"We call our monstrous forms… Abyssal…"
With all her four cannons primed at the corrupted shipgirl before them, Yamato placed her hand on Issei's shoulder. Issei looked at her face, noticing the grim look on her face.
"Stay back, Issei. As Abyssal, she is mindless. She will destroy everything in her path until her grudge runs out or she is destroyed…" beehive-patterned barriers were erected around them in order to protect them from any attacks from the corrupted shipgirl. "Judging from her look, waiting for her grudge to run out isn't an option. All we can do is to destroy her core, which is the fragment…"
"D-destroy her?" Issei gave Yamato a confused look.
"We don't have much choice," Yamato shook her head. "If she is left alone, she may end up rampaging, causing more damage. The only way to save her is to put her out of her misery. As a fellow shipgirl, it is my responsibility to 'scuttle' her."
"Wait, a-are you going to kill her?!"
"Kill is such a strong word, Admiral, but yes…" Yamato nodded sadly. "In that state, she will cause nothing but destruction. The accumulated grudges and negative emotions within her will hinder her from seeing reason. This aircraft carrier Kaga is nothing but a mindless beast who must be put down by all means." Her expression hardened as she looked at Issei. "If you pity her, the right thing to do is to destroy her."
"B-but you-!" Some of the corrupted shipgirl's drones zoomed towards Issei, shooting him with energy beams, and the thing that stopped him from having holes on his body was the barrier that Yamato erected around him, protecting him from the attacks.
The corrupted shipgirl held her walking stick with both hands, slowly walking over to their direction. Her entire body seemed to be radiating some kind of malicious aura that even Issei could feel, causing him to shudder. When the corrupted shipgirl got closer to them, Issei managed to get a clearer look of her face.
One thing that the perverted boy could say was that she was beautiful, but this time, it wasn't necessarily a good thing. He never thought that he could see something so beautiful, yet so wrong. Her deathly pale complexion and glowing yellow eyes didn't seem to help either. The way she moved and walked also looked unnatural, as if the world itself was trying to reject her existence.
"Reality deems her existence to be unacceptable…" Yamato said. "An Abyssal does not follow the rules of nature. In short, she is an aberrant, a creature that should not even exist…" she glanced at Issei. "I'm sorry, Issei. This is the only thing we can do now."
Issei couldn't say anything. He couldn't argue with Yamato about this matter. She knew exactly what was happening, and it's only right for her to decide what to do with the corrupted shipgirl. Still, he felt frustrated.
"Damn it! W-why…?! Why do I feel so useless?!"
The corrupted shipgirl was a few meters away from both of them, her glowing yellow eyes staring at them, unblinking. Yamato aimed all her cannons at her, her expression seemed grim.
"I'm sorry, but consider this my mercy. I can only hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me, Kaga." Yamato then launched her attack at the corrupted shipgirl, intending to take her out in one shot. The loud sound produced from the shot was enough to cause the entire warehouse to shake, and Issei had to cover his ears so that his eardrums didn't burst due to the loud noise.
In response, the corrupted shipgirl held out one gloved hand as the shell flew towards her.
"Wo."
Before the shell could hit her, it suddenly disintegrated, much to Yamato's shock. The corrupted shipgirl looked at her gloved hand before she lowered it. Her expression remained unchanging when the shell disintegrated when it was about to hit her. The shell was less than one meter away from the corrupted shipgirl when it was disintegrated by some kind of invisible force.
"I-impossible…" Yamato couldn't contain her disbelief upon seeing what had transpired before her. "Wait, this is…" she finally realized something. "I see…" Issei could see her worried look. "We are in direr situation than what I had expected, Admiral. This is not good."
"W-what are you saying, Yamato?" Issei asked in confusion.
Just in time, Yamato made a barrier to deflect the corrupted shipgirl's attacks. "You see… as a Yamato-class battleship, I require adequate resource in order to retain my combat prowess. In this state, due to not having enough resource, it seems that my combat capability is slightly reduced…" She eyed the corrupted shipgirl before them. "And it seems that Kaga's grudge is too strong, it can even disintegrate my shell."
