Chapter Eight

"I told you, it was an accident, and I'm sorry about it."

"I do not dispute the cause or your guilt regarding it, Captain DeWolf," I replied, "but just because I accept those truths, it does not mean that I must immediately forgive your… transgressions."

"You're welcome to keep being upset with me, but I'd like it if your friend would stop hovering over me with her sword like she's about to take my head off."

Against my desire to find the darkest hole in the ship to hide in, I chose to remain with Captain DeWolf after the initial debacle had been settled. It was a good thing that Kawakaze hadn't been with us, otherwise she probably would've executed the officer right on the spot for his sacrilege. Instead, he was just dragged out of the cabin while I frantically put my robes back on. From there we should've brought him back to the infirmary, but for some reason I decided to heed his original request and he was brought to the flight deck for some fresh air. He sat on the ground, in the shadow of the island, while I stood off to the side and made sure to keep a safe distance between us.

Despite all of Akagi's warnings, I was still somehow caught off-guard by this man's perversions. To think he would be so bold as to strip off my clothing when I tried to help him! I still wasn't entirely convinced of his claim that it was an accident, but in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, I had no other choice. To do otherwise would cause a ruckus, and that was hardly the behaviour to be expected of miko. However, while I had to maintain a dignified response, the same was not true for Choshu, who loomed nearby with one hand visibly resting on the hilt of her blade.

"Nagato is the Head Miko of the Sakura Empire," Choshu informed him while making a deliberate effort to walk through his field of vision with her sword in plain sight. "She is the Divine Oracle, through whom the will of the Heavens is known. Your lechery is not only an insult to her, it is an offense to the entire Empire." She suddenly snapped towards him and jabbed him in the chest with her finger, strong enough to make him wince. "I have half a mind to cleanse her shame with your blood!"

"Choshu, that is quite enough," I interrupted. Though I did mirror some of her sentiments, there had been enough suffering for the time being. "I had no idea you held our religious institutions in such high regard."

"I am merely being offended on your behalf, since you seem unwilling to correct this injustice."

While a part of me did wish for reparations, I had no interest in using the Captain's blood as a means for it. I would have preferred to just forget about the whole incident as just the mere thought of it brought enough embarrassment to fluster my face. Realizing I was about to fall into another mental spiral, I slapped my cheeks to reset my senses, although that just made everyone give me a puzzled stare.

"Are you sure you are okay, Lady Nagato?" The concern came from Akagi, who had joined us on the flight deck out of what I could only presume to be a perverse sense of curiosity.

"Just purging some wicked thoughts."

Akagi hadn't been the only person brought out from the incident, as we had also been joined by Dr. Donaldson, who was busy giving DeWolf a quick examination. He did, after all, face-plant the deck plating at the same time as he humiliated me. I should've been more concerned about his health, but given the circumstances a bloodied nose was just karma in action.

"Well, you look to be okay, Captain," the doctor reported once he finished his examination. "I would suggest you get back to bed and get some more rest. Did you manage to get something to eat?"

"I don't need food, I just need some fresh air," DeWolf insisted, repeating the increasingly familiar line. The way he was hunched over with a pale complexion and deep breaths suggested even to me, a kansen with little medical experience, that he wasn't as well as he insisted.

"He barely touched breakfast. Maybe half of the porridge," I informed the doctor just to make sure there was no ambiguity over how little the captain had beforehand.

The doctor shot DeWolf the kind of look that gave me the impression that this was not the first time they had a conversation like this. "You might be fooling them, but you ain't fooling me," he said with a hint of disappointment. With a resigned sigh, he got up and turned to head back inside. "When he's feeling better, make sure he gets something to eat. And don't take no for an answer, no matter how much he whines."

DeWolf waited until Donaldson had gone back inside before he groaned in dismay. "I really should get a new doctor. Preferably one with less sass," he said in a tone that felt born more out of familiarity than contempt.

Out of the blue, Akagi then just let out a mirthful laugh. "My, my, what an amusing family we have here," she mused. "One brother who gets bitten due to unrestrained curiosity, and another who tears off a girl's robes out of stubborn pride."

"He was injured," I replied, although I had no idea why I chose to defend his honour. "It is not uncommon for people to underestimate their strength. As he said, it was an… accident."

