"I'm home."

"Welcome back, Admiral."

Issei entered his house and was welcomed by Kaga, who was dressed in plain white shirt and a pair of black shorts. Her side ponytail was undone and her dark brown hair was a little wet. Issei assumed that she had taken a bath earlier.

As Issei looked at the personification of aircraft carrier Kaga before him, he couldn't help himself as he focused on her chest. Noticing this, Kaga blinked a few times, noting that the boy was looking at her breasts intently. Being recently reincarnated into her humanoid form, she had yet to understand the significance of her body parts besides some rudimentary knowledge about them.

"Is something the matter, Admiral?" Kaga asked. "Is there something wrong with my breasts?" When she asked that question, she cupped her breasts with her hands.

Seeing Kaga's mountainous assets being handled in such an erotic way, Issei's jaw hung open and his eyes widened. It took the entirety of his willpower to reign himself before he coughed into his fist, clearing his throat. "I-it's nothing! I think I'm gonna take a bath first! Seeya!"

So, Issei hurriedly left Kaga alone near the door. Bemused, Kaga blinked a few times before she looked at the door. She put on a pair of sandals and opened the door, stepping out of the house.

"I never thought it was you…" Kaga spoke softly as she stepped out of the house. Leaning against a nearby lamppost, there was a girl with long hair, clad in light pink dress. When Kaga saw her, the girl smiled and tilted her head slightly. "It's been a long time since Midway…" Kaga said as she held out her hand before a miniature plane descended from above, landing on her palm. The plane then disappeared in a poof, leaving behind a fairy who also then disappeared in a small explosion after giving Kaga a salute.

"I am glad to meet you once again, Kaga…" The girl said. "I can see that you have your own Admiral," she giggled. "Quite an alright person, I'd say. He's surprisingly quite a softie, you know? A little bit of a perv, though, but I don't really mind." She winked.

"Akagi…" Kaga said the name of the girl. "I do appreciate you looking after him while he's going out a while ago, but how did you manage to gain this form?" She stepped closer to Akagi, studying her. "And how did you manage to live without the corruption? As far as I can tell, both of us are the victims of Midway. Our grudge has yet to be fully dissolved…"

"About that…" Akagi tapped her chin a few times. "I've been around in this form for quite a while. It's been almost a year since I gained this form. I was adopted by a family of beast tamer," she chuckled after saying that. "Well, technically, we are youkai. I don't think it's weird if we are treated like beasts by those people. Still, they treated me like a family member," she grinned. "I also got an Onee-chan too. She taught me how to play tennis."

"I see…" There was a relieved smile on Kaga's face. "I'm glad, Akagi. You are having a good life…"

Then, Akagi looked down. "Still, like you said, the corruption is still inside me. My grudge has yet to be fully dissolved." To prove her point, her body flickered a bit, and her hair and complexion turned white for a few seconds before turning back to normal. "I assume it's the same to you too, Kaga. In order to keep our sanity intact, we need to periodically cleanse ourselves…"

Kaga looked at Akagi, knowing what the other girl was talking about. Even though they were purified, they still could remember their devastating defeat during the Battle of Midway, and it was the source of their grudge. The accumulated grudge would then corrupt them again, causing them to relapse and revert back into their Abyssal forms. And when that happened, they wouldn't be able to distinguish between friends and foes, causing them to destroy everything indiscriminately.

"In case if you need help about this, feel free to ask my help, Kaga," Akagi offered. "Like you, I'm also a student at Kuoh Academy. If you want to see me, just drop by at Tennis Club. I'm sure my Onee-chan will be delighted to see you too. She knows a few things about cleansing methods for us Kanmusu."

Kaga nodded. "Very well, I shall inform my Admiral of this. I'm sure he'll be pleased to hear it," she smiled. Then, she stared at Akagi, and the long-haired Kanmusu blinked and tilted her head.

"What?" Akagi asked.

"Are you happy?" Kaga asked. "Are you happy with your current life? Are you happy that you are no longer alone in your watery grave?"

