"I can't believe they couldn't even spare one car," Drake complained as he walked out of the Lubeck Naval Base with Bismarck by his side. The guardpost was deserted, and so they were able to simply stroll past the main gate and exit out onto the streets of the city.
"It's not so bad. The night air is nice, isn't it?" Bismarck smiled optimistically. She had changed back into her Reichspolizei uniform.
"Yeah, I guess. There's barely anyone out on the streets right now since the city authorities announced the Abyssal attack, so at least it's not crowded," he said.
After repelling the Abyssal attack, the German fleet had returned to port, whereupon the sailors got to work moving the wounded to the hospital and dealing with the fallout of the attack. Gotland had returned to her carrier after saying farewell to Bismarck and introducing herself to Drake, and the Swedish Ice Navy quickly departed to their own home waters. There also seemed to be an immense amount of paperwork and logging that needed to be done, and Konteradmiral Schumann had been rushing around like mad when he heard that Admiral Helmholtz was sending envoys to Lubeck to get a full report on the situation.
Due to all this, Drake had been pretty much forgotten by the Kriegsmarine, and so he decided that instead of waiting around as the Germans sorted through their work, he would go back to his room at the Reichspolizei headquarters and get some much needed rest. Though he was physically unharmed, the events of the day had left him feeling extremely drained, which contributed to his annoyance when he couldn't find anyone who would drive him back to the Reichspolizei building.
Bismarck had decided to come with him, which surprised Drake because he thought that she would have to remain at the base. She assured him that it was fine and that she could leave, though.
"... Are you sure you were allowed to just leave like that?" Drake asked again, finding that hard to believe now that he thought about it.
"Ja. Nobody ever said I had to stay," Bismarck simply answered.
"Uh, that doesn't mean that you were allowed to leave," he replied. "Whatever. They'd probably just torture you with reports and paperworks anyway."
"Yes, I got enough of that with you back in Japan," Bismarck teased.
Drake shot her an unamused look, then turned pensive. "Speaking of Japan… Would you want to go back there?"
"Back with you, you mean?" Bismarck asked.
"Yeah."
"Of course I would. You haven't already forgotten what I told you earlier today, right?" Bismarck reminded him.
"No, I haven't," Drake said, looking away as a slight blush crept to his face. He had been so caught up in the moment that he didn't fully register Bismarck's words until now.
"W-Why are you blushing?" Bismarck asked, but then when Drake turned his brown eyes back to her, a red flush spread across her face as well.
"I could ask you the same thing!" he shot back. Guess she didn't realize either…
The two of them walked in silence for a minute before Bismarck spoke again.
"Admiral. Would you care to make a stop before we returned to headquarters?"
"A stop? Where?"
"Just follow me."
The two of them continued walking through the streets of Lubeck, the night air cool on their skin and the stars shining overhead. People were slowly beginning to come back onto the streets again, though the city was still less busy than usual. Drake followed Bismarck, his eyes mesmerized by the way her long, blonde hair moved ever so slightly in the breeze.
Bismarck stopped in front of a small cafe on one of the cobblestone streets. Like the rest of the city, the area had an old, rustic charm to it, and in the near distance, the famous Holsten Gate could be seen jutting into the midnight blue sky.
"A cafe? What's so special about it?" Drake wondered.
"Nothing. Aren't you hungry? We haven't had anything to eat all day," Bismarck pointed out.
Now that she mentioned it, he supposed that he was. "All right, I guess."
The two entered the small shop, and an elderly man who Drake assumed was the owner greeted them. He seemed surprised at Drake's uniform and at the fact that they were here in spite of the Abyssal attack warning, but he also appeared to be glad to have customers again after an afternoon of lost business. Bismarck spoke to him in German, and she requested a table outside by the street. Since the cafe was completely empty, they were seated immediately and had their orders taken fairly quickly.
"Have you been here before?" Drake asked.
She shook her head. "I don't usually go out into the city that often."
"They don't let you out of the HQ building? That's awful."
"No, it's not that, it's just that…" Bismarck trailed off.
"What is it?" Drake pressed, noting her hesitation.
The last time I was able to freely wander a city like this was in Andermatt… It was fun, Bismarck remembered. But even so… I can't forget anything that happened later that day. Whenever I think about going out to explore Lubeck, I can't shake this sense of guilt…
She was reminded of how she shot down the insurgents and watched their crimson blood spill out onto the white snow right in front of her, and the haunting image of Pachelbel's lifeless eyes reflecting the clear Alpine sky also entered into her mind.
