Chapter Three: Getting Out There

An entire month had passed since König had first arrived at Azur Lane and joined the Ironblood. He had truly settled into his new path of life, though he had to thank the people around him a lot for that. First and foremost being Bismarck and Tirpitz of course. He continued to train regularly with the two of them supervising him. After a week of continuous training in his basic's they also began sparring with him as well. Which ended with him getting his ass thoroughly kicked by the sisters, not that it was too surprising. Fighting in a sortie team and fighting on your own were very different things. Mainly the fact that melee combat was far more common in a one vs one match-up.

Apparently, both sisters had swords they could summon up with their riggings when the need arose. Something he had no clue about until his first spar with Tirpitz and she pulled it out on him. König meanwhile possessed no melee weapon of his own, though he was lent a sword for spar purposes. Sadly, it quickly turned out he didn't have any sort of talent in utilizing a traditional blade. So he decided he needed to develop something that he felt would be suitable for him. To help with this he went to one of the Ironbloods resident tech-heads and faction tsundere. Namely the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper.

König quickly learned that despite the tsundere attitude of hers, Hipper was pretty alright to be around. He felt that her attitude had more to do with her insecurities towards herself. Namely, unlike her sister Eugen, Hipper happened to be flatter than an aircraft carrier's flight deck. That aside the two worked together on figuring on something for melee combat. Ultimately, König found inspiration from a movie he saw as a kid. Thus he replaced his fingerless gloves with a set of fingerless gauntlets. That, when activated a katar blade that would slide out overtop his hand and extend out a decent length. König quickly discovered after some time practicing on his own, that he really liked the setup.

He had made a few friends as well within the Ironblood. Z23 was someone he quickly found hanging out within the dorm when opportunity permitted. The young adult-like destroyer was one for intelligent conversation. The two found themselves generally getting into long discussions about various topics of history. Prinz Heinrich was another person he had begun building a friendship with. Her fun-loving energetic ness was rather infectious. He also had, much to surprise everyone started up a friendship with Roon. While he had been warned ahead of time about the heavy cruiser's more vicious tendencies. He found that Roon was rather well-behaved and even pleasant to be around. As long as one knew not to hit her triggers, which mainly revolved around her obsession with the commander.

Roon had approached him first, interested in the fact he was a ship like herself, had never actually existed in history. Technically there had been a German ship in the first world war named König. That ship had been a dreadnaught-class battleship, he had taken his name after it. It was also why he used a Reichsadler from the time of the German empire on his uniform. None the less he and Roon had built an odd sense of kinship due to their unique statuses. In the time he had been there he had also struck up a friendship with the submarine U-556. He had to admit it was hard not to like the subs' joyful and energetic child-like nature. U-556 or Parzival as she was also known. Even joined him in his training and gave some very helpful tips on proper torpedo usage. He had to admit, he was glad how he was building himself up a new home in the Ironblood.

Though there were still a few members who seemed wary of him.

While Hipper was alright, he still had his own reservation on Eugen. Every time she was in his presence, she always seemed to be eyeing him like some kind of puzzle. It made him wonder if she somehow suspected who he really was, as seemingly impossible as that was. Then there was the aircraft carrier Graf Zepplin. The woman seemed to be completely indifferent to him for the time being. He quickly picked up that she was a nihilist to the extreme. That probably explained a lot of her attitude towards him. Though Heinrich insisted that once he got out and started doing sorties and proved himself. The grumpy aircraft carrier would come around and warm up to him or whatever constituted that for her. Then some relations were something else.

Friedrich der Grosse was the team mom of the Ironblood and she certainly played the role for him. While she wasn't necessarily clingy, she did hover around him more than the rest. That may have had something to with her viewing him as her precious one and only son. Somedays he would simply relax in the common room after training and wind up taking nap. He then would wake to find his head was resting comfortably on her thighs as a makeshift pillow. While she simply stroked his hair gently while having a motherly look in her eyes. When schedules lined up she would have a drink and snack ready for him. When he returned from his training and would politely discuss his training with him.