"She can do that?!" Issei asked.
"Yes," Yamato nodded. "Which makes things more difficult for us. All we can do now is to remain in defensive position and wait for an opening. The moment her grudge-fueled barrier weakens, it will be our chance to counterattack…" she smiled at Issei. "Please remain behind me, Admiral. Allow Yamato to protect you…"
As for the corrupted shipgirl, more drones appeared in thin air. They started attacking both Yamato and Issei with their laser beams, and Yamato had no choice but to conjure the beehive-patterned barriers around them in order to protect themselves from their attacks.
As Yamato tried to attack the corrupted shipgirl, Issei remained behind her, silently gritting his teeth in frustration.
"If only… if only there's something I can do…"
Kantai DxD
Kantai Collection and High School DxD Crossover
Chapter 03: Aircraft Carrier Kaga
In a certain old schoolhouse at Kuoh Academy, there were two girls who seemed to be having a teatime, while a certain handsome blond boy was bringing a plate of scones before putting it on the table.
"So, are you saying that Koneko looked rather distracted today?" One of the girls, the one with crimson hair, spoke to the blond boy as she put her teacup on the saucer. She looked at the boy, smiling kindly at him before she continued, "Do you have any idea what's going on, Yuuto?"
The boy, Yuuto Kiba, shook his head. "Honestly, I have no idea, Buchou. I've been wondering if that's one of her quirks as a nekomata," he said. "Then again, I'm not too sure, considering that I'm not an expert in this matter." Then, he seemed to be remembering something. "Ah, I guess she had been sniffing the air a lot today. I suppose that's one of the reasons why she looked rather distracted."
Another girl, a raven-haired one, who was sitting beside the red-haired one set down her teacup as she smiled in amusement. "Well, she is a cat. Cats are sensitive with smells," she chuckled to herself after that. "She's probably smelling the scent of catnip for all we know, fufufu…"
"That's possible, but why don't we just ask her about it when she's here?" The red-haired girl said after sighing.
"Aww, a little speculation won't hurt, Rias…" The black-haired girl pouted. "Then again, I'm worried about Koneko-chan, actually. I never thought she can be that distracted." She folded her arms under her rather opulent breasts. "At least she's not showing any signs of being in heat, though…"
The red-haired one who was called Rias rolled her eyes. "It's still too early for her, Akeno. And let's stop talking about her behind her back, shall we?"
"Alright, if you say so…" The black-haired girl, Akeno, shrugged. "Speaking of which, I notice a rather large stack of books over there," she held out her hand, pointing her dainty finger at the aforementioned large stack of books not too far from them, which was located at the corner of the clubroom. Upon hearing the enquiry, Rias' cheeks turned a little red.
"W-well…" Fiddling with her fingers as she averted her eyes, while at the same time making an impression of a little kid who got caught trying to steal cookies from their jar, Rias spoke, "Y-you see, Okita-san lent me some books about Japanese and Oriental mythologies, and I somehow thought it'll be fine to bring them here…" After that, she added, "This is Occult Research Club, after all. Those books are totally relevant…"
"Oh, okay…" Akeno said. "So, your brother's Knight lent you some of his books, and you brought them here…" she paraphrased what Rias had been telling them.
"Ah, if I'm not wrong, I remember Buchou asking Okita-sensei to borrow those books." Kiba said not-so-helpfully, and Rias shot him a dismayed look, not expecting his betrayal. "Well, I don't think there's anything wrong with that, Buchou."
"Uuu… fine!" Rias said, throwing her hands up. "I begged Okita-san to allow me to borrow his books! I… I just want to study more about youkai!"
"Totally figured that," Akeno said. "You can be quite an otaku when it comes to Japanese culture, Rias," she chuckled mischievously while Rias puffed out her cheeks, pouting.
"D-don't be mean!" Rias protested. She knew that she would be teased by the other girl for the rest of the day.
Luckily for Rias, Kiba was there to save the day. Before Akeno could tease her more, he spoke, "Buchou, you said you want to study about youkai. Do you have anything specific in mind?"