"Bismarck? Are you all right…?"
"Y-Yeah, it's nothing, I'm fine!" Bismarck hurriedly replied with a nervous smile. "But… There is one thing I have been wondering about for a while now. What do you think will happen to the ship girls when the Abyssals are defeated?"
"Aren't you getting ahead of yourself? How do you know they will be defeated in the first place?" Drake countered.
Bismarck gave him a flat look. "I appreciate your pessimism, sir, but for the sake of the question, please assume that it is possible."
Drake sighed and shook his head. "Fine, whatever. I obviously don't know the exact answer to that question since it's not up to me, but I assume each ship girl will just remain the service of their respective navies. That would make the most sense, right?"
"So we will be fighting forever?" Bismarck asked with a frown.
"If the Abyssals are dead, then no," Drake replied. "A peacetime navy doesn't really do anything too dangerous."
"Just because the Abyssals are gone doesn't mean that Germany faces no more threats," Bismarck pointed out, her gaze falling.
Drake rested his cheek on his palm as he regarded her from across the table. "You… You've done some work for the Reichspolizei, haven't you?"
Ah, he figured it out. "Yes. You're perceptive, sir," Bismarck admitted.
Drake smirked at her. "Well, there are a few things I'm good at. So I take it you didn't exactly enjoy what they made you do? I don't know what type of missions the Reichspolizei goes on, but it can't be too different from what the CIA does in the US."
"It wasn't too bad, it's just that… It was different," Bismarck said unsurely. "I had to accompany two other officers to Switzerland in order to arrest some insurgents, but it turned out to be a trap and one of the officers was killed. I also had to shoot the insurgents, and it… It just felt different from fighting the Abyssals."
Drake couldn't exactly relate to her because he had never killed another person with his own two hands, but he certainly did understand the guilt of letting people die through your actions.
"So you don't want to go back to the Reichspolizei when the war is over, is that it?" Drake asked.
"I'm still a warship. I'm meant to fight on the seas with my cannons," Bismarck firmly stated. "If I'm needed to do jobs outside of that, then I will, but…"
"Like I said, you're getting ahead of yourself," Drake repeated. "But on the chance that we somehow beat the Abyssals and we both survive the war, how about you work for me? I mean, you're already used to it, so…"
Bismarck blinked as a light blush spread across her cheeks. "You mean, go home with you when the war ends?"
"Okay, don't put it like that," Drake resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I don't know, we could start a fishing business or go into commercial shipping or something. You'd like to stay on the water, right?"
"Ja, that does sound nice, I suppose," Bismarck nodded. "But I doubt the Kriegsmarine will let me go that easily. I also still have a duty to my country, and if they need me, then I can't leave even if I don't like what they make me do. I also don't think they would be happy with Germany's most famous battleship leaving with an American…"
"Oh? Not too long ago you would have been of the same mind," Drake said, almost gloating. "Would the Fuhrer approve of this, Bismarck?"
"S-Shut up! Don't bring the Fuhrer into this!" Bismarck retorted in embarrassment.
"All right, settle down. I was just joking," Drake tried to hold back his amused grin. "But seriously. You fought with me up to this point, and you'll always have a place by my side after the war ends. So don't worry yourself over things like that."
Bismarck blushed even harder at that, and she quickly hid her face underneath her cap. "Danke, sir."
A waiter then arrived with their food and drinks, and the pair spent the rest of their time in the cafe catching up on what they were up to in the past several months. Soon they were finished and walking back to the headquarters building.
As they reached the entrance of the building, Drake felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.
"Who is that?" Bismarck asked as Drake pulled his phone out.
"It's my superior. I have to take this," he replied as he answered the phone. Belatedly he realized that he had not told Fleet Admiral Van Dyke about anything that happened today. "Hello?"
"Rear Admiral. I heard about the Abyssal attack. Good job on helping repel them."
Oh, so he already knows? "Thank you, sir. I will give you a full report as soon as I get back to headquarters."
"Please do. Aside from that, how is Bismarck doing? I assumed you were her commander for this sortie?"
Drake glanced at Bismarck, who returned his gaze with a curious look of her own.
"Yes, sir. She performed well," Drake simply answered.
