidding Shikikan. Onee-san's really happy knowing that you listened to her." Atago giggled. "But in all seriousness, you're quite the popular topic amongst us and despite all of our differences, we all share a curiosity in wanting to get to know you better."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Onee-san will be a bit lonely, but once you've gotten to know everyone, On-I'll be more than happy to be your secretary forever wink." She said with a sincere smile.

The Shikikan was blushing after hearing what Atago said, especially the last part. 'Is me being a topic of discussion is a good thing…?' He wondered.

"Rest assured Master, after welcoming all of us so warmly and hearing of your deeds, we only have good things to say of you." Belfast stepped in as she seemingly read his mind.

"W-wait did I say that out loud?" He asked dumbstruck.

"Nope, but your facial expressions are pretty obvious." Eugen smirked, darkening the Shikikan's blush once more.

"Ara Shikikan, you're just too cute!" Atago said before pulling him into a hug and burying his face into her heavenly pillows.

'How strange, I all of a sudden want to go back to sleep…' He said in his mind before the office door swung open revealing Takao, Javelin, Ayanami, Laffey, and Akashi at the doorway.

"Oi Atago! Stop being so shameless so early in the morning!" Takao shouted with a heavy blush as she walked up and pulled her off the Shikikan.

"Ara ara Takao-chan, were you waiting for your chance to come in all this time?"

"N-no! I was going to ask Shikikan what today's plans were regarding exercises and commissions!"

"Then how come you're blushing so much Takao-chan wink?" Atago playfully asked causing Takao to turn as red a tomato and begin stomping over and out of the room with a giggling Atago in tow.

The Shikikan had an awkward smile seeing the display before him before remembering something.

"Oh wait before you go!" He spoke up causing the two and everyone else to look at him. "Since I have everyone here, I might as well make this announcement." He said before opening his desk drawer and pulling out four files each labeled with one of the four faction's emblems on it.

"A few days ago, I took the free time to walk around the base and inspected the dorms. I didn't get to fully look into them, but I couldn't help but get the feeling that they could use some more 'personality', per se, so here." He said before pushing the files forward for the girls to gather around the one with their faction emblem on it. "In short, I'm giving you girls the liberty to add whatever you want to your dorms, within the budget listed of course. In addition, I'm giving everyone a monthly allowance for your own benefits i.e. room decorations, food, clothes, etc. That said, the better you do on missions and the more MVP titles you claim, the higher your allowance will go." He informed them all before the room exploded in uproar.

"Shikikan you're the best nya!" Akashi said before jumping into the Shikikan's lap and rubbing her face against him much like a cat would, except she had coins and gems in her eyes all while doing so.

"Yay! Nimi! Ayanami! Laffey! We can go visit that fancy café downtown and try those tasty looking cakes they have! Thank you Shikikan!" Javelin said as she jumped into the Shikikan's arms.

"Shikikan, ey." Laffey said before following in Javelin's footsteps and tackling the Shikikan as well, causing him to fall over with her, Javelin, and Akashi all piled on top of him.

"Oi you three! Get off Herr Kommandant!" Z23 shouted as she helped them all off him, all while smiling happily.

"Shikikan, daijoubu?" Ayanami asked while offering her hand to help him up.

"Ahaha, yeah." He awkwardly laughed before grabbing onto her hand and getting up. "Thanks you two." He said before giving Ayanami and Z23 head pats.

"Looks like that training hall you, Ise, and Hyuuga wanted and the shrine hall Fusou and Yamashiro wanted to build was heard Takao-chan ufufu. Arigato Shikikan." Atago said as she hugged his arm.

"Arigato gozaimasu Shikikan! With a new training hall and on my honor, the Sakura Empire won't let you down during combat!" Takao said with sparks in her eyes and a happy grin.

"I was just wishing for a large bar to show up on base. Ich liebe dich Herr Kommandant wink." Eugen said before grabbing hold of his free arm and pressing herself against him all while smirking happily.

"S-Shikikan, are you sure? What about the base budget?" Enterprise said as she flipped through the file in her hand.

"Oh, don't worry, thanks to the commission rewards and a really generous gift from a few days ago, there's plenty of funds left over for emergencies and necessities even after the parties yesterday and this plan I came up with. Plus, you girls are risking your lives every day, the least I can do is make sure you all are living comfortably here.' He smiled.

Shikikan didn't notice, but his wristwatch and computer both had multiple 'Affinity Up' notifications for all of the girls present in the room.

