Ise POV
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
We're fifty nautical miles off the coast of Japan where we're running trails after the fleet-wide remodel was completed five days ago. We could have started the trails immediately after the fleet's remodel was finished but Akashi wanted to make sure there were no issues.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
JDS Sawayuki has been attached to the fleet for the day to provide us with targets. We've been at this for thirty minutes and the sea is pocked with plumes of water while the air is filled with flack clouds and tracers. The Sawayuki has front row seats for the show which I'm sure they appreciate.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
Fuso and I stopped twenty minutes ago and we've sat back and watched the fleet practice for the past ten minutes. I figured my remodel would affect my guns as well and I was correct. My guns could hit further and faster than before and they were more accurate thanks to a fairly basic radar set.
One of the advantages of coming out here to practice is that I could see how the other girls remodels' affected them. It would be tedious, but not impossible, to list out the induvial changes the fleet underwent during the remodel. The extremely simplified version is that the fleet received upgrades to firepower, speed/maneuverability, AA defense and armor. On top of my other upgrades I, along with Fuso, received torpedo bulges which would have been extremely useful at Okinawa that torpedo hurt like a bitch. Speaking of Fuso her remodel was practically identical to mine the only difference being I had two more casement guns then she did.
"Should we call it?"
"Yeah. I think they've had their fun. Third fleet cease-fire, we're heading back to base. Shwayuki thanks for the help."
"No problem ma'am. Thanks for the fireworks."
"How did it go?"
"Perfect, sir. We're ready for orders."
"That's good to hear. Jakuchu is breathing down my neck to get the Third Fleet to Okinawa."
"Okinawa?"
"Yes. The naval base we've been building there was surprisingly intact after the abyssal attacks. Jakuchu wants a fleet there in case the abyssals attack again."
"What naval forces do we have stationed there now?"
"One battleship, two destroyers, six destroyer escorts, and six submarines."
"That's a weak force for a station so close to abyssal territory," Fuso pointed out.
"Indeed. That's part of the reason you're being sent."
"Part of the reason, sir?"
"Nothing concrete yet but I would put money on an invasion of Taiwan in the close future. I grantee your fleet will be at the head of the invasion force."
"So we plan to take the fight to the abyssals."
"If my intuition is correct, yes. And it's about damn time we do. The abyssals have had the momentum for far too long, if we take Taiwan we can secure the safety of the home islands. Don't mention anything about this at least not until there is solid evidence."
"Don't worry sir, we didn't hear anything."
"Good. You depart for Okinawa in thirty. Dismissed."
Twenty-seven boring hours later we arrived at Okinawa Naval Base. Wonder how long it took to come up with that name. It's fairly small but manages to house base personnel, the Kanmusu stationed here, and the Third Fleet reasonably well. Right now Fuso and I are going to meet with the Base Commander. We passed by various personnel and Kanmusu all of whom showed various levels of confusion when we passed them. Ignoring them we continued on and arrived at the Commander's office a minute later.
'Knock, knock.'
"Come in!"
We entered the office and found it was fairly small. It only had a small desk, a computer, and two chairs in front of the desk. The Commander sat at his desk looking at the computer and looked up when we walked in.
"Ah, Ise, Fuso I was expecting you. I'm Commander Shuko."
"It's nice to meet you, Commander," I said. Fuso just nodded.
"Now with that out of the way let's get down to business. I assume you want to know what naval strength the base has."
"Vice Admiral Takeaki gave us the numbers sir. We don't know their names or the Chain of Command for the fleet when it sorties."
"Hmm, Kirishima is the fleet's commander when they sortie. Shigure and Harusame are our resident destroyers, Shigure is also Kirishima's second. Kunashiri, Hachijo, Miyake, Awaji, Nomi, and Kusagaki are our destroyer escorts. The submarine force consists of I-2, I-3, I-9, I-14, I-23, and I-29. 5,000 troops and 120 vehicles are also stationed on the island for protection."
