Disclaimer: Kantai Collection (Kancolle), all of its characters, and musics belongs to their respected owner. The only things I own here is my OCs. This fanfict may or may not be canon. Besides that, I've got nothing else to say. So with that, please take a seat, grab your drink, pick your snack, and have a pleasant cruise (or read).


Chapter 5 "True Friendship"

"Oh, Murakumo-chan! You look…" a short pause came from the light violet haired fleet girls as she greeted her comrade. At first she was going to say that she looks as busy as usual with her usual carefree tone. But the moment her eyes laid on her comrade, she was unable to say that even as a joke. "Busy day, eh?" She wore a wry smile as she said that to her. Even without asking, it was clear as day that she was busy. But maybe calling her having a busy day was an understatement. Looking at her closely, her appearance was anything but tidy. The area around her eyes had started to darken much more than usual. The flowing silver hair of hers looked somewhat untidy with a few out of place strands here and there, some even stood straight up like it was frozen. Aoba could also notice a few spots of ink on the sleeves of her usually kept clean white serafuku.

"…Don't ask if you already know, Aoba-san." After giving an unfriendly response, the silver haired fleet girl walked away from her comrade's view with a rather tired step along the long hallway. She let out a grumbling that consisted mainly of complain about the sudden increase of job with a few slight harsh remarks about her superior. Although it was all let out in a voice hardly inaudible to anyone, the sharp resident reporter, Aoba, didn't miss a single word even after walking a few steps away from her.

She made a mental note about that particular encounter. But she was unable to do that for long as she encounter yet another familiar face.

"Good day, Yuudachi-chan!" She greeted the new face with a smile that complimented her cheerful greeting. But once again, she felt that her cheerful greeting sounded out of place after seeing her and the aura the girl in front of her emitted at the moment.

"…Good day-poi." The blonde destroyers answered with a visible lack of life. Her eyes looked lifeless and her hand was limping on her side. One could see that she had lost her usual vigor that made her earned the nickname "Ferocious Hound". With her current appearance, the nickname "Mopping Puppy" suited her better, especially with her eyes that seemed to emit a slight sadness.

Looking at her, Aoba could not help but let out a sigh. Even without asking anything else, she had a hunch the reason for her pitiful condition. It was probably because of the other Shiratsuyu Class Destroyers, Shigure. She remembered the story she had heard from The Major the other day and after seeing the person with her own eyes, she couldn't even try to doubt his story. As a result, she felt a slight bone chilling fear after remembering another part of his word.

-"you would do your comrade a favor of keeping them alive."-

Before seeing her in person, even after hearing the story both from him and also Ikazuchi and Inazuma, she had a slight hope that it would just be an over exaggerated matter. But at the pitiful appearance of the "Ferocious Hound", she fear that the worse might happened to their unit. At that, she immediately shook her head t dispelled her negative feeling away.

"What's the matter-poi?" Looking at the heavy cruiser fleet girl's strange action, the blonde destroyers asked her.

"Nothing, Yuudachi-chan. Actually, I want to ask you that." At her words, she just tilted her head to the side. "I mean, what's the matter? You certainly looked anything but cheerful. Something's bothering you?"

"…Ah, err…there's nothing-poi." She lifted one of her eyebrows as she noticed the destroyer averted her eyes away from her while saying that. It was a clear sign that her previous words were lies. She tried to say something but stopped immediately as she realized one of the biggest reasons that made the blonde refused to tell her anything. It was that she, Aoba, was the residence reporter. Maybe Yuudachi feared that if she talked to her, the problem that Shigure, her close sister ship, was having might come to public. Although Aoba herself would not want to write anything that might endanger her fellow comrade no matter how interesting that story was, her infamous reputation made her become a very untrustworthy character. She let out a mental sigh after realizing that.

"Really, there's nothing wrong, Aoba-san. Really-poi." Yuudachi said to her after seeing that the violet haired fleet girl became quiet. She even tried to let out a smile to convince her. That smile of hers looked very fake and far from convincing. "W-Well, see you later, Aoba-san!"

"Y-Yuudachi-chan! W-Wait!" Without turning back, the blonde destroyer fleet girl ran away from her sight. To Aoba, that back of hers looked somewhat weak and fragile, as if it would break the moment someone touch it. "…So small." That sentence escaped her mouth as she compared the destroyer's fleeting figure to her hand that was left hanging to grab the air. She gritted her teeth. The word of her superior once again rang inside his mind.

-"…And you," he pointed at her, "are the right girl to do it."-

"…Really, Major? Are you sure about that?" She muttered that while frowning at her own incompetence. Then with a heavy step, the fleet girl known to hold the role of the residence journalist walked toward the exit, leaving the heavy atmosphere behind her and trying to look for anything that could help her fellow comrade.


In another building, a pair of figure stood with their attention aimed toward a few objects laid on top of the large metallic table. One of the figures took a step forward and grabbed the smaller part of the object.

"Impressive, isn't it?" asked the other one with a tone filled with pride.

"It is," said the first figure while twirling the object, trying to take a closer look at it. "And it looks just like a regular bullet. Well, a large caliber one at least."

"Correct. This is the primary ammunition used by the fleet girl. Standardized ammunition. Fully tested against the Abyssal fleet. You don't have to doubt its effectiveness on the field." Once again, it was a statement delivered with tone brimming with pride. "I can guarantee it."

"I see." The object was then flicked onto the air and then caught by the figure again with the same hand that launched onto the air. "I'll take your word for it, Yuubari-san." He tried to weight the ordinary looking bullet on his hand. The bullet on his hand had an overall length of about 5.5 in with diameter about 0.9 in for the base and 0.5 in for the bullet. Just as he said, the bullet had a very similar shape to the one used in a large rifle.

He tossed one on to the air again and then caught it again, trying to weight the bullet. After the second time measuring, he finally noticed one difference. The bullet weighted slightly more than the ones he usually seen and used. In fact, it might weight more than twice of its other counterpart. At that, he came to at least two possibilities for that particular difference. One is that the bullet made from different material from the one he used to handle. The other possibility is that the bullet is filled with a different kind of powder.

"You seem interested in it, Major." The voice of Yuubari pulled him out of his musing against the foreign type bullet on his hand.

"Hmm, interested is an understatement, Yuubari-san," said the Major as he put the bullet on the table. "I'm actually quite amazed to see the bullet that is used to fight the Abyssal up close and personal like this."

"Oh, really now?" A smile crept onto the fleet girl. "Well, I guess it is an expected reaction since this kind of bullet can only be used by the fleet girl."

"So is there a factory somewhere that supplied this to the base?"

"Hmm," she paused for a while and her smile started to emit a sense of pride, "the factory is exactly here, Major," said the fleet girl while stretching her arms. After giving a nod, she continued. "Yes, we made it right here on this base."

