Kaga stood on the beach of Hachijo-jima, waiting along with the Tokyo Bay Base's three admirals, Kongou, and Nagato for the Abyssal envoy to arrive. It was a cloudy and windless day on the island, similar to when she had been here to fight off the Abyssal assault. Indeed, things had not changed much on the island since then, and like the day of the sortie, most of the island's inhabitants were indoors after being informed of the Abyssal visit.
Though the admirals and secretary ships had come to the island alone as promised, a carrier strike force was stationed close by the Tokyo Bay Base, ready to sortie at any moment. The ship girls at the base were also prepared for battle, and if given the order, they would sail to Hachijo-jima as fast as they could. Nevertheless, the Abyssals seemed to be holding up their end of the agreement as well, and radar and drone surveillance had located only three Abyssals sailing leisurely towards the Japanese island. For now, it seemed like the reinforcements would be unnecessary, but one could never be too prepared.
"Man, what I'd give to sock that bitch right in the face when we see her, desu," Kongou mumbled under her breath as the group waited for the Abyssals.
"That… Probably wouldn't go well for you," Nagato commented, overhearing Kongou anyway.
Kongou clenched her fists. "I won't end up like last time. I refuse to."
Kaga was a bit surprised at the battleship's uncharacteristic seriousness. "But you will surely be destroyed again if you attack her."
"You don't know that."
"Have you gained some sort of new power that I am unaware of?"
"... No."
"Then the result will probably be the same."
"Yeah, thanks for believing in me, desu," Kongou spat as she rolled her eyes.
Nagato grinned confidently. "Don't worry, Kongou. There are two more of us here this time, so you won't need to fight alone if it comes down to it."
Kongou sighed. "You know, I'm not even sure if you could beat her Nagato."
"Oho? Is she really so strong?"
"Yeah. And that beast she carries with her…" Kongou shuddered. "I really hope she doesn't bring that thing along with her this time."
"Ah, right," Nagato nodded. "I forgot that the Princesses often carry with them monsters as part of their rigging. They truly are fearsome foes…"
"They're freaks, that's what they are," Kongou corrected, crossing her arms and pouting.
Kaga shifted her attention away from the two ship girls and glanced at the admirals. Fleet Admiral Miiro appeared to be fidgeting nervously, and Rear Admiral Genji simply stood by rigidly, though it was clear that he was also uncomfortable. Kaga's own admiral was standing with his hands in his pockets, looking out at the sea with a distant fade to his eyes. Kaga felt slightly worried about Drake coming along for this meeting given his history, but she knew it would be ridiculous to expect him not to attend, and the Abyssals wanted him to be there as well.
"Heh, the admirals all look nervous don't they?" Kongou smirked as she nudged Kaga.
"Not Admiral Drake," Nagato noted with an impressed tone. "Quite the stoic, isn't he? I think we should all learn from his example."
I fear you may be completely wrong there, Nagato, Kaga thought, but she decided to keep that to herself.
"The enemy will be approaching soon," a voice on the radio Miiro carried with him warned.
Miiro fumbled with the device as he was snapped out of his worrying. "Ah, um, thank you."
"Hmph. There they are," Genji pointed out seconds later, and sure enough, three black figures could be seen approaching on the horizon.
Kaga stole another look at Drake, but the admiral's countenance had not changed even now that the Abyssals were arriving. The aircraft carrier walked up to him.
"Sir."
Drake finally tore his eyes away from the ocean. "... Right."
The group then stood together in silence as they awaited the Abyssals to make landfall, and after a few minutes, the three Princesses made it into the shallows and landed upon the beach. Kaga recognized two of them as the Battleship Princess and the Airfield Princess, but the third she did not know. This third Princess had long, white hair and violent red eyes, and her body was covered in black armor. Her hair was styled similarly to Kaga's own, and the Princess smiled cruelly at the ship girl. None of the Abyssals had brought her rigging or weapons, and so they were without their beasts.
"I apologize for our tardiness," Battleship Princess spoke in Japanese, though she certainly didn't sound sorry. "Anyway, I am glad to see that you upheld your end of our agreement. As promised, only the three of us have come as well."
