One day earlier

Tatsuta POV

We relived Destroyer squadron seventy-nine about twenty minutes ago allowing them to head back to base. They've been patrolling since 'The Battle of Okinawa' and Command wanted a stronger force to guard the island which is where my squadron comes in. It consists of myself and four destroyers: Momi, Kaya, Nire, and Numakaze. We're going to patrol South of Okinawa for a week before somebody relives us probably another destroyer squadron. Since patrolling is tedious at the best of times and the whole squadron can't patrol for a week straight we developed a system. Part of the squadron will patrol for twelve hours followed by twelve hours of rest while the other part of the squadron takes over; it's a way to make sure the squadron is in good health in case the abyssals attack. Numakaze and I are patrolling for the first twelve hours while the sisters patrol for the next twelve, rinse and repeat.

"Why are we patrolling first again?"

"Well, I wanted to stay out of the shenanigans the sisters would get up to you volunteered to come with me."

"I didn't 'volunteer' you told me I was patrolling with you."

"You could have just said no."

She rolled her eyes and cocked her hip, "Yeah, but then you would have just ordered me."

I can't argue that, "Alright, you have a point."

"See, there'd be no point in saying 'no', besides I would have come with you anyway."

"Sisters?"

"Sisters," she nodded.

"I feel sorry for anyone caught in the crossfire."

"Yeah, well we don't have to worry about it so that's all that matters."

"True."

We crisscrossed the ocean for an hour just talking about anything and everything to pass the time and keep us from dying of boredom, sadly, we ran out of things to talk about ten minutes ago and have been in our own worlds since then. I wish something would happen but I'm not saying anything out loud what was that quote, 'Anything that can happen will happen.'

"This is so boring."

"Don't say it."

"Don't say what?"

"I know what you're thinking don't say it."

"Oh come on, you believe in that superstitious nonsense?"

"To a degree so I'm not saying anything out loud."

"Fine, I won't say it." She grumbled something under her breath but I couldn't make it out.

"What did you say?"

"That superstitious nonsense you believe in is bullshit."

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

Eight plumes of water rose upward off our starboard side just as my spotters called out ships on the horizon.

"I TOLD YOU!"

"I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING!"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!"

Son of a-"MOMI! Do you copy!?"

"Loud and clear what the hell was that!?"

"The abyssals are making a move get out here!"

"On our way!"

"Commander do you copy?!" I flinched as a near-miss through splinters into my side as my guns barked out their response. "Commander!?"

"Read you loud and clear Tatsuta, status?"

"Enemy abyssal force is engaging us! It consists of twenty destroyers and four cruisers! I guarantee this is a screening force for the fleet!"

"Understood. I'll contact Sasebo and see if they can sortie reinforcements I've also redirected Destroyer Squadron seventy-nine to assist."

"Understood Commander. Numakaze fighting retreat we need to rendezvous with our forces!"

"Copy that!"

Numakaze laid a smokescreen allowing us to retreat in relative safety; the abyssals continued to fire but it's wild and inaccurate. As the smoke dissipated the destroyers charged through right into a salvo of torpedos sending one to the bottom.

"Nice shot Numakaze!"

"I aim to please!"

"Hey, they're falling back!"

My spotters confirmed the abyssal destroyers are falling back to their cruisers instead of chasing us, "Why are they falling back?"

"No idea but it gives us time to retreat."

"Retreat? We can take them!"

"At great risk if this is their screening force the rest of the fleet won't be far behind. We can delay them but that's it."

"Tatsuta, I need you to buy as much time as you can we haven't finished repairing our defenses from the last attack. Even if it's just a few minutes that could make all the difference, over."

"Understood Commander we'll do what we can, out."

"Ma'am, Destroyer squadron seventy-nine reporting!"

"Excellent, what's your name?"

"Matsukaze ma'am!"

"Alright, Matsukaze take your squadron and engage the enemy destroyers in a delaying action. Gunfire, torpedos, smokescreens, CQC I don't care anything to slow them down!"

"Yes ma'am!"

As they moved to engage enemy destroyers I turned to my squadron, "You'll be the second screen; anything that gets past Matsukaze and her girls you will engage with such ferocity that the abyssals will be running with their tails between their legs!"

"YES MA'AM!"

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

We turned our guns on the destroyers careful not to hit our own in the process. As the cruisers began to enter effective range I turned my guns on them my first salvo falling short. For five minutes I traded furious gunfire with four cruisers each one outclassing me in armor and firepower and my AP shells failed to do any meaningful damage. I loaded HE and continued to hound the closest cruiser finally causing it to fall back behind the others.

'HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY!'

I slammed my rudder hard over and barley avoided a spread of torpedos. The failed attack opened my eyes to the larger battle around me and it's not going well. The offending the destroyer is being hammered by the sisters while Numakaze is delaying three destroyers by herself. Matsukaze's squadron is falling back and even from here I can see how much it cost them, but I can only make out three where is-

"WAKATAKE!"

HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY!

My spotters found her and my blood ran cold. She's engaging in CQC that's not the problem but the four abyssals circling her like sharks are. I brought my guns to bear on them and fired at the abyssal closest to her. My salvo landed well behind my target and I quickly adjusted my aim; this time it hit toward the rear yet it kept charging. As it angled for a torpedo salvo I fired again and prayed it would hit something important. A massive explosion erupted from it throwing a ball of fire and smoke high into the air from the looks of it I nailed its torpedo launcher.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!"

BOOM!