"Right here? So this base also supplied the other base too?"

"No, Major. Each base has its own factory. Well, not exactly a factory, maybe a workshop is more like it."

"Each base has its own facto –I mean, workshop to produce bullet?"

"Not just bullet. Torpedo, aircraft, and other miscellaneous equipment are made." At that, she nodded again. "Yes, every single thing that the fleet girls use is made personally on each base's workshop."

"Hmm, impressive." Jurou couldn't help but also nodded several times. "But is it even possible to actually produce enough supply for all of them from a single workshop?"

"Ah, here where you will be surprise, Major." After giving a short reply, Yuubari coughed, as if trying to prepare the stage for something. "Let me ask you something, Major. How many people have you seen inside the base while you stay in this base of ours?"

"Hmm, not that many, if you don't count the fleet girls that is. All I have ever…" he paused for a while and his eyes went wide. Seeing this, the light cruiser fleet girl let out a giggle. "Is it those personnel called fairy?"

"Yup! Correct, Major!" She then clapped her hand, congratulating her superior's correct guess. "Each and every base has their own group of fairy. Fairy is the term we used to call the personnel that helped build and maintain the girls' equipment. They built them using the material collected by the expedition team."

"Hmm, interesting." The Major typed her explanation on his tablet that he had pulled out the moment the girl started her passionate 'lecture'. "Do go on, Yuubari-san."

With that encouragement, Yuubari continued her explanation with so much vigor. She started from what the material the expedition fleet collects each time they sortie, which consisted of a variety of metal and liquid fuel. The workshop will processed the collected resource into other ready to use material such as metal ingots, ammunition, and such. She also mentioned that the fairies are in charge for the majority of the process.

The next thing she explained is the way they acquire their comrade, the fleet girl. She started with the type of fleet girl known until today. And then, she also explained that each fleet girl has a different "construction" time depending on their type. Each type also have different amount of resource needed to fulfill before the "construction" could be initiated. When Jurou asked her why she used the term "construction", she only said that it is a much more famous term since they resembled ship so much. Besides that term, she has heard other terms such as "summoning", "recruiting", and also "calling". She herself preferred to use the term "construction".

At this, Jurou couldn't help but feel very curious, although he kept wearing his usual expression as not to make it too obvious. The light cruiser fleet girl continued happily with her explanation, pouring out her knowledge without stopping. Her explanation is received well by the Major judging from the way he kept moving his fingers on top of the tablet of his, trying to at least match his typing speed with her pace.

After the explanation about "construction", her next lesson moved into the subject of repairing. Yuubari explained that for a fleet girl, they couldn't just heal their wound since they are not normal human being. So for a fleet girl, the correct term isn't "healing" or "recovering", but "repair". And for them, the word "repair" has two different processes that needed to be done separately. The first process is for the repair for their "rigging", the equipment that they used. Since the equipment is unique for each fleet girl, they can't just mass produce them. They need to be taken care of individually. And for this part of the repair, the fairy once again in charge of the majority of the process. And the second part of the repair is, as expected, the girl themselves. They used the term "docking" to refer to this process. To recover their strength and to mend their wound, they submerged themselves in a bath filled with certain type of chemical. By making contact with the chemical, the fleet girl's body will regenerate in time. Although there is another type of chemical that can be used to speed up their recovery much faster almost to the level of instantaneously, Yuubari said that those type of chemical is much rarer then the former one so it couldn't be use every single time.

As the 'lesson' moved deeper and deeper, he noticed one thing about her explanation. Her explanation is anything but detail. Although the process and steps were explained in detail, her explanation still felt vague for him. And because of that, even after hearing her explanation, he still couldn't understand what fleet girl really is. Don't even start on what 'fairy' is. He just couldn't understand her explanation at all.

"And that is that, Major." She looked at him with pride after finishing her explanation.

"Impressive, Yuubari-san. Quite impressive." He then put back his tablet into his breast pocket. "Judging from your vast knowledge, are you the one in charge of the workshop in this base, Yuubari-san?"
"Yes, I am in fact the one in charge of them." She nodded.

"I see. So it is correct to say that you are the one in charge of both producing and resupplying the other fleet girl, right?"

"Hmm, yes, you can say that. Although, I'm just the one overseeing them. The fairies do most of the job, you know." She let out a wry smile as while scratching the back of her head. "But I do the manual stuff some times."

"Hmm, is that so?" Hearing that last sentence, the Major smiled. "But I'm sure making those pieces of equipment is quite a boring job for you, no?"

"Oh, not at all!" She waved her hand." In fact, I quite enjoy them. I don't know. The thrill of crafting is something entirely different for me. It felt, hmm…refreshing and exciting."

"Is that so?" Once again he smiled after hearing that from her. "Then, may I interest you in…how do you say it, an experiment?" At the word "experiment", the Major could swear he noticed a small light flickered inside the light cruiser's eyes. With a wide grin on her face, the light cruiser went a little bit closer to him.

"I'm all ears, Major."


The door that led into the workshop opened with a slight creak and Yuubari emerged from it. Short after that, the Major also followed her.

"If there's anything unclear, feel free to look for me in the Admiral's office, Yuubari-san," said the Major as he repositioned his flat top hat. "If I'm not there, you can leave a message for me and I'll get back to you as soon as possible."

"Yes, Major." She nodded with a visible sign of excitement on her eyes. "I can't wait to start on it!"

"Do remember that you have to prioritize your sortie and your base, Yuubari-san." He said that with a slight teasing tone against the over-excited girl. "The last thing I want is making your Admiral angry at me."

"Hahaha, don't worry! I'm one who can organize time well." She said while pointing at herself.

"I'll take your word for it. Then if you excuse me, it is time for me to leave."

"Understood. I'll report back to you as soon as possible."

"Good." He nodded at her reply and then he shifted direction onto his next destination.


For a quite few while, the Major is left to strolled along the base leisurely since his schedule had been anything but packed. In fact, after his last inspection to the workshop, his schedule for the day has been pretty much opened up until tomorrow. There was no report that needed to be done as he had submitted all of them, one batch to the central HQ and the other to the base administration.

Jurou wouldn't call himself a workaholic, so the lack of work suited him just fine. Although, he hoped that the free time wouldn't extend too long. It just didn't feel right for him to have too much free time while most of the inhabitant of the base was busy with their duty.

All of a sudden, he let out a heavy sigh. The cause of that was not the thought of unfairness he had while thinking that he acted a bit unfair. It was the thought that although he was currently free, he actually had a very urgent and important matter that had been remain unsolved.

"…Shigure-kun, eh?" He mumbled the name of the fleet girl that had somehow become the main subject of the matter. Even after trying his best digging information, he still found absolutely nothing. Not a single thing made sense for him. With that, no clue whatsoever that might lead him to the core of the problem. The information that he got from the four destroyers was useful. But it just made him more and more confused. All he knew is that the longer the problem persist, the higher the chance she came back in pieces.