Akagi smiled softly before she walked over to Kaga's direction, approaching her. "Yes, I am happy. The memories of Midway and the years of loneliness still haunt my dreams, but they won't stop me from being happy and fulfilled. I have a family to take care of me, I have a future to look forward, and now…" She leaned towards Kaga and whispered, "I am no longer alone as a Kanmusu. You and Yamato are here now."

"Akagi…" Kaga said as Akagi brought her hand to stroke her cheek.

"Well, I guess I shall get going, then," Akagi said. "Take care, Kaga. And please look after your Admiral too, okay? He'll need all the supports you can give," she said before she walked away, leaving Kaga alone in front of Hyoudou residence.

Kaga just remained there even after Akagi had disappeared. Then the door was opened before Yamato stepped out of the house, looking at Kaga, who was still standing motionlessly outside the house. "Kaga, why are you still outside? It's cold," she said.

Kaga looked over her shoulder, and saw Yamato's face. "It's nothing. I apologize for making you worry," she said before she turned on her heel and went into the house together with Yamato.

Kantai DxD

Kantai Collection and High School DxD Crossover

Chapter 05: Aircraft Carrier Akagi

"Hmm… it's strange," Rias mused, sitting on the sofa in the clubroom of Occult Research Club. One of the members of the club, Yuuto Kiba, was preparing some tea, and when he heard Rias' musing, he looked at her and noticed that she was frowning.

"What's the matter, Buchou?" Kiba asked.

"Did you remember what Koneko had reported about the inhuman presences that accompanied Issei Hyoudou?" Rias asked. "About both girls named Yamato Hyoudou and Kaga Yamamoto, I mean." The red-haired girl sighed as she held out the papers she was holding. When Kiba went over to her, serving her a cup of tea, Rias handed the papers to the blond boy. "I've done some investigations regarding these two students, with a little help from Sona."

Kiba read the papers that were handed to him. "So… what did you find out, Buchou?" He asked before he studied the contents of the papers. "Ah," he started to understand what had been bothering the president of the club.

"There were no previous records regarding their existences. It feels like both of them suddenly showed up out of thin air," Rias said before she took a sip of her tea. Then, she continued, "It feels like they suddenly poofed into existence." She put down her cup before she clasped her hands together. "And there is another thing that can explain what they actually are…"

Kiba regarded Rias curiously. "And what would it be?" He asked.

"I did mention to you all that I've been studying about Oriental folklores, right? So, I remember reading something about youkai," Rias said. "It's been mentioned in the books that I have read that sometimes, a youkai's mere existence can affect the fabric of reality itself. Not too much to the point of altering the laws of nature, of course, but still enough to change people's perception of reality." She held out an index finger as she continued her explanation, "That's how youkai usually manage to blend into society without making a fuss, like how youkai like fox demons can disguise themselves into beautiful women and be married with men without being found out."

"Ah, I see what you mean, Buchou…" Kiba said. "Still, that sounds oddly contrived. Are you saying that both Yamato Hyoudou and Kaga Yamamoto are youkai?" He asked.

"Well, wild mass guessing doesn't hurt once in a while, Yuuto," Rias said. "And considering that I've been studying about youkai lately, I'm sticking with this theory until it's proved otherwise. I also came up with other theories too, but I prefer this one."

Kiba suppressed the urge to sigh. Every once in a while, the president of the Occult Research Club would show her rather eccentric side. While he didn't hate it, he still wished that he could get used to it, just like Akeno.

"So, what should we do after this?" Kiba asked. "Am I going to watch them too?"

Rias tilted her head and spoke, "Giving Koneko a little bit of assistance will be nice," she smiled at the boy. "Ever since those two showed up, Koneko has been quite restless." Like Akeno, she also initially thought that it might have something to do with her being in heat. "She did mention that both of them smell weird, just like seawater." Rias brought her left hand to her chin, making a thinking pose. "But why seawater?"