"If only it were that simple." Another playful giggle floated from her lips as she stepped closer to the captain. She then reached out and just gently ruffled his matted hair with one hand. "Injuries aren't what's ailing our dear guest. Just look at him: pallor… a loss of appetite… slow, heavy respiration… a need to be outdoors. It's pretty obvious that he's seasick. Aren't you, Mr. DeWolf?"

"What? That's ridiculous!" Choshu said, followed by a dismissive scoff. "A naval officer that gets seasick? That's like a pilot who's scared of heights."

While those two had a good chuckle at the officer's apparent misfortune, I couldn't help but notice his disinterest in denying the claim. In fact, the closer I looked, the more it appeared he was just trying to ignore them and focus on his breathing, like some meditative stance. However, for a brief instant, I swore he looked… embarrassed, and seeing as I had become intimately familiar with that sentiment as of late, there was a pang of sympathy towards him. I crouched down and leaned in a bit closer, enough so that I could whisper to him without the others overhearing.

"Are you feeling seasick, Captain DeWolf?" I asked.

"I'll be fine," he answered between deep breaths. That was as close to a 'yes' as I'd get from him.

"Would you like some tea?" I suggested. "I believe we have some ginger tea in the galley."

"Thanks, but I've tried that before. It doesn't help."

Akagi ceased her patronizing display of feigned compassion, but continued to regard the captain with a predatory stare. Whatever she was feeling towards him, it was definitely not sympathy. "So I heard your brother is a kansen researcher. You know, I have a lot of interest in the subject, too. You think we might be able to compare notes?" she asked in a rhetorical fashion.

"I don't recall mentioning anything like that to you," he answered.

"No, but the Sakura Empire has an intelligence division just as your military does. I recognized his name from some of the papers he authored—the one on… 'Kansen Awakening Protocols and Theorem', if I recall correctly."

I shouldn't have been surprised by her advanced knowledge, although I wished she had said something to me rather than feigning ignorance up until now. No doubt if I pressured her for a reason, she would just insist that she had 'only suspected' and that it would've been improper to say or act upon it until she knew for certain. I began to think that lying was just second-nature for her.

"Well, I'm sure you can appreciate that he's not at liberty to discuss his work, least of all with a high-standing member of the Crimson Axis," DeWolf replied with a stern defiance that was a stark contrast to his still sickly and disheveled appearance.

"No need to be so distrustful. We're all friends now, after all," Akagi said before she crouched down to his level.

DeWolf just shot her an icy glare, followed by, "I don't recall making friends with a kansen."

I wish I could say the captain's rebuttal came as a shock, but it was an attitude that was prevalent in the Sakura Empire as well. Still, it was disheartening to hear it from the source. Officers already had an inclination to keep an arm's length from those that served under them, but the way he said 'kansen' with such blunt callousness made it seem like the very idea of a cordial relation offended him. I prayed that it was just the seasickness making him terse.

Of course, Akagi had no interest in being friends either, so she wasn't about to lose any sleep over his declaration. "You don't like kansens?" she asked in her best attempt at sounding innocent. "In that case, you should just get to know me better. I'm sure there's… many things about me that you could come to like." As if she weren't being subtle enough, she punctuated her last words by leaning forward.

Part of me wanted to smack her for her lack of decorum. By the gods, she may as well have been shoving them into his face for all her tact.

It appeared that even without the seasickness, Mr. DeWolf had no interest in playing games with her. The officer just grabbed my colleague by the shoulders and said in no uncertain terms, "You should just stick to being an aircraft carrier."

I don't think even Akagi imagined her attempt at seduction would work; the timing and occasion were just ill-suited for that sort of scheme. She was just toying with her prey, testing where his defences were and how he continued to react. What I couldn't figure out was whether she actually intended to ever get the information she wanted from him, or if this was just how she decided to pass the time until we reached our destination. Maybe a bit of both.

"Considering the state we found you in, one would think you would be a bit more grateful," she speculated in idle amusement.

"Akagi, that is enough already," I said as I finally got fed up with her games. "He is our guest, not a prisoner."

"You don't have to speak for me," DeWolf said. He let out a weary groan as he forced himself back to his feet. "And you shouldn't mistake my candour for a lack of gratitude. I am immensely grateful for what you've done for me and my crew. But that gratitude has its limits. I didn't ram a Siren ship for a laugh." He pushed his way past Akagi and headed over to the edge of the flight deck, although I hoped it was just so that he could use the horizon to help settle his stomach. "If you have a problem with my decisions, you're welcome to drop us off back where you found us."