König for his part in all blunt honesty completely enjoyed the treatment. While it was a little odd at first, though in a good way. After the first week of it, he simply accepted it for what it was and rolled with it. He never had any kind of mother figure in his life before. So finally having one was something he found himself very much enjoying. It also helped that Der Grosse was very good at the motherly role. Heinrich had begun joking with him that he would soon enough just simply start referring to the battleship as his mother. Heinrich wasn't wrong either when she said that.

Then there was Bismarck and Tirpitz themselves, which was a bit of a conundrum. Both had been diligent and patient with him as they instructed and mentored him. While they never went easy on him, they were never overly harsh either. They both were as firm as they needed to be and seemed rather understanding of him. Bismarck especially, though that had a lot to do with her being privy to the specifics of his situation. Bismarck always listened intently to what he had questions about and would answer swiftly. She was thorough with her instructions and made sure he always fully understood.

Tirpitz on the other hand had taken it upon herself to be his tutor. Most days in the afternoon Tirpitz would meet up with him. She would assist him with the studying of offensive, defensive, and support studies. As well as general tactics and strategy. These would come to end with the two generally playing a few friendly games of chess. Which he had always lost to date, the woman was a damn prodigy it seemed at the game.

The hybrid and the sisters had certainly gained friendly terms with one another. More so than just a simple subordinate and superior relationship. Though he dismissed the notion of anything even remotely romantic. He knew whatever sort of relationship was steadily building up, had nothing revolving around that. Whatever it was he didn't mind it and from what he could tell, neither did the sisters. All in all, things were going pretty well for him in the Ironblood. The rest of Azur Lane was a slightly different story.

To put it simply, he had yet to actually interact with anyone outside the Ironblood, that wasn't Vestal or the Commander. Bismarck and Maruyama both seemed to rather want him up to speed with things. Before they went and introduced him to the rest of the port. Which was probably for the best when the hybrid gave it thought. He had heard from the others that were quite a few intense personalities within the various other factions.

König was currently lounging in his room sitting at his desk. After getting all his things he had really made the room his own. Band posters on the wall and other personal items adorned all around. His stereo system was set up on top of his dresser, just name some things in particular. Not to mention the more important personal items he kept stored. Such as the old-looking journal that he was currently reading from. Sitting on top of his desk was also an old Iron cross from the first world war. Both items had belonged to his great-grandfather on his father's side.

The journal in particular had entries in it that ranged from the late 1930s to the early 1940s. He had taken up reading it after making his choice to join the Ironblood. Though he made sure to keep it locked up securely when he was out of his room. No doubt everyone in the Ironblood would find it interesting, especially Bismarck. He was broken out of his reading by a knock at his door. Tucking both items away in a desk draw and locking it. He put his mask back on and made his way to the door. Opening it up he was greeted by the sight of Z23.

"Guten Tag Nimi, need me for something by chance?" Stated the hybrid.

"Hello König, I'm here with a message from the Kommandantin." Nimi politely replied. "She requires you in her office as soon as possible."

König raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "I'll head my way there immediately, perhaps I'm finally being put on my first sortie? Lord Bismarck has been pushing for a few days now to have me put on one."

"I don't know the details, so you'll just have to head there." The destroyer quipped in return.

"Then I'd best get going." With that said, Nimi gave a quick goodbye and he closed up his room and made his way to the commander's office. It was a sunny day with a light breeze in the middle of springtime. It made for a pleasant stroll, and he made good time to his destination. Fun fact the commander's building doubled as both her office and home. With her office on the bottom level and the home section on the second level. As he entered the building, he found himself in a small room right in front of Maruyama's office. Before him, was a desk that was being occupied by the secretary of the week.

It was a woman in a black and red kimono-like outfit. She had animal-like features, specifically those of a fox. She had fox ears and nine rather large fluffy tails all colored a rich brown like her long hair. Her eyes were a ruby red color with red marking on the edges of her eyes. She was obviously from the Sakura Empire; she took notice of him the moment he walked in. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise before her face took a thoughtful look. König couldn't help but feel there was something a little predatory in the look she was giving him. He decided that he should make the first move.

"Battleship König of the Ironblood reporting as per orders."

The fox woman steadily rose from her seat and made her way towards him like some kind of predator. A small smile graced her face, though it held no warmth towards him as she then began circling him.

