Author's Note: Hello everybody. I'm not dead, and neither is this story! I wish I had a good excuse, but I lost my motivation to write, and didn't want to force myself to write it, as I didn't think the quality would have been good enough. However, I have been regaining my motivation, and this hiatus has given me a lot of time to think about the future of this story, and I have to say I'm confident moving forward that you'll enjoy it. However, I have also made some decisions that some of you may disapprove of. Namely, you should all review my general disclaimer at the top of Chapter 1. As of December, 2017 it has been modified to fit the future of this story. But I want to make one thing very clear before you even do that. This story is intended only for mature audiences, and if you are not considered an adult in your respective country, you should NOT read this story. But this is stuff you should have already known before. So lets go ahead and get started. Have a happy holidays, enjoy reading the chapter, and remember to review so I know what you're thinking!
Asashio kept brushing her long black hair while humming a catchy tune, observing herself in her bathroom mirror, her hair still damp from her shower. She had a grin on her face while she continued to stroke her hair with a greater sense of care than usual. She felt much better than before, and was finally ready to leave her room. Of course, she felt even better because Daimlon showed up in her room last night and offered her an official seat as his secretary. It took all she had not to burst with joy when he asked her, so naturally she was absolutely beaming with pride and satisfaction. 'Nothing wrong with looking the part, right?' Is what she told herself, perfectly aware that she was spending much more time taking care of herself this morning than usual.
Finally, she set the brush down on the bathroom counter and grabbed her socks off the counter. She turned around and leaned back against the counter to put her socks on one at a time. With that, she glossed over her uniform, examining it closely. "Spotless." She muttered to herself, with a satisfied smile. She turned the light switch off as she left her bathroom. She had also cleaned her room prior to her shower, her futon lie neatly on the floor, firmly pressed free of creases and the table in the corner of her room was cleaned of any leftovers from Sendai and Shigure's frequent visits.
Asashio felt like a million bucks as she turned the knob and headed out, her smile ever prevalent. Nothing could ruin this day.
She had to suppress the urge to skip all the way to the Mess Hall to grab her breakfast, but soon put on her usual stoic face. She was an extension of Daimlon's authority now, so she stowed away her smile and walked. Pushing the door to the Mess Hall, she found a group of people flocked around one table, quite a few unfamiliar faces were present as well. Was she really gone that long?
"Hey, it's Asashio! Where you been?" Maikaze asked, excited to see her.
Asashio walked up to them and inspected the faces, both familiar and old. Maikaze still had that wide grin on her face like usual. Jintsuu was looking down at her feet, more so than usual this time. Shigure was sitting eating her breakfast, smiling softly at Asashio. Among the unfamiliar faces, a purple haired girl, A girl with black and peach colored hair, as well as a short brown haired girl with a white eye. 'Wait, a white eye?' Asashio noted to herself. "Hi everybody, How are you all this morning?" She asked, hoping to introduce herself to the new girls.
"I'm well, how are you feeling?" Shigure asked, seeming rather pleased to see her back to normal.
Maikaze didn't really give Asashio a chance to reply directly. "Yeah, what happened anyway?" She asked curiously. Word of the incident had managed to stay under wraps considering only a couple people knew.
"I.. Uh, tripped." Asashio explained, unsure of what to say. Shigure simply gave her a slight nod, subtly telling her she would play along. "But I'm feeling much better now, thank you."
"You tripped... And that put you out of it for a couple days?" Akebono said with a hint of disbelief, before muttering to herself "Kind of pathetic."
Asashio couldn't hear what she muttered under her breath, but assumed it wasn't something she'd necessarily want to hear. "It knocked out a tooth, that's what kept me down." She explained professionally. She already didn't really like the attitude of this girl, but gave her the benefit of the doubt. "Who are you?"
"Akebono, Destroyer." She said simply. She was still in a bad mood from yesterday's events, and intended to go back for round two with the Admiral at some point during the day. However, that option was becoming less and less appealing as time wore on.
"And you two?" Asashio asked, looking at the other two unknown people.
Furutaka perked up and gladly introduced herself. "Furutaka, Heavy Cruiser. Nice to meet you Asashio!" She said, clearly in a pleasant mood.
"Nice, A heavy cruiser." Asashio said, glad to have some big guns with them. She then looked at the other girl.
She was busy shoveling copious amounts of food into her mouth as if this was the first meal she'd had in days. She took a moment to breathe before saying "Naganami, Yuugumo-class Destroyer." She noted, before continuing her attention to her food.
Asashio couldn't help but give a half smile before saying "Nice to meet you guys. I hope we all get along." With that, Asashio went to grab her tray of food.
"I'm sure we will." Furutaka said. Asashio still wanted to ask about her eye, but refrained from doing so in case it was some sort of construction defect.
Asashio began picking her tray of food from what little variety there was, before finally making her decision. But a hand beat her to it. She glanced over to see Naganami, who took the tray and took off immediately. "Really Naganami? That's your fourth tray of food, you can't be serious." Maikaze said in a teasing tone.
Naganami immediately took her seat again before looking at her with a stern look on her face, pointing at Maikaze with her spoon. "I am always serious. When it comes to food. And naps." She said before immediately stuffing her face.
Asashio merely chuckled at the odd girl before reaching to grab another tray, containing the same food that was swiped from her moments before.
"Jintsuu report to my office, Jintsuu to my office." Admiral Daimlon's voice boomed over the loudspeakers.
Jintsuu immediately stood, and left without a word. "Bye Jintsuu, see you later!" Maikaze said, hoping to get a response. She did not.
Asashio returned and took what used to be Jintsuu's seat. She wanted to eat quickly and report to Daimlon, she was already slightly behind schedule as it was, and she didn't want to miss what Jintsuu was being told. After all, everything Daimlon did now was her business.