"Seawater, huh?" Kiba mused. He was unsure about the significance of such thing to the origin of the new students, but he was curious nonetheless.

"And another thing…" Rias said. "I've been sending out my familiar to scout the areas around the territory, and while there's nothing out of ordinary, there's some sort of strangeness in the air," she stroked her chin. "I cannot describe it well, to be honest. It feels like something big is going on behind the scene."

Kiba frowned. "Well, doesn't that sound ominous?" He remarked. "How about the Fallen Angels? They have been active around the area lately."

"As long as they are not causing trouble or making fuss that may cause another conflict between the factions, it's better to leave them be," Rias shrugged. Then, she took a sip of the tea that was served to her by Kiba, and raised one of her eyebrows after testing the beverage. "Somehow, this tea tastes different. This tea tastes like cocoa," she commented.

"Ah, this is Yingdehong tea, Buchou," Kiba informed helpfully. "If brewed right, it should have a cocoa-like aroma and a sweet aftertaste," he added.

"I see…" Rias mused before she took another sip of the tea. "Tasty."

"Yamato…" Kaga spoke to her fellow Kanmusu, Yamato. They were currently in the classroom. Yamato was chatting with Issei when Kaga approached her. It was currently lunchtime.

"Hmm? What is it, Kaga?" Yamato said, looking at Kaga.

"Will it be alright if we talk for a while?" Kaga asked. "There is something that I'd like you to know…"

"Ah…" Yamato studied Kaga's stoic face for a while before she nodded. "Very well," she said as she got up from her seat. She knew that whatever she wanted to tell her, it had to be something important. "Issei, let's talk again later. I'd like to discuss about something with Kaga."

"Oh, sure," Issei said. Well, now that he had no one to talk to, it would be the time for him to talk with his fellow perverts, Matsuda and Motohama.

Yamato followed Kaga as they walked down the hallway before they went upstairs, going to the rooftop where they could have their own discussion without being interrupted. Even if there were other students at the rooftop, they were just minding their own businesses. When they arrived at the rooftop, Kaga turned to face the taller girl before she spoke, "Do you know that there is one active Kanmusu here in this school?"

Yamato raised one eyebrow before she nodded. "Yes, I know. I picked the signals sometime after the first time I came to this place…" She scratched her cheek as she continued, "I didn't inform Admiral regarding this matter because I was so focused on helping him to search for the ship fragments, I forgot to mention about this to him," she admitted sheepishly.

"That Kanmusu already made contact with our Admiral…" Kaga informed, and Yamato gave Kaga an incredulous look.

"R-really?! When?" Yamato asked.

"Last night, when Admiral went out of the house on his own. Because he looked like he wanted to be left alone, I did not accompany him, but I took the liberty of sending out reconnaissance planes and fairies to monitor him," Kaga said. "While I might not be able to act immediately if he were to be attacked, I would be notified of such attack instantly. But that is not the main concern here. Last night, when Admiral went out on his own, he encountered this Kanmusu."

"He encountered this Kanmusu?" Yamato said, parroting Kaga's words.

Kaga nodded. "They did exchange words, but she did not reveal her identity to him. She accompanied him home, and I was able to talk with her. Apparently, she had been active for a year…"

"A year? What ship is she?" Yamato asked.

"Aircraft Carrier Akagi," Kaga said. "Apparently, she materialized into her humanoid form before a beast tamer, and was adopted by the beast tamer's family ever since."

"How could she survive her materialization? She was a victim of Midway, so she had to be deeply corrupted and became an Abyssal…" Yamato believed that Kaga's purification, despite how good it was, was a fluke. And being an Abyssal would mean her existence would be unstable, and would eventually die after rampaging.

"It happened that the beast tamers have their own methods of suppressing the corruption," Kaga said. "I have to periodically cleanse myself in order to keep myself from relapsing, but the beast tamers seem to have some way to purify a corrupted Kanmusu much easier."

"So, you want to meet this beast tamer?" Yamato asked.