Seemingly grateful that Akeno wouldn't be able to tease her more, Rias looked at the blond boy and smiled at him. "Well, I'm so glad when you ask that, Yuuto. You see, a few days ago, Sona and some members of her peerage encountered a type of youkai," she got up from her seat and went to a nearby cabinet to take out a broken Japanese teacup. "This is what remains of the youkai after they dealt with it."
"A teacup?" Kiba raised one eyebrow. He noticed that the teacup looked old, with faded color and covered in dirt. "Ah, I see… they encountered a youkai that was born from an old teacup."
Exactly," Rias nodded. "The youkai was relatively harmless, but it's been causing a little ruckus around the neighborhood, and it happened that one of the members of the Student Council stumbled upon it, and the rest is history."
"So, a youkai that was born from an inanimate object?" Akeno also got up from her seat, going over to Rias' direction to take a good look on the old broken teacup that the red-haired girl was holding. "A tsukumogami, you mean?"
"Yes, that…" Rias nodded. "From what I have read, a tsukumogami is a type of youkai that used to be an inanimate object that gains sentience after one hundred years or so. It seems that everything can gain sentience, even the mundane objects like teacups or swords."
"Sentient swords, huh?" Kiba mused. "Well, I admit that is quite interesting…"
Akeno giggled. "Ara, does the idea of having swords that are sentient interest you, Kiba-kun? Your special ability isn't enough for you?"
Kiba shrugged. "Well, a man can never have enough swords…" he reasoned.
Rias coughed into her fist, drawing their attentions back to her. "So, that's the general idea about tsukumogami, but… like most people say, there are several exceptions to everything," she smiled. "While most tsukumogamis are born after one hundred years, some objects can become sentient and self-aware even without reaching one hundred years in age."
"So, you're saying that even something new such as this teacup can become a tsukumogami?" Kiba asked as he pointed at the teacup that was on the table. He was specifically pointing at the one that was used by Akeno when he asked that.
"Well, it's nothing like that. If anything, there has to be some sort of requirement for an inanimate object to become tsukumogami without even reaching one hundred years in age." Rias then held out a finger. "It has to be some sort of objects that people admire and venerate. People believe that there are some sort of hidden power behind the seemingly inanimate objects, and in turn, the objects gain sentience. It is quite amazing, if you ask me. By believing hard enough, an inanimate object can even gain a soul…"
"Ah, so you're saying that another requirement for an inanimate object to become a tsukumogami is to be a symbol of worship?" Akeno inquired. Being a shrine maiden, she was well-aware of the concept of all objects around them to have some sort of spirits within them, but she thought that she needed to entertain Rias by feigning ignorance. And she was curious about what Rias had found from her research.
"Yes," Rias seemed delighted with her finding. "Japan is truly a mystical place to live in, and I'm a Devil, which is saying something," her expression seemed giddy as she said that, and both Kiba and Akeno smiled in amusement.
"So, by following that logic, if I believe my sword is sentient hard enough, it can gain sentience for real?" Kiba asked.
"Umm… it's not really that easy, Yuuto…" Rias said.
"Well, it won't hurt to try, will it?"
Rias and Akeno glanced at each other, as if wondering whether the boy was serious or not.
At another place, which was at the abandoned warehouse, there was a battle between two tsukumogamis, one of them being the personification of battleship Yamato, and the other being the corrupted personification of aircraft carrier Kaga. Yamato tried to find the weak points in the corrupted Kaga's defense, but due to her being weakened, her attacks were disintegrated by Kaga's grudge-fueled barriers before they could reach her.
"This isn't working…" Yamato said as another of her attacks failed to hit the target. "It seems that I have no choice. I have to deal with her at close range." She dismissed her large cannons and held her parasol in one hand. "Stay back, Admiral! Let Yamato do this!"
Before Issei could voice out his response, Yamato deflected a shot from the corrupted shipgirl's drones with her parasol before she used her smaller cannons to take them out. Despite being smaller and weaker than her 46 cm Triple Gun Mount, they were able to destroy the drones without much effort. Still, even by destroying the drones, she was still unable to get herself closer to the corrupted shipgirl due to the barrier and the continuous assault from the other drones.