"Sheesh…" At that last thought of his, he let out yet another heavy sigh. It was much easier to face the enemy upfront than dealing with internal conflict. To add matter worse, it was an internal conflict with a young girl. The current matter was a foreign terrain for him altogether. "Ugh, the more I think…" He mumbled while scratching his head in frustration. "Hmm?" Then he stopped his depressing thought at a scene that caught his attention. Either the scene caught his attention or he just wanted to have a reason to put aside his burdening thought.


"So, you're the same too, eh?"

"Sadly, it is." The silver haired girl nodded. "How about you, Inazuma-chan?"

"Hawawa!" She yelped after hearing her name being put on the spot next. After spending a few seconds fidgeting while uttering meaningless word, she finally said her report. "I-I'm…the same. Nothing-nanodesu."

"Ugh, this is not a good start." The other brunette shook her head as she heard her sister ship's report. "Then I guess we have no result again today." She let out a sigh as she said that.

"Hey!? Why don't I get a turn?" A shout came from the black haired girl of the group. At that, the other looked at her without showing an ounce of hope in their eyes. "W-Why are you all looking at me that way?"

"Well, do you have any then, Akatsuki-chan?" Ikazuchi asked her.

"…No, I'm the same too." Her reply was delivered with a dejected tone.

"Uhm, d-don't feel bad, Akatsuki-chan. I'm sure you have done your best-nanodesu." Seeing that Akatsuki was feeling down, a cheer came from Inazuma. At that, the girl in question smiled a little.

"So, any better plan?" Ikazuchi threw the question into the group. "We've been running around and trying to listen to any news we can get into. But…"

"There's absolutely no news about Shigure-chan-nanodesu."

"The only thing that can be considered news is that she becoming a bit reckless."

"Let me guess, you heard that from Mutsu-san, right Hibiki-chan?" Ikazuchi tried to confirm her guess. The silver haired girl gave a short nod. "Did you try to talk with her or just overheard her?"

"I just overheard her when she was getting lunch with Nagato-san."

"Anything else besides that?" She shook her head, making her silver hair flailed left and right. "Uhm, then I have a bad feeling that this might get harder than it already has."

"What do you mean, Ikazuchi-chan?" Akatsuki asked her while frowning, not exactly liking to hear the prospect of their task getting much more difficult.

"Based from Hibiki-chan's information, they might try to keep the situation under cover. Seeing as if there's no information about it among the other girl, this might be the case."

"D-Does that mean it have become that serious of a problem?"

"I hope not, but…"

"If it is exactly like what Yuudachi-chan has said at that time, it is that bad." At Hibiki's blunt conclusion, the other couldn't help but feel the mood has darkened.

For a few seconds, they couldn't say anything. They just stayed in silence, unable to come up with any idea.

"…Poor Shigure-chan." Inazuma's voice was dripping with sadness. "I-Is there something we can do for her?"

"…I…uhm…Akatsuki-chan? Hibiki-chan?" The other two in question just shook their head without saying anything. It was obvious that they too felt as powerlessness as their brunette sister ship. But, tried as they might, they couldn't come up with anything else. "Ugh…" Ikazuchi could only groan.

"Nothing will come if you try to rush your effort." A sudden voice entered their conversation, making the four of them immediately looked at the source of voice. Their eyes then fell onto the trademark trench coat of the speaker.

"…Major." A quiet voice came out from Hibiki's mouth as they realized the identity of the speaker.

"Good day to you all…Although judging from your conversation, it is anything but good." His statement was answered with a weak nod from the destroyers. "It seems that none of you managed to find anything that could help Shigure-kun." They didn't give any response. But for him, the saddened expression they wore was already enough to answer him. "Unfortunately I also had nothing to add to that."

"..I see." The answer that came out of Hibiki's mouth was almost inaudible. But the Major could hear it. It was an answer that is filled with a feeling he could recognize right away. He glanced around and the looks he saw from each of the destroyers showed the same things. A similar feeling that he felt whenever the thought of that particular problem arise in his mind. Helplessness. Despair. Anxiety. Seeing that, he let out a cough to shake away the negative feeling.

"Okay, listen up!" He clapped his hand, making the four girls looked up and straightened their back. "I know that it is a very hard task to do, but don't give up! Remember, every little things count. Keep doing what you can do without making yourself suspicious. That is more than enough at the moment. Rushing things up will only result in something that we don't want. Do you understand that?"

"Sir, Yes, Sir!" They instinctively gave a salute at him after hearing his words. That made the man smiled a bit. He could see a light of hope flickered again in their eyes, although just barely.

"Good! Now run along. And remember! Don't act suspicious."

"Sir, Yes, Sir!" They all started to walk away. But before all of them do that, the Major called one of them.

"Hibiki-kun."

"Yes, Major?" The silver haired destroyers looked at him.

"Follow me for a bit." He said to her with serious tone. "I have something to discuss with you."

"Just me?" Hibiki asked while pointing at herself.

"Yes, just you." The man shifted his gaze onto the far side of the dock. "Don't worry. It is a short one….I hope." Hibiki didn't catch that last sentence as it was said with a quiet voice.

"…Understood, Major."


"Take a seat."

"Yes, thank you."

Answering his offer, Hibiki sat down next to him. The two's current location was a place not far from the pier where the Major's cloaked ship is docked. The two sat there while facing the vast ocean in front of them.

For a few seconds, no exchange of words happened. The only sound that filled the place is the sound of the rolling water and the gale that fluttered Hibiki's silver hair.

"Hibiki-kun."

"Yes, Major?" As the black haired man broke the silence, she looked to him who still had his face pointed at the horizon.

"What I'm going to ask and talk about might be in a sensitive area for you." His warning was delivered with a cold and serious tone. "But it is necessary, at least for me, to gain some more information regarding Shigure-kun."

"Understood."

"I'm willing to stop if you don't want to answer the question. Do you understand ?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Then I hope, no, request that you will tell me absolutely the truth. Is that fine with you?"

"Yes, Sir. But before that, can I request one of my own first, Major?"

"What is it?" Not expecting her to give any request, The Major looked at her with curiosity about what she had in her mind.

"Are you going to do all you can to help our friend?" It was a question filled with nothing but honest concern about her friend. At that, the Major showed a smile on his face before giving his answer.

"I will. You have my word for it."

"Хорошо (Good). Then you can also have my word for it, Major." Afterward, she gave a short nod. "Yes, you can count on me, Major."

"So, let us not waste any time. My first question is this. Are you girls human or not?"

Just as he expected, Hibiki showed a bit of surprise at that question. But it faded in the next seconds. She went quiet, trying to sort out the answer she would give to her superior. The Major looked at her without moving, waiting as patient as he could for the answer to his question.