Daimlon sat at his desk, his tea sitting off in the corner, gentle, steamy wisps emanating from its surface. "I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with this training schedule, Yuu. It's pretty thorough and well thought out." He noted as he examined the sheet of paper Yuu had handed off to him. She had her on a pretty strict schedule, exercising most of the morning followed by surface combat training in the afternoons and evening. All the while she would be under a strict but healthy diet to help her body get the nutrients necessary to help her develop muscle but not lose too much fat. She had everything planned out to the calorie and by the minute.
"Thank you, sir." Yuu said proudly. She was standing off to Daimlon's right hand side behind him. It was the first time she was standing behind Daimlon's desk, a demonstration to Jintsuu that she would be under Yuu's command for the time being.
"I'll print a copy of this and hand it off to Regina to make sure the food is prepared for her." Daimlon remarked. They were waiting for Jintsuu to show up. Whether she liked it or not, her training started today.
After a minute or two, there was a knock on the door. Yuu sharpened without hesitation, assuming a tight parade rest position behind Daimlon, looking straight ahead.
"Come in." Daimlon stated.
Jintsuu gently pushed the door open, revealing Daimlon sitting in his seat as usual, somewhat casually compared to her recent visits. However, the oddity was Yuu. She was standing behind him, off to the side. Her gaze was stagnant, and refused to shift from looking straight on. This could only be bad.
Regardless, Jintsuu walked up to his desk and took a seat in front of Daimlon's desk. "..Y-yes?" She asked, looking at Daimlon. However, Yuu's presence and sharp stance made her uncomfortable.
"Sleep well, Jintsuu?" Daimlon asked, genuinely curious. He hoped so, she was going to need it.
"..Yes." She replied, shifting in her seat a little. This could only be very bad.
Daimlon gave her a quick smile. "Great... We have determined that we have seen enough of your performance from your recent tests to properly assess you. As such, your remaining tests are hereby cancelled." He said matter-of-factly.
Jintsuu's heart skipped a beat. That was it? "R-really?" She asked timidly, afraid he made the choice to simply scrap her.
"Yep. As a result of your test performance, I have made the decision to have someone train you... That someone will be U-511." He said boldy. At the mention of her name, Yuu snapped to attention, clicking her boots together loudly, her eyes still straight ahead.
Jintsuu was relieved he hadn't decided to scrap her, but now she had a possibly bigger issue to deal with. She swallowed what little saliva she had in a dry gulp.
It was at this moment that the door knob turned and the door opened. Asashio entered the room. After giving Yuu a curious glance, she boldly strode to her desk, passing by Jintsuu without speaking. She took her seat, and without anything to do at her desk to look busy, simply looked at Jintsuu.
No one even acknowledged the fact that Asashio just walked in without knocking, and took a seat in the secretary's seat. It didn't take very long for Jintsuu to connect the dots.
"From this moment on, you will be under the direct command of Yuu. I have given her a position of authority over you, and only you, giving her full rights to command you, and discipline you as she sees fit. Anything you wish to say, Yuu?" Daimlon said professionally, looking back and up to her.
Still keeping her eyes straight ahead, she spoke loudly and clearly, louder than Daimlon had ever heard her speak. "Your training will begin immediately with a five kilometer run. Followed by fifty sit ups and push ups and then a short one kilometer forced march carrying twenty kilograms of gear. You will then do another thirty sit ups and push ups and we will wrap up with squats using forty kilograms of gear. Tomorrow will be a different set of exercises." It was possibly the most professional speech he had ever seen, and Daimlon couldn't help but admire her, even if just a little. Jintsuu was less than thrilled. "We will then move on to our first exercises, starting out with target practice for three hours, moving on to navigation and maneuvering, and finally target prioritization. Again, the exercises will change by day. Any questions?" She said proudly.
Jintsuu was sitting there, mouth agape, hardly believing what she had just heard. This training schedule was going to kill her, she could hardly run two kilometers. "H-how. How often will I train?" She asked nervously, her heart was already starting to beat faster.
"Every day but Sunday, but you will not train within the preceding twelve hours before a mission." Yuu said in a surprisingly commanding voice.
Today was Tuesday. Jintsuu just looked at them, silently cursing herself for doing so poorly. Training was no problem, but why did they make her do PT? She did not do well with PT. However, she got the feeling that this wasn't exactly negotiable. She slumped in her seat a little, and resigned herself to her fate.
"Are you ready?" Yuu asked her.
"Not so fast." Daimlon said calmly, looking at her.
Yuu finally broke from her gaze looking straight ahead to look at Daimlon for a moment, but then continued looking ahead as she was trained to.
"I have a couple announcements I'd like to make first, and then you can get started." Daimlon said, looking at Asashio with a slight smile. He pressed the button on his intercom, broadcasting his voice once again. "everyone, I repeat, everyone, report to the Head Quarters immediately." He said, releasing the button as he finished.
"Of course, sir." Yuu said, and simply walked out from behind the desks, and over to the door. Everyone rose from their seat, except for Jintsuu.
Daimlon and Asashio made their way over to the door. "Come on Jintsuu." Daimlon stated. Yuu held the door open for them as they walked out, and headed down the stairway. Jintsuu stood up and headed for the door, making eye contact with Yuu. She wanted to say something, or ask a question to break the tension she felt between them, but she couldn't.
As Daimlon reached the bottom of the steps, he headed over to the rather large briefing room off to the side. "Alright, everyone have a seat. Once everyone's here we'll get started." He said, walking toward the front, which contained a projector screen and a couple blank white boards. Asashio sat directly in the front, Jintsuu took her seat near the back hoping to avoid sitting next to anyone except maybe Sendai, but Yuu sat right next to her and sat straight and proper.
Within moments, Maikaze opened the door with several people in tow. "Maikaze, over here. Take a seat." Daimlon instructed as they walked through the door.
"What's going on, Daimlon?" Fubuki asked as she made her way over to the many seats that were available. They were arranged in two blocks with an empty aisle in the middle to allow people to walk up and down the middle. All of the seats were facing front toward the projector screen and white boards. She took her seat next to Maikaze.