The Battleship Princess then paused momentarily to scan over the ship girls and admirals, and her face broke into a savage grin when her eyes landed on Drake. The Abyssal showed off her sharp, pointed teeth as she smiled, and her red eyes widened in a way that made even Kaga uncomfortable. She noticed her admiral shifting nervously, placing himself behind her.
"Um, well then," Miiro began shakily, refusing to meet the Battleship Princess' intense and disturbing gaze, "since you were the one who asked for this meeting, would you mind starting?"
"I suppose we will," Battleship Princess agreed. "Firstly, let me just say that we have not come here to discuss any sort of peace treaty. There will be no peace between the Abyssals and humans, and we will wipe all of you out with no exceptions."
"I knew it!" Genji shouted. "This is a trap, isn't it?"
The Abyssal battleship wore an amused smile. "Calm yourself. No, this is not a trap. There are still things I would like to discuss, even having said what I just said."
Genji remained aggressive. "Fuck you. What more is there to say now that you've openly expressed your wish to exterminate our entire species?"
The Abyssal Princess frowned in confusion. "Are you… Admiral Drake?"
Genji blinked. "Huh? No, I'm -"
"Which one of you is Admiral Drake?" Battleship Princess interrupted forcefully. "He can't possibly be one of those two trembling fools cowering back there could he? I thought I explicitly said that he needed to be here."
Naturally, the group turned to Drake, and the Abyssals' gazes followed. Drake looked extremely uncomfortable to have the undivided attention of the enemy.
"Impossible…" The Battleship Princess actually looked shocked now that she had taken a closer look at the American. "That is the Admiral Drake who nearly sank Airfield Princess and did kill our Submarine Princess? You of all people?"
Genji appeared just as confused. "What are you going on about? How is that so surprising?"
The Battleship Princess answered his inquiry with a bout of laughter. The sound was shrill and grating, and the Princess' red eyes flashed with a savage mirth as her screeching laughter filled the calm island air with a horrifying, twisted melody.
The Princess finally calmed down. "... Years ago, I looked into those frightened eyes. Tell me, boy, you were the one at Tangier, correct? Oh, those eyes! I'll never forget those eyes! How they made my heart race when I realized the pure, raw fear behind them! It was truly the pinnacle of human emotion, those eyes! How I longed to see them again, and watch the light fade from that scared expression as I tore out your heart…"
The humans and ship girls were quite taken aback by this display, and even Genji took a few steps backwards.
"You're truly out of your mind…" the IJN rear admiral managed as he struggled to remain calm.
"Admiral Drake!" Battleship Princess shouted, her demented grin returning. "I want to claim your life!"
Kaga stepped in front of her admiral, her expression firm even in the face of the Abyssal's insanity.
"Stand down, monster," Kaga said, a small hint of anger creeping into her tone. "I will put an arrow through your skull before you can ever hope to lay a hand on the Admiral."
"Oh? I'd like to see you try, bitch," the Aircraft Carrier Princess chimed in, also grinning fearsomely and stepping forward.
However, the Battleship Princess raised her hand to stop the Airfield Princess, causing the latter to frown in annoyance.
"Excuse me, I lost myself for a bit there," Battleship Princess said, her tone returning to normal though her smile remained. "Nevertheless, be certain that I will kill your admiral, and you as well if you get in my way. But that is getting off-topic. We came here to talk, did we not?"
"Are you really in any shape to be talking sensibly?" Nagato demanded angrily.
"Yes. As I said, please forgive me for my outburst; it will not happen again."
"If it does, I'll smash your face in, desu!" Kongou shouted, eager to finally get in on the action.
The Battleship Princess laughed, this time in a much more controlled manner. "Yes, much like you did last time, no?"
As Kongou raged, Kaga turned to steal another glance at her admiral. Drake wore a frustrated frown on his face, his eyes downcast. He was clenching his fists angrily, and Kaga could see that he was slightly trembling as well. He had not said a word since the Abyssals had arrived on the shore.
"Excuse me, but what would you like to discuss, then?" Miiro said, finally regaining the courage to speak.
"What do you know about the Abyssals?" the Battleship Princess asked. "Moreover, what do you even know about your own ship girls? Where do they come from? Why are they here?"
"Ah… Many think the ship girls are here because of the intense feelings associated with warships and those who fought on them during World War II," Miiro answered a bit unsurely.