"We are…probably not human. Or at least that what we believed ourselves to be."

"Than what are you?"

"I…can't really give a concrete answer for that, Major. You can say that we are living being created for the sole purpose of fighting the Abyssal Fleet. But for what kind of being we are…even we are not really sure about it ourselves."

"I have recently heard or learned, whatever your choice of word is, that you are a reincarnated spirit of the olden day warship." He paused for a few second, observing the girl's reaction. Unfortunately for him, the stoic girl didn't show a single reaction. At that, he continued. "It is said that you inherit the spirit of the brave man and captain that fight on those ship. What is your opinion on that, Hibiki-kun?"

"A reincarnated spirit…is it?" She looked at the horizon. The sound of the wave rolling and slamming to the dock's wall entered her ear. She also heard the sound of the wind that accompanies those waves from before. She then closed her eyes. In her mind, another sound could be heard. But it didn't come into her ears. It came into her heart and mind. It was the sound of chattering and footsteps that one could hear on top of a ship. She opened her eyes and then opened her mouth. "I think…that is at least one of the correct descriptions of who we are."

"…I see." Hearing her answer, the imaginary gears inside his brain started to turn and turn as that answer gave him a very valuable piece of information. "Then as a spirit, can you really call yourself one of the living?"

"That question again." She muttered in quiet voice. But it was still audible for him. He didn't give any comment at that. "I guess as a spirit, if that is the correct term, grouping us as one of the living might not be right. But then again, we can die. So does that make us living dead?"

"Hmm…quite a contradicting argument you got there." He smiled after hearing her rather philosophical argument.

"So with that in mind, I choose the practical answer."

"Because you can die, then you are one of the living."

"Do you disagree with my answer, Major?" She looked at him with her usual blue eyes.

"I think I actually agree with you on that, Hibiki-kun."

"Thank you, Major." She gave a short bow to him. "It actually meant a lot for us that we are viewed as a living being."

"Don't mention it." He chuckled slightly at her reply. "Does that kind of thing bother you, Hibiki-kun?"

"Actually, it is."

"Really now?" A quick nod came from to answer his question.

"This is actually something that I believe each and every one of the Fleet Girl struggle with inside their own mind. But most of them just ignored it since we are too busy fighting the Abyssal Fleet every single day. Either that, or we busied ourselves with fighting to get our mind away from that." For a slight moment he could see a glimpse of sadness inside her eyes as she said that to him. Her expression stayed the same, but her eyes gave a slight of change for a very short time. But that short time was enough for him to notice. "But some times that thought floated inside our mind. It is a rather taboo topic among us, Major. So please don't talk about this with anyone else."

"I see. I could understand that. I'll avoid that topic as best as I could."

"Cпасибо (thanks)." She once again gave a slight bow. "Is there anything else you have in mind?"

"I do, in fact. But this is a rather weird thing to ask." His face went serious as he asked that.

"Please ask away, Major. No matter how strange the question is, I'll do my best to answer that."

"I see. Then…can you girls look into our mind? Let me rephrase it. Can you girls see the content of our mind? As in mind reading?"

"…" Hibiki looked at him with her usual stoic expression. But even that couldn't hide the confusion and surprise that her eyes shown to him. He expected that, so he just waited for her to give any reaction. "…That is…a strange-no. To call it strange is an understatement, Major."

"Glad that we have the same opinion on that." He chuckled at her statement. "I know that it was a very strange question. But I assure you, that particular question have…no, it might have a connection with the case."

"Are you suggesting that Shigure-chan look into your mind, Major?"

"…It is just a hunch, Hibiki-chan."

"But a hunch means that you have one, if not a few, reason that made you went into that direction." Her statement was delivered without missing a beat. She then turned to look at her superior. "Isn't that true, Major?"

"…My, my, my." The Major let out a small sigh while shaking his head slightly. He then felt a smile started to appear on his face. "The more I talk with you girl, the more fascinating you are."

"Is it now, Major?"

"It is. I can assure you." He then shifted his gaze toward the horizon again. "Getting back to that question, yes, I have a few reasons. But I prefer to skip that at the moment. I hope you can let it slide for now."

"If you will tell me the whole story when this is over, I'll agree." At her proposal, he turned his head toward her and looked straight into her eyes.

"Deal," said the Major with a nod. "So, your answer to my question?"

"In my own opinion, we cannot literally read into other's mind. Or in my case, I have never seen anyone in this base that is able to do that or at least found out anyone that is able to do that." He nodded at her explanation. "But maybe the better explanation is that we are much more sensitive to other's emotion. Strange as it might be, that is the closest explanation I could give, Major."

"…I see. And your reason for that explanation of yours?"

"Experience, Major." She answered his question without waiting for a single second, as if expecting that question to come. "I…no, my comrades and I had come across the time when our commander felt…disheartened. It was very unpleasant. And we could somehow notice what kind of feeling she has at that moment."

"And that is?"

"The feeling of losing somebody very important or close." She paused for a while and then continued. "At first, it was just a hunch, but then we decided to ask her."

"And she answered you?" She shook her head at his question.

"No. At least…not right away. It took several tries, but eventually she told us her story. About her previous experience. About… her previous lost."

"…I guess that kind of wound wouldn't heal easily." His voice contained a deep melancholy that one couldn't miss.

"I assumed you know Commander's story, Major?"

"Very well. Unfortunately, I know it too well." He then let out a sigh. "So that is your reason, Hibiki-kun?"

"Yes, Major." She gave a slight nod. "Sadly, I couldn't tell you anymore. Not that I don't want to, but rather I don't know what else to say. After all, our own existence is a mystery to us too."

"I see. Thank you for doing your best, Hibiki-kun."

"Did it help, Major?" He nodded at her. "Хорошо (Good)." She then shifted her attention toward the sea and the horizon. "I hope that it will help Shigure-chan too. She is…a rather closed minded person."

"I noticed. I guess the only person she will open up to is Yuudachi-kun, right? But from your story, she didn't even tell her the whole story."

"True. This means that something much worse than usual happened to her. And…I…we don't know how to help her." Although the silver haired fleet girl still wore her expressionless face, her feeling of sadness is showed through her eyes. Jurou didn't miss this and placed her hand on her head. "Major?"

"Don't worry about it. You've done more than enough." He let out a small smile. "I guess the rest will be up to me. So, Hibiki-kun, don't get yourself depressed. That's the last thing we need now." After he retracted his hand from her head, the girl gave a short nod. "Good." He then stood up. Seeing that, she also stood up. "I have more information now. And now I need to review my next step."

"Please tell me about it after you've solve her problem, Major."

"I will. I did promise you." He then repositioned his cap and then shifted his body toward another direction. "I guess I'll be seeing you, Hibiki-kun. I appreciate your time. Cпасибо (thank you)."