I glanced over to Akagi to see how she was reacting to his defiance, and she still had her playful little smile upon her. It was then that I realized what the game had been for. It wasn't about trying to win his favour or gleen into what he knew, she wanted to see how far he'd go to protect what he knew. Now she knew there was information worth not just DeWolf laying down his life, but the entirety of his crew. A kansen expert was an asset to any naval force, but few were worth sacrificing whole ships over. I should've interjected, but I had to admit: I had become curious, too. What kind of knowledge could compel a man to so casually accept death?

"And I thought you said western men were slaves to their emotions and passions," I whispered over to Akagi.

"There are always exceptions." Despite the rebukes, she still sounded amused, like a cat toying with a new toy.

At the very least, now that she had finished with her games, I could assume the role of diplomat and smooth things out. It bothered me that I was, in a way, dancing to the melody she set out, but what other choice did I have if not to mediate?

"My apologies for my colleague's rudeness," I said as I found myself bowing for the second time today to a DeWolf on behalf of another. "Rest assured we will respect your wishes, and there will be no calls or expectations of compensation."

Given his earlier imprudence, I wasn't optimistic for an easy resolution, but I was nonetheless puzzled when he didn't appear to answer at first. After a few seconds of dead silence, I lifted my gaze and saw that he was still staring out to the horizon. I knew seasickness could leave some people bereft of words, but this took it to a new extreme.

"Captain DeWolf?" I called out.

"You're the only ones of your fleet out here, right?" he replied, not taking his eyes off from the horizon.

"We are, why do you ask?" With growing curiosity, Akagi and I joined him at the flight deck's edge to see what had caught his attention.

"Because if nobody else is supposed to be here, then whose ship is that?" He pointed off to the distance, where a small triangular form stood out against the backdrop of the ocean and horizon. A more casual observer might've missed it, but to our experienced, sea-faring eyes, it was the unmistakable silhouette of another vessel, and for it to be visible at this distance meant it wasn't some fishing trawler.

"How in the world did something that big slip past my air patrols?" Akagi said with a low, but audible, growl.

"Could it be a Siren vessel? Those have been known to materialize without warning," I postulated, albeit it was a slim possibility. Something that size should not have, by any means, been able to get this close without Akagi's airplanes spotting it well in advance.

"It doesn't look Siren," DeWolf said, squinting his eyes to try and better his focus. "I dare say that it appears to have a pagoda-style mast. Could it be one of your nation's mass-produced ships?"

"All of our mass-produced warships were accounted for at the time we left port," I informed him. "And it would be uncharacteristic for us to deploy a lone vessel, especially without some means of informing us."

"My planes passed over that sector fifteen minutes ago. There were no ships there." Akagi was still fixated on that particular detail, although given that scouting had been her responsibility, it made sense that she saw this failure as a slight against her honour. "Conventional ships don't just appear out of thin air."

"Hold on," DeWolf spoke up before he suddenly pivoted to me. "When my convoy was attacked, remember how I said there was an initial radar contact then four additional contacts appeared?"

"That's right," I replied, although I did not fully grasp his reasoning.

"But you only engaged four vessels, right? There was no sign of a fifth."

"That's not a Siren ship, though," Akagi pointed out.

A mass produced ship may have been restricted by the norms of time and space, but to say that it was impossible for a 'conventional' warship to suddenly appear overlooked one of our own inherent abilities. And indeed, the silhouette we saw lacked the distinguishing sharp angles and ominous glow of the Sirens, but that didn't cover every possibility, including one that soon dawned upon me thanks to DeWolf's reasoning.

"Except you would know from personal experience, that one need not be a Siren to have command over their vessels," I reminded her. Though she had probably already considered the possibility, the details from DeWolf's ordeal made what seemed marginal at first now the most likely candidate. A plane at altitude could easily spot a ship, but a lone person could slip by easily and summon their vessel once within range. "I might not be the only kansen that the Sirens have approached lately."

"If that's the case then you girls need to suit up now."