"Is that all? Well, that is not too far off, though I profess that I am no expert either," the Battleship Princess replied. "War does indeed bring out the most intense feelings in people. Those feelings of heroism, the will to fight, brotherhood, the elation that comes with a hard-fought victory… All those majestic emotions are wrapped up in the soul of a warship, which is both the site and the instrument of countless battles. And it is those feelings which allowed that soul to manifest itself as your ship girls, physical entities with the properties of both the warship and the humans who fought on her."
"... But why did those feeling suddenly decide to manifest now?" Nagato asked, a bit surprised to learn this information about herself. "It has been decades since the conclusion of World War II."
"Think about it. Those feeling of bravery and gallantry during war, when are they most needed? When facing a fearsome enemy."
"... So the Abyssals," Kongou concluded.
"Indeed."
"Then what about the Abyssals?" Genji asked. "Where the hell did you come from, and why are you here?"
The Battleship Princess smiled again, but instead of her previous sinister grins, this one was tinged with sadness.
"You will notice that all the feelings I described that go into a ship girl's soul are positive ones, but I am sure we are all aware that in addition to the intense good feelings war brings, there are strong terrible emotions as well. How many people have died in intense pain, their futile screams rending the heavens? How many have thought that they died for nothing? How many have died wishing they had never joined the war effort in the first place? How many have left this world with thoughts of family and friends they will never be able to see again? How many have left with regrets? With wishes left unfulfilled?"
Battleship Princess paused. "... Those horrible, painful feelings are the ones that make up the soul of an Abyssal. Though we are the inverse of ship girls, the concept behind our existence is essentially the same; we are all products of war. But you must wonder, which is stronger: the positive feelings in war, or the negative ones?"
She turned her gaze to Drake, freezing him in place. "All those in war walk a fine line between righteous killing and outright slaughter, and that is why the line between ship girls and Abyssals is just as thin. We both hate each other because we know we each could have just as easily ended up in the other's place."
"So… You came to this island just to tell us this?" Genji summarized with a frown.
"You are an angry, rude human, aren't you?" the Battleship Princess smirked. "But even you cannot comprehend the feeling of having your very soul fueled by all the worst possible emotions a human can experience. You would likely go insane if you had to deal with such a thing, but alas, this is the burden that every Abyssal carries."
"You didn't answer the question," Nagato pointed out.
Battleship Princess scowled. "I want you all to understand why we Abyssals are so intent on killing every single one of you. It was you humans who created us, you know. That torturous pain of warfare that you have all sown among yourselves throughout history? It is finally coming back to punish you. Now you will suffer for your actions, and you will pay your righteous dues."
"Fuck you!"
Kaga jumped at the sudden yell from behind her, and she turned to see Admiral Drake, his mouth contorted into a vicious snarl and his eyes blazing with unbridled fury. The rest of the group turned to look at him, also shocked by his sudden outburst.
"Fuck you, you hypocritical cunt," Drake seethed, stepping forward. "You dare speak the words 'righteous' and 'punish'? You would dare presume that you have some kind of moral authority? Go fuck yourselves! Do you know how much violence and pain you yourselves have spread since the beginning of your misplaced crusade?! How dare you think that you can punish humans for creating those terrible feelings since you yourselves are doing much worse!"
Even the Battleship Princess seemed taken aback by Drake's sudden change in disposition. "Oh? You were so quiet before. You are finally done shaking like a leaf behind the protection of your ship girls? Hmph… Though you act tough now, I know what you really are, and I have known since the day that I locked gazes with you at Tangier: you are a coward. A coward who would gladly sacrifice the lives of others to protect his own. It is your brand of scum that is most damaging in war."
Drake grit his teeth, and his eyes darkened.
"Yeah, I am a coward… Yes, I used the lives of others to save my own… But you… You're the ones who made me this way!"
He clenched his fists and fixed the Battleship Princess with a killing stare. "You bitch… If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had to do any of the things I did. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have to live with that guilt… If it weren't for you, I would have never had to find out exactly what type of person I am… For that, I will never forgive you. It was a fatal mistake for you to come here without the intent of killing me, because I promise you, I will stop at nothing until all of you Abyssals are nothing but lifeless wrecks festering away at the bottom of the ocean. I will kill each and every last one of you!"