"Пожалуйста (you're welcome)." He then nodded after hearing her answer and then walked away from the place, leaving Hibiki alone near the dock.

After distancing himself from the silver haired fleet girl, the Major's expression darkened. No trace of his calmness from previous is left on his face. With a small voice, he then muttered.

"Damn it." He gritted his teeth and muttered again. "Damn that girl."


"Ugh, this is not a good day." The light cruiser Aoba said with a rather depressed tone. As she walked on the rather empty path that lead toward the park near the mess hall, she ruffled her light violet hair, making it even more disheveled then before. "No clue whatsoever." A heavy and depressed sigh came out of her mouth.

She bit her pen and then opened her notepad, which she had replaced recently due to her sudden encounter with her 'mentor', and then read the content again. She let out another sigh again as she realized that there was nothing new and useful in it. It was not that she expects an important piece of information can miraculously appear without her knowing. But she did expect that she would at least have a better understanding of the situation after reading it once more, which didn't really happen either.

The light cruiser girl put the notepad back into her pocket together with her pen and then stretched her arms, making a few cracking sound. A slight thought of getting back to her dorm to get some rest surfaced in her mind since she was at wits end. Maybe a short nap will do her good is what she thought to herself.

But the thought stopped as her sight fell upon a familiar blonde girl. The blonde girl sat in one of the many benches there. It was a place favored by many fleet girls as it is surrounded by many beautiful flower beds. It also has a clear view to the sea, although it is located quite far from the edge of the base that meets the sea. Among the beautiful place, her figure seemed to be out of place. Not because she looks ugly or anything, but her depressing atmosphere.

The blonde girl in question is none other than the "Ferocious Hound" Yuudachi. She sat on her own with her back slumped forward. Her usually lively face has lost its shine. If one look at her carefully, a dark spot has taken place under her eyes. What made it worse is the flap on her blonde hair that usually stood up with pride has stayed flat on top of her hair. She also let out a sigh once every time.

Looking at that pitiful sight of her, Aoba previous thought of getting back to her own dorm to rest vaporized into the air almost immediately. She then slapped her cheeks to cheer herself. If one wants to cheer someone up, they have to avoid showing the same expression as them. And after that, she walked toward her with a resolved heart.

"Hey there Yuudachi-chan!" She greeted her with a loud and cheerful voice. Or at least that was what she wanted to do. In fact, it sounded rather fake and exaggerated even for her own standard.

"…Oh, it's Aoba-san." The blonde lifted her face and looked at the one who greeted her. "Hello there-poi."

"…Okay, that's even worse than this morning's greeting." She muttered that as low as she could, avoiding her to heard what she just said. "Is this seat empty?" She asked as she pointed to the spot next to her.

"…Oh, yes. It is-poi."

"Thank you." She let out a wry smile as she heard her half-hearted reply. Trying her best to not show the same depressed face as her, she sat next to her. "So, how are you feeling today, Yuudachi-chan? You don't look happy." She tried to avoid beating the bush as best as she could.

"E-Eh? I-I'm fine-poi." Clearly surprised by her blunt question, the blonde destroyer fixed her sitting posture and showed a smile. It was the best smile she could give at the moment.

"…Yuudachi-chan." But that smile felt too forced to the extent of making her looked much more pitiful than before. Seeing that, her heart felt a tinge of pain. At the same time, her wish to help her become much more intense than before. Even without his order, she would try her best to help the destroyer. But she knew very well that she would not open up her heart against her. At that, she racked her brain for anything to do. After a few seconds, she remembered the man's word.

"Really, I'm fine Aoba-san. I'm just–" Yuudachi couldn't finish her words as she was surprised by Aoba's action. "What are you doing-poi?"

Aoba, who had pulled out her small notepad that everyone on the base had surely recognized as her trademark possession, stood in total silence. She then smiled at her Yuudachi with her two hands on the notepad. After that, she ripped the notepad in half, surprising the blonde fleet girl so much that she couldn't help but let her eyes widened and her mouth opened.

But Aoba wasn't done as she continued to rip apart the already ripped notepad into thousands of tiny piece. She ended her 'performance' by letting the ocean gale took those pieces away from her open palm that was thrust out to the open air. After that, she shifted her gaze onto the blonde girl who was just watching the thousands scrap of paper being taken away by the gale to dance on the sky freely.

Aoba then sat again as if she hadn't done anything unusual. She glanced at the one sitting next to her ad saw her still looking at the pieces of paper being taken away by the wind with a slightly gaping jaw. The light cruiser girl expected that reaction from her. She waited for her to compose herself after seeing that scene. Just as Yuudachi was about to open her mouth to say something, Aoba quickly cut her with her own words.

"Ah, it seems that I have lost my notepad. What a pity." She let out a giggle after saying that with a much exaggerated gesture. "Now I can't write anything that I heard after this. All I can do is hear it with my ear and try my best to memorize it." She said that while tapping her ears. "But then again, I have a very bad memory. I will probably forget that in a matter of seconds. Isn't that awful, Yuudachi-chan?" She asked while turning her head to look at her comrade.

"…Eh, y-yes-poi."

"Isn't it? So if, just in case, I heard a very sensitive and personal story that one would not want other to hear, it will be something that I will forget almost immediately. Although, if there is someone who want to tell me, I will gladly hear their story. I'm not just all ears. If they want me to give my opinion, I might be able to do it." She then leaned her back onto the bench. "But I will not force them or anything. I'm just saying that I will be there to hear their story, that's all."

After she finished her rather long and unnatural speech, she just sat there with her head thrown behind her, making her stared onto the sky. She had done her part. All she needs to do next is to wait.

For a few seconds, only silence filled the area around them. She glanced at her blonde comrade and saw no reaction coming from her. She closed her eyes as she has deemed her performance as a failure. But then a sudden voice came out the blonde destroyer.

"…Shigu-chan is my close friend-poi." She started her story with a small voice that Aoba almost miss it. "We've been together for a long time. I can't really remember my past, but in my oldest memory, I know that we have been friends for long-poi. I know that we are sister ship. So I guess I can call it that she is my closest sister-poi."

A sudden pause let her took her breath. A few seconds of silence then filled the air once again. After that, she continued.

"…Shigu-chan is…very strong-poi. She is brave and dedicated-poi. At that moment when she received her remodeled order, she looks dashing and much stronger than ever-poi. I was so happy for her." Another paused and then she casted her gaze downward. Aoba could see her clenching her fists that were on top of her own thigh. "I'm…very happy for her-poi."

"…Yuudachi-chan." Aoba fixed her sitting posture and straightened up her back.