"I see… Well, Admiral Drake, I would like to give you some time to rest, but unfortunately war waits for no one. The Abyssals are attacking Japan."
"Japan? Where, sir?"
"They are assaulting Tokyo again. The developments are fairly recent, so the enemy fleet is only just now heading towards the Izu Island chain. You have had combat experience in Japan, specifically in that island chain as well, so I would like to send you there to help. Are you up to it?"
"Yes, sir." I won't hesitate anymore.
"Good. In that case, get ready to fly out tomorrow afternoon. Take the earliest train to Hamburg you can, and we will handle the rest. Also, take Bismarck with you."
Take Bismarck? And just how am I supposed to convince the German authorities of that? He thought.
"But sir, I -" Drake started to protest, but he cut himself off as he stole another look at Bismarck.
"What is it?" she asked, a bit of worry creeping into her voice. Her beautiful blue eyes reflected the starry night sky of northern Germany, and Drake found it hard to look away.
"Understood, sir. I will proceed to Hamburg in the morning, then."
Drake hung up the phone. Yeah. I promised her that we would always fight together from now on, and I don't care what I need to do to keep that promise.
"Bismarck. The Abyssals have attacked our base in Japan," he said to her. "I'm being sent over there tomorrow. Will you come with me?"
She smiled. "Of course, sir."
An indescribable feeling welled up in Drake's chest as he heard her answer, even though he was already sure of what she was going to say.
The two of them then entered the Reichspolizei headquarters and walked up to the floor with their rooms on it, discussing the plan for tomorrow as they went.
"Uh, so what are we going to do about the Reichspolizei and the Kriegsmarine?" Bismarck asked as they walked up the stairs.
"About that… I'm not sure," Drake admitted sheepishly. "Just come with me to Hamburg tomorrow, and if anyone asks, just say you're seeing me off. We can deal with the consequences after we defeat the Abyssals."
"I'm not so sure that will work… What if the Reichspolizei has me followed? Won't they try and stop me from getting on the plane?"
"Can they really stop a literal battleship?" Drake pointed out.
"I suppose not, haha."
The pair stopped when they got to Drake's room. The American admiral pulled his key from his pocket, and held his door opened as he turned to say goodnight to Bismarck.
"Okay, meet me in front of my room tomorrow at seven. We'll leave then," he said to her.
"Understood," Bismarck replied.
But neither one of them moved after that, and Drake just stood there in his doorway. Drake was about to say goodnight for good, but he noticed Bismarck was avoiding his gaze and that a blush had started to creep up on her face again. Drake's heart started pounding so hard that he could barely breathe.
"Amerikanisch Schweinn! You're here again!"
The sudden interruption nearly made Drake jump out of his skin, and Bismarck too almost lost her balance at the angry German coming from the other end of the hall.
Drake stepped out of his doorway and shut the door behind him, turning to see two familiar faces. Vice Admirals Ehrhard and Bremerhaven walked towards the pair, the former with an extremely annoyed look on his face.
Bismarck immediately snapped to a salute, and Drake merely frowned in distaste.
"What do you want? Was one punch not enough?" Drake couldn't help but goad.
Bremerhaven stepped in front of Ehrhard. "Rear Admiral Drake. Please refrain from insults, and I will control my comrade as well. Is that agreeable?"
"I guess," Drake shrugged. "But what are you two doing here?"
"We should be asking you that! You Americans just think you can go anywhere and do anything, is that right?" Ehrhard accused furiously.
Bremerhaven said something to Ehrhard in German, his soft but firm tone slowly cooling the shorter German admiral's anger. Bremerhaven then turned back to Drake.
"Entschuldigung. We are here in response to the Abyssal attack earlier today," Bremerhaven answered Drake's question.
"The battle is over," Drake simply stated. He badly wanted to point out that he had been the one commanding in the operation as well, but he really didn't need to incense them any further.
"Yes, it is over, but there is still some administrative work to be done, so the admiralty sent us here anyway," Bremerhaven said. "May I ask what you are doing here, Rear Admiral?"
"Uh, I was here for a meeting," Drake answered, not wanting to tell them that he had initially been sent here for the trivial logistics committee. "I just happened to be in the right place at the right time to help repel the Abyssal attack, though, so it worked out well."
"Oh, yes, what a coincidence," Ehrhard droned sarcastically.