As Drake panted angrily, the adrenaline finally wearing off, the Battleship Princess stared at him, an expression of wonder on her face.
"Those eyes… Though with different feelings, they amaze me once again," she said breathlessly. "Admiral Drake… You truly are a coward, but you are the type of coward who will fight until his last breath to prove that he isn't one… Marvelous… I must face you in battle again, and I will take your life in the end. Those who struggle the most have the sweetest deaths. I look forward to it."
She then turned to the other two Princesses, and the Abyssal trio headed back onto the water.
"This summit is over," Battleship Princess stated with a content smile. "Until we meet again."
The Abyssals sailed off into the distance, and no one said a word.
Kaga looked out the window of one of the cabin rooms on the super jet cruiser Rabaul. She could see the deck of the ship from here as it sailed back to the Tokyo Bay Base, which meant that she could also see Rear Admiral Drake, who was leaning on the railing of the ship, staring out at the sea.
"He's still out there…" Nagato noted as she walked up beside Kaga.
"Maybe someone should go check on him," Kongou suggested.
Nagato turned to her. "Why don't you do it, then?"
"Er… Kaga should. She's his secretary ship, right?"
"Perhaps he would like to be left alone," Kaga stated, though her eyes didn't leave the window.
"Yeah, I've never heard him yell that loudly before, desu," Kongou said with a frown.
"I had known that both Admiral Drake and the Battleship Princess had been at the Battle of Tangier, but I never assumed that they knew each other personally," Nagato said as she crossed her arms and glanced out the window again. "Did you know that, Kaga?"
Kaga shook her head. "No. When we last spoke to her, the Battleship Princess did not seem to recognize his name. Perhaps she only knew his face."
"To be honest, I didn't understand half the things they were talking about," Kongou groaned as she leaned back in her chair. The cabin room contained a small table, and the three ship girls had been seated around it, drinking tea from packets that Kongou had somehow found.
"Yes, it seemed their issues were more… Personal," Nagato agreed. "But what the Battleship Princess said about ship girls and Abyssals did interest me. I never thought much about how we came to be, but I suppose that answers it a bit."
"Uh, that didn't answer shit," Kongou scoffed. "All that did was confuse me more, to be honest."
Kaga turned back to the two battleships. "Regardless, her words changed nothing. The Abyssals are still our enemy, and they must be rooted out and destroyed completely. They have no peace for us, and we will respond in kind."
"I suppose we can agree on that as well," Nagato nodded. "But it is strange… I never thought I would be brought back from the grave to fight a new enemy which is essentially hatred itself. Interesting times, this is age is."
"Eh, 'hatred personified' or not, that edgy cunt annoys the hell out me," Kongou grit her teeth. "She was acting so smug… I would've loved to wipe that stupid smirk off her face, desu!"
Nagato grinned. "Oh? Careful. I might just get to her first, you know. If your showing last time was anything to go by, then you've got a lot of work to do before you can even think of facing her again."
"Heh. Just you watch, I'll be the one fucking her up next time!" Kongou declared, flexing her biceps.
The rest of the ride back to the base went by uneventfully, though Kaga noticed that Drake remained out on the deck the whole time. She constantly debated going out there and seeing if there was anything she could do, but knowing her admiral, she felt he did not want to be disturbed. Nevertheless, the ship eventually reached the base early in the evening, and so they all disembarked together. When they stepped out onto the docks, Miiro and Nagato immediately began discussing how they needed to tell the government and the Sasebo Base about the meeting. Kaga figured that she and Drake would also need to write up a report, but before she could ask him about that, her admiral was already walking off, his hands in his pockets. He was going in the opposite direction of the Administrative Building, so Kaga assumed he was going back home.
I suppose I will need to write it myself, then, she decided with an internal sigh as she watched the American's back grow smaller in the distance.