"Master, on behalf of the Royal Navy, thank you for your generosity." Belfast smiled and bowed after quickly looking through all of the Royal Navy file's contents.

He smiled before realizing something. "Oh right, Enterprise, you said you wanted to ask me about the exercise plans?" He said as he looked over to her.

"Huh? Oh yeah!" She lightly blushed and coughed before continuing. "Could we do a joint exercise with everyone and you?"

Hearing this led everyone to stop and look at Enterprise and the Shikikan.

"Ho? Sounds interesting, looks like we can continue where we left off yesterday." Prinz Eugen still holding on to the Shikikan said while smirking at the ever so red Shikikan as she leaned forward a bit.

The girls who were present during the first joint exercise had determination in their eyes as they remembered that the one who performed the best gets to spend time with Shikikan.

"Did I miss something?" Enterprise asked as she and Belfast were at a loss. After informing them of the bet, sparks were flying as the entire room was filled with intense competitive and determined auras.

'I wanna go into town with Shikikan!' Javelin thought with fire in her eyes.

'This'll be my chance to study together with Herr Kommandant!' Z23 thought with a determined aura.

'Training with Shikikan…' Takao was blushing intensely before she too calmed down and steeled her resolve to get MVP.

'I wonder where we should have our date ufufu.' Atago happily and confidently brainstormed.

'Now that I think of it, besides with the starter squad, I haven't really done much combat commanding yet. Plus, this will be a good chance to see how well the girls can cooperate and work in teams with each other despite being from different factions.' He concluded in his head.

"Alright since everyone seems up for it, let's do it! Could you girls tell everyone what's happening and to meet at the docks in about two hours?"

"Yes sir!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Nya! Don't forget to stop by Nui Nui's and my stores for gear nya!" Akashi said with capitalistic intent on her mind.

The girls filed out of the room as they prepared for the joint exercise.

"Alright until then, time to get to work" He said before beginning to work on the papers in front of him.

After about an hour, the Shikikan managed to make a solid dent into the massive paperwork pile. 'I should probably prepare for the exercise too.' He thought before switching over to his computer, where he finally noticed all the notifications he got.

'Looks like everyone's affection level is well above 50 thankfully. But still, why title it 'affection level' though?' He pondered before going to another screen that listed all of the girls under his command. Clicking on one, he learned that he was able to look into each girl's stats, abilities, and registered equipped gear.

'Technology for the win!' He thought before going through the list and making notes on each of the girls.

'That didn't even feel like an hour, let alone two' He wondered as he was making his way to the docks where everyone was there and getting ready to go. Walking up to the group, the first to notice him was a certain tomboy.

"Yo Shikikan! I hope you're looking forward to this as much as I am!" Cleveland said as she and Helena were doing stretches for a warm-up session.

All eyes turned toward him upon hearing Cleveland, greeting him with nods, smiles, and waves.

"Actually yeah, this'll be a great way to see everyone in action and some." He happily replied.

"I overheard from everyone that the one who gets MVP in this joint exercise gets a prize! That said, what prize will I be getting Shikikan?" Hornet said with sheer playful confidence.

"Don't you mean what prize sister Sara is getting? A stage to perform on sounds pretty nice!" Saratoga chimed in, leading to the two carriers' competitive auras to flare up.

"Oh! A stage sounds pretty good, count me in!' San Diego added with sparkles in her eyes.

He smiled before noticing Graf Spee with her fellow Iron Blood nearby and remembered last night.

"Do your best out there everyone! We'll start once I make a round with everyone here." He said as he began making his way to Spee and the Iron Blood girls with her.

"Hey Graf Spee, were Akashi and Yuubari able to help you with your hands?" He asked as he casual walked up to her.

"Ja" She said before lifting up her huge mechanized hands that began to glow a bit before they were replaced by two normal hands befitting of her.

"I'm not used to this yet but still, vielen dank Herr Kommandant." She said with an adorable smile.

Patting her head, much to her surprise, the Shikikan smiled and spoke. "I'm glad everything worked out for you Graf Spee."

Affinity up!

'So warm and soothing…' Spee thought before blushing and shaking her head a bit so not to lose the warm touch. "You c-can just call me Spee Herr Kommandant." She spoke softly with her blush still very evident as she continued to enjoy the Shikikan's touch.

'She's absolutely adorable…' He blushed

"HAHAHAHAHA! My servant's been bewitched by my adorable schwester. But of course, who can't be!? AHAHAH-Ow!" Deutschland was brought to a halt thanks to Scharnhorst's fist hitting her on the head.