Unfortunately, Captain DeWolf's words came too late. In fact, we were all too late by the time the conversation even started, we just weren't aware of it. It started out as a low rumble, barely perceivable at first, but grew steadily in intensity until it was roaring like a tiger. Our gazes drew skyward with eyes wide in shock and horror, as we finally realized that we were already under fire. Three shells straddled the carrier in a tight cluster, which sent up geysers and battered the hull with underwater detonations. The fourth shell, though, struck the Akagi about halfway between the island and the bow. A section of the forward flight deck erupted in a massive gout of flame and smoke that sent debris in all directions. The blast and shock knocked us all off our feet, and something heavy and searing hot struck me in the head, which left me sprawled on the deck staring skywards in a daze.

As the world slowly settled back into focus and the screaming pain in my head became a dull growl, I realized that DeWolf now stood over me. His lips were moving, but it took a few more moments before his voice could finally cut through my mental stupor.

"... Nagato? Nagato, can you hear me?" he said as his voice finally came through.

"Ugh, y-yes," I groaned in response.

"Can you stand?"

"I can."

"Good, then on your feet, kansen. War's starting without you." DeWolf didn't wait for a response before he took me by the arm and hefted me back up.

I looked to my colleagues and saw they were already upright and surveying the extent of the damage. The shell had impacted near the forward hangar elevator, and the resultant explosion not only tore apart a large section of the flight deck, but also caused the entire elevator to collapse, leaving nothing but a smoke-filled chasm in its place. In the one hit, the Akagi's flight deck had been rendered completely inoperable, and that said nothing of the fire that was likely now raging on down below. In a strange twist, being caught by surprise had also probably saved us, since that meant all her munitions were still stowed away in their magazines.

"So a foolish little kansen thinks they can just fire at me?" Akagi mused, the calmness of her voice betrayed by how tightly she clenched her fists. "Time to teach this 'pest' what it means to mess with one of the First Carrier Division." She turned to throw herself to the ocean, but just as she took her first step, Captain DeWolf grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back from the edge. "What are you doing? Unhand me."

"There're two hundred sailors below deck, many of whom are wounded," DeWolf reminded her. "You transform now, and you're going to drop us all into the ocean."

"If you haven't noticed, my hangar is on fire," she snapped back. In her haste, though, a hint of what appeared to be anxiety began to seep into her words. "If I don't transform now, the damage could become catastrophic. And I most certainly will not just sit idle while the enemy tries to sink us."

"You have to," DeWolf implored her as he grabbed her by the shoulders. The man before us was no longer the lethargic and sickly man he had been just minutes before. It was as if the threat of battle had breathed new life into him, or, equally, just the fear of falling back into the ocean. Whatever it was, though, it took Akagi by surprise, too, as she seemed to almost freeze in his grasp. "I know it'll be hard, even scary, but my men are counting on you. I need you to do this for me. I know you have it in you. Nagato and the others can—"

"Hold on a second," Choshu interjected. "You would be wise to remember your place. You're not an officer of the Sakura Empire: you have no command authority on board this vessel."

"Ah, you're right. My apologies, I—"

But before his grip could slacken, Akagi made a surprising announcement. "I wish to hear the rest of his plan," she said with a firmness that left no trace of uncertainty.

Her intuition may have called to her just as mine did. DeWolf was not our commander in the strictest sense, but he could bring a grounded and level-headed perspective that we kansen often lacked. I wanted to see how he would respond to this threat, too. There was an old adage that you could get the true measure of a man by how he conducted himself when given power and authority. I suspected that Akagi was testing this theory as well.

"As do I," I chimed in, lending Akagi my support. "Captain DeWolf, what would you recommend for a course of action?"

To his credit, he wasted no time being surprised by our decision, and instead jumped right back to where he left off. "It's a two-part plan. First off, we're going to need a volunteer to draw the fire away from the carrier."

"I'll handle that," Choshu, to my shock, volunteered. "But only if the rest of your plan is sound."

"Your bravery is commendable, but you've yet to be fully repaired from our previous bout," I reminded my colleague. By process of elimination, that only left one possible option, but I couldn't allow myself to suggest that either. "If anyone is to play the role of diversion, then that responsibility should fall to me."

"The same can be said about you," she shot back.

"If both of you are damaged, then what about the third one that was with you? Where's she?" DeWolf asked.

Thankfully, his question didn't need to linger in the air for long as my sister burst out from below deck. "What's going on?" she shouted as she raced over to us. "Sis, why are things exploding? Are we under attack? Aren't we supposed to get a warning before that happens?" Her questions, rhetorical as they were, also had their own self-apparent answer, and she skidded to halt when she saw the twisted rend left in the flight deck. "Oh my goodness! Are you okay, Akagi?"