"You'll find out soon enough." Daimlon said. Just as he finished that sentence, Regina, Nonna and Marie all poofed into the room.
"Heya Don, when you said everyone, you meant us too, right?" Regina asked, adjusting her glasses.
Daimlon hadn't actually thought of them, but was glad they showed up anyway. "Yeah, I meant everyone. It won't take too long, just have to go over a couple things."
"See, I told you he didn't forget us." Regina said to Nonna, nudging her with her elbow teasingly.
Nonna just looked back at her with a small grin. "Hey, I said he might have neglected to include us." Nonna said, defending herself. The three fairies took a position all the way in the back of the room, overlooking everyone from a heightened position.
Several minutes later, everyone had arrived and taken a seat, most were scattered among the left hand side, with a couple to the right, Akebono off by herself in the far right corner. However, there was one person missing.
Glancing at his watch, Daimlon was growing impatient. "Where is Sendai? Does anyone know?" Daimlon asked the group of girls before him.
"I have five hundred Yen that says she's sleeping." Maikaze shouted, clearly joking with the group.
Naganami simply turned around to face her for a moment. "Whatever, you wish you had five hundred Yen!... But I'll take you up on it." Naganami teased initially, and then took her up on her bet.
"Oh you are so on!" Maikaze said, extending her hand for the traditional 'it's a bet' handshake. Naganami took it with a sly grin on her face.
Fubuki just looked at Maikaze and Naganami. "You two are absolutely ridiculous." She said with a smile on her face.
With no constructive responses, Daimlon decided to take action. "Nonna, Regina, Marie. Could you go look for Sendai for me please? Start in her room."
They each gave a short 'yes' before dissipating in a white vapor cloud. It didn't take very long before Regina returned, and said. "Found her. She'll be here any moment." Within a few moments the other two fairies returned as well.
"Thanks. What was she doing?" Daimlon asked, curious what was taking her so long.
Regina adjusted her glasses. "You'll see." She said, and then took her spot in the back of the room again with Nonna and Marie.
Within a few moments, the door opened and Sendai walked through with a rice ball in hand. She shoved it in her mouth and began chewing. She walked over and took a seat, chewing for a few moments longer before swallowing her food. "Sorry... I just grabbed my food when you called." She explained. She immediately turned around, looking for Jintsuu.
"Ha!" Naganami exclaimed as she looked at Maikaze behind her, sticking her tongue out at her, knowing she had won the little bet they made.
Maikaze just kicked Naganami's chair playfully. "Oh whatever, you probably knew, that wasn't a fair bet." She said, dismissing her loss.
"Psst, Jintsuu. Over here." Sendai whispered to her sister upon finding her, located just a couple rows in front of her, urging her to relocate.
Jintsuu gave a small smile, and went to stand. "Stay." Yuu instructed. Jintsuu glanced at her, and saw her serious face looking straight ahead as it usually did. She didn't have the nerve to just leave. So she stayed seated.
Sendai shot Yuu a glare, but was interrupted by Daimlon.
"Now that everyone is here. Let's get started." Daimlon announced. Naturally, all attention was then shifted toward the front and all conversation ceased.
"My first announcement is an important one. After some planning overnight, I have decided we will strike at UG Island tomorrow night." Daimlon said boldly. Asashio, as well as a couple others, immediately gave him a surprised, disapproving look.
"Excuse me, but how the hell are we supposed to attack a base with nine surface vessels?" Akebono blurted out, clearly displeased with what she had just heard.
"Yes, and why so sudden? Surely we should wait longer and plan more thoroughly." Fubuki stated, shifting in her seat.
Daimlon cleared his throat. He was sort of expecting this. "We will have eleven surface vessels by tomorrow morning. I already placed a construction order early this morning. The first construction I used almost all of our resources, more than what was used to construct Furutaka. This will hopefully grant us another Heavy cruiser or maybe a battleship. The last construction was the bare minimum, and is expected to be another Destroyer. With this, and taking into consideration the intel gathered by Sendai and her team, I believe we will have the firepower to take this base out. The timing is important however, a high value target is currently stationed at the base right now, and could leave at any moment. I want to destroy this high value target." He explained as professionally as he could. He wished he could have gone into more detail, but that could wait until the proper briefing tomorrow.
Asashio and Sendai both already knew this high value target he was referring to was the Abyssal battleship they discovered. Nobody responded to Daimlon and his explanation. While Akebono was clearly in the corner fuming, it was apparent that nobody else would speak up. "Tomorrow evening, at 1800 hours, I will brief you on your mission in its entirety. You will be given your assignments and objectives there. I hope to have everyone on the water by 1900 hours. Do not. Be. Late, and make sure you get plenty of rest during the day." Daimlon stressed, looking directly at Sendai.
Sendai's hand shot up. "Does this mean we'll be engaging the enemy at night?" She asked.
Daimlon could only give a quick breath out of his nose, accompanied by a small smile. "Yes. Yes it does." He said casually.
"Yyyyes!" Sendai shouted, clearly thrilled that her first action would be at night. A couple others were unnerved at the prospect, particularly Shigure.
"A-admiral, Are you so sure about sending us all in at night as our very first mission? I mean, with only a couple of us here being the exception, none of us have any experience." Shigure asked. It was a little unlike her to speak up the way she did.
"We have Furutaka who possesses a searchlight, and Sendai who claims to be an expert on night combat. I have confidence in each of you that you will do just fine. The base is very lightly defended, and if it becomes too big of a threat, I am ensuring that a withdrawal maneuver will be available at all times." He continued to explain. He would be surprised if some of them didn't have these concerns. To be honest, he had these very same concerns, but he had to present his plan to his crew as though it was the best plan ever.
Shigure wasn't entirely convinced, but she knew she couldn't do anything more to convince him. She simply slumped in her seat a little, feeling her heart rate pick up slightly with anxiety.