"Thank you for your kind treatment of Spee and us , Herr Kommandant." Gneisenau said with a small happy, yet sincere, smile.

"It was nothing really, as I told the others, you girls have to go through a lot, so the least I can do is offer some peace of mind to everyone."

"Hhmph, it's not like we needed your h-OW!" Hipper started before she too got whacked, but this time by Gneisenau.

"Ahaha…, well anyway we'll be starting soon so I'll let you girls finish getting ready." He said before walking away.

"Such a strange human, he treats us almost as if we are not just weapons of war." Z46 said as she watched the Shikikan walk away.

"It's because he doesn't see us as that." The group turned around to see Prinz Eugen sitting on a large crate drinking straight out of a large bottle of whiskey. Taking a large swig before continuing, "Nimi had overheard him during one of his calls about how he considered all of us as not weapons of destruction or as ships, but as normal women." She said as she had a small smile as she watched to Shikikan walk off towards the other girls and chatting with them as well.

The other Iron Blood girls went wide eyed hearing this.

"And you think he means what he said?" Scharnhorst asked.

"You saw him yourself, didn't you?" She replied before taking another large swig.

"Eugen's right, he's nice and seems trustworthy." Spee spoke up as she looked at her new hands.

"H-hmph! What? Are you two falling for him or something?" Hipper said as she turned away a bit, hiding a small smile that no one seemingly noticed.

"Who knows?" Eugen smirked.

"…I-I don't know." Spee honestly replied.

"W-wha!? Was my schwester the one bewitched instead!?" Deutschland shouted in surprise.

"Sigh, don't make me hit you again…" Scharnhorst said, putting a hand to her head, secretly covering a smile on her lips as well.

[Back to Shikikan]

'Looks like the Royal Navy girls are all over here.' He said as he saw them sitting around some tables enjoying some snacks and tea.

"Welcome Master, care for some tea?" Belfast smiled as she poured him a cup of tea.

"Thank you, Belfast." He said as he took the cup of Darjeeling tea brewed to perfection by the perfect head maid herself.

"Good day Milord." Illustrious smiled brilliantly, blindingly so as she elegantly sipped her tea.

"I'm looking forward to seeing if your commanding abilities match your cooking abilities Shikikan." KGV challenged him with confidence as she put down her cup.

Deciding to play along, he countered, "looks like we'll have to find out", with a small smirk of his own.

"Ho?" Her smile widened in interest.

"Looks like it'll be a fine day for a joint exercise after all." Wales chimed in with excitement apparent in her voice as well.

He chuckled a bit before he overheard clicking sounds and looking over to where it was coming from, he realized it was Sheffield inspecting and loading a pair of pistols in her hands as Edinburgh and Unicorn looked on in wonder. Her speed and efficiency in loading the guns was quite mesmerizing to now three onlookers.

"Master, it is quite rude to be staring at someone without permission." Sheffield said bluntly with a blank expression.

"Ahaha…..sorry, you just looked really cool and seemed to be having fun that I couldn't help but just admire you for a bit." He laughed awkwardly.

Affinity up!

An almost invisible blush appeared for a split second on Sheffield's face. "Is this your attempt at subterfuge before the joint exercise Master?"

The Shikikan couldn't help but smile seeing her without a blank expression for once.

"Um, Onii-chan?" Shikikan felt a small pull on his sleeve. Looking down, he noticed Unicorn, as adorable as ever.

"What's wrong?" He smiled as he crouched down to meet her at eye level and patted her head.

"C-can Unicorn be on Onii-chan's team?" She mustered up her confidence to ask.

"Sure, but is that okay with everyone else?" He said as he looked around to see what the others thought. They seemed to be looking at each other before nodding their heads and turning back to face him.

Wales decided to be the one to speak. "Shikikan, with the exception of Unicorn, we've received orders from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth herself, to ascertain your abilities as a commander. That said, we planned on using this joint exercise for the test. It's nothing against you Shikikan, but we j-"

"It's okay Wales, I understand the concern. Me being new to all of this isn't really reassuring to you girls who have to risk your lives under my command. So, with this exercise, I'm looking forward to putting everyone's concerns at ease." He smiled, unknowing that his eyes glistened with determination.

"Well said Shikikan!" KGV said standing up and brandishing her sword and holding it upwards. "It looks like we won't have to worry about holding back after all Wales."

"Heh, indeed. I hope you're ready to live up those words Shikikan." Wales said as she followed in KGV's footsteps and brandished her sword as well.