"After that, she was sent to sortie a lot-poi. Fighting the abyssal with her new gun in the frontline. It was so cool-poi! I was happy for her-poi! At that time, I didn't have my remodeled yet. So I was much weaker than her-poi. At that time, I was quite depressed that she has to carry my burden since she was the stronger one-poi. It can't be help-poi." Yuudachi wore a wry smile while scratching her cheeks. "But you know? I got my remodeled soon after that-poi! I could fight in the same ground as her again! Side by side with her again-poi!" Her heir flap rose as she let out genuine smile. But in a split second, the smile disappeared. "…or that is what I thought-poi." Her hair flap plopped down again together with head that was casted down.

"What do you mean?"

"You see…Shigu-chan is fighting another battle. It is a different battle than mine-poi. I…could never be with her…even if I want to-poi." At that point, tears started to well up in her eyes. "I couldn't…help her-poi. Yuudachi is…not strong enough-poi. Yuudachi is…I'm…weak…" A soft sniveling could be heard as she struggled to say that. Not wanting to stop her explanation, Aoba just sat there in silence. "You see…Shigu-chan is used to belong in a fleet in the past. I…don't know her history since Shigu-chan always avoided that subject. I tried to search on my own. And I finally found the fleet."

"…The Nishimura fleet." At the mention of that name, Yuudachi gave a nod.

"It said that Shigure is the last survivor of the group-poi. I know it is hard for her. Maybe Shigu-chan tried to hide it from me to not make me worry-poi." Yuudachi wiped her eyes with her hand and continued after she sniveled a bit. "Sometimes Shigu-chan had that sad and distant looks on her eyes-poi. I…tried to ask her and she brushed it away with a smile on her face. A fake smile-poi. A hurtful smile-poi. A weak smile-poi."

"…I see."

"But it seems that Shigu-chan has overcome it-poi. I'm happy for her-poi. Really, I am!" Her hair flap rose again. "She started to wear an honest smile-poi. Although she tends to feel down as soon as someone returns late-poi."

"…She really cares, eh?" Yuudachi gave a nod again.

"But recently, she showed the sad smile again-poi. I thought it will go away like before. But then something worse happened-poi."

"And that is?"

"Shigu-chan was almost hit by enemy torpedo twice in a row in our recent sortie-poi. I was so scared that I rushed to sink the enemy to avoid them launching any more torpedo-poi. But that's not the worst-poi." Her hair flap plopped down again as her voice grew darker. "At that time, it seemed that she was almost welcoming the torpedo-poi. It was like she wishes to die-poi!" She shouted with her hoarse voice. Hearing that, Aoba gritted her teeth, starting to know the real story. "Why did she do that-poi!? Why didn't she tell me if anything is wrong-poi!? Am I too weak-poi? Am I too incapable-poi? Am I…just useless-poi?" The last question was delivered with a very weak and soft tone it was almost as if she was whispering. Tears started to drop onto the ground under them. "I ask her many times what's wrong, but she wouldn't answer me-poi. She said that she should do this alone-poi. She said that she have to take care of it herself-poi. I…couldn't help her-poi. She wouldn't…let me-poi."

"…I see." After saying that, a soft sob came from the blonde.

"I view Shigu-chan as a comrade-poi. Friend-poi. Sister-poi. But…" She paused again. "Did she really view me as one-poi? Am I just too…weak and useless-poi? Am …I just… a nuisance for her-poi?" She then placed her head to her casted down face. "Even after…a remodeled…Yuudachi is still weak-poi? Still not able to…stand beside her-poi? What good am I-poi!?" After saying that, she suddenly felt a warm on her shoulder. She didn't looked at the cause of that since she knew it was none other than the light cruiser. "Aoba-san…am I really that useless-poi? Is Yuudachi really so weak-poi?" She continued her question.

"I don't think so." She said what on her mind immediately.

"Then why!? Why didn't Shigu-chan ask me-poi? Isn't that because she viewed me as unreliable-poi!?

"…I don't think so, Yuudachi-chan."

"Than why!? Why-poi!? Why-poi!?" She shouted at no one in particular. It was a shout that carried her pent up agitation and disappointment. The hoarse voice of hers was evident of how hurt she was at the moment. Both because of how her friend seemingly put her aside, not wanting her to even know her pain, and also for her powerlessness of being unable to help her even just a little. A silence filled the air once again with only her soft sob could be heard.

"…I think…Shigure-chan is trying her best to not worry you. I think…it is her way of taking care of you."

"But why!? Why does she have to avoid making me worry-poi? Why does she have to always take care of me-poi? Am I too weak-poi?"

"No, I don't think so. It might be that…Shigure-chan is afraid of showing you her weakness." Aoba continued her attempt of trying to help her fellow comrade. "I think…Shigure-chan might also felt the same way as you, Yuudachi-chan."

"Huh? What do you mean, Aoba-san? Do you mean that she thought she was weak-poi?" Yuudachi lifted up her head and looked at the light cruiser girl sitting beside her. Aoba glanced at her and saw that her eyes have reddened so much and around it traces of tears can be seen.

"Just as strength comes in a variety of ways, weakness…comes in a variety of way. What you see as strength maybe seen as weakness. And what you see as weakness…may be seen as strength."

"…Huh? I don't understand-poi." Yuudachi shook her head as she heard that rather strange statement.

"…Actually, I don't really understand it." Aoba scratched the back of her head after saying that. "This is what I heard from the Admiral. She had said that one time with a very saddened face on her. Although I still don't understand, for me it is…" Aoba paused her speech and looked upward as if trying to find the word on the sky. "…Intriguing."

"…Intriguing-poi?"

"Yes, intriguing. Yuudachi-chan," said Aoba with her eyes looked straight into the blonde's eyes. "First, I will have to apologize to you." Aoba then lowered her head to her, which reacted in Yuudachi's confusion.

"E-Eh? W-Why-poi?"

"Because I couldn't help you answer those questions of yours. For that, I apologize." She bowed her head again. "But I can only share my opinion on this, just as I said before. Are you willing to hear it, Yuudachi-chan?" Although still looked clearly confused at the way things happened, the blonde still managed to give a single nod. "In my opinion, both Shigure-chan and Yuudachi-chan are too focused on a single thing, in which the two of you lost focus on other things. Being focused on a single thing is not a bad thing, but if not done carefully, you may make your own vision clouded, unable to get a clear view of your surroundings. What really happened, what the other really feel, what you really feel."

"…What the other really feel?…What I really feel?" Yuudachi parroted her words with a quiet voice.

"Just like you view Shigure's way of fighting herself as sign of her telling yourself weak, maybe she also views your offer of help as a sign of you telling her that she is weak."

"B-But Shigure-chan is not weak-poi!"

"Nobody said that. In fact, nobody also said that you need to be strong. Is it wrong to be weak? Do you always to be strong?"

"…No…I guess not-poi." Yuudachi's hair flap plopped down just like her shoulder plopped down. "I guess…not-poi." Then a warm hand landed on her hair. "Poi?"