"Yes," Kaga nodded. "But, in order to do that, we need to inform Admiral about this first. But, considering that he is a pervert, and apparently the beast tamer who adopted Akagi is a female, this matter needs to be handled delicately." There was a serious look on the shipgirl's face. "It is safe to assume that the beast tamer who had adopted Aircraft Carrier Akagi is her Admiral. If both our Admirals were to establish contact, we have to do it right," she said, again with the serious look on her face.

"Ah, I see what you mean, Kaga…" Yamato nodded. "I understand. We do not want to make everything complicated due to our Admiral's perverse nature." She folded her arms as she nodded again. "But, in order to do so, we need to approach Akagi beforehand. We all need the confirmation regarding the purification method before we can arrange any meeting between our Admirals. Does that sound fine with you, Kaga?"

Kaga nodded in affirmation. "I have no problem with that. Still, we should not leave Admiral's side. But we still need to meet Akagi. Do you have any suggestions on how to accompany Admiral while at the same time, establish contact with Akagi?"

Yamato thought about it for a while. "Do you think reconnaissance planes would be enough to monitor Admiral's activities?"

"Yes, I believe so…" Kaga nodded. "I believe that leaving him be for a while will not hurt." When Kaga said that, Yamato gave her a strange look as she narrowed her eyes. "Hmm? What is it, Yamato?"

"N-no, it's nothing…" Yamato said. "It's just that when you said that, I couldn't help but feel something ominous," she was silent for a few seconds before she shook her head. "No, it's probably just my imagination. Maybe I'm just being paranoid."

Kaga did not make any comments about that before she spoke, "Then, we shall commence our operation after school. Our objective is to establish contact with Aircraft Carrier Akagi to ensure whether we are able to safely allow our Admiral to establish contact with the beast tamer who adopted Akagi or not." Oddly enough, despite the stoic look on Kaga's face, Yamato could hear the hint of giddiness in her fellow shipgirl's voice when she announced that they would be commencing the operation. She assumed that Kaga was excited over the prospect of commencing an operation, even though the operation was just a simple one, like making contact with a fellow shipgirl.

After school, both Yamato and Kaga told Issei that they had something to do. Thinking that both Kanmusu might have made some friends at school, the perverted boy said he was okay with that, and walked home. As soon as Issei left, Kaga discreetly deployed her planes and fairies to monitor Issei's movements before they went to find where Tennis Club was.

After asking around, they finally got the direction of where the Tennis Club might be. So, both Kanmusu walked side by side towards the direction of the Tennis Club.

"Yamato…" Kaga suddenly said as she walked alongside Yamato. The ponytailed shipgirl blinked as she glanced at the stoic-faced shipgirl.

"Hmm? What is it, Kaga?" Yamato asked. While she might get along with Kaga just fine, it's rare for the serious-looking shipgirl to actually initiate a conversation.

"You've been with Admiral for a long time, right?" Kaga asked.

Yamato tilted her head. "Ah, yes…" She was in her inert, fragment form for a decade before her manifestation as a shipgirl. While she never interacted with him during that period, it could be said that she experienced most of the time together with Issei. "Well, I didn't talk to him, but I could feel our connection every time we were together." There was a happy smile on Yamato's face as she recalled the time when Issei told himself that he would inherit the spirit of Yamato.

As a ship, she represented the heart and soul of the nation. Despite the fact that she was sunken during the war, such a fact never changed.

Yamato stopped walking and brought her hands to her chest, closing her eyes as she recalled her past together with Issei. Sure, she was incapable of talking, or even interacting with Issei during that time, but she was still aware of everything when she was together with him. "It made me feel happy. It was a strange feeling, but I didn't hate it."

"Ah…" Kaga stared at Yamato's face for a while before she said, "I see." She looked down before she added, "That's nice." Then, she looked at Yamato's face again. "…I'm jealous."

"Huh?" Yamato blinked, unsure whether she heard Kaga right or not.

"It's nothing. Let's continue," Kaga said before she continued walking. Yamato just followed her.