"What's this high value target you're talking about?" Maikaze asked. She seemed neither excited nor discouraged by the news, her eyes glimmering with a heightened sense of determination than usual.
Daimlon paused, he wasn't sure if he should announce it just yet. "...That will be discussed tomorrow night." He said calmly, hoping they would take it well.
"Ah shit, that's never a good sign." Naganami announced to the group. "Well, it's been fun guys, but the gig's up tomorrow." She said, clearly a mixture of sarcasm and totally expecting the worst.
"Relax, it's not that bad." Daimlon reassured, putting his hands up for a brief moment.
"Then tell us." Akebono said without hesitation, daring him to spill the beans. She couldn't wait to hear how they were expected to take down an Abyssal Princess.
Daimlon shifted his stance slightly, but had his mind made up. "Tomorrow." He said coldly, making it clear he wasn't budging on it.
Everyone looked at each other nervously, clearly unnerved at not knowing what they were expected to destroy. "In all, just make sure you're here tomorrow night at 1800 sharp. No excuses. Understood?" Daimlon took his composure back in force, demanding a proper response.
"Yeah." Almost everyone replied, a couple offering a more formal 'Yes, sir'.
"Good... Next, I would like to make a public announcement. I have made the choice to take on one of you as my secretary in my office." Daimlon said loudly, refraining from looking at Asashio. Most of them had a blank expression on their face, and quite a few had already figured out who it was going to be. "Asashio, from this moment you are now my secretary. Please stand up here." He announced. As instructed, Asashio stood and took center stage, facing the group. Several girls clapped as she stood, the rest simply watching.
"Starting now, Asashio will serve as an extension of myself. Anything you hear from her, you heard from me. If you have complaints, problems or suggestions, feel free to direct them to her and she will relay them to me. It is also her duty to serve as my second in command. Should something happen to me, or if I am simply unavailable at the moment, she assumes full authority on my behalf. Following her, authority falls to the three fairies floating in the back of the room. Are we clear?" Daimlon said. Asashio stood at the front, doing her absolute best to keep a serious face, but that was proving to be a difficult task as she swelled with pride.
After another series of affirmative replies, Daimlon stepped over to stand right beside Asashio, cementing her place as his secretary. "Good. You are all dismissed." Daimlon announced. He then immediately turned to Asashio, and gave her a smile. She simply glanced up at him, offered him a warm smile and then looked back at the group, who all began to stand and converse among themselves.
"Oh yeah, Expedition today, 1400 hours! All of you except Jintsuu, Yuu, and Asashio are going." Daimlon commanded. The room immediately filled with a series of groans and bellyaching, but nobody actually voiced a viable complaint.
Yuu now stood from her seat. "Alright, your training begins now. Change into an outfit you are comfortable working out in. You have five minutes." Yuu commanded to Jintsuu.
"Wait, working out?.. What for?" Maikaze asked, turning around to Yuu and Jintsuu who were sitting in the back row.
"To stay healthy, of course." Yuu said elegantly. "You are free to join us if you wish." Though she said that boldly, she quickly looked over at Daimlon to make sure she was okay. Seeing this, Daimlon gave her a small nod of approval.
"Hey if Jintsuu's doing it, so will I. Let's go!" Sendai exclaimed. She was always bored anyway.
"Me too." Fubuki chimed in.
At this point, the trend had been set. "Hey, don't forget me!" Lilly shouted. She had been surprisingly quiet during the entire announcement, rather uncharacteristic for her. "Hey, hey, Shigure, you should come too!" She pleaded.
Shigure didn't look too enthused by the idea, but relented. "Well, alright." She said calmly.
"I'll go too." Furutaka said.
Not assigning jobs and keeping them bored was proving to be a rather fruitful, and completely unintentional tactic. Daimlon was pleased to hear so many people volunteering to do a good workout.
Akebono had decided long before anyone else spoke. "Yeah, I'm good, thanks though." She said, crossing her arms.
"Come on Akebono, it'll be fun." Maikaze teased with a smile.
"Not happening." Akebono stated absolutely. She had already started for the door and was quickly on the other side of it.
"Well, I wouldn't want to fall in with a sourpuss like that. I'm down." Naganami said. With that, the group all walked out together. The room was abruptly vacant, save for Daimlon, Asashio and the three fairies.
Daimlon scratched the back of his head. "That went better than expected. I never thought the others would join in." Daimlon said, clearly happy with the result.
"Most of them, even if they don't show it, are pretty energetic. They need to do something to burn it off, so I'm not surprised considering most of them don't have anything to do." Nonna said.
"Mhm, and be careful with Destroyers. They tend to have higher energy levels than the others. They're truly like kids." Regina said, adjusting her glasses. With nothing to say or do, Marie simply took her leave amidst their conversation.
Daimlon eyed Asashio suspiciously. Asashio just looked back at him, and kind of expected what was coming next. "I don't know, if that's the case this one might be faulty." Daimlon said with a smile.
"Why did I know you were going to say that?" Asashio said with a smile on her face.
"You know, now that you mention it..." Nonna said as she floated closer to Asashio.
Regina simply sighed on Asashio's behalf. "Remember, everyone's different. Just like how Akebono doesn't seem particularly enthusiastic either, it all depends on the individual. It's more of a stereotype than a rule." Regina reasoned, adjusting her glasses.
"Don't worry Daimlon, I think we can fix her." Nonna exclaimed, whipping out her clipboard.
"Yeah, and see if you can't do something about that blank look she always has on her face." Daimlon said, continuing to tease Asashio. Obviously, not a word Regina said was actually heard.
Asashio rolled her eyes, but had an amused smile on her face. "Alright, that's enough you two. Shouldn't we start planning for the attack tomorrow night?" Regina interrupted, being the voice of reason.