"That's going to depend on you," DeWolf answered without missing a step. "How's your combat readiness, kansen?"

"Ready and able, sir!" Mutsu said with an enthusiastic snap to attention. I think her reaction had less to do with an acknowledgment of his authority and more to do with how she had been taught to respond to that particular question.

Before the Captain could continue, though, I interposed myself between him and my sister. "Hold on," I objected, "we've only agreed to listen to your plan. If your stratagem is to sortie her to act as target practice for the enemy, then I cannot condone such recklessness."

DeWolf just stared at me for a moment, but then switched his gaze to my sister just behind me. "It's Mutsu, right?" he began as he crouched down lower, such that he was at eye level with us. "Listen, Akagi's in trouble. She's hurt, and she needs your help."

"Now wait just a sec—"

I didn't even get a chance to finish my sentence before Mutsu suddenly shoved me aside like I stood between her and a stray kitten. "How can I help?" she pleaded with him. "I won't let anybody hurt my friends!"

"I need you to summon your vessel and plant yourself right next to Akagi, matching her course and speed," DeWolf explained, gesturing to the area in question. "Engage the enemy with as much gunfire as you can. Make the enemy focus all of their attention on you. Every shot they throw at you is one less that Akagi has to worry about. Do you understand?"

He was ordering my sister to make herself the biggest target in the ocean and invite the enemy to hit her. A part of me knew this was a tactically sound strategy, but the notion that he would put my sister in harm's way was unconscionable to me.

"Mutsu, wait!" I shouted as I pulled her aside. "This is too dangerous. This man may mean well, but he isn't your commander. You don't have to do this. I am the older sister; let me take the responsibility."

My sister just smiled back—that gentle, disarming visage that only reminded me why I fought so hard to keep her safe in the first place. "But I want to do this, sis," she replied. "I know you don't like war, but if we're not fighting to protect our friends, then what's the point in us even having this power?"

I found myself torn between my dedication towards that which I always preached, of our unity as a fleet and an Empire, and my duty to her as a sister. Were she anyone else, I would've already commended her selflessness and sent her on her way, but when it was my own family there was suddenly nothing but apprehension.

"Just… promise me that you'll be careful."

"I know I'm your little sister, but I'm still a Big Seven like you," she reminded me. Her words would've come as more of a reassurance were it not for the fact that when she turned to run for the flight deck's edge, she only made it about five feet before she tripped over a bit of debris and face-planted straight into the deck.

"I'm okay!" she insisted as she picked herself up.

After she dusted off her robes, my sister once more dashed for the ocean and flung herself over the edge. An acerbic light heralded the manifestation of her inner form, and in the blink of an eye, thirty-two thousand tonnes of Sakuran warship slammed into the ocean in a roar of crashing waves. With its towering pagoda mast piercing the sky and a full battery of forty-one centimetre guns, it was a sight that brought both a sense of great relief and sadness at the same time. Such power could bring any enemy to heel, but it would always be with great reluctance to see my sister sent off into battle.

"I cannot believe your plan is to have my sister act as a decoy," I growled. Though I had accepted my sister's willingness to take part, that didn't mean I had to pretend I did to DeWolf.

"That's only one part of the response," he replied. "The rest is up to you and Choshu taking the fight to the enemy flagship."

"Then we should join Mutsu on the battleline instead!"

"That will only lead to a protracted gunfight. We don't have the numbers or endurance for that kind of a fight."

I could only respond with a low growl as I realized that his reasoning was sound. Once again, I was caught between what I knew was tactically necessary, and how my heart felt about it. "It must be most agreeable for you to foist upon others the greater share of risks and danger while minimizing your own," I muttered back.

Unfortunately, in all of my bickering against the captain's suggestions, we had neglected the reality that we were still under attack, and the shrieks of a new salvo reminded us all of the imminent danger. The shells splashed in a loose pattern around the Akagi, once more shaking the vessel with the near-miss detonations.

"Could you possibly save this for a time when we're not at risk of having me shot out from underneath us all?" Akagi asserted with wavering, paper-thin patience at this point.

"She's right," DeWolf said, turning away from us. "If you have a better plan, you're welcome to go with that instead, but the time for deliberation is over. Either fight out there, or make yourself useful here, but make your choice quickly." He then gestured for Akagi to follow him as he headed for the island. "I'm going to get every able body I can find and get on damage control."