As they walked, Kaga suddenly stopped. Yamato frowned.

"What's wrong, Kaga?" Yamato asked.

"My reconnaissance planes picked some strange presences near Admiral…" Kaga said. "They don't seem to be ordinary presences." She turned around and faced Yamato. "Shall we abort operation and go to attend our Admiral?"

"Strange presences?" Yamato furrowed her brow as she heard that from Kaga. "Are those the Fallen Angels?" She recalled the time when she rescued Issei from being killed by a Fallen Angel in the nick of time by materializing into her current, humanoid form.

Kaga seemed unsure. "I do not know, but whatever they might be, we need to put Admiral's safety above all else. Let's go," she walked past Yamato, going to the opposite direction.

"K-Kaga, wait!" Yamato followed the other shipgirl. They walked out of the school ground, leaving the school so that they could find Issei as soon as possible. From the reconnaissance planes that Kaga had deployed, Issei was followed or stalked by something. Both shipgirls could only hope that whatever it was, they would be able to make it to ensure Issei's safety.

Issei was walking home alone because both Yamato and Kaga seemed to have something to do at school. He was fine with that, because he assumed that both of them had made some friends at school. Both of them were free to do whatever they wanted, because even though they were not humans, they were still people who had their own needs.

He had told himself after a session of introspection at the park last night, about what he wanted to do with the shipgirls he would find. He had already decided that all the Kanmusu were people, not some collectible items. Even though the idea of having a harem of Kanmusu was very appealing for a perverted boy like him, he also wanted to make them happy. The girls had suffered enough thanks to the war long ago. While he was unsure about what to do, he knew that someone had to do something to rescue these girls from their own darkness.

"Heh, easier said than done," Issei muttered to himself. He believed himself to be a rather normal, if perverted boy. There was nothing special about him, no matter how much he wished otherwise. "Still, if there's no one to do this, who else?" He looked at his own palm before he clenched it into a fist.

He had determined to do this. While he might not be able to do much, at the very least, he knew that there might be something that he could do. And he also had both Yamato and Kaga by his side, so even though he believed that he might be weak at the moment, with both of them by his side, he was sure that he could succeed.

"Alright, I've decided!" Issei exclaimed. "I'm gonna put it my all! I'm gonna save all the shipgirls!" While he found out that it sounded strange when he said it out loud, he had already made it clear that he would do his best to reach his goal. While he still wanted to make a harem of Kanmusu, he wanted to do this because he wanted to save them from their sad fate.

He was too preoccupied with his thought to realize that the street he was walking down was devoid of people. It took him a while to realize that the street was strangely empty. He started to have a bad feeling about this, before he heard a familiar voice. Just hearing that voice was enough to send chills down his spine, because he still could remember that voice taunting him a few days ago.

"My, my, you look so happy, Issei-kun. Did something good happen?"

That voice came from behind him. He slowly glanced over his shoulder and let out a choking noise when he saw a black-haired girl standing behind him. The girl was smiling sweetly despite the fact that her whole being was radiating malevolence.

"Y-Yuuma-chan…" Issei muttered.

'Yuuma' giggled when Issei called her. "Thank goodness you still can remember me, Issei-kun! I'm really glad!" She covered her mouth with her hand daintily as she giggled.

Issei could feel his heart beating faster inside his chest. It felt like his heart might end up bursting out of his ribcage at this rate. Just seeing the one who tried to kill him during his first date brought a myriad of emotions inside the boy. But the most prominent among those emotions was fear, and his fear towards this girl was enough to make him rooted on the spot, unable to move even a muscle.

"What's wrong, Issei-kun? Are you afraid?" Yuuma asked, her voice still sounded sweet, but the way she looked at him was condescending. It felt like as if she was looking at a bug needed to be crushed underfoot. "Ah, no wonder you're afraid. You've got no one to protect you this time. That bitch with those enormous cannons isn't here to protect your sorry ass, after all." She laughed. "How pitiful."