It wasn't even into the fourth kilometer and Jintsuu felt like she was going to pass out. During their warm up stretch, Yuu went over running in formation with everyone, and instructed them how to go along with a cadence call, all of them originating in Germany supposedly. Apparently, this was the norm in Germany, and was done on a daily basis with one person leading the group's pace and cadence. This person was, of course, Yuu. The rhythmic drum beat of footfalls on pavement filled the air aside from the swells of the sea on the docks.
Her voice was surprisingly strong and well suited for it, and one might guess she was hardly breaking a sweat at how clear her voice was. "They arrived in our oceans with a single quest!" She shouted.
Naturally, the entire group reverberated her line, only louder. According to Yuu, this was supposed to help them stay in a formation as well as keep them in step. However, Jintsuu didn't like it in the slightest. She was practically forced to sound off with breath she didn't have. And she seriously doubted its usefulness in helping them run better. The whole thing seemed to be an excuse to shout lines that were supposed to help with overall morale, but she felt it was trying too hard to do that, she almost found herself despising it. However, she just followed suit and did what she could.
"The world's Navies stood a bit distressed!" Again, Yuu shouted.
"The world's Navies stood a bit distressed!" The group reverberated. While plenty of them were tired, none seemed to be nearly as tired as Jintsuu was. Was she seriously this out of shape?
"But the Ladies of the world fought the best!"
"But the Ladies of the world fought the best!" This time, Jintsuu could hardly speak she was so out of breath. However, Yuu noticed the absence of her voice, and nudged her with her elbow gently.
"Abyssal forces could hardly take a rest!"
"Abyssal forces could hardly take a rest!" Jintsuu managed to keep up this time, but felt herself desperately short of breath. She wanted to stop, but every time she slowed down, it became all too apparent she would be interfering with the group as the person behind her caught up.
"Day after day, we put them to the test!"
"Day after day, we put them to the test!"
"And we'll keep on fighting 'til there's nothing left!"
"And we'll keep on fighting 'til there's nothing left!" Jintsuu stumbled this time, nearly falling over. But a couple arms latched on to her, and helped her stay on her feet while dragging her along. She looked over to see Furutaka, who was running beside her, was almost pulling her along. She didn't look tired in the slightest either. As Jintsuu managed to get herself back together, Furutaka let go.
Jintsuu had no choice but to keep going, after all, if she didn't she would have to answer to Yuu. She didn't want that.
Back in his office, Daimlon stood at the window behind Asashio's seat, watching the group run. Their shouts were barely audible through the thick wall, but could still be heard. It took him back to his Academy days, where he would do exactly that for hours on end just about every morning. He sighed with a smile on his face, his base had been turned into a drill academy thanks to Yuu, and he could not be happier with her because of it.
"It does look kind of fun." Asashio noted, her chair turned around to look out the window with Daimlon.
Daimlon simply looked down at her before starting to walk back to his chair. "Sure, it looks fun, but I bet if you ask any one of them, it is definitely not fun." Daimlon stated, taking a seat as he continued to 'reminisce' about something that he frequently did just six short months ago.
Asashio spun her chair around, looking over a recon report from an observation plane that had recently returned from its mission. "..I'll run with them next time, and see for myself." She said before beginning where she left off. Seems an Abyssal destroyer squad of three was spotted heading to an unknown destination, likely a patrol from UG Island.
Daimlon leaned back in his seat and looked up at the ceiling as he put his hands behind his head. "I might, too. I should feel obligated to stay at least reasonably healthy... I just remember all the days I'd go to bed sore as could be because we'd done so much PT throughout the day. I kind of miss it honestly." He said, still clearly in his reminiscing mood.
"Didn't you just say you didn't like it?" She asked, looking up at him curiously.
Daimlon just looked at her. "Yeah. You kind of have to learn to enjoy it, though. You don't have a choice, and its going to suck, so enjoy what you can. For me, I enjoyed cadence calls, something about building the group's unity while we did PT was satisfying to me... My father would always tell me that the academy was just a game. They made the rules, and all you had to do was play." Daimlon said with a half smile on his face. He didn't realize just how deep he was slipping into his own memories at the time.
Asashio simply looked at him as he leaned back in his chair. "I wonder what exactly the academy was like." She thought to herself. However, Asashio decided it was time to get back to business, she couldn't let herself be a distraction to Daimlon after all.
Daimlon opened the front door to the HQ and stepped outside. He was immediately greeted with the sight of Jintsuu, Yuu, Furutaka, Naganami and Sendai all marching carrying a backpack, obviously filled with unnecessarily heavy gear. Seems the group thinned out as the workout kept going, Yuu could only keep Jintsuu there, everyone else could come and go as they wished. It was apparent that Jintsuu was nearing the end of her rope, her clothes a testament to how much she had been sweating. Fortunately, Yuu let them carry a water bottle with them on their march, so at least she was keeping them hydrated. However, even Sendai and Furutaka looked tired at this point, only Naganami seemingly going strong. But if Daimlon didn't know any better, he would have guessed Yuu had just started. He had only ever seen this type of stamina in his former Drill Leaders from the academy, and was reasonably impressed.
"Only two hundred meters to go, ladies!" Yuu shouted. She was at the head of the group, with the rest in a two by two block behind her, marching on.
As the group marched closer toward him, he decided to stop watching and get a move on, the shorter construction timer of six hours was almost up, and nearly time to introduce himself to a new girl. The other was eleven hours, and would have to wait another five.
Approaching the Construction Yard, Asashio took her place beside him. "Thirty seconds." She stated. Instead of the usual Nonna, this time it was Asashio who had alerted him construction was almost finished, such was her duty as secretary.
"Okay. So if I'm remembering right, that means five hours left on the other, right?" Daimlon asked, ensuring he wasn't mistaken.
Asashio knew off the top of her head. "That is correct." She said simply.
After a brief pause, the sounds of construction ceased, and the door began to open slowly. Daimlon brushed past the curtain, with Asashio following shortly behind. The lights flicked on.