"So the rumors are true then, what a surprise indeed." She stated in a soft yet strong tone of voice. "When I heard some of the Ironblood girls mention a male kansen joining their ranks. I honestly assumed it was made up as a funny little joke."

"I can see that; I wouldn't believe it at first either. Though you have me at a disadvantage, who are you?" König replied in an even tone.

"Ah, how rude of me. I'm Akagi, an aircraft carrier of the Sakura Empire's 1st carrier division. What business do you have my dear Shikikan?"

"I was told to come over and see the Kommandantin as soon as I could. For what purpose I do not know."

"I see, I see, though that all seems a tad suspicious," Akagi replied as her eyes narrowed a bit. "Dealing with all the pests around port who vi for my Shikikan's attention is one thing. Them all being women is another thing but, a man like you is an unexpected annoyance." She hissed out. "How do I know you're not trying to have some sort of tryst with my beloved?" Akagi stopped in front of him her face only inches from his own. A dangerous look in her eyes as she brought up a clawed hand and placed it near his neck.

König didn't allow the fox's intimidation to get to him and met her gaze with his own unwavering one. Then ever so calmly, he raised a hand pushed away, the one Akagi had near his neck. The aircraft carrier just watched, seemingly amused by the whole act.

"Let me explain this, you yandere. I have zero romantic interest in the Kommandantin. While yes I do care for her, for reasons that are my own. It's strictly platonic I assure you. So you can stop with your misplaced thoughts. Now if you'd be so kind, I'd hate to keep her waiting further." The hybrid firmly spoke not backing down at all to Akagi.

Akagi narrowed her eyes once more and remained silent for few moments before chuckling a bit. "Very well, I'm willing to accept your word for now. Though if you're lying there will be dire consequences." The fox woman merely replied before turning towards the commander's door.

"Oh, and one more thing," König called out, as Akagi turned around. There was the unexpected sound of sliding metal, and the fox found a blade mere inches from her face. König narrowed his own eyes and spoke in a low and dangerous tone of his own. "Threaten me like that again and I'll take a few of your tails for my wall."

Akagi looked back in mild surprise for a few moments before an odd expression crossed her face. An expression that told she was entertained by the whole display if anything. "You are going to be a rather amusing one to have, hanging around the port." The fox spoke before chuckling lightly to herself and turned on her heel to the commander's door. "Shikikan, König of the Ironblood is here to see you as you requested," Akagi called out as she opened the door.

"Ah good, send him in." The hybrid heard Maruyama reply in return, he strode forward and made his way into the office. Not bothering to look at the fox woman and stopped in front of the desk inside, snapping a salute.

"Good to see you here promptly König." Piped up the Japanese-American woman as she returned the salute. "Akagi, if you'd you leave us be, we have business to discuss." Akagi looked to voice some sort of objection to leaving the two alone but was quickly cut off. "Akagi, what we have to discuss is strictly between the two of us," Maruyama said in a firm tone. The fox seemed to be taken aback for a moment before nodding her head, closing the door behind her as she left.

"Well she's certainly a character now, isn't she?" König snarked after a moment.

Maruyama couldn't help but give out a sigh. "Apologies, I should have warned you ahead of time about Akagi. She can be rather obsessive and overly protective about me."

"So I noticed that woman would love nothing more than to get in bed with you I dare say."

The Eagle Union officer laughed a bit at that. "No doubt she would, the ironic thing about that. The only person in port I have any inclination to potentially get into a committed relationship with. Would be Akagi's sister Amagi."

König couldn't stop the snort of amusement from escaping him. "Mein Gott, that is fantastic, I hope to see her face when she finds that one out. Regardless, it would be best to get down business as to why you called me here."

"Of course," The commander spoke, gesturing to the chair in front of her desk. Once he was situated, she began to explain. "Bismarck has been keeping me regularly updated on the progress of your training and studies. I must admit I'm rather impressed with your quick acclimation to everything."

"I hate to disappoint and keeping focused on the task in front of me. Help keep the more sad and depressing thoughts from being prominent in my mind." Was König's simple retort.

Maruyama had a somewhat somber expression cross her face. "A feeling I understand all too well." She softly spoke before reverting back to a more cheerful expression. "Anyways, the reason I called you here is that after discussing the matter with Bismarck. We feel you're ready to go out on your very first sortie. It won't be anything major, a simple patrol with a few other Ironblood kansen. Your role will be that of the flagship."