"Will you even be able to manage?" Akagi asked as she fell in step alongside him. "None of you have ever served on a Sakuran carrier before. You don't even know my layout, let alone the damage control procedures."

"This ship is just an extension of you, right? If you're on the bridge, you can direct us to where we need to go. We'll figure out the rest when we get there. My boys are pretty clever, and I'm sure they'll want to return the favour after you helped save all of them."

"In that case, we'll need to get you a radio set as well." Despite her earlier consternation, Akagi managed a calmer smile to the captain, and then took him by the arm as she took the lead.

The pair hurried off, which left just Choshu and I to decide what our plan would ultimately be. As I looked to my comrade-in-arms, though, she had already summoned her rigging and was preparing to disembark. She had already decided, and seeing as she had shown to be just as stubborn as I could be, then there wasn't much choice but to use Captain DeWolf's battleplan. Even if I had my misgivings about it, it was always better to be working together than apart. Without needing to say anything, I followed in her footsteps, summoned my rigging, and took to the ocean.

I would be lying if I said that all of my thoughts were focused on the impending battle as Choshu and I steamed towards the enemy position. In truth, my sister's well-being persisted in my mind, and I couldn't help but feel a pang of fear every time I heard the shells scream overhead. Every salvo my mind would just fall back on the thought that 'this was it', and that I would hear some cataclysmic explosion behind me a second later. And like clockwork, every time that my fears never came to fruition, I nonetheless had to reaffirm that for myself.

"Mutsu, what's your status?" I called out over the radio.

"Minor damage to the bow and forward secondary batteries," she reported, the news of which almost made my heart drop. "I'm taking on a little bit of water, but it's nothing I can't handle."

"W-wait, you're hurt? I-I'll turn around and come right back!" I skidded to a halt, but no sooner had I done that did my sister voice her thoughts on that.

"If you want to help me, give whoever's shooting a smacking, and quickly!"

She was right, of course, and I knew that was the case, but it was proving difficult to silence my sense of duty as an older sister.

"Have faith in her," Captain DeWolf's voice cut in on the radio. "I do believe that is what the Sakura Empire teaches its kansen, is it not?"

Realizing that I would need to practice what I preached, I fired up my engines once more and rushed ahead at flank speed. My moment of pause had allowed Choshu to get some distance ahead of me, but I knew once the enemy was in range, she'd rush ahead as she did in the last skirmish. Perhaps I just needed to emulate her more and throw myself headlong into the fray with reckless abandon.

"Do try to hurry up," Akagi chimed in. "One of the previous salvos must have damaged my boilers—I'm losing engine power. So if you're still paying attention, Mister DeWolf, could you send some of your boys down to the number one boiler room?"

"I'll get Joseph on it," he answered, referring to his brother. I had no idea why a kansen researcher would be tasked with boiler repairs, but I had to trust in his judgment. His survival depended on it, too, so he surely wouldn't pick somebody ill-suited for the job.

Far ahead, I could begin to make more detail of the enemy flagship that continued to rain fire upon my friends. There was indeed a pagoda mast sitting atop its superstructure, but that would make it another vessel of the Sakura Empire. Who amongst our numbers would have reason to turn against us?

Such questions, though, would have to wait as a more pressing sight began to appear before me. Pulses of light and arcing energy gave way to fissures in reality cracking open, creating massive portals from which we knew from firsthand experience meant the impending arrival of mass-produced Siren vessels. Just as they had appeared to attack DeWolf's convoy, no doubt these new reinforcements would attempt to disable the Akagi rather than outright sink her. Piercing through the swirling abyss of their gateways came the dark, angular silhouettes of their capital ships.

Choshu wasted no time in releasing the thunderous roar of her first salvo. Her shells arced through the air, finding their mark upon the bow of the leading vessel with a fiery display. I followed up with a volley from my own cannons, or at least the three turrets that I still had functioning thanks to my first duel with Choshu. Most of my shots straddled the battleship, but one scored a direct hit right at the base of its forward turret, which must have set off a chain reaction as the first explosion was soon followed by a ripple of detonations along the length of the hull. A brilliant flash and a plume of smoke erupted from the ship as the entire bow suddenly decided to split off and redefine its relationship with the rest of the hull.