They revealed a small girl about Asashio's size, with long, flowing dark brown hair with a hint of purple, almost like wine in color. A pink hair clip consisting of three flower petals further augmented her hair color.
She wore was appeared to be a school uniform style outfit consisting of a white body with a green collar and sleeve cuffs and a green skirt.
Interestingly, her eyes shone an almost identical color to her hair, almost a purplish wine color.
As her eyes met his, she glanced down all the way to his feet, and then back up before speaking. "Greetings, my name is Kisaragi. Mutsuki-class Destroyer." She said with a grin.
Daimlon approached her, and extended it out for a handshake. "Nice to meet you Kisaragi. I am Admiral Daimlon, with me is my secretary, Asashio." Daimlon said professionally. He felt like this was the hundredth time he's gone through this routine.
"Pleasure." Asashio stated, deciding to simply stand behind Daimlon and hold her ground.
Kisaragi shook his hand for a moment. "Of course," Kisaragi started before giving a slight giggle. "It's always enjoyable meeting someone new." She said, eyeing Daimlon in particular while batting her eyelids a couple times.
Kisaragi's underhanded flirt went unnoticed by Daimlon, and only Daimlon. "Good, you'll be meeting plenty more new people soon. But first, I should probably note that we are having a mission tomorrow. Make sure you're in the briefing room at 1800 hours, okay? And get some rest during the day, we're heading out at night." Daimlon instructed formally.
"Oh but of course, I can show up anytime you need me. Just tell me when. And where." Kisaragi said in a rather suggestive tone.
Asashio just continued to glare at her a little, she wasn't exactly sure what Kisaragi thought she was doing, but she found it rather unprofessional of her.
Daimlon started to catch on at this point, and wasn't entirely sure how to respond in an appropriate manner.
"Just kidding!" Kisaragi said with a warm smile, and finished off with a laugh.
"Right. It'll be held in the HQ. Asashio here will give you a little tour of the base and she'll show you everything you need to know." Daimlon said, waving his arm toward Asashio.
Kisaragi then looked at Asashio for the first time, still wearing that smile on her face. "Great!" She said cheerfully.
"Can you take it from here Asashio? I should get back to planning the attack." Daimlon said, he had a lot of work ahead of him, especially considering he had one person to add to the plan, and another unknown to account for.
"Of course, Commander." Asashio replied.
Daimlon just gave her a quick look. "Thanks. I'll see you when you get done." Daimlon said before walking off. "Oh and Kisaragi, I have an open door policy, so stop by if you have any concerns, okay?" Daimlon called as he continued walking.
"Will do!" Kisaragi said in a rather strong tone. She then looked back to Asashio. "So, where do we begin?" She asked, still wearing her smile.
"This is really nice. I'm so glad we have these things to double up as hot tubs." Maikaze said, relaxing further into her tub.
The room was filled with steam as the girls that left the workout session were relaxing in the repair bay's tubs, using it for an unintended purpose. "Really helps with the aches." Shigure noted, her chin just below the surface of the hot water. She shifted slightly, trying to get more comfortable. Her gaze drifted off with her thoughts. For some reason, she couldn't shake the thought of going into a night battle as soon as tomorrow. It was just nagging her in the back of her mind, and she couldn't help it.
"Yuu sure knows how to push you to keep going." Fubuki said, chiming into the conversation.
Maikaze just let out a sigh. "I'll say, I think I would have stopped at the two kilometer mark if Yuu hadn't been there. But seriously, can we just talk about how she never got tired during that entire run? I don't think she even broke a sweat."
"I noticed that too. I wonder how often they did this sort of thing in her home country." Fubuki replied, she reached behind her for one of the handles, adding a little more hot water to keep the temperature where she wanted it.
"Probably all the time." Shigure said, "I mean, she does seem to be quite disciplined based on the way she conducts herself all the time." Shigure always liked to try and understand the way others thought or felt, and while she would like nothing more than to have some nice chats with Yuu, she always kept herself busy.
Maikaze looked beside her at Shigure. "Well, Germans do like their order." She said.
"They also completely lack a sense of humor." Fubuki said before laughing.
"That's right! Here's one for you. How many Germans does it take to change a light bulb? One, because they're efficient and don't have time for jokes." Maikaze said teasingly, before laughing herself.
It was at this moment the front door slid open, and everyone immediately quit, thinking it might have been Yuu.
"And this is the repair bay, you'll be brought back here for-" Asashio stopped mid step as she brushed past the curtain to the baths, seeing them currently occupied.
The two groups of girls just stared at each other blankly for a few moments. "..What are you doing in here?" Asashio asked in a rather serious tone.
The three girls in their tubs just looked at each other, daring one another to speak first. Maikaze looked back to Asashio first. "Uh.. Relaxing... After our workout." She explained.
Asashio just kept looking at them. She wasn't sure if they had asked for permission to do this, but she would ask Daimlon about it when she got back for sure. "Okay... Anyway, you'll be brought back here for repairs." She continued telling Kisaragi.
"..So who is this?" Shigure asked, looking at the girl standing behind Asashio.
Kisaragi just took a step forward, wearing a smile on her face. "Kisaragi, who are you guys?" She said cheerfully.
"I'm Maikaze, nice to meet ya!" Maikaze said enthusiastically.
"Shigure." Shigure replied quickly.
Fubuki was the last to speak up. "Fubuki. We're all Destroyers here." She announced.
"Awesome. Mind if I hang around for a bit?" Kisaragi asked.
Asashio interjected before anyone had a chance to speak up. "No, I need to finish showing you around. Plus, I'm not even sure if they're supposed to be in here." She said.
"It's not a problem, we can show her around. I wouldn't mind having another person in this conversation." Maikaze smiled, offering a compromise. "It'll let you get back to your other duties after all."
"Yeah, come on Asashio." Kisaragi pleaded.
Asashio thought it over, furrowing her brow for a second. With a slight sigh, she arrived at an answer. "Well. I guess it's alright..." She said. "Just make sure you show her where the briefing room is and everything. Okay?"