"Why is such a small force defending Okinawa? If the abyssals capture this base they can easily launch attacks on the home islands."
"I'm aware of this and I don't have an answer. Since you're here it seems someone realized the strategic importance of Okinawa and decided it needed to be better defended. I didn't expect a whole fleet to be sent, but I'm not complaining. With you here, we can offer more than just a token defense."
BANG! "Sorry I'm late!"
Fuso and I spun around to see who had barged in. She wore a personalized uniform that leaves her arms bare and its colored blue and cranberry red with eight gold buttons on the front arranged in rows of four. A white belt with a gold emblem on the buckle holds her miniskirt up which is the same color as her uniform and has two slits that go up to the belt. The black knee boots she wears round out her outfit and acts as her rudder and screws.
"Thanks for finally joining us, Kirishima." He stressed the word 'finally' and her cheeks dusted red.
"Sorry Commander."
"Next time show up on time." He sternly said.
"Sir!"
"Excellent. Kirishima, meet Ise and Fuso, leaders of the Third fleet and our reinforcements."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," she chirped.
"It's nice to meet you, Kirishima," I greeted. Fuso nodded, "Kirishima."
"Alright, with greetings out of the way we have a few more things to discuss."
Asagiri POV
"This is really cramped."
"What did you expect a five-star hotel?"
"No, just something a bit roomier."
Yuzuki, Mochizuki, and I decided that exploring the base would be a good idea as it looked to be our home for the foreseeable future. Along the way, we managed to get lost and wandered around aimlessly for a while until we ran across Harusame who helpfully showed us around the base. Harusame herself is nice to be around and I can easily see myself becoming friends with her but she is a bit sarcastic.
"So, when is the big battle?"
…"What?"
She rolled her eyes. "This base has needed reinforcement for a while but I find it hard to believe that an entire fleet would simply be used for reinforcement. So when is the battle?"
"Uhhh we don't know."
"What?!"
"We were told we would be stationed here for a time. We weren't told anything about a battle."
"Well if you think about it, it does seem strange. I could see some destroyers and a cruiser being sent, maybe a task force but a whole fleet? Something is up."
"You're not wrong. But they could've sent us to stop the abyssals from launching more attacks on Okinawa."
"You both bring up good points and I guarantee whatever happens we're going to be in the thick of it."
"So there's a possibility for a battle?!"
We looked to each other and nodded, "Possibly."
"YEEEEES! Harusame owes me two-hundred Yen now!" She bolted down the hallway crackling like a madwoman leaving us staring.
"Well, that happened. Shall we explore the base some more?"
"Sure," Mochizuki and I answered simultaneously.
For the next ten minutes, we scoured the base looking for the mess and it became increasingly clear that we were lost, again. After wandering around for another five minutes I called Yuzuki out. "You're lost."
"No, I'm not. I know exactly where we're going."
"I told you we should have asked for directions."
"Yuzuki never gets lost!" Thirty seconds later she slumped in defeat. "Alright, we're lost."
"No, you're lost. I know where we need to go," I said with a smug smile.
She whirled around, "Why didn't you say something?!"
"I wanted to see how long it would take you to admit it."
"Well I admitted it; are you happy now?"
"Very. Follow me." I took the next left...
… and ran right into someone.
Thud
"Ouch!"
"Sorry! Here let me help."
"It's okay. Thanks." She smiled and I realized just how short she is. I'm 180 centimeters tall (5ft 9in) so I'm taller than any human in Japan but fairly average for destroyer Kanmusu. She's 165 centimeters tall (5ft 4in) so I have a good height advantage on her. She's not a submarine cause I would tower over her, more so than I already do, and she's too short to be a destroyer. I guess that makes her a destroyer escort.
"Forgive for being rude, but are you a destroyer escort?"
She nodded, "Yep! My name is Nomi it's nice to meet you!"