"Still doesn't work…" Yamato grunted. Her attacks were useless against the corrupted shipgirl's barriers, and she was unable to go closer to her, which made her more desperate. Gritting her teeth, she spoke, "Aircraft carrier Kaga, if you know what is good for you, I command you to stand down and accept your fate gracefully." She placed her hand on her gorget that bore the image of chrysanthemum, the emblem of Japanese Imperial family. "Have you forgotten to whom you served? Have you forgotten your duty as a proud vessel who fought for Imperial Navy? Have you forgotten who you truly are?!"
Upon hearing the questions from Yamato, the drones stopped attacking, and the corrupted shipgirl looked at Yamato with her glowing yellow eyes, unblinking. Then, she opened her mouth.
"There is nothing to be proud of in my humiliating defeat…"
Both Yamato and Issei were surprised to hear the corrupted shipgirl's voice. And Yamato seemed to be caught off-guard, not expecting the shipgirl to say anything in response.
"I served the Emperor and the Imperial Japanese Navy, and yet, what I got was a cold, dark abyss, deep within the sea. There is nothing to be proud of."
"B-but…" Yamato's expression turned frantic. "Y-you're Kaga! You're supposed to be the pride of the nation!"
"Like I said, there is no pride in my defeat. You, who bore the emblem has no right to say that to me. You, the one who is constantly showered by admiration even after being sunken into the cold, uncaring sea, has no right to say that to me. Now, go away."
Before Yamato could say anything to retort to her, the corrupted shipgirl held out the walking stick, and it shifted into another shape; a pitch-black bow that seemed to be made of some kind of unknown material. She drew the string of the bow back, and an arrow, which was also black in color, appeared out of thin air.
"Or else, die."
She released the arrow, which was aimed at Yamato. Using her parasol, Yamato deflected the arrow, but the force generated when the arrow collided against her parasol pushed her back, and Yamato scowled when she realized that her parasol was damaged by the arrow.
"Y-Yamato, are you alright?" Issei asked, going to Yamato's side.
"I'm fine, Admiral. But you should stay back," Yamato said. "She is dangerous."
Yamato conjured another layer of barrier as the corrupted shipgirl's drones continued their assault.
"It seems that I have no choice…" Yamato sighed. "Issei, you better get yourself out of this place. The only way for me to take her down is to go all out, and it may probably end with me destroying myself along with her," Issei was appalled by how calm Yamato was when she said that. "And this warehouse may end up being destroyed as well, so… you better escape with your life…" she smiled at Issei.
"B-but… if you do that, I-" Issei was stopped when Yamato placed her palm on Issei's mouth.
"Issei Hyoudou, I'm so glad to know you…" Yamato said, smiling warmly, even as she tried to retain her barriers to prevent themselves from being hit by the corrupted shipgirl's drones. "Yamato will always remember you. Now, go…" she pointed at the exit. "Let's meet again, in another life, perhaps…" she gave him a salute and a smile as Issei absentmindedly walked towards the exit after being pushed by Yamato.
"Yamato…"
When Issei finally walked out of the warehouse, Yamato turned back to face the corrupted Kaga.
"Why… are you crying?"
The corrupted shipgirl momentarily stopped her assault as she saw tears rolling down Yamato's cheeks. She tilted her head, as if curious about what she had seen before her.
"It doesn't matter anymore…" Yamato said, wiping her tears. "Now, I can go all out without restriction." Her cannons and armament appeared on her back, and all the cannons were pointed at the corrupted shipgirl. "I shall take you with me, Kaga."
With slow pace, Issei walked away from the warehouse. He tried to prevent himself from looking back, but each time he tried to do that, he failed.
"Damn it… I…"
He was told by Yamato to leave the place so that she could stop the corrupted shipgirl from going on a rampage. But in order to do that, she had to do something that might end up killing herself as well. He wanted to protest, but Yamato's earnest expression prevented him from doing so.