Another salvo persuaded the second closest abyssal to take evasive action reducing its speed. I continued to fire scoring numerous hits and killing its speed leaving it combat ineffective. She had a clear run to our lines just have to keep the destroyers at-

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

My eyes jumped to the flashes on the horizon, battleships. The main fleet has arrived.

"WAKATAKE!"

My eyes jumped to a cloud of smoke and fire and my blood ran cold when it cleared. One of the battleships targeted her and... the left side of her face is... gone along with her arm and her entire left side is mutilated. There's a cavity right where her heart should be that's big enough for my whole arm to go through. Her eyes met mine and they're filled with confusion... then shock... and then unbelievable pain. Her mouth opened in a silent scream and I just... stared.

"NOOOOOO! YOU MOTHERFUCKERS! I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU DO YOU HEAR ME?! ALL OF YOU!"

I closed my eyes and wiped away the tears beginning to form as an inferno ignited within me. "Matsukaze fall back to my girls and fight as one make those fuckers pay."

"With pleasure," She growled.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

Each explosion singled another salvo as I rained high explosive upon the abyssals. Two destroyers are sunk within minutes while another two are horribly mauled by the vengeful destroyers. When eleven abyssal destroyers charge us they meet it with their own while I provide withering high explosive fire. Massive fireballs on the horizon signal the battleships firing and I change course throwing off their aim. The cruisers make themselves known scoring multiple armor-piercing hits causing me to wince as my damage control teams get to work.

I loaded AP, they've gotten close enough to where it will be more effective, and four shells rip into the closest cruiser's armor belt quickly followed by another salvo and then another. Enemy fire tears through my armor it's useless at the close range I'm fighting at. Blood and oil pour from my savaged side and my arm has huge chunks ripped out of it. At this range, the victor will be decided by who can take the most punishment and I'll be dammed if don't take one of these fuckers with me!

BOOM, BOOM!

Another two salvos ripped into it and its guns fell silent as it fell out of formation and slowly ground to a halt. Even as my DC teams rushed to regain the lost horsepower I could feel my speed dropping my boilers havening been hit at least once by their salvos. Another flash on the horizon and I'm too slow to maneuver yet all their shells miss maybe I-

BOOM!

I spin slightly and fall to my hands and knees as one shell slams into my bridge killing most of my officers and demolishes my spotter nests leaving my guns practically blind. More fire comes in from the cruisers destroying one of my guns and jamming another while setting a fire dangerously close to my torpedo launches; its only thanks to the efforts of my crew that it doesn't spread to them, unfortunately, they've bought me minutes at best.

Even though my vision is clouded with blood and one of my eyes is gone I can clearly see the destroyers still fighting. Numakaze uses a blade to mercilessly slice an abyssal apart. Matsukaze charges between two of them and six plums of water signal a successful torpedo strike. Momi somehow got through their screen and charges the cruisers closely followed by her sister Kaya. Kuretake is fighting a three on one close-range brawl and is winning, and Oite just finished off two destroyers with gunfire and torpedoes with assistance from Nire. Despite their heroic efforts, the abyssals have numbers and all of us have sustained heavy to critical damage.

Matsukaze went down when an abyssal cruiser finished her off, Kuretake takes two with her before two torpedoes nail her, she disappears in a gazer of water, fire, and smoke. Oite charges the remaining abyssals covering Nire's retreat a salvo from a battleship sends her to the bottom. Momi and Kaya's strikes finish off my cruiser and critically wound another and then they engage in a close-range gunnery duel that they quickly lose. Kaya is finished off by a magazine detonation while her sister is ripped apart by gunfire yet she refuses to go down even as fires cover her body, a battleship finally finishes her off.

Numakaze and I lock eyes and a silent understanding passes between us none of us are getting out of here alive we just have to take as many with us as possible. Then a voice that carries a glimmer of hope.

"They're retreating!"

I try to stand up but my strength failed me and I fall back onto the water. My damage control teams work at a frantic pace to keep me afloat but I know I'm gonna die. They do to and refuse to acknowledge that fact.

"Lay a smoke screen we're getting the fuck out of here!"

"Help me with her! You're gonna live do you hear me?! You're not sinking on my watch!"

I felt a minuscule amount of strength return to me as their DC teams rushed to assist my own giving me a chance, however slim, to survive.

"Commander, this is Numakaze! We're falling back we've delayed the enemy as long as we can our squadron is shattered and... Destroyer squadron seventy-nine has been destroyed," she whispered.

"Understood, their sacrifices will not be in vain. When the abyssals set foot on Okinawa's beaches they'll be stepping straight into hell! Good luck and Godspeed."

"Come on stay us Tatsuta!"

My vision continued to fade in and out as they carried me out of the combat zone. Sounds became muffled until it's impossible to hear anything save for my shallow breathing. I lost track of time as I desperately clung to consciousness. One second I'm struggling to stay afloat and the next I'm leaning against the hull of a ship with someone holding me steady and speaking to me but I can't understand what they're saying.

Another slow blink and I'm being hoisted up while the next finds me laying on my back surrounded by blurred figures. I'm picked up and placed on something and my surroundings rushed past me. As my mind begins to slip my vision clears for a split second allowing me to see Numakaze's face. Fear is written plainly across it while her eyes hold deep sadness and pain. I tried to smile and tightened my grip on her hand for second and then I slipped into darkness.

A/N

Happy late Christmas everyone! I hope you had a great 2019 and that you have a banging new year! See you in the next one!