The remaining enemy vessels attempted to avenge their fallen comrade with a furious fusilade of return fire, but Choshu and I had already begun evasive manoeuvres. Shots from main batteries whisked past, and smaller-calibre munitions ricocheted off my armour, but if they thought that their paltry attempts to harm could slow down my fury, then I would show them their folly.

Before I could loose the next barrage, a flicker of movement from the deck of the Siren ships caught my eye. There was somebody on board those ships, although it wasn't for very long as the figure leapt from the bow and landed upon the water's surface. In fact, it wasn't just one figure, but several, all following suit by taking to the ocean.

"Who or what in blazes are those?" Choshu shouted.

"The Sirens have more than just large vessels en masse," I answered, recalling the Empire's previous engagement against them during the final conflict of the Orochi incident. "But do not be fooled: they may look human at first, but they are nought but soulless Siren automatons!"

They did not look like the kind we had engaged before, which had been aerial combatants. These ones appeared more akin to kansens, but laden with Siren technology as their rigging was composed of the same black, angular components that dotted their larger brethren. Between their pale, lifeless expressions, and the ominous aura they emanated, they seemed more like puppets than the humans they attempted to imitate. However they looked, these smaller Sirens were nonetheless a threat as the half-dozen of them quickly closed the gap with us.

Of course, Choshu relished the opportunity to become more intimate with her opponents, and she met their head-on charge with her own. They split into two flotillas of three in an attempt to isolate and swarm us. I should've tried to stay with my cohort, but her eagerness meant she had already rushed on ahead, and the enemy quickly flooded in to put themselves between us.

"Fools, you rush to your own destruction," I scoffed before I fired a volley from my main batteries at the approaching enemies.

The two leading elements evaded to the sides, which resulted in my shots falling just short of the trailing third Siren. The two that broke into an encircling manoeuvre began peppering my flanks with small calibre fire, which proved to be little more than a nuisance against my armour. Their efforts were an obvious ploy to distract me from the third Siren who made the bold move to attack me head-on. Its port-side rigging formed some manner of large, twin-barreled cannon, and while I knew not the full extent of its destructive powers, it was safe to assume it would do more than just tickle.

I had to manoeuvre as fast as possible to keep the most heavily-armed Siren from getting a clear shot at me, while at the same time keep an eye on the fast-moving flankers just in case if they had something stronger than the pea-shooters they continued to harass me with. Smoke and thunderous roars erupted across the waves as we exchanged volleys of cannonfire. Unlike their larger, mass-produced siblings, these smaller Sirens were proving to be a most troublesome opponent. Several times did I attempt to level my main batteries at them, only for the enemy to deftly swoop out of my line of fire, or a shot from one of the flanking compatriots rattled me enough to fire the salvo straight into the water, much to the consternation of the local fish population. And unlike them, the weight of my rigging kept me about as manoeuvrable as an overloaded trawler, with only the thick armour plating keeping the incoming rounds at bay. Sooner or later, though, they were bound to hit something important, and that inevitability came to pass when a round struck me in the back of the leg. The damage was minimal, but the shock dropped me to one knee for a brief moment. That lapse was just large enough for the more heavily-armed of the three Sirens to unload a full broadside into me at point-blank range.

"Nagato! Are you okay?" Choshu called out over the radio, albeit her voice struggled to be heard over the ringing in my ears.

"Just… need to catch my breath," I wheezed back. Between the smoke and having all of the air knocked out of me, it was a struggle just to speak. "These Sirens are most troublesome."

"Don't let them just push you around," my cohort encouraged me. "You're a Big Seven, Nagato. Show them what that means!"

"Well, if we cannot achieve victory with accuracy, then we shall do so with volume!" I said as I decided I was fed up with their evasiveness. They had proven themselves apt at dodging and weaving through a handful of shots, so I decided to simply pull back to get some distance and then aimed every gun in their general direction. No aiming, but rather I just flooded the entire grid square of ocean in front of me with an overwhelming barrage. I kept up the fire until a curtain of cascading seawater enveloped the enemy's position. There was a certain sense of catharsis when my guns fell silent and the smoke began to dissipate, revealing a relatively calm ocean with floating bits of Siren rigging being all that remained of my opponents.

"Temper, temper, Lady Nagato," Akagi's voice teased over the radio. "I could see the display all the way from back here."

"I would have thought you of all people would appreciate a sea of fire," I quipped back.

"I never said I disapproved."