"Please ignore him, Admiral Drake," Bremerhaven let out an uncharacteristic sigh of defeat. He then looked at Bismarck. "You fought as well, Bismarck?"
"Yes, sir. Admiral Drake was a big help," Bismarck answered.
"I see… Thank you, Rear Admiral," Bremerhaven nodded to him. "Now that we are here, however, your services are no longer required. We will ensure you receive compensation for your efforts and we will handle the cleanup for the operation."
"I don't need compensation. Aren't we all still a part of International Fleet Command? I'm just doing my job," Drake replied. "And speaking of that, I don't know if you two have heard, but the Abyssals are attacking Japan now. I'm going over tomorrow to see if I can help."
"Japan?" Ehrhard looked confused, which made it evident that he had not in fact heard the news.
"Admirals. I would like to help as well," Bismarck then said, apparently realizing that any chance of sneaking out was ruined now. "I used to be a part of that base in Japan, and I have a duty to fight for their defense as I did here today."
Ehrhard stared at her dumbly. "Are you out of your mind, Bismarck? You can't go to Japan one day after there was an attack here!"
"Japan has the largest ship girl fleet. I am sure they will be fine. We may need you here," Bremerhaven agreed with his colleague.
"I doubt the Abyssals are going to attack the same place two days in a row. They've never done that before," Drake pointed out. "Again let me remind you that we are all part of the International Fleet. We should be assisting each other whenever we can."
Bremerhaven looked troubled. "I understand, but this is a direct order from Admiral Helmholtz. We cannot disobey it."
Ehrhard turned to Drake with a scowl. "I bet you're the one who convinced her to go with you! Just what did you say to her!"
"It's my own choice, sir," Bismarck said.
"And just why are you making choices that go against your orders, then?" Ehrhard questioned her.
"Gentlemen, what's all the fuss about?"
The group turned to see Obergruppenfuhrer Mann walking towards them, his uniform in perfect condition as always and a mysterious smile on his face.
"Obergruppenfuhrer. Apologies for the disturbance," Bremerhaven greeted.
"Vice Admirals. Good to see you," Mann returned. He then glanced at Bismarck and Drake. "I see you two made it back from the battle. Congratulations."
"Oh, uh, thank you," Drake replied, though he was not too happy at having another German official to deal with.
"So, what is the argument here about?" Mann then asked again.
"Bismarck says she wants to go to Japan tomorrow!" Ehrhard immediately blurted.
"Ah, the Abyssal attack. Yes, how unfortunate," Mann nodded sympathetically, understanding what Ehrhard was talking about. "But I fail to see the issue here. She is part of the International Fleet, no?"
Drake and Bismarck were both surprised to hear Mann taking their side, and Ehrhard and Bremerhaven were equally shocked that he was going against them.
"W-What? Do you realize what you're saying?" Ehrhard stammered in disbelief.
Mann looked unperturbed. "Of course I do. Isn't it a good opportunity to show the world that Germany honors its commitments and that we are dedicated to international safety? That we remain strong and healthy even after just suffering an attack ourselves? Besides, what do you think the Americans and Japanese will say if they find out we had the chance to help but chose not to?"
"I must admit, those are good points, but you can't simply circumvent the chain of command like this," Ehrhard said. "Bismarck is under the command of the Kriegsmarine, and she has only been lent to the Reichspolizei temporarily. We still hold the final say."
"Mm, I don't believe so," Mann smiled pleasantly, though his eyes held no hint of kindness. "I will authorize for her to go to Japan tomorrow. If you want to overrule me, you will have to fill out the paperwork formally transferring her back to the Kriegsmarine. The 'chain of command' as you said, Vice Admiral."
Ehrhard threw up his hands as he gave up. "Fine, then. I will direct Admiral Helmholtz to you when he asks why Bismarck has left Germany again."
"And I will simply direct him to the Americans," Mann smiled, though Drake didn't miss the strange look he gave him. "Actually, you two should go with her. Why not?"
"We would need permission from the admiralty," Bremerhaven frowned.
"Nonsense. Commanders should be bold during wartime, isn't that so?" Mann teased. "If you two are so concerned at letting Bismarck go, then why not accompany her?"
"It is as you say, Obergruppenfuhrer. I will contact Admiral Helmholtz immediately," Bremerhaven nodded. "Admiral Drake, please meet us at this spot tomorrow morning."