"Fret not Master, I'll escort you to Vestal once this is all over." Sheffield said as spun her guns in her hands and holstered them with ease.

'Yikes…, looks I stoked the fire a bit too much. I'm really going to have to bring my 'A', no 'S', game for this. ' He sweat dropped.

"D-don't worry Onii-chan, Unicorn will protect you!" Unicorn exclaimed as she moved herself in front of Shikikan.

"Aw, thanks Unicorn." He said as he patted the adorable girl's head.

"So this is where you were Shikikan." He turned around to see Shoukaku, Atago, Fusou, and Yamashiro walking up to him.

"I overheard the conversation you were having Shikikan. I'm looking forward to seeing how you'll live up to your bold words hehe." Shoukaku teased.

"I hope we aren't intruding Milord." Fusou chimed in.

"Nope, I was just about to head out to see if everyone finally arrived. Do you know where's everyone else from the Sakura Empire?" He asked looking around.

"Takao-chan decided to head out into the ocean over there to warm up with her katana and Zuikaku, Ise, and Hyuuga followed her." Atago explained as she pointed to where the four could be seen sparring with their blades clashing with each other.

'Even from this distance, I can tell I don't want to be anywhere near the receiving end of those swings…'

"Sniff sniff, something smells really good." Yamashiro said as she continued to sniff and walk forward until she lightly bumped into the Shikikan."Wa! Sorry Milord!"

"No worries." He said as he ruffled her hair a bit, leading to her ears perk upright.

"Ehehe, kimochi"

"Pardon the intrusion, but is it perhaps the tea or snacks? You're welcome to have some if you'd like." Belfast said with a tray full of tea and cookies in her hands.

"Sniff sniff, these smell good too! And really!? Thank you!" Yamashiro said as she took a cookie and happily ate it.

"Would the Sakura Empire ladies care to join us in some leisurely tea talk?" Illustrious invited.

"It would be our pleasure." Shoukaku said as she happily took some tea and sat down next to Illustrious and as Atago, Fusou, and Yamashiro followed suit.

"Enjoy your time ladies. Once I finish making this round, I'll signal for everyone to meet me on the docks." He said before heading out.

"Hmm.."

"What's wrong Yamashiro?" Fusou asked.

"Hmm? Oh! Sorry Nee-sama, I was just wondering what that nice smell near Milord was." Yamashiro pondered.

Putting the pieces together, the girls at the table couldn't help but giggle.

'Looks like I've got some competition' was a common thought among the girls present there. (A/N: Who in particular? Who knows? :D)

{Back to Shikikan a few minutes later:}

'Alright I think that's almost everyone.' He thought before he heard the sound of wings flapping and a sensation on his shoulder.

"Oh, hey Grim." He said as he petted the eagle.

"Heh, looks like Grim's really taken a liking to you."

Shikikan turned around to see Enterprise walking towards him with the starter squad, Eldridge, Akashi, Shiranui, Yuubari, and Shouhou in tow.

"Oh I was wondering where you girls were."

"We all were just feeding Grim lunch!" Javelin said as bubbly as ever.

"Are we almost ready Herr Kommandant?" Z23 asked.

"Laffey, wake up" Ayanami who was shouldering the sleepy bunny girl said as she shook her a bit.

"ZZz…Kay…." She responded sleepily.

"Yep, everyone's here so we can finally begin."

"I'll go let everyone know nya! Come help me Nui Nui!" Akashi said pulling a sighing Shiranui along.

"Goshujin" Yuubari said getting the Shikikan's attention. "I took the liberty to modify the rocket shoes Akashi made. These should last much longer and be easier to control." She said handing him the improved rocket shoes.

"Oh! Thank you Yuubari!" He said excitedly while happily patting her on the head.

"If Goshujin wants, I can modify your cruiser with some more of Yuubari's inventions for this exercise." She said with stars in her eyes since it would be perfect for her to test them out.

"What type of inventions do you have in mind?" He asked before she whispered secretively into his ear.

'Looks like I just got some secret weapons.' He happily thought as all sorts of strategies and plans appeared in his head "Sounds good! Please do!" He eagerly requested.

"Ufufu, it'll only take a few minutes to install everything so leave it to me!" She said before dashing off to his cruiser.

A few moments later…

"Ahem nya! Attention everyone! We are ready to begin the joint exercise nya! Please gather in front of the docks nya!" Akashi said voice could be heard through multiple speakers set up around the base.

Hearing this all the girls, made their way to where the Shikikan was.