I turned to check on my cohort just in time to see her strike down the last of the Sirens she had faced off against. She cut quite the striking figure with the precise and fluid motions of her sword, framed by the exploding remains of her vanquished foes. Compared to her refined tactics, my display of excessive firepower seemed almost barbaric. I made a mental note to inquire about honing my swordsmanship with Mikasa or Takao the next time I saw either of them.

"Those small fries were pretty easy," Choshu remarked as she sailed over to join me.

Unfortunately, my concern had never been about the size of any one 'fry', but rather the number of them. Those worries came to fruition as another flicker of light and arcing bolts drew our attention ahead to where more portals began to open.

"And this is why Captain DeWolf said we needed to target the enemy flagship," I commented as I watched dozens of new mass produced Siren ships emerge from the ether. "We are going to need a change in our strategy, lest the weight of their numbers alone makes the battle too perilous."

"I can face that kind of peril. There's only a few dozen of them," Choshu insisted with her usual sense of bravado. "It'll be just like the Battle of Tsushima."

"This feels more like a Ten-Go than Tsushima." I was probably just naturally more pessimistic than Choshu, but rather than argue the merits of our comparisons, I figured it would be better to consult the rest of the fleet. "Akagi, Captain DeWolf, we've encountered heavy Siren resistance. What's the situation on your end?"

"They blew up my biplane, sis! My biplane!" Mutsu wailed with a mixture of anguish and ire. "I'll avenge you, Mister Bishi!"

"W-we'll get you a new one when we reach port," I replied.

"I'm afraid the biplane is the least of our problems," Akagi cut in with a voice that was laced with a thinly-veiled worry. "Another squadron of Siren vessels has materialized near our position. Mutsu's currently engaging them, but she can't tie them all down." The line crackled for a second, cutting in and out as faint sounds of distance explosions could be heard over the radio. "And to make matters worse, one of my scout planes spotted another warship heading towards your position from the west."

There were few things as emasculating as hearing your friends in trouble. I wanted so bad to just turn around and sail back to their side, even though the rational part of me knew that wouldn't solve anything. "H-how long do you think you can still hold out?"

"I'm one unlucky shell away from being a fireball," Akagi snapped back. "Assuming the listing doesn't get worse and I topple over altogether."

"Just keep calm, Akagi. We'll initiate some emergency flooding to balance it out," DeWolf said, remaining notably calm despite being aboard a ship filled with aviation fuel and munitions currently being shot up by multiple enemy vessels. "Listen Nagato, you need to get to that flagship, no matter what it takes. We're not going to be able to hold out for much longer under this kind of assault."

A veritable wall of black, cannon-laden warships now laid before us. As I stared down the newly formed battleline of Siren vessels that now stood between me and my objective, the situation felt less and less like Tsushima, and doubt began to creep into my psyche. It was becoming hard to tell where one ended and the next began. While I was certain I could stand against even such staggering numbers, my safety was not what was at stake. With my friends barely holding together just a few short nautical miles away, I worried that anyone else might've been better suited—planes could just fly over, a destroyer or cruiser could outrun them, or a better battleship like Yamato would be able to just part the seas with but a single volley. What could I, a slow and outdated battleship in an age where carriers and fast warships controlled the flow of battle far more than sheer firepower alone, be able to do?

What if I wasn't fast enough? What if I wasn't strong enough?

"What do I do…" I murmured under my breath. If Mikasa were here, she'd have the answer. Nothing ever shook her resolve, but she had always been a steadfast warrior, whereas I was just a miko trying her best at pretending to be one.

"You move forward." Hearing DeWolf's voice on the radio snapped me back to my senses, and it was only then that I realized that I had been muttering into an open radio line.

"I… I beg your pardon?" I replied, unsure if he was trying to be helpful or just impatient.

"You lose the moment you give up, Nagato," he answered, clearly not impatient. "So just put one foot in front of the other, and you keep advancing. You don't look back, you don't slow down for anything, and you never take your eye off your objective. Push forward, and you show those Sirens what it means to be a kansen of the Sakura Empire, understood?"

For a moment, he sounded an awful lot like Mikasa; to the point where I hung silent for a moment waiting for the trademark 'let every ship do their utmost' before I finally realized that the line had gone silent. Just advance. It sounded so simple, but maybe it was, and my fears were the only thing complicating matters.

There was only one path to victory, and those Sirens were standing in the way.

"Come on, Choshu," I said as I turned to my colleague. "We are punching through their lines!"