Bremerhaven and Ehrhard then left in a hurry.
"Well, that ended nicely," Mann smiled again. "Good luck to you, Admiral Drake. Germany's finest battleship is in your hands."
"Understood," Drake nodded to him before he too left.
"That was… Unexpected," Bismarck said. "I didn't think the Obergruppenfuhrer would let me go…"
"Maybe he has some ulterior motive, or just knows something we don't," Drake replied. "We can worry about that later. For now, we should probably just prepare for tomorrow."
"You're right. Gute nacht, sir."
Bismarck went off to her own room, and Drake sighed as he finally got to enter his. Falling down on his bed, he was hit by the long-overdue wave of exhaustion.
It was my first time back on the battlefield today, huh? But it looks like I will be fighting again soon…
The thought filled him with apprehension and a bit of dread, but he forced himself to remember his words with Bismarck earlier today.
That's right. This is where I belong, he told himself. And I won't let the Abyssals take anything else from me. No matter what.
"Everything is proceeding as planned so far. Fleet! Fall back! Engage in fighting retreat maneuvers!"
Nagato's voice sounded through Shigure's earpiece, but the destroyer was too busy to pay attention to it. With a calm look on her face but her eyes blazing with fury, Shigure tightened her grip around the enemy Ri-class' neck with her left hand. With her right hand, she reached towards the struggling Abyssal's eyes and dug her fingers into the Ri-class' right eye, gouging it out as the heavy cruiser shrieked in agony.
Shigure then did the same to the Abyssal's left eye and then backed off, her fingers covered in slick Abyssal blood. The Ri-class had her arms blown off and a huge bruise on her stomach from a battleship-caliber shell, and the now eyeball-less Abyssal thrashed wildly as Shigure let her go, bobbing up and down on the water like some sort of perverse buoy.
"She will sink soon enough, but watching her life end in such agony is the true reward," Shigure smirked as she watched the Abyssal gasp and gag as she started to lose her ability to float.
"Yes. It's quite satisfying," Yamashiro, who stood next to Shigure, agreed. "Now we must give the rest of her comrades the same fate."
"Hey, you two. We're retreating," Mutsu stopped to say as she was sailing by.
Yamashiro turned to her with a rather unfriendly look. "Retreating? What for?"
Mutsu cast a quick, disturbed glance at the dying Abyssal before replying. "Don't you understand the plan? We need to lure them into our kill zone in between the islands."
"It's a stupid plan. Relying on humans to win this war for us? Why not just eliminate the Abyssals here and now?" Shigure refused flatly.
"What? Why can't you -"
"Oi!" Nagato shouted as she too sailed by. "What the hell are you three doing! Fall back!"
Mutsu sighed. "Come on, let's just go for now. You'll have plenty of chances to fight the Abyssals again shortly."
Shigure and Yamashiro looked reluctant, but they followed Nagato and Mutsu regardless. The Ri-class cruiser had ceased her death throes and soundlessly sunk in their wake.
As Shigure sailed along and joined up with the tail end of the main fleet, she suddenly found herself surrounded by a few of her sisters.
"There you are! Why did you run off like that?" Murasame chastised.
"Getting a bit too eager, eh, Shigure?" Shiratsuyu grinned at her.
"It's not fair! You already got the first kill, poi!" Yuudachi complained to Shigure.
Yamakaze and Harusame were also present, though they were busy gaping at how Shigure had managed to douse herself in blood already.
"Hmph. I'm not going to sit around and wait for someone else to kill the Abyssals for me," Shigure simply said.
"Eeeeeh? But Nagato said -"
"Shiratsuyu. I don't care what Nagato said," Shigure interrupted her elder sister. "I have spent my entire life running away and losing to my enemies like a coward. Now it is time for me to turn and fight."
"So I guess you don't like this plan too much," Murasame sighed in defeat.
The fleet was currently sailing away from the Abyssal fleet as the shells from the enemy tried to keep up with them.
"Obviously. Also, it's just stupid in general. There's no way we can outrun them, especially not their planes," Shigure affirmed.
"We don't need to outrun them, just avoid them for long enough so that we can position ourselves where we need to be," Shiratsuyu countered. "Besides, look up above you. Our planes are going to stall theirs and prevent them from attacking us."
Sure enough, the ship girl fighters were buzzing about overhead, ready to repel any encroaching Abyssal planes.