"Why am I feeling so useless?!" Issei screamed in frustration as he brought his hands to the sides of his head. He hated it when there was nothing else he could do. He fell on his knees, having no strength to continue.
"There is nothing to be proud of in my humiliating defeat…"
He recalled what the corrupted shipgirl had said. From what he had read from the books regarding the WWII-era ships, the aircraft carrier Kaga was sunken in the Battle of Midway, which was considered a humiliating defeat for the Japanese. Perhaps that was the reason behind her corruption.
"There… there has to be something that I can do…" Issei said as he got up on his feet. Without even thinking, he spun on his heel and ran back towards the warehouse and went through the entrance, where he found that Yamato was attacking the corrupted shipgirl with bombardment.
When Issei looked at the corrupted shipgirl, he saw her standing motionlessly while her barriers continued to disintegrate the incoming projectiles from Yamato.
Then, he saw something else. He saw a glimpse of a girl, alone and broken deep under the sea. There was no light in her eyes as she remained there, lying on the seabed.
It's cold.
Both Yamato and the corrupted shipgirl had yet to realize that Issei was there, and Issei continued to look at both shipgirls attacking each other.
I'm afraid…
Issei could hear whispery voices inside his head, which reminded him the time before Yamato saved him from being killed by Yuuma Amano.
Someone… anyone… please hear me…
Then, he looked at the corrupted shipgirl, whose face remained emotionless, but every now and then, he saw the glimpse of a broken girl, who was alone deep within the cold, uncaring sea.
I'm… lonely…
After a while, he finally realized what was happening. Despite the emotionless look that the corrupted shipgirl displayed, deep down, she was a broken, lonely girl who was desperate to have someone hearing her out. Now that he knew about this, there's no way he could allow them to destroy each other.
"I-Issei?!" Yamato realized that Issei was still there. "Didn't I tell you to get awa- eek!" Due to Issei's presence, she was distracted, allowing her opponent to land a hit on her. She was hit on the right side of her torso.
"Yamato! Are you alright?!" Issei rushed to her side. He believed that it was his fault that Yamato got shot, because his presence somehow distracted her from seeing her enemy's attacks.
"I'm fine," Yamato said. The shot tore a little bit of the fabric of her dress, revealing the skin underneath. Fortunately, there was only a bruise mark on it instead of something worse. "But why are you here? Didn't I tell you to go away?"
"I know what to do now…" Issei said as he looked at the corrupted shipgirl. "I can hear her heart…" clenching his fists, he stood upright. Noticing the look from Issei, the corrupted shipgirl momentarily stopped her assault. "Now, if I tell you to believe in me, will you do that?"
"Issei…"
"I know this is stupidly dangerous, but I have to do this…" Issei said as he looked over his shoulder, and Yamato could see his face filled with determination. "All you have to do is believe in me and help me. Can you do that?"
Yamato studied Issei's face before she nodded. "Of course. After all, you are my Admiral."
When Issei was about to say more, the corrupted shipgirl continued her assault, and with timely intervention from Yamato, he was protected by her barrier.
Covering his face with his arm, he asked Yamato, "What will happen to this barrier if I run?"
"It'll flicker out three seconds after you move," Yamato answered.
"And can I go through that barrier of hers so I can get closer to her?" Issei asked another question. The drones continued their assault, and the barriers protected Issei and Yamato from the attacks.
"You can forcefully go through it. After all, the barriers only work against projectiles. But if you forcefully punch it, it'll hurt you," Yamato explained. "Don't tell me you're going to break through the barrier?"
"Uh, yes?" Issei said. "So… uh, will you do that?"
So, their strategy seemed to be 'Issei rushes to the enemy while Yamato provides protection, and then Issei forcefully punches through her barrier to get to her'.
Sighing, Yamato said, "Alright. It is your plan, and Yamato will go with it. Just… don't do anything that may cause, umm… lasting harm, okay?"
"Okay," Issei nodded. He looked at the corrupted shipgirl. "Alright, when I run, you give me barrier. And I'm going to break through her barrier to get to her."