"You see, I think both of you is overthinking it. I know that Shigure-chan is kind of a closed minded person. But then again, there's nothing wrong with that. Each and every one of us is unique. You have the cheerful Yuudachi and you have the quiet Shigure. Nobody minds that. In fact, it is a good combination." She grinned at Yuudachi. "So I guess you just have to take it slowly and try to be her support. I guess in the end, just be yourself, Yuudachi-chan. I'm not really sure what made her think that way, but all I know is that showing her that her close friend Yuudachi is mopping and gloomy is not what she needed." She then ruffled her hair, making her yelp 'poi!' a few times. After that, she pulled away her hand from the blonde's head. "So, cheer up, okay?"

"Uhm…okay-poi!" The blonde then tried to show a smile on her face. Although it was still far from her usual upbeat smile, it is still much better than her previous expression.
"Actually, what really happened? I mean, what triggered that thought of her. Do you know?"

"Hmm…" Yuudachi tilted her head to her side as she closed her eyes. "All I know is that it happened after we took a nap in Admiral's office and…what else is there-poi? Uhm, oh yes! At that time, the Major put on his coat over us and then we just dozed off-poi! And then I dreamt about seeing several man and woman stand around the Major with me standing on the far side-poi! It was a warm and happy feeling-poi! Everyone is smiling. Even the Major-poi! I even see the Admiral there-poi!" She told her story with such vigor and zeal that it was hard for Aoba to believe that she was the same person that cried and bawled not long ago. Even her hair flap had moved up and down energetically as she told her story. "I woke up and told the Major about it-poi! But then…" At that point, the blonde's expression returned to a gloomy one, complete with the fall of her hair flap.

"What happened?"

"Shigu-chan woke up and there were tears on her eyes-poi! I panic and asked her what happened, but she immediately ran out of the office-poi. I followed her but she just went to our room and stayed silent in her bed-poi. She looked sad-poi. But…it was a different sadness than the one she usually have, I could tell-poi."

"Really now?"

"And after that day, Shigu-chan seemed different-poi. That's all I know-poi."

"…I see." Once again, Aoba put her hand on Yuudachi's head and ruffled her golden blonde hair, making the girl whined. "There you go again. Cheer up, Yuudachi-chan. It seems both you and Shigure-chan need some time to put together your mind. For now, believe in her. That's one of the thing you can do for her besides being your usual self. Got it?" The girls in question nodded several times. "Good. Well, I need to get back and get myself a new notebook. And just as I said, I will probably forget this soon so don't count on your story to appear on the paper any time soon, got it?" She flashed her with a wide grin. The destroyer girl gave a single nod and short and almost inaudible 'poi'. At that, Aoba stood up from her the bench and then glanced at her comrade. "See you now, Yuudachi-chan. Don't be gloomy now."

"Yes, Aoba-san. Thank you-poi." She showed her a smile. "For listening to me-poi."

"Don't mention it." The light cruiser girl then left while waving her hand away.


Aoba then walked out of the park where she was talking with Yuudachi with a rather hurried step. She met several other fleet girls on the way and just greeted them as usual. But unlike what she just said to the blonde destroyers, her destination was not the dorm. In fact, she was walking on to the opposite direction of the dorm.

After she walked for some times, she arrived at her destination. She moved the metal door aside, making a slightly loud creaking noise. And then she entered the building. She then saw a figure not far from the entrance.

"Do you hear all that, Major?" The figure in question is none other than his mentor, Major Jurou Wakahisa. With his trademark cap and trench coat, he was sitting on one of the box inside the warehouse. Without standing up, he looked at her.

"All of it. The whole story from start to end." He then clapped his hand slowly several times. "Congratulation, Aoba-san. You've done just as I expected. In fact, you've done more than I expected. To capture her attention in an unexpected situation and then turn on the earpiece in secret. Excellent, Aoba-san." His voice of compliment somehow didn't make her feel happy.

"If it is to save my comrade, I'll do anything, Major." Inside the dark and silent warehouse, the two voices was not too loud for it to breached outside, but still loud enough to make the other recipient hear the content of the word. Aoba's feet made a slight clanking sound as she walked toward him. "I hope that it have given you some more information."

"Indeed it has. But before we continue, a question from me. Did your admiral really say that to you?"

"You mean about different strength and weakness?" He nodded at her question. "Yes, she did. In fact, most of the advice I gave to Yuudachi came from her. I only parroted what she said to me in one of our discussion."

"…I see." The man closed his eyes while resting his hand to his side. "That girl really remembered his words….Each and every word of it."

"His words?" A flash of curiosity appeared on her eyes. Jurou opened his eyes and noticed this.

"I will not tell you anything about that. She will be the one responsible to tell you….If she desired to, that is."

"E-Eh? N-No, I d-didn't mean to ask that!" Being read like that, she stuttered her response. "F-Forget about that! What are you going to do with Shigure-chan now?"

At that moment, the relaxed aura around them disappeared almost instantly. The air went heavy and the aura of the man has turned into anything but friendly. Even if his face showed the usual calm and composed expression, the aura that he emitted from his body is anything but that. It was not clear whether he was angry or just irritated. But one thing is for sure. Aoba felt that if anyone gets close to him, no one can guarantee their safety.

"Shigure-chan, is it?" He let out a small sigh while tapping his sword on his side. "Actually, what I want to do is this." Before Aoba could ask him what he meant, a flash came from the man's scabbard. In a split second, the feel of a wind moving came from the direction of the man toward one of the wooden crate next to him. Another split second after that, a 'click' sound came from him and the crate was slashed into two diagonally. It was a clean cut that only made the crate slid on its own and landed next to it. Fortunately, the crate was empty. After performing a quick slash with his sword and then sheeted it again in one quick move, the man's expression didn't change. Not even a twitch on his eyebrows can be seen. The light cruiser girl could only looked at her mentor with a gaping mouth, unable to give any response. The memory of her first encounter with him that almost cost her very own life played back inside her mind. At the moment he performed that slash, he had the exact cold and emotionless expression on his face. "That is what I really wanted to do.

"Y-Y-Y-You w-w-w-want to kill her?" He gave a nod at her stuttering question without even changing his expression. Her fearful expression didn't even faze him a bit. Aoba instinctively took a step backward as she was feeling the fearful aura emitting from the man quite too much for her. But before she could run away from him, the man opened his mouth.

"Unfortunately, I can't take that course of action since that is just me looking for self-satisfaction." Almost the same time as he said that, the nauseating and tense aura dissipated. "I will not take that action, even if that is what I really wanted to do."

"…You promise?"

"Really now? If I will do that, you will be the first casualty, you know?" At that point, Aoba's face paled instantly. "Shigure's case is different than yours. She just…irritated me. You, on the other hand, had clearly wronged me." He let out a sigh after saying that, which made Aoba flinched a bit. "Unfortunately, it irritated me much, much more than before after I heard Yuudachi-kun's story."