"Hey, we should all try and stick together for this battle, right?" Murasame suggested.
"Yeah! Sounds fun, poi!" Yuudachi agreed excitedly.
Shigure, however, frowned and shook her head. "No. You all should stay back and provide fire support. There's no reason for you to follow me."
Murasame spared a look at Yamashiro, who was sailing a few meters behind Shigure. The battleship had been silent the whole time, but her red eyes were glowing like a pair of sinister embers. She had the same exact look as Shigure.
"I think it's better if we stay together. Who knows what could happen if we had to fight alone," Murasame pressed, though she was feeling a bit unsure now.
Shigure offered her sister a small smile, but her rage-filled eyes did not match her lips. "Murasame, you all have an important job here too. Just stay back and provide support for me, and I will handle the rest. All right?"
Murasame wanted to argue, but Shigure spoke with such an air of intense finality that it felt like it would be pointless. The rest of the Shiratsuyu-class destroyers wore uncomfortable looks, even the normally-upbeat Yuudachi, and they sailed on together in silence for several more minutes.
Eventually the fleet reached the islands again, and Nagato announced the next phase of the plan over the radio. "All right, everyone! Our fire support from the islands is now within range of the Abyssals! We will fight here for a bit, but once I give the order, we will retreat further towards Tokyo! We will maintain this course until the enemy fleet is fully depleted! All ships, fire at will!"
"It's about time," Yamashiro finally spoke, her tone gruff as her guns began angling towards the enemy. The battleship turned around and sailed toward the enemy fleet.
Shigure cracked her knuckles and moved to follow. "I'll be back."
Shigure and Yamashiro sailed forward and soon had the Abyssals in sight once more. Some other ship girls had also moved up to get in closer to the Abyssals since Nagato had stated that they would be holding this position for a while.
Finally… Shigure growled inside her head as she charged towards the Abyssal fleet. I can finally pay them back for all that they have done… But there is one of them in particular that I must kill.
A Ro-class destroyer jumped out of the water in front of Shigure, its mouth open and the gun in between its teeth pointed straight at her. But Shigure was far too quick, and she crouched, avoiding the shot, then raised her hand cannon and shot the Abyssal out of the air on its way down from its apex. The Ro-class took the direct hit from Shigure and exploded into a small ball of fire as it fell back on the water, shattered.
"Don't waste my time with fodder like this," Shigure said to herself as she stood up and turned back around to continue forward.
However, something was standing just a few meters in front of her. Surprised that an enemy had managed to ambush her again, Shigure immediately raised her gun, but she then put it down just as fast.
Standing in front of her was a small girl with a green uniform, auburn hair, and blue eyes. She had the guns and rigging of a ship girl, and she cowered in fear when Shigure pointed her cannon at her.
"W-Wait! Don't shoot!" the girl cried out, covering her hands with her head and screwing her eyes shut.
"Who are you? Have we met before?" Shigure asked, confused at how the girl got there. She spoke Japanese and she seemed familiar, so Shigure assumed she was part of their fleet.
The girl slowly tried to straighten up as she saw Shigure lower her weapon. "I'm Hachijo. I'm a coastal defense ship! You're Shigure of Sasebo, right?"
"Ah, yeah. I remember you," Shigure nodded. "What are you doing here? Are you from the Sasebo Base?"
Hachijo looked perplexed. "Yes? I'm not really sure what's going on here… What are those black things? Are they new American weapons? But I thought the war was over? And weren't you sunk? And why do we look like this?"
Tch, so that's what this is, Shigure frowned. She remembered asking those same questions when she was first reborn as a ship girl.
"This is the twenty-first century. World War II ended a long time ago," Shigure explained. "As for those black things, they are enemies, and we are in the middle of a battle right now. Do you know where we are, at least?"
Hachijo was shocked at what Shigure was saying, but she managed to eke out an answer. "W-We're in Izu Islands, right…? I was named after Hachijo-jima…"
"Yes. Now, as I said, we're in the middle of a battle. If you don't fight, you will die. Do you know how to use those guns?"
"Um, it feels a little weird, but I think so." Hachijo moved her turrets around. "B-But what's going on here! I don't understand, Shigure!"
"It doesn't matter if you understand or not! All you need to know is that you have to fight!" Shigure shouted at the escort ship as a large enemy shell whistled past them and made a big splash only a few meters away.