"It's nice to meet you, Nomi. I'm Asagiri. The two behind me are Yuzuki and Mochizuki." I pointed to them and Mochizuki shot past me and wrapped her up in a hug.
"She's soooooo cute," she squealed.
"Mochizuki you're going to strangle her," Yuzuki snapped. Mochizuki didn't hear her and continued to cuddle Nomi who blushed but didn't try and break away. She finally put her down and rubbed the back of her neck, "Sorry, cuteness is my greatest weakness."
Nomi chuckled, "It's fine I love a good cuddle session," she beamed at us. "So, where are you three heading?"
"The mess."
"Oh! That's on the way to the destroyer dorms. I can lead you there if you want."
"Sure."
"Alright, follow me." She walked past us, going the way we had just come.
"...You had no idea where you were going," Yuzuki said.
"You have no evidence of that." She rolled her eyes. Honestly, I had no idea where I was going but I refused to give her that satisfaction.
"So, where were you stationed before here?"
"Sasebo."
"Sasebo? That's one of the main bases isn't it?"
"Yep. It's on the Southern tip of Japan on the island of Kyushu."
"What's it like there?"
"It's a lot cooler and nowhere near as humid. It's also a lot louder there than here, personally, I prefer the peace and quiet here than the hustle and bustle of Sasebo."
"I don't know Asagiri, Sasebo has its own charms."
"Charms? The only thing charming about Sasebo is the mountain views. Breathtaking as they are I wouldn't go back for those alone."
"Mochizuki is a city kid Asagiri. She'll always be fond of cities no matter what."
"Yeah! I always have a sense of calm when I'm in a city." I stared at her like she'd grown a second head.
"How is a city calming to you?"
"It just is."
"I've never been to a city before. Can you show me one?" Nomi gave Mochizuki her best puppy dog eyes. She cooed and wrapped her in a hug. "Soooo cute!"
"Is that a yes," Nomi eagerly asked.
"Hmmmmm. I don't know. We can't just take you with us."
"What are you saying!? We could totally smuggle her with us!"
"I don't think Ise and Fuso would be very happy if we did that," I pointed out. On the other side of the base, Ise and Fuso sneezed simultaneously.
She groaned, "Good point, but I will not be deterred! Nomi will see a city by the time I'm done!"
"YEEEEEEES! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Nomi launched herself at her and wrapped her arms around her neck. I'm pretty sure Mochizuku's brain just short-circuited.
"Mochizuki. Mochizuki come in. Ah well, you asked for it." I raised my hand and slapped her in the back of the head. Her head jerked to the side and Nomi gasped in shock.
Mochizuki shot me a fierce glare, "How dare you."
I got up in her face, "You going to do something about it?"
We stared each other down for a few seconds... and started laughing. "Don't do that!" Nomi exclaimed. "I actually thought you were going to fight each other."
"We do this all the time Nomi, but we never actually fight."
She crossed her arms and pouted, "You could've told me."
I rubbed her head, "Well, now you know."
Yuzuki pawed at her stomach as it rumbled. "So, are we actually going to the mess or not."
"Sorry, we're almost there." She lead us through the base for a little longer until we came up to a pair of doors. She waved goodbye and we entered the mess. The noise created by a dozen or so Kanmusu assaulted my ears but that quickly disappeared when the smell of food hit me and I bolted ahead of my companions. I quickly topped my plate with as much food as possible, found an open seat, and proceeded to dig in.
I stuffed my face with beef rolls, chicken skewers, and fried rice while occasionally taking a drink of water. I cleaned my plate in a few minutes and leaned back before letting out a deep burp. I sighed contently, "That was goooooood."
Sigh, "Agreed," Yuzuki and Mochizuki said. For the next couple of minutes, we basked in the feeling of our bunkers thoroughly stuffed.
"Attention, there will be a mock battle between the fleets in forty minutes. That is all."
Wait, what?
A/N
I got Kirishima's outfit from the one she wears in Azur lane and added my own little touches.