Wo let out a cry of rage as she lunged forward at Bladereef Hime, Tenryuu's old blade in her, it's purple accents creating an afterimage that did not match up with Wo's own style. Her blade, Tenryuu's old blade, swung down in her hands toward Bladereef Hime. In the last moment, Bladereef Hime swung one of her own blades up, striking Wo's and knocking it aside, then brought up her other blade to strike her down with it.
The blade never reached its target as Yin's blade, shining its usual brilliant jade green, struck against Bladereef Hime's second blade. Yin didn't move as fast on the water's surface as his ship girls, but his footing was sure, and his stance strong. When his blade struck Bladereef Hime's, he didn't budge, but she was pushed back a step, giving Wo the moment she needed to jump back and ready herself again.
"Don't just jump into it, Wo. We'll take her out together from both sides!" Yin exclaimed as he whipped his blade around, its jade color and texture creating strange yet mesmerising afterimages in the air.
Wo nodded and glared at Bladereef Hime, her eyes locking with hers. "I know it is you, Tenryuu-onee-san. If you can hear me, I'll help you, I swear it!" Wo said as she stepped forward and swung Tenryuu's blade at Bladereef Hime in a wicked forty five degree angle up, the blade aiming directly for Bladereef Hime's lower side. With a quick twist of her wrist, Bladereef Hime brought her blade in the way of Wo's, blocking it skillfully as Bladereef Hime brought her other blade up and thrust it toward Yin.
Yin stepped to the side and dodged Bladereef Hime's thrust, swinging his own blade in a horizontal arc, striking Bladereef Hime's upper shoulder and sending a ribbon of fresh blood out from it, flying off the tip of his blade. The cut wasn't deep, but it was enough, and proved that Bladereef Hime wasn't indestructible, just really resistant to explosives. Using the chance Yin spun around and whipped his blade at Bladereef Hime's lower leg, the tip of his blade striking her ankles, but missing the tendons he was hoping to hit. Unlike Bladereef Hime's sword and Tenryuu's old blade, his blade was far thinner and without the heavy end that Tenryuu's had. This meant that the strikes from his sword would inflict wounds that were far less deep, but he could inflict them faster.
Jumping back Yin avoided Bladereef Hime's counter attack, allowing Wo the chance to wind up a strike. Though Bladereef Hime saw the attack coming, her blade was not able to stop it, and Wo struck true, Tenryuu's blade piercing Bladereef Hime's calf, a squirt of bright red blood proving the extent of the wound.
"Don't slow down for a moment, Wo. We need to end this so everyone doesn't get beaten down holding them off of us!"
Wo nodded, knowing that every minute they took in fighting Bladereef Hime, was a minute everyone else was holding off the enemy, and a minute that they could get beaten back. "Right, we'll make this quick as possible!"
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Yuudachi looked back behind her to see that Wo was engaging Bladereef Hime in close combat, and so was Admiral Yin. Yuudachi had so many thoughts in her head, but the simple fact that Admiral Yin was standing on the water and fighting Bladereef Hime like a ship girl. It confused her greatly, but the more important thing was holding back any abyssal so that Wo could take down Bladereef Hime, and save her if she was Tenryuu.
Tenryuu. As soon as she had that thought it was like her mind began to replay the entire scene, even as a swarm of new abyssals careened toward them, all of them intent on their destruction. Raising her gun Yuudachi joined in with the other destroyers, letting off barrages of fire to make the Abyssals reconsider their attack. As she fired, Yuudachi still couldn't get the images of that other battle out of her head, only this time something was different. Every other time she recalled that battle, she couldn't remember the tail end of it, the end where she apparently defeated a Ru-class flagship all on her own. She just couldn't remember it, it was as if her mind was ignoring the memory, forcing her to not remember. Only now, she was remembering it.
Just like the weird droning she had talked about with Wo, she was hearing it again. It was faint, but as she realized that it was there, she could feel the memories that her mind had been ignoring come to the surface, and she was remembered. She remembered seeing Tenryuu sink, she remembered rage and despair filling her, and she remembered rushing toward the Ru-class, dealing impossibly physical damage to it with her bare hands. Then she remembered her past, and realized, finally, why she always heard that drone, and why she couldn't remember how she had killed that Ru-class.
Back during the Great War, she had had her engine knocked out, yet the crew that shaped her memory and personality now, had pushed on, strapping sheets and bedding to her wire lines and stacks, making makeshift sails as she continued to fight on against the odds. After sinking two enemy destroyers in such a state, she finally sunk, and went deep into the depths of Iron Bottom Sound.