"So, for today's exercise, I'll be today's commentator nya! Here with me today will be Nui Nui, who'll be helping me commentate and explain the rules of today's exercise nya!"

"Sigh fine…ahem, the rules are simple. The Shikikan along with a few select kansen will go against the rest of the fleet here in this war game. Everyone will be given both a blue ribbon and a red ribbon to wear. Blue means you're on the Shikikan's team while red means the opposite. The goal is to completely void the opposing side of any of their ribbons."

"In addition, nya, if you get your ribbon stolen, surrender, or are deemed by us commentators that you have lost, you have to switch ribbons and join the other side nya! First side void of ribbons loses nya!"

"Yikes, I'd hate to be in your shoes Shikikan ahaha…" Hornet laughed awkwardly.

"Finally, we have a word from Vestal who will be taking care of any and all injuries nya!"

"Hello everyone! Even though everyone will be using blanks, they'll still hurt if you aren't careful! I'll be monitoring everyone so once Akashi or I deem you unfit to continue, come to me for repairs. Good luck!"

"And don't forget nya! Whoever gets MVP today will have their wish, within reason of course, granted nya!"

"So who's on the obvious losing side?" Hipper said as she jammed a finger at the Shikikan.

"Since you're at a pretty big disadvantage here Shikikan go ahead and choose any 10 kansen to join your side nya."

For a while now, the Shikikan had been quietly brainstorming. 'I could just ask the strongest members of each fleet to join my side, but this exercise doubles as a way to show everyone my capabilities as commander so doing that will prove nothing.' He spent a few more seconds putting everything together before he made up his mind on how to win and who to pick.

"I pick Ayanami, Z23, Javelin, Laffey, Yuubari, and Unicorn for my team. That'll be it for me." He announced boldly with a confident smile.

A few seconds later…

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?" The dockyard exploded in surprise.

"Is this what the phrase 'digging one's own grave' means?" Z46 questioned sincerely.

"Nya!? Shikikan, are you sure? You're only adding more opponents by not filling up your roster nya!"

"I can't tell if you're confusing bravery for foolishness Shikikan." Wales sighed.

"Has the pressure gotten to you dummkopf?" Hipper chastised.

"Not at all. It might not sound very convincing, but well…, you'll all see for yourselves. Plus, I'm hoping that me winning this will help alleviate everyone's worries about being under my command." He said with utter sincerity.

"Ho? Even with all of us against you, you think you'll have a chance of winning? How amusing, I'm in." Deutschland laughed.

"Heh, you're much bolder than I thought you'd be Shikikan. That said, I'm still going all out. I hope your ready." Enterprise seemed to be amused as well.

"I admire your bravery Shikikan, but even this just seems reckless to me." Ise shook her head.

The Shikikan's smile did not falter one bit, but instead turned into a confident smirk. "Don't worry about me or feel like you have to hold back, especially since you'll be on my side before you know it if you do. Let's go set up blue team." He said before heading out with his team in tow.

"Those are some bold fighting words Herr Kommandant, I like it ahaha!" Scharnhorst laughed

"I can't help but shake the feeling he's got something planned..." Gneisenau was in deep thought.

"Um, well then nya! We'll be using this entire ocean for the exercise today, but the Manjuus will be posted at the edges of where the boundaries will be so don't go past them nya! You'll all be starting here while the Shikikan heads out first nya!"

"We'll start once the Shikikan gives us the signal that he's ready." Shiranui added.

{With the Shikikan}

The Shikikan and his team were currently walking towards where his cruiser was docked. Upon arrival, they noticed Yuubari looking intently at a clipboard.

"Hey Yuubari, were you able to set everything up?" He asked making his way to her.

"Perfect timing Goshujin! I just finished setting everything up! Here's a list of all of the inventions I mentioned." She said as she handed him the clipboard with images and descriptions of the 3 prototype weapons she installed onto the cruiser and 3 other prototype equipment she had at the ready.

He could feel his smile growing bigger and bigger as he skimmed through the papers. "This is perfect Yuubari! If we win today, I'm definitely nominating you for MVP!" He exclaimed as he hugged her.

Affinity Up!

"Wa! Goshujin! I'm glad you like them, but this is embarrassing in front of everyone!" She was blushing up a storm.

"Aha, sorry about that Yuubari, but still thank you for the help. Now let's go win this everyone!"

"Yeah!" Everyone chanted before climbing aboard his cruiser and sailing out.

"So Herr Kommandant, what exactly is our battle plan?" Z23 asked.