"You got it, we can take it from here. Plus we have an expedition in about thirty minutes, and I'm guessing she'll be going too." Fubuki affirmed.
"Come on and join us, Kisaragi. We were just poking a little fun at our local German!" Maikaze shouted cheerfully, happy to have another person on board.
Asashio started to head back out before giving one closing statement "Oh yeah, if I find out you're not supposed to be in here, I'll be back to evict you. Just letting you know now." She said in a simple tone.
"Oh, a German, huh?" Kisaragi inquired as she started to fill one of the empty tubs.
Shigure just gave a slight nod to Asashio, letting her know she wasn't completely ignored. "Yeah, she's a bit of an odd ball." Fubuki stated.
Kisaragi started to take her shirt off. "What do you mean?" She asked, wanting to know more.
Asashio just turned and headed for the door, she wasn't going to get a proper reply, so she decided to make her exit.
"They were using the Repair Bay as a hot tub?" He asked, raising an eye brow.
Asashio looked at him from her seat. "Yes, sir.. Should I tell them not to do that anymore?" She asked, she got swept up in work when she got back, and only just remembered she wanted to ask Daimlon about it.
Daimlon simply took a moment to think about it. He abruptly paged Nonna to consult with her on the subject. Within moments, Nonna appeared in the room.
"How can I help?" She asked.
Daimlon adjusted in his seat before speaking. "Asashio found several of our girls using the Repair Bay as a hot tub... Would this have any impact on our resources in any way, and do you see any problems with it?" He asked in a serious tone.
Nonna just laughed. "You're kidding, right?" There was only silence for a few moments. "You're not kidding. Okay. No, unless you consider our reserves of warm water precious they don't impact our resources. Only I can put a resource rich mixture of water into the tub. And I don't see a problem with it, the only problem that might arise is they'll have to get out whenever we have to repair someone." She said.
Daimlon just looked over at Asashio with a smirk on his face. "I appreciate you bringing this to my attention Asashio, but I'm going to allow it. As long as they don't abuse it, anyway." He said.
"Of course. I'll let them know the next time I see them." Asashio said, feeling like she had made a big deal out of nothing.
"Is that all you needed?" Nonna asked.
Daimlon looked over the charts he had in front of him. "Unless you can form a plan that guarantees a casualty free mission to UG, I'm afraid so." He said somewhat sarcastically, playing it off as a joke. He needed to act confident, but this would be his first true combat, and he was absolutely terrified.
"I'm sure whatever you come up with would be far better than me." Nonna assured him after a quick laugh.
Asashio shifted in her seat, suppressing the urge to speak out against the mission once again. Instead she just focused on the work she had in front of her.
"Anyway, I need to head back out to the harbor to help Yuu. I'll be around if you need me." Nonna said.
"Alright, thanks Nonna." Daimlon said without looking up from his chart.
With her part having been played, she closed her eyes and envisioned the harbor in her head. When she opened them, she could hear the loud explosions from Jintsuu's cannons. Yuu and Jintsuu were out on the water, in their third hour of target practice. "Start over." Yuu instructed.
There were fifteen steel targets set up in a line, each 100 meters further away than the other, the targets reaching beyond the harbor's arms of safety. Yuu made it clear to Jintsuu that she was to start at the closest target, strike it three times in a row, and then move to the next target and strike it three times as well. This would continue all the way down the line to the very last target, and if Jintsuu missed a single shot, she would have to start over from the beginning. So far she hadn't managed to get past the seventh target.
Jintsuu was clearly quite fatigued, her hair could officially be classified as a wreck, her face bled exhaustion, and her arms trembled from the weight of her guns as she took aim once more. The sun wasn't even down, and Jintsuu felt like she could sleep for a week. However, she grit her teeth and shot the nearest target three times before moving on.
Each time she did, Nonna would have the target replaced with a fresh one, luckily the steel targets only cost two steel resources each.
Jintsuu reached the fifth target, hitting it twice before missing. "Again!" Yuu shouted. Only now was it becoming apparent that she was growing tired, but only slightly.
Jintsuu simply sighed with exhaustion, struggling to keep her aching muscles moving. Everything ached, even something as simple as drawing breath caused her muscles to voice their complaints. She raised her arms again, taking aim at the nearest target. And at that moment, she reached her absolute limit. Her arms collapsed to her side, and she hung her head low. After a brief moment, her knees gave out, and she found herself kneeling down, holding herself up with her arms, panting as she did.
Yuu glanced at her watch, it was five minutes until her marksmanship training was complete. She knew straining Jintsuu's body any further could cause more harm than good. She let out a sigh to demonstrate she was slightly disappointed in Jintsuu. "You have twenty minutes to eat. You're free to go." She said. She wanted to say more, but it was at that moment she realized they didn't have a proper classroom for instructional purposes.
Jintsuu gathered what strength she had and made her way over to be disarmed, and grab a much needed reprieve.
As Jintsuu left, Yuu turned to Nonna. "Is there anywhere we could use as a classroom of some sort?"
Nonna, looking at Jintsuu with a slightly worried expression, looked at Yuu. "Well, until Daimlon constructs an auxiliary building for such a purpose, I don't think he'd have a problem with you using the briefing room." She told her.
Jintsuu, now making her way to the Mess Hall, found each step excruciatingly difficult. With the underway expedition, the Mess Hall was completely empty. Making her way to the serving line, she only saw a single tray, with a note on it that said 'Reserved for Jintsuu'. It had a much larger portion than normal, but did not look appetizing at all. She didn't have a choice, so she took it with a blank expression on her face, and sat down.
She appreciated the ability to sit much more than the food. After just sitting there and looking at her food for five minutes, she finally dug in. She ate slowly, taking her time, and only ate about half of her food before Yuu crashed through the door.
"Alright, lunch time's up, let's go." Yuu said as she walked over to where Jintsuu was sitting.