König blinked a few times as he processed that last bit. "You want me as flagship on my first sortie? I know it's not that major of one but still."

Maruyama smirked a little bit at the response of the hybrid. "Bismarck and I both feel it would make for a good little test on leadership capabilities. As for the rest of your team on the sortie. It will be composed of Weser, Heinrich, and Nürnberg, you have a few hours from now before you depart."

"Then I'll see those preparations begin at once." He simply replied as stood from his chair. "Till we meet again Kommandantin."

"Till next time König, I look forward to hearing of your success."

With that spoken, he wasted no time making his way back to the Ironblood dorms and gathering the rest of his sortie team. A few hours later his team was gathered at the docks preparing to head out. Heinrich was her usual energetic self, Nürnberg despite appearance was, in fact, Leipzig's younger sister and possessed some of the shyness she did. Weser meanwhile was calm, collected, and patiently waiting to move out. Some of the other members of the Ironblood were there to see him off for his first sortie.

"You have everything in order?" Tirpitz questioned the hybrid.

"Ja, ammo is fully stocked, radios are in good order and, we know the route of our patrol. You seem more worried about this sortie than I am, and I'm the one heading out on it." König retorted.

"I- I just merely wish to see you succeed is all. Your performance will be a direct reflection of me and my sister's tutelage after all." The battleship stammered out.

"Then I'll be sure to perform to you and Lord Bismarck's expectations," König replied with some mirth in his voice. "Hail Ironblood"

"Hail Ironblood König."

The Hybrid spun on his heel and joined his team. They made their way to the water's edge and summoned their riggings and took their spots. After taking a quick moment to ensure everything was in proper order. The sortie took off from port and out to the open sea.

A few hours and the patrol was, to simply put uneventful for time being. Not that he honestly expected too much from what he had been told about it. None the less he made sure his team kept alert, one couldn't be too careful when it came to the sirens after all. They had just finished the main route of the patrol and began to make the turn back towards port. Then suddenly a distress signal made its presence known to their receivers.

"Where's that signal coming from and who might it be?" König questioned.

"The distress signal is coming not too far from here, it's northeast of us." Weser quickly answered "If I recall the patrol schedule correctly. It should be a patrol team of a few Royal Navy girls and one of our subs, U-556 I believe."

"Oh, shit" König muttered to himself. It was well known how close a friendship Bismarck and U-556 had. If something were to happen to the submarine, Bismarck would take such news poorly. Not that he hadn't already planned to divert his team to the distress signal once it came in. The fact that Parzival was caught up in the mess was simply added incentive.

"We're the closest to the distress signal, let's make our way there and quickly." The hybrid firmly ordered, and the group took off as fast as they could to the distress signal location. "What the hell is U-556 doing randomly with a team of Royal Navy girls?"

"Kommandantin likes to make patrol and commission teams mixed with girls of various groups. She believes it breeds good cooperation between the different factions." Weser swiftly spoke up. "She probably didn't do it for our team since it's your first sortie."

"Once we make visual with the enemy, I'll open fire with my main guns. Weser you launch your planes as I begin. Heinrich and Nürnberg you immediately follow up and support. Our main objective is to ensure the safety of the other patrol team. Depending on their condition, and the size of the enemy force. If we have to quickly secure them and fall back, so be it. I don't want this situation to spiral out of control any more than it already seemingly has." König spoke up and received nods of understanding from his team.

Soon enough they began to receive visuals of their target area and the other team came into focus. He saw that two of them looked to be dressed as maids, both with long white hair. The only real difference between them from a distance was that one wore glasses. The other looked to be some sort of battleship. She had long blond hair and wore an outfit of blue, white, gold. She also wore a white hat and a small cape that was styled to resemble the union jack. There was no sign of U-556 though she was most likely submerged or at least he hoped.

His eyes quickly darted to enemy forces and saw they were composed of quite a lot of mass-produced siren vessels. Clearly, it was a fight of quantity vs quality and had put the other patrol team on their heels. His team's arrival to help certainly put the edge in their favor. As they neared König took aim with his main guns and prepared his salvo.