Issei wanted to retort, but nothing came out of his mouth. He instinctively brought his hand to the talisman he wore, but he knew that it wouldn't be the same like before. Yamato wouldn't show up to save him this time. He was totally under Yuuma's mercy, and he was sure that she wouldn't show him any.

"Now then," a spear of light appeared in Yuuma's hand. "Let's get this over with, shall we? We're going to finish what we started, okay?" Her grin grew wider, which made her look more inhuman.

Still holding the talisman, Issei still didn't move, or rather, was unable to move. Yuuma twirled her spear of light a few times before he prepared to throw it at him.

"Now, die."

With that, Yuuma threw the spear towards him. Still rooted on the spot where he was standing on, he just closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. In less than a second, he would die.

But strangely, it didn't hurt.

"What?!"

Issei could hear Yuuma's voice shouting in surprise. He opened his eyes and saw a familiar-looking beehive-patterned barrier in front of him. The spear of light that Yuuma threw at him earlier was on the ground, dissipating into nothingness.

"T-this is…" Issei looked at the barrier. "Yamato?"

"Nope."

There was a voice which was decidedly wasn't Yamato's before both Issei and Yuuma heard the sounds of footsteps. Then, a person came into their views. It was a girl clad in pink dress, and she was smiling as she approached them.

Issei recognized the girl. He met her last night at the park. When he tried to remember her name, Yuuma glared at her.

"W-who the hell are you?! How did you get through the barrier I made?!"

The girl with long dark brown hair giggled before she spoke, "Oh, I broke through. Sure, it might be able to stop people from entering, but it won't stop someone like me." Then, she looked at Issei. "Are you alright, Issei-kun? Did she hurt you?"

"I-I'm alright!" Issei answered. He finally remembered her name. She introduced herself as Akagi Abe.

The girl, Akagi, smiled. "I'm glad." Then, she looked back at Yuuma. "Now, what do we have here?" She studied Yuuma's look. Yuuma let out a growl as she conjured another spear of light. "A Fallen Angel, huh? It's my first time seeing one, to be honest."

"Who the hell are you?!" Yuuma screamed, conjuring another spear.

"Ah, where are my manners? My name is Akagi Abe. I'm a second-year student at Kuoh Academy. I'm a member of Tennis Club, and my hobbies are eating and archery." Then, she closed her eyes before her whole body glowed. For a moment, her pink dress vanished and was immediately replaced by a new attire, which consisted of a white gi and a red short hakama. She also wore a black muneate over her chest. Her clothing reminded Issei of Kaga's, only that Kaga's short hakama was blue while hers was red. Her thigh-high stockings were white in color, while Kaga's were black.

"Y-you…!" Yuuma's eyes widened upon seeing the transformation.

An archery bow materialized in Akagi's gloved right hand. "But, I suppose that is not important right now. As you can see, this boy is under my protection, and it won't do to have him harmed, especially by the likes of you." With her left hand, she conjured an arrow out of thin air. "I suggest you to withdraw. I have no intention in harming anyone right now."

"Tch, shut the hell up!" Yuuma bellowed. "Who do you think you are, ordering me, Raynare, like that?!"

Akagi sighed. "It cannot be helped, then." She then spoke to Issei, "Will you stand behind me for a bit, Issei-kun? Things may get a little messy."

As she said that, she nocked the arrow onto the bowstring before she drew the string of the bow back.

"1st Carrier Division, Akagi, sortie!"

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Note: Finally, an update! This is me, Prince Arjuna. I'm sorry for the lack of update. I've been busy with stuff like college and some other things, so forgive me for being busy in real life. Anyways, this is the Chapter 5 of Kantai DxD, and I hope you'll like it. I'm hoping you guys will like this chapter, and in the next chapter, there will be action scenes. Please look forward for it.

Also, special thanks for lojzek91 for beta-reading this chapter. It's so good to work alongside you, buddy. Please look forward for the next chapter, Chapter 06: Memories of Midway. Until then, farewell.

Prince Arjuna (2015)