That was the reason she heard the drone, it was the reason she heard it and was able to take out a Ru-class with her bare hands. It was if everything was suddenly clear to her, and as the truth became clear to her, she could feel herself changing again, just like she had back then. She could feel her rage grow, her hatred enflame, and her power rise, but this time, her mind did not become clouded. Donning a vindictive grin Yuudachi rushed forward, away from their lines, and directly toward an enemy group of Chi-class Torpedo cruisers, a sudden desire to decimate the enemy filling her
Ignoring the initial cries from her allies Yuudachi closed the distance between them, and leapt forward like an animal possessed. Each Chi-class took aim at her and opened fire with both torpedoes and cannons, but it didn't matter. With inhuman agility and prowess Yuudachi dodged each shell and almost every torpedo, leaping forward and literally plucking the last torpedo from the water, and throwing it back at the Chi-class that fired it. The torpedo hit the Chi-class's foot and exploded, dazing all of them just as Yuudachi reached them. Her gun fired only twice, taking out the two furthest away Chi-classes as she leapt up and slammed her knee into one's chin, and her torpedo holster onto the face of another. Landing on the water's surface she pulled a torpedo out of her launcher and swung it at a Chi-class' face, lodging bit in the chi-class's mouth a second before Yuudachi then pushed her away. Then she fired at the same torpedo with her gun. The explosion ripped the Chi-class apart, and before her body hit the water Yuudachi had moved toward the two that she had stunned, slipping her torpedoes into the sections between their equipment and arms. As the Chi-class tried to move to aim at her, the torpedoes were crushed and exploded, ripping their equipment apart, and mutilating their limbs.
Leaping back as the bodies fell to the water, Yuudachi was forced to dodge a shot as a Ri-class approached her, both cannons aimed for her. Dodging, she closed the distance and leapt up beside the Ri-class and swung her leg, connecting to the other's face and sending her sideways. As the Ri-class tried to get up off of the water Yuudachi grabbed her hair, and used it to forcibly slam her head against her knee until the Ri-class stopped moving.
Turning to the next target Yuudachi grinned with deviant glee as she felt blood drip down her fingers and legs that was not her own. She could kill all of them, and then she could tell the admiral what she had realized, she could tell him, tell everyone what was leading the abyssals!
"I-it's like she's an animal!" Ru stated in shock as she watched Yuudachi tear into abyssal after abyssal with a terrifying smile on her face as she threw a Ri-class's face into its own equipment.
Musashi nodded and then tapped on Ru's shoulder, pointing to her far right, "Yeah, it was just like when we saved their fleet before. But it looks like she isn't noticing abyssals not in her immediate area, we should deal with them, and then find out what's going on with her later."
Ru looked to Musashi and nodded. "Alright, but do you think it has to do with that humming?"
Musashi raised a brow to Ru as all of her cannons fired, creating a racked that would deafen any normal human. "This Musashi does not understand. You hear a humming?"
Ru nodded, and a second later her eyes widened n realization, "Then that's . . . let's take them out and give the Admiral all the time he needs!"
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Yin took a step back to catch his breath. He could hear the sounds of battle all around, but the only opponent he had to worry about was between him and Wo, all other sounds, all other opponents had to be ignored.
Bladereef Hime was in horrible physical shape, with bleeding cuts all across her body, and both of her ugly hooked swords had numerous chips out of them, one was even missing it's hook. Despite the damage that he and Wo had dealt to her though, she kept striking toward them and lashing out at them, her blades full of her intent to kill them in one motion. The problem wasn't that Bladereef Hime kept moving however, it was that both Yin and Wo were slowing down. Despite the wounds Bladereef Hime had, her speed never seemed to drop and Yin and Wo's strength was fading, they were getting tired.
"We need to finish this fast, Wo. Put on the pressure!" Yin called as he parried a strike from Bladereef Hime and swung his blade out at her. His blade passed by her side, missing just barely, but as she moved to dodge Tenryuu's old blade thrust right through the back of her shoulder and out through the front, her affected arm falling limp.
Bladereef Hime spun in place, forcing Wo to move away or be hit by her now flailing arm, and ran toward Wo, her usable arm in the air to drop her blade onto Wo. Wo dodged just in time, and circled about, forcing Bladereef Hime to turn to her, and to Yin, just as Yin pulled out a large pistol out of his pocket and aimed it toward Bladereef Hime. The low sound of its single round puffed out, and half a second later it connected with Bladereef Hime's mask covered face, exploding in a ball of light, and igniting her mask on intense white flames.
"A flare?" Wo asked in shock as Yin put away the gun and looked to Wo.
"Yeah, you hit her from the back. I'll keep her occupied to give you an opening. We'll impale her on our blades and finish this!"
"Right!" Wo replied as she circled about and pushed away from Bladereef Hime, getting ready to strike her from behind.
Right as the last of the fire burned away from her mask, leaving it a charred black, Yin stepped forward and swung his blade down, its length screaming down the length of Bladereef Hime's before their handguards locked against each other.
"K-kill, Kill!" Bladereef Hime groaned as she pushed back against Yins blade, trying to wrench it free from Yins.
"You won't kill anyone else!" Yin growled as he kept pushing his blade forward, keeping his blades handguard against Bladereef Hime's to keep her immobile.
"Kill, kill . . . me!"
Yin almost stepped back in surprise, but let his face show it instead. Bladereef Hime's voice, sounded exactly like Tenryuu's. "Tenryuu, fight it!" Yin said as he began to twist his blade, and Bladereef Hime's to the side.
"Kill me! I- I can't-."
"We don't need to kill you, because we'll save you. Now, Wo!" Yin called out as he jumped back, causing Bladereef Hime to suddenly lose her balance. That second was all that was needed, and Tenryuu's blade pierced through Bladereef Hime's chest, forced through her armour by Wo's charge. As if adding to the strike Yin leapt forward again, and thrust his own blade deep into Bladereef Hime's chest, right beside Wo's. Both of them stood there for a moment, hoping to see some sort of reaction or effect proving that they had won when suddenly, Yin's blade began to glow, and a second later, that glow eclipsed the entire ocean, cutting through the clouds and rough seas.