"Affirmative," Yamato said. Issei gave her a signal before he started sprinting towards the corrupted shipgirl. Just like Yamato said, the moment he moved, the barrier that protected him from the drones dissipated, and Yamato had to conjure more barriers around him as he moved.
"Graah!" Issei yelled as he ran over towards the corrupted shipgirl, with Yamato continuously conjuring more barriers around him to protect him. Then, he stopped and stood three meters away from the corrupted shipgirl, with her grudge-fueled barrier between them. Without thinking, he threw a punch at the barrier.
And it was a bad move.
The moment his fist touched the barrier, he could feel his skin burning upon contact. He let out a pained cry when his fist was burned by the barrier.
"Damn it!" Issei looked at the corrupted shipgirl before him. He needed to get closer to her so that he could do whatever he had in his mind, but the barrier seemed to be standing in his way. "Don't get in my way, you stupid wall!" He punched again, and predictably, it still hurt.
"Issei!" Yamato shouted at him, seemingly worried.
"C'mon now! I'm not going to fail this! Not now!" Issei yelled as he pulled back his fist so that he could launch another punch. Despite having his fist burned, it didn't stop him from trying again.
His fist blackened due to being repeatedly slammed against the barrier, but he didn't stop despite the pain.
He needed to break through this barrier.
More than anything, he needed to get through this barrier, because it was the only thing that stopped him from reaching the shipgirl before him.
If only he had the power to break through the barrier.
[…ra…on …oos…er!]
In a flash, he could feel his vision turning green as he slammed his fist against the barrier. Vividly, he could hear a mechanical voice even though he couldn't tell what the voice was saying, but after hearing that, he could feel power coursing through his body. And the moment his fist slammed against the barrier, it finally broke.
He didn't know whether his mind was playing tricks on him or not, but he thought that there was something strange about his hand. But he didn't pay any attention to it as he proceeded to get closer to the corrupted shipgirl. She didn't expect him to break through her barrier, and she was unable to do anything as he got closer to her. He yelled as he rushed towards her.
And pulled her into a hug.
The corrupted shipgirl's eyes widened in surprise when Issei wrapped his arms around her. She could feel his palm stroking on her back. Even if she tried to struggle, squirming out of his embrace, she was unable to do so.
Because it felt warm.
"I heard your voice…" Issei said to her. "I can tell that you're lonely. I don't want to claim that I understand how it feels, but… I'm telling you this," he brought his hand to her head before he removed the giant hat that she was wearing and tossed it away. "From now on, you're not going to be lonely anymore. I promise to you, Kaga…" he stroked her white hair tenderly. "No matter what happened to you before, it won't matter anymore…"
His voice was gentle and kind, and it sounded pleasant. Her grip on her walking stick loosened before she dropped it to the floor. Her drones that were floating also dissipated into nothingness.
"No matter what, I'm going to be with you…" Issei said, smiling. "You are not lonely, not anymore…"
For a while, there was no response from her. After a while, Issei could feel her body shaking as she brought her hands up to his back, clutching on his shirt.
"Aaa... *sniffle* aaa..."
Then, she sobbed.
"I-I'm... *sob* s-scared..."
For the first time, Issei was able to see the change in her expression, and he noted how beautiful she looked as she cried. The mask of stoicism that she wore earlier had crumbled into dust, leaving behind the lonely, vulnerable girl who finally managed to shed her tears after spending so many years down the sea, where no one could see her cry.
"There, there..." Issei tried his best to comfort the crying girl. "It's time to say goodbye to the cold, uncaring sea. From now on, you'll be with us..." he smiled kindly at her, and the girl continued crying her heart out, all the tears that were unshed flowed unbidden down her cheeks. In the boy's embrace, she felt like she had been saved, and she knew that all those years of loneliness had finally come to an end.
Issei also noticed that the whiteness of her skin was slowly replaced by the normal skin color. Her white hair also slowly turned black, or dark brown. He couldn't tell due to the lighting. The white, tight suit she was wearing also slowly disintegrated, leaving only her naked flesh. Being a pervert he was, he couldn't help but show a lecherous grin as he noted that her breasts were quite big. He didn't notice this earlier, considering the circumstances. Still, he had to restrain himself for her sake.