"…I see." Still don't know how to react to his comment, Aoba could only reply in a very short statement.

"But rest assured, I will not kill her. " He then stood up, startling the girl. "It will not do any good to anyone except satisfying my own wrath."

"So…you still want to kill her?" That question earned her a sharp glare from him, which made her flinched again. But the glare dissolved almost immediately and then replaced with a sigh that came from him.

"I won't, you have my word for it. Besides," he closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them again, "the thing that irritated me is not her fault. It was…probably the memory that came from her action."

"The memory that came from her?"

"Forget about it. It is hard to explain." He waved his hand as if to ask her to stop pushing the subject further. "For now, let's concentrate on her. She is my main concern right now."

"…"

"What is it?" Noticing that the girl has gone silent, he decidedly asked her. "Something in your mind?"

"Forgive me for asking, but why do you want to help Shigure-chan so much?" That question of hers earned her a raised eyebrow from him, making her flinched and took a step back unconsciously. "F-Forgive m-me, sir! I-It's just–"

"Stop there." He raised his hand and stopped her stuttering words. "There's no need to panic. Actually, that is a very understandable question. Why would a stranger like me, a newly arrived guest, that haven't even spend more than a day with that girl decided to assist her in her time of need, right?" Unconsciously, Aoba gave a slight nod at his words. "Although I would really prefer to avoid telling you my reason, I think that you will doubt me as long as I don't give you an acceptable answer." Aoba's expression soured a bit after hearing his reply, but she tried her best to hide it. "For now, my only reason is that the reason for her current emotion condition is trigger by me."

"So you feel responsible to help her?"

"Pretty much that's the most logical reason," said The Major after giving shrug. "There is…another reason for my action."

"And that is?"

"A personal one that I can't and won't tell." He then walked toward her and stood in front of her. "Let's just leave it at that. I know that you are not satisfied with my answer, but I won't give you any more answer. If you want to doubt me, so be it."

"…Very well, sir. I'll believe you."

"Thank you." He gave her a smile and then walked passed her. "Now then, I have to get back as my plan has started rolling."

"What do you mean by–"

"Simple." He paused and glanced back to see that the light cruiser girl has turned around to look at him. Seeing that, he let out a wide grin on his face. For him, it might be a simple grin. But for Aoba, it was a bone chilling grin that carried so much hidden meaning she herself would avoid knowing what it has hid. "It means that this base will be…relieved of a few fleet girls courtesy of yours truly."


*In an unknown part of the world

N: Hello hello! N-san here! Welcome in our lovely little corner at the end of the show! And as usual, we have my trusty assistant, Camera-kun, here with me! Say hello Camera-kun.

C: Hello there!

N: Before we introduce our guest, please allow me and the whole administration for the lack and any update for several months.

C: Sir, I think it was almost more than six months.

N: Really? I didn't really count. This might be just some excuse for our negligence, but we have a lot to do in our central office for almost a year. Apology for that. You too, Camera-kun.

C: Ee-Eh? Y-Yes. We're very sorry.

N: Now with that out of the way, I once again welcome you to our show! And without further ado, let's meet out guest! First, the dedicated submarine fleet girl with a knack in smartphone, Imuya-san!

I: Thank you for having me here, everyone! I like that introduction, N-san.

N: Really? Then I'm glad to hear it. So may I ask your partner here, Imuya-san?

I: Oh, yes. Instead of Goya that is quite busy today, I have with me another one of my submarine friend.

Ik: Hellooo! I'm I-19. Yep, calling me 'Iku' is fine-nano!

N: Happy to see you here with us, Iku-san. And I see that you have the same uniform as Imuya-san.

Ik: Oh, this? Of course it is-nano. It is our standardized uniform after all-nano.

I: Yes, it is, N-san. This uniform of ours really helped us move in the water. Isn't that right, Iku?

Ik: Yup! It is-nano!

N: Is that so? Well, since we are in the subject of uniform, may I ask you a question? Is there a standardized uniform for each fleet girl?

I: Hmm, I don't think so. In fact, I think everyone just wear what they like.

Ik: Although you can see that each class has their distinctive uniform-nano. Like the Akatsuki-class destroyer with their white and dark blue serafuku or the Shiratsuyu-class destroyer with their black serafuku-nano.

N: So one can identify their class judging from their uniform, is it? So are the two of you in the same class?

I: Oh, no, no. We aren't. Iku is Type B1 Class submarine while I am Kaidai Class submarine.

N: Huh? But the two of you have the same uniform.

Ik: Same uniform doesn't always mean that we are in the same class-nano. Even Goya who has the same uniform as us is in the different class-nano.

N: Oh yes, Goya-san has similar uniform too, right?

I: That's right. So in the end of the day, all of us just wear the most comfortable uniform we can use every day. As simple as that.

Ik: That also goes with our equipment-nano.

I: Yes, it is. We just get what we can use before we sortie and then that will be our equipment for the day.

N: Wow, that is a rather independent and free environment. But then again, I've never been in the army or the navy. I don't know anything about the rule in the first place.

I: For us, as long as we can do the job done, as efficient as possible, and also with the least casualty we can have, that is all that's matter.

Ik: Yup! If what we have on board make us comfortable, then we are good to go anytime-nano!

N: I'm once again impressed by your way of thinking. Admirable! Truly admirable!

I: Hehehe, you praise us too much, N-san.

Ik: Hehehe, thank you-nano.

N: Well, I guess that's it for now. We are the end of the show. Then let's start reading the comment! So, Camera-kun, dare I ask? Is there any letter?

C: Err, no, sir.

N: Well, that is a bit disappointing. But then again, we have been away from the scene for quite some time. I can't blame them. For that, I can only apologize again. Well, with that, I guess this is the end of today's show. I once again want to thank the two of you, Imuya-san, Iku-san.

I: The pleasure is all ours, N-san and Camera-kun.

Ik: I don't mind being invited again-nano.

N: Oh, then we will do that again sometimes in the future. Have any number I can contact?

Ik: I have-nano. Let's trade contact after this-nano.

N: Got it! Oh, also send me any interesting information about the base, especially about the romance type.

Ik: Oh, you're interested-nano? I'll send you some later-nano.

I: E-E-Eh!? But you never give any to me, Iku! Why!?

Ik: That's because you are too busy fiddling with your smartphone to read your message-nano. There's almost new stuff each week-nano.

N & C: Really!? Tell us, please!

Ik: Gladly! Imuya, you should learn from these two-nano.

I: Ugh…why you.

N: A-Ah, well, it seems that we are out of time for now. We'll be seeing you later! Don't forget to send us your comment (aka Review). Thank you for watching, have a nice day, and stay healthy and out of danger, everyone! Bye!