More shells soon followed, and the enemy air force also began making strafing runs. Shigure immediately sped up and started sailing in a zigzag pattern to throw them off. The destroyer looked back briefly to check if Hachijo was following. The frightened coastal defense ship was doing her best to keep up, but it was obvious that she was having trouble navigating in her new ship girl form.
"Hey! Pick up the pace if you don't want to be sunk!" Shigure yelled at her, stopping to fire off some anti air cover for Hachijo. Damn it! Why did she have to appear in front of me of all people!
"Shigure! We finally caught up to you, poi!"
The Shiratsuyu-class destroyers Shigure had been with earlier had arrived on the scene, with Yuudachi excitedly leading the pack.
"I told you all to stay back." Shigure sounded less than enthused to see them there.
"Who's that?" Shiratsuyu pointed at Hachijo, ignoring Shigure's disapproving statement.
"H-Hello! I am the coastal defense ship, Hachijo!" Hachijo greeted with a salute, though she was trembling all over.
Murasame took a peek at her. "Hmmm… I don't remember seeing you on our base or even in any of the Sasebo fleets…"
"She was just reborn here," Shigure told them. "Unlucky for her to enter into the world in the middle of a battle, but that's just how it is. You five can babysit her now that you're here."
"Not fair! I wanna fight too!" Yuudachi whined.
Shigure hit her with a blank stare and was about to respond, but suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.
"Contact on radar. It's fast," Murasame said.
The Shiratsuyu-class destroyers turned to face the new threat, and as the enemy shells continued to rain down around them, they saw a white and black figure cutting through the waves and racing towards them in the distance.
"She's here…" Shiratsuyu said, her voice filled with dread.
"Yeah… We knew she was part of the enemy fleet, but it looks like she's seeking us out," Murasame noted as she tensed up.
Yuudachi started growling angrily, and Yamakaze and Harusame trembled in anticipation. Shigure, however, stepped out in front of her sisters. Her blue eyes smoldered with unbridled rage, and her mouth twisted into a feral snarl.
"W-What's going on?" Hachijo asked, confused and scared at the sudden transformation in the destroyers.
"Get back," Shigure said to her, and the tone in her voice sent shivers through Hachijo as she hastily complied.
The Destroyer Princess sailed up to the Shiratsuyu-class destroyers, well within gun range of them, sending up a spray of water as she skidded to a stop.
"So we meet again, ship girls," Destroyer Princess greeted, not caring to hide the demented glee in her words.
"You bitch! I'll kill you!" Yuudachi roared, barely restraining herself from rushing at the Princess.
Destroyer Princess smirked. "Ah, so the dog is back to play again. I knew I made a good decision by leaving you alive. Where is the red-haired mutt?"
"Kawakaze is in a different part of the fleet, but we don't need her here to defeat you," Shiratsuyu told the Princess. "You're clearly outnumbered. If you retreat now, we won't -"
Shiratsuyu stopped talking when Shigure suddenly started giggling. Everyone, including the Destroyer Princess, turned to look at her as she chuckled to herself. She started off quietly, but then she burst into a savage laughter, throwing her head back like a hyena and baring her canines as her eyes continued to blaze.
"Oh? It appears this one has lost her mind," the Destroyer Princess curiously observed. "What? Did I scare you too badly last time we met?"
Shigure quieted down.
"... No. It's just that I've finally realized why you Abyssals are so strong… When I see you now, I feel overwhelmed with hatred, and the desire to kill you no matter what, no matter how much damage to myself it would cost. I want to shred every last atom of your pathetic body and wipe out any trace of you; erase you from this Earth and make it like you never existed in the first place. I want to make you howl in pain so loudly that I will never stop hearing it, even in my dreams. I want to wring every drop of life from you with my own two hands!"
Shigure's short speech started off calmly but descended into mad shrieking by the end of it. All of her sisters stood there with their mouths hanging open, and Yuudachi, who had been raring to fight seconds earlier, had her furious expression completely replaced by one of shock. Even the Destroyer Princess was taken aback, and for once the Abyssal couldn't think of a reply to that pure, raw anger.
Shigure was calm again. "And so that's it. I've realized that it's these feelings of hatred that make you Abyssals strong. And this time, I'm going to use those feelings against you."
Before anyone could react, Shigure lunged at the Destroyer Princess.