As she continued crying, Issei realized that her body was glowing. Then, her body started dissipating before she disappeared, leaving behind the ship fragment.
"W-what's happening to her?" Issei was confused when she somehow disappeared. "Where did she go?"
"You managed to purify her negative emotions and grudges, Admiral…" Yamato said as she approached Issei. "Right now, she has reverted back into her shard form, but now that she's been purified, we can finally summon her without trouble…" she smiled as stood beside him.
"I-is that so?" Issei said before he looked at the ship fragment of Kaga. He walked over to its direction and picked it up. He smiled at it as he held it with both hands. "You're not going to be alone again, Kaga. Trust me, you're never going to be alone again…"
And so, both Issei and Yamato went back home. After cleaning themselves up, both of them decided to do the ritual again. This time, the ritual would be done in Issei's room. Yamato summoned her shrine maiden fairies and the ritual began.
"So, are you sure there won't be any trouble?" Issei asked Yamato as they watched the fairies performing kagura dance around the ship fragment of Kaga.
"Yes. There is no corruption to speak of, so there will be no more corrupted shipgirl," Yamato said with a smile.
"Alright, if you say so…" Issei said. Somehow, he felt nervous. He had been wondering about what kind of Kanmusu Kaga was like. He continued watching the ritual as the ship fragment began to glow, releasing some kind of warm light. Slowly, a figure started to form before them, and when the glow finally faded out, Issei managed to get a clear view on the figure.
Standing before them was a girl with average height, clad in white gi and blue short hakama. She was also wearing a black muneate over her chest. Her thigh-high stockings seemed to be black in color as well. Now that they were in a room with proper lighting, Issei was able to see that her hair was really dark brown in color, and was done in a side ponytail. She was also holding an archery bow.
Issei also noted that the girl was quite stoic, unlike Yamato. But then, when she looked at Issei, her expression softened a bit before her lips curled up into a small smile.
"I am aircraft carrier Kaga…" the girl spoke. Her voice sounded calm and composed. "From now on, I shall be serving you, Admiral…"
Issei grinned as he held out his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Kaga-chan! I'm Issei Hyoudou! Just call me Issei, okay?"
Kaga looked at the offered hand before she nodded. Then she shook the hand and spoke to Issei, "It is nice to meet you as well, Admiral. And…" her cheeks seemed to be a little red. "…thank you, for everything."
"I-it's okay! J-just doing my job and stuff!"
As Issei and Kaga were shaking hands, Yamato watched them, and she smiled.
"A shipgirl accumulated negative emotions due to her experience during the war. The Battle of Midway was a humiliating experience for someone like Kaga, and that is why the accumulated negative emotions caused her to turn into an Abyssal."
Yamato sighed.
"It could easily be me, because I was also sunken during a mission. I was lucky that I had Issei and his grandfather. And my reputation also prevented me from turning into an Abyssal. Kaga never had such luxury. But now, she is back to normal, thanks to Issei…"
Yamato looked at Issei, who was getting flustered by Kaga's close proximity, and she giggled.
"It's probably too early to assume this, but Issei Hyoudou, you might as well be our salvation…"
TO BE CONTINUED
Author's Note: Hello, this is me, Prince Arjuna. So, this is Chapter 3 of Kantai DxD, Aircraft Carrier Kaga. For your information, Kaga is one of my favorite shipgirls in Kancolle. I'm not sure why, but maybe it's because I like her cool, calm attitude while there's possible to be a goofy side of hers behind that layer of cold stoicism. So, I hope you'll like this chapter and I hope you don't mind all the stupid bullshits I pulled in this chapter, okay? So, let's focus back on the DxD side of the story, because this is a Crossover between Kantai Collection and High School DxD for the next chapter.
Also, thanks to lojzek91 for beta-reading this chapter. It's so good working alongside you. So, stay tuned for the next chapter, Chapter 04: Selfish Dream. Until then, farewell.
Prince Arjuna (2015)