Jintsuu looked up at her. "Can I.. Finish this?" She asked meekly. She was still hungry, she simply didn't want to rush. 'Lunch time? It's almost time for dinner.' She thought to herself.
"Eat faster next time. Let's go." Yuu said, taking her tray from her and plopping it at the tray drop off. "I've instructed the fairies to have your dinner prepped at 2000 hours. You can eat then."
Jintsuu had thought this before on some occasions, but she felt this was particularly deserving. 'This is just cruel.' She thought. "B-but-" She started, before being cut off.
"This is only the beginning of German Kriegsmarine training, this is not your lightweight Japanese training. Get it together and get used to it." Yuu said boldly, not even sure if German training was innately tougher or more demanding than Japanese training. She never took pride in playing the bad guy, but Daimlon made it pretty clear what he expected out of Jintsuu at the end of this. And this was all she knew when it came to training.
Jintsuu just mentally pictured herself smacking Yuu and walking out to do her own thing. If only she were so bold. Instead, she simply stood, and followed Yuu to the briefing room. Luckily, it was merely academics and lecture for the rest of the night, which Jintsuu was quite naturally good at. But most importantly, it didn't require her to use her aching muscles.
For the second time today, Daimlon brushed past the curtains to the Construction Yard. He was nervous this time, he invested quite a bit of resources and was hoping for a fairly big ship, at least Heavy Cruiser level. If he managed to get a Battleship before his first mission, he would feel much more comfortable with the mission given the plan he currently had drafted. Asashio stepped in behind him, still helping him with his duties as his secretary. Luckily, they were almost finished with the day's work, and Daimlon might actually have some time to spend outside his office.
The lights flickered on, revealing a taller girl, standing almost as tall as Daimlon. The first thing that demanded attention was her long black ponytail, tied up with a dark pink scrunchy.
She wore a red mid-thigh length skirt with a single thigh high sock on her left leg. She had a solid white sleeveless shirt, with a dark blue collar and tie, wearing matching gloves on both hands.
However, one thing that stuck out to Daimlon most, was her eyes. They were just like Asashio's, they broadcasted a resolve, a determination, and strength not found in many. Upon making eye contact, he noticed her glance down at his chest, and then back up to continue their eye contact.
Daimlon had to take a moment's pause. He found her to be absolutely beautiful, almost stunningly so. Almost. As he had done countless times before, he swept it aside and pressed on to begin the conversation, quick to bury the attraction as deeply as he could.
"Hello Admiral, Nice to meet you." She spoke in a somewhat flat tone. Despite the flat tone, her voice was just as attractive as she was, maybe even more so. He dug faster.
"Nice to meet you. Admiral Daimlon, and this is my secretary, Asashio." Daimlon said with a bit more pride than usual in his voice. He extended his hand out for a handshake as he usually did.
The girl looked at his hand for a moment before smiling slightly as she reached out to meet his hand. She gave a firm shake with her gloved hand. "Yahagi. Light cruiser, Agano-class" She announced proudly as she shook his hand.
Asashio, being quite the perceptive person, noticed that this handshake was a little different. The way they were looking at each other, and the duration was only slightly longer than it usually was, but it was telling. She immediately sniffed it out, and gave a slight, disapproving glare to Daimlon.
Daimlon wasn't even upset that he had failed to meet his goal of getting a Heavy Cruiser, in fact he largely forgot about that goal. He also managed to forget that Nonna had accompanied them this time, eager to see if Daimlon got his coveted battleship. "Agano-class? Well that's pretty neat, glad to have you." Nonna said in a rather pleased tone.
"Oh yeah, and this is our construction fairy, Nonna." He told Yahagi before turning around to Nonna. "And what do you mean 'neat'? Is the Agano-class special?" He inquired.
"Sort of. Only in the sense that they're the most modern and, arguably, best light cruisers we have available to us at the moment. There are only four in the pool total, so you got pretty lucky I would say." Nonna said informatively. She didn't want to come right out and say it, but the Agano-class outpaced every other Light Cruiser available, including the likes of Sendai and Jintsuu.
Yahagi just looked down slightly. "Thank you, but please, I'm nothing special." Yahagi said with a straight face.
"The pool? What do you mean the pool?" Daimlon asked, this is the first he's heard her mention something about a pool.
Nonna sighed. Asashio only mentally so. "Did they not teach you this at the Academy? Did they teach you anything at all?" Nonna teased, but in a serious tone.
Yahagi didn't want to say anything, but she didn't know what she was talking about either, and was a little curious herself.
"They tried not to." Daimlon said, not being serious in the slightest.
"Well, we've managed to identify which ships are eligible for construction based on who's been constructed in the past. The Agano-class only had four ships, so there are only four in the pool for construction total, once they're constructed, we're not getting anymore. That's why we update the global roster daily." She explained in a rushed manner.
Daimlon just let his expression go blank. She just called it something different. "Of course. I should've known. It was just called a construction roster in the academy." He said, explaining his apparent lack of knowledge. "Anyway. Yahagi." He said, grabbing her undivided attention.
"Yeah?" She asked.
"We're having a mission tomorrow. Make sure you're in the briefing room at 1800 hours sharp, alright?" He instructed.
She simply nodded at him, not giving a verbal response.
"Alright Asashio, you know what to do. I'm still planning for the attack tomorrow, and I need to work her in now." Daimlon said, he knew he had a long night of planning ahead of him. He sure wasn't going to get much sleep after all.
Asashio just nodded at him. "Of course, sir. Follow me Yahagi, I'll show you around." She said. And with that, the two girls set off.
"Hey Daimlon, planning is important, but make sure you get a good night's sleep, okay? Rest is important too. Plus you have tomorrow as well." She lectured. A part of her feared he was going to pull an all-nighter anyway.
Daimlon just looked at her with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Nonna, I know." He said. That said, he just silently shoved off and headed back to his office where he would finalize his plans for the next day.