Hoping that her admiral would be back to normal tomorrow, Kaga began heading back in the direction of the Administrative Building. When she entered, she at first began to head towards the main office, but after today, she also wanted to be alone, so she instead went towards Drake's private office. Flicking on the lights and stepping around the kotatsu, Kaga sat down at the desk, which was just barely big enough for three people to work simultaneously on, though it did get cramped at times. Thankfully, this time she was by herself, so she had as much space as she needed. Usually when doing work in here with her admiral, Kaga used a spare old laptop provided by the base in case she needed a computer, but seeing as Drake wasn't there, she decided to forgo using that slow excuse for a machine and instead turned on the main desktop. She briefly wondered if she should be using the computer, but it wasn't as if it was the admiral's own personal equipment, so she decided it should be fine. When the monitor flashed to life, the user ID of 'TEITOKU' came up, along with a space for the password.
Kaga narrowed her eyes. There's a password for this?
Not remembering this detail, Kaga tried a few passwords. She first typed in 'USA,' which was promptly rejected. Thinking for a bit, she then went with 'burgers,' which also turned out to be wrong. Suddenly, she remembered: the Admiral had in fact told her the password.
Frowning in distaste, Kaga typed in the password: 'kagaiscute'. Sighing, she watched as the computer accepted the password and brought her to the home screen. The Admiral had specifically made that the password to this computer because he knew it would embarrass her, and he was definitely right about that. Even so, Kaga tried to ignore that and began writing the report. However, as she typed out the events of the day, her mind kept wandering back to the looks in her admiral's eyes: fear, shame, rage, disappointment… Even as someone who did not have a good grasp of human emotions, Kaga could still discern those feelings clearly, and she could understand what the Battleship Princess meant about Drake's eyes.
"Oh? You're back?"
Kaga looked up to see Akagi standing in the doorway.
"Where's the Admiral?" Akagi asked, glancing around the room as if she expected him to be hiding under the kotatsu or something.
"He went home," Kaga replied.
"I see…"
Akagi came in and sat down on the single chair across from the desk. "I take it the meeting did not go so well?"
"... I suppose you could say that."
Akagi sighed. "I knew nothing good could come from meeting them… What happened? Or are you not allowed to tell me?"
Kaga paused. Though she had known Akagi for a long time, somehow she felt that it would be wrong to describe what the Admiral had said today. Not that she could even fully explain what she felt in words anyway.
"The Abyssals basically just said that they have no intention of a peaceful resolution to this conflict," Kaga opted to say instead. "It seems we will fight until all of us are dead or we have sunk them all."
Akagi, noticing Kaga's downcast attitude, tried to cheer her up. "Well, isn't that the same thing Japan said during World War II? But we ended up surrendering anyway, right? Maybe the Abyssals will do the same."
That analogy comparison certainly didn't make Kaga any happier.
"Ehehe… Sorry, that probably wasn't the best example," Akagi apologized.
Kaga sighed lightly. "Even so, I think the Abyssals really mean it when they say that… And as much as I hate to admit it, I think it will be much tougher for us to defeat them than it was for America to beat Japan back in the War."
Akagi smiled. "You worry too much, I think. Things will be different this time."
"How can you be so sure?" Kaga replied, looking down at the desk.
"Hm… I suppose I can't. But still, I'm not going to waste this new life I've been given by sitting around and worrying."
Kaga gave her a blank look. "Then you're too carefree."
Akagi laughed. "Oh, relax. As long as we don't get overconfident, we'll be fine. We've even got the Americans on our side now."
The red-clad carrier noticed Kaga's expression drop slightly when she mentioned the Americans.
"So… How is the Admiral?"
Kaga blinked. "... He's fine."
"Right…"
"What? You don't believe me?" Kaga glared at her comrade.
"Kaga… You always act emotionless and neutral, but sometimes, it's extremely easy to tell what you're really thinking."
Sighing again, Kaga leaned her head on her fist. "... Not you too…"
"Oh? Did someone else talk to you about this before? Was it Houshou?"
Akagi took Kaga's silence as an affirmative, and she grinned at her own intuition. "Haha! I knew it. Anyway, back to what I asked. Are you going to tell me, or are you just going to sit there and sulk?"
Kaga frowned deeply, but she gave in. "Today at the meeting, the Admiral… Well, he did not seem to take to the Abyssals so well."
Akagi raised an eyebrow. "And what does that mean, exactly?"
"First he froze up in fear, then he got very angry at them and started shouting. But the whole time, I could tell that he was in great pain."
Akagi's mind flashed back to the day of the air raid on the base, and how the Admiral had appeared out of it then as well. "I see… I assume that's why he's not here right now?"