"FEUER!" König yelled out as his guns screamed to life launching their destructive payload at the heart of the enemy forces. A good chunk of the siren fleet was engulfed in a blast of black and red. Rendering the ships caught in the blast as twisted wrecks of scrap that soon sank beneath the waves. To his side, he heard Weser's plane roar to life as they took off and begin their bombardment.

The Royal Navy girls quickly looked in surprise at his team's direction. Their gazes all seemed to zero on him directly for a moment before snapping back to the situation at hand. Clearly, they realized whatever questions they had would have to wait until after the battle was won. Heinrich and Nürnberg immediately went up and began supporting the maids. He and Weser took position next to the other Royal Navy kansen. Nothing was said as they all focused on the siren forces launching multiple salvos and airstrikes. It could have only been a few minutes within their arrival but in that time. Both teams working together quickly rendered the enemy into smoldering wreckage.

Taking a look around the battlefield one simple question rose to his mind. "Where's U-556 I wonder?" The hybrid spoke out loud.

"König!" A child-like cry called out from behind, he barely had time to turn around. Right before he was tackled into a hug by a certain submarine.

"Oof! Nice to see you're ok U-556." König took a good look at the sub and despite a few marks here and there. She didn't look too worse for wear thankfully.

"I was beginning to worry someone wouldn't show up in time. There was a fog in the area, and we couldn't detect anything. Before we knew it, we were suddenly outnumbered and under attack." U-556 explained.

"Might be a mirror sea nearby, though those are questions for later. We should get you and everyone else back to port, and looked over by Vestal. No doubt your distress made it back there. Lord Bismarck is probably worried sick about you."

Parzival couldn't keep herself from gasping in shock at that remark. "You're right, we should report to Lord Bismarck at once!"

"We will Parzival but first we should check on the others and then we'll head out," König spoke reassuringly as he patted the subs head. He then turned his attention to the Royal Navy girls who were gathered together. He noticed they were eyeing him with curiosity and caution. Not that it was surprising to him he would be getting that from everyone as time went on. "Greeting ladies, I'm König, a battleship of the Ironblood. I trust that you weren't hurt too much by the enemy before we could arrive?"

The three women seemed unsure what to say for a moment before the one with blond hair came forward. He couldn't help but take note that her eyes a sparkling blue, were rather captivating. He was broken out of his mental thoughts when she spoke up.

"Hello, König I'm HMS Hood, battlecruiser of her majesties navy." Hood greeted politely with a slight curtsey. König quickly noted her voice had a lovely English accent as she continued speaking. "Next to me are cruisers Belfast and Edinburgh, some of her majesties royal maids." The two mentioned gave polite curtsies of their own. Which he gave a polite nod of his head to both in return. "Thanks to your teams' timely arrival we escaped without any serious injury." Hood paused for a moment before continuing. "Forgive me, while I do not wish to be rude, but I can't help but question your rather unique construction. None of us have ever heard of, let alone seen a male kansen before." Hood politely stated.

König laughed a little and rubbed the back of his head. "Don't worry about it, I honestly fully expected the questioning. Long story short, I'm part siren due to my unusual construction. I can't speak much more on the matter than that, orders from the Kommandantin and all that."

Hood gave a small disarming smile in return and the others seemed to accept his answer as well. "Of course I understand, I thank you for answering what you could. For now, perhaps we should make our way back to port. No doubt our superiors would very much like to hear our reports on what transpired here."

"Oh yeah, that is something we should probably do." König chirped trying to act as though he hadn't forgotten that part. Soon enough both groups took off together back to port. Once they were far out of view of the battlefield, a portal opened up and, a figure emerged from it.

They had the appearance of a young girl with very long white hair and yellow eyes. She rode on rigging that was black and yellow with multiple cannons and tentacles. One of the elite sirens, the Observer.

"Now, this is quite a surprise," Observer spoke to herself before giggling in amusement. "Out of all the different timelines, out the countless upon countless simulations. Never has anyone like you ever been anticipated, let alone seen to exist. You'll be very fun to watch indeed. Just what changes will you bring, oh dear king?" The Observer stated with an ominous tone before breaking into a fit of giggling in mad delight.