"Are we going to be like ninjas and ambush them!?" Javelin asked with her, Ayanami's, and Laffey's hands in tiger hand signs.

"Nope but that does sound fun." He chuckled before getting serious and carefully explaining them the plan. After about ten minutes had passed and their destination in view, he had thoroughly filled them all in.

"Wow…" Z23 was awestruck.

"Shikikan, how long have you been planning all of this?" Ayanami asked as she too was surprised.

"Since this morning, why do you ask?" He smiled.

"I-It's just…." She wasn't sure how to describe it.

"So well thought out!" Javelin chimed in as she had sparkles in her eyes.

"Laffey…ready to release limiters!" Even Laffey surprisingly showed signs of excitement instead of sleepiness.

"Even though a lot of the plan is based on assumptions and guesses, I have to agree with Javelin since this just might work! Well done Herr Kommandant!" Z23 praised him.

"Thanks everyone! I'm hoping to impress and earn everyone's trust today, so I decided that it's all or nothing right now."

"Onii-chan is so cool!" Unicorn thought out loud.

"Heh, thanks Unicorn." He said patting her head briefly before walking to the bow of the cruiser. "Well then, shall we begin?"

"Yeah!" Everyone said as they summoned their riggings and excitement filled the air.

"Alrighty then!" He said as he radioed Akashi. "All set Akashi!"

{With the others still on base}

"Roger nya!" She said as she turned on her microphone. "The Shikikan's team is ready! Prepare to sortie everyone nya!"

"Time to see what the Shikikan is made of everyone! Remember, do not hold back and show the Shikikan the glory that is the Royal Navy!" KGV exclaimed as she brandished her sword, jumped into the waters, and sailed out with the rest of the Royal Navy following her lead.

"If she thinks we're just going to sit back and let the Royal Navy get to Herr Kommandant first then she's got another thing coming! Let's go! Hail Iron Blood!" Scharnhorst announced as she led the Iron Bloods out in search of the Shikikan's team.

"Alright everyone! For the sake of our livelihood and future, let us show the Shikikan the extent of the Sakura Empire's power and see how he fairs hehe!" Shoukaku chuckled before playing her flute, signaling the rest of the Sakura Empire to charge out.

"Any luck Helena?" Cleveland asked the blunette as she was using her SG radar to find the Shikikan.

"Strange, with the boundaries set for this exercise, he should be within SG's detection radius, but all I'm picking up is static."

"Hmm? Could this be Shikikan's doing?" Saratoga guessed.

"Heh, looks like the Shikikan means business if he took the time to jam Helena's radar scans." Hornet smirked.

"Looks like we're doing this the old-fashioned way then. Warriors of the Eagle Union, move out!" Enterprise shouted as she led the Eagles out to find the Shikikan.

Last but not least were the two representatives from the Dragon Empery.

"Ping Hai! Hurry up! The exercise has already started, and everyone's long gone!" Ning Hai shouted as her sister was munching on a baozi.

"Kayyyy." She said as she stuffed the last big bite into her mouth. "Okay, let's go Nee-chan!"

"Sigh, even though the Shikikan's against all four major factions, we still don't get an advantage since it's just us two right now…..Wait no! Complaining does nothing! Ahem! What I meant to say is that even though it's just us, we will be the ones getting the MVP prize-wait, Ping Hai where'd you go?" She stopped and looked around.

"Nee-chan we need to catch up to everyone else! Also, I found this bun in your pocket so thank you! Gnom." She said as bit into the bun and was in the near distance already sailing off.

"Ping Hai! Wait for me! Also stop eating my buns!" She said as she dashed off to catch up to her younger sister.

{Back to the Shikikan}

"Well girls, time to put this plan into action, let's move out!" He said as he waved his swung his arm out forward.

"Yes sir!" They all shouted in unison before setting the plan into motion.


Hello again everyone! Feels good to be back! Life got in the way again but I'm back and well into the next chapter already!

So who's excited for the new Russian ships!? I sure know I am! And of course, the other factions including the new Northern Parliament shipfus will be making their way into this fanfic, in due time of course!

I'm really hoping y'all are still enjoying my fanfic as much as I'm still enjoying writing it whenever I can and are looking forward to the action next chapter!

Thank you so much again for your favs, follows, comments, and patience with my erratic pace!

So, what plan(s) has the Shikikan set up for the girls? Will he turn out victorious and earn their trust, or will he flop and be forced into a walk of shame? Tune in next time to find out on An Unsung Legend Chapter 9: The Shikikan!