Kaga nodded slowly. "… Perhaps he needs some rest for now."
"Maybe you need some too," Akagi pointed out. "Why are you still here in the office? If the Admiral's not going to do his work, do you really have to do it for him? Go home and rest."
"Why would I need rest? I did nothing," Kaga bitterly said, looking away.
"But who's going to worry for the Admiral if something happens to you?" Akagi pointed out with a teasing smile. "If the Admiral isn't feeling well, then someone's got to help him out, right? And you can't do that if you yourself aren't feeling well either."
Kaga looked conflicted, but she eventually got up and turned off the computer. "Fine. Putting this off for one day won't do much harm, I suppose."
"That's the spirit! Now let's go home. I'm sure Zuikaku has been very worried about you, haha!"
Rear Admiral Richard Drake sat on the edge of the pier, one leg dangling lazily above the midnight blue water while the other was pulled up towards his chest, his forearm resting on his knee. It was a cool night, but Drake simply wore his admiral's coat loosely around his shoulders, revealing his form-fitting black t-shirt underneath. A good number of stars were visible in the clear night air, and Drake's listless brown eyes stared up at them, his gaze as distant as the celestial bodies he was looking at. Slowly, he shifted his vision from the night sky and towards the dark water.
Just how many corpses are under there? He wondered.
A slight sea breeze made the hairs on his arms stand up, but he paid it no heed. As much as he tried to distract himself, his thoughts lingered on the Abyssals.
So the Abyssals are a physical manifestation of the negativity of war, huh? No wonder they're so edgy.
They were monsters, he thought, and today's events only made him more certain of that. However, what it also proved to him was that he himself was no better.
The Abyssals… At least they have a reason why they're so messed up. Me, on the other hand… My actions resulted in the deaths of thousands, and for what? To save my miserable life?
Drake knew that his commands at Tangier had also saved the lives of the handful of personnel still alive at the end of the battle, but he didn't care about that. When he made his decision to use the dying USLN fleet and the city of Tangier as bait, his whole goal was to survive. He did not even spare a thought about anyone else, and if he had to sacrifice the lives of everyone else on that ship to stay alive, he probably would have done so as well.
All I've done is just use other people as a shield, he realized. Back at Tangier… Even today, I just stood behind Kaga, too scared to act like a proper commander.
The whole day had just been one big embarrassment for Drake, and he knew he had just acted like a child. First, he stood scared behind his own subordinates, then he threw a tantrum, next, he sulked off when he got back to the base, and finally, he was here, sitting around and whining to himself about his problems. It truly was a pathetic showing, and all Drake could do was wallow in his misery.
He wanted to be angry at something, and naturally, the obvious target was the Battleship Princess and the rest of the Abyssals. Even so, he knew the true source of his anger lay within himself. Sure, he could pop off all he wanted about how he was going to take revenge on the Abyssals, but at the end of the day, he understood that the Abyssals didn't instill in him the qualities that he had; they had simply revealed those ugly truths for him.
I wonder… If I do eventually defeat the Abyssals, would those people who died that day be content with having their lives ended so early? Would it be worth it to them? Would they think, 'Oh yes, I am glad to have sacrificed my life so that Drake could defeat the Abyssals'?
Drake already knew the answer to that question. Though sacrificing your life for a greater cause may be the 'noble' thing to do, only you yourself can make that decision. Someone else forcing a decision upon you was not nearly the same.
In the end, all I can do is fight, Drake supposed. Even if they won't ever forgive me… That is the least I can do.
That was why he felt so sick after remembering how cowardly he acted today. Someone who truly cared about the lives he took would stand up to the Abyssals, empowered by the thought of making those wrongs right. However, someone who froze up when he saw the enemy? Well, that could only mean that he still feared for his own life and placed his own survival above all else. Drake tried to convince himself that caring about your own life first and foremost was only natural, but when he recalled all those other lives he had stamped out… His one, single life that he was so obsessed with protecting did not seem so significant after all.
Drake stood up. Adjusting his cap, he looked out at the vast black ocean.
In the end, I will try to fight regardless. If I end up failing and I die a coward's death, perhaps that is what I deserve. If the weight of the souls I have used ends up crushing me, then I have no right to complain.
The rear admiral turned away from the water.