Current Version: c3v1.0

Student Council President

SANAE SHIMIZU SAID NOTHING but glowered at the brown-haired Student Council President. To Mitsuki's surprise, Miho Nishizumi actually cringed under her captain's glare. She looked like she wanted to melt on her chair, hoping to just disappear. Mitsuki had never seen this timid side of Oorai's Student Council President. In fact, she had always seen her as a natural born leader, always leading in the frontlines, and earning the respect of her peers. Granted she had not known her on a personal level, she had assumed that she would be like the rest of her predecessors, ruthless and power driven, considering her impressive record in Tankery.

She made a mental note to be more cordial and friendly with her in the future.

"And?" Sanae asked, her voice low and dripping with disdain. "Why are we here?"

Miho blinked. She managed to gather enough wit to steady herself in her chair to stammer. "Um, y-yes… About that…"

She gestured to her two guests to sit down. "But first p-please take a seat."

Mitsuki nodded and was about to sit on one of the guest chairs when her captain raised a hand. "No, we prefer to stand."

Mitsuki gave Sanae an annoyed look but said nothing. Though it might seem small and petty, she knew her captain's refusal was a calculated move to assert dominance in a conversation. For Sanae to remain standing meant that Miho Nishizumi would be forced to assume the submissive role as she would be looking up when she speaks.

Of course, such power play was only obvious if Sanae also had the height to go with her ego trip.

"As you wish." Miho half-smiled apologetically. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

As for the other VIP in the room, Mitsuki still found it hard to believe the current president's seeming lack of confidence. What's more, the bags under her eyes and the strewn documents in her desk indicated she pushed herself and had an all-nighter. Commendable, as a student council president indeed had plenty of work, but it also made her look incapable of delegating tasks to her subordinates. Couldn't she just assign some of her workload to her other student council members? If she couldn't, then how the hell did she ever managed to become a legendary hero who saved the school not once but twice?

Miho opened her eyes, Mitsuki immediately got her answer.

The black-haired commissar felt a chill ran down her spine. She saw it… The change was too subtle but she still saw it. Miho still looked the same, tired and haggard, but there was something in her eyes that told Mitsuki all was not what it seemed.

Miho's eyes were the eyes of a predator luring her prey.

"Nishizumi," Sanae began. "Why did you-"

"Captain," Miho locked eyes with Sanae, her voice low but firm. "Why was I not informed about the accidents in the Naval Studies?"

Mitsuki blinked. Wait… What?

She turned to look at her captain who, for a moment, was caught off guard but then immediately formed her lips into a defiant smirk.

Then it hit her.

"Y-You didn't tell the president?!" The commissar's eyes went wide as her jaws dropped. Her mind tried checking and double-checking what she just heard. With regards to the school organization hierarchy, the Student Council conducts a weekly meeting with all the respective school department heads. As such, as the overall head of the Naval Studies Department, it was her captain's job to pass on her accident report to the Student Council President.

Sanae didn't as much as turned to face the commissar, much less acknowledged her outburst. Instead, she placed her hands on the desk as she once again leaned toward the president. "And who ever told you that?"

Miho's expression remained unfazed. "I am the student council president. I know things."

"Then the student council president must be a psychic because this was supposed to be only under Naval Studies wraps." Sanae then turned her gaze toward her commissar companion. "Unless of course it was deliberately leaked by those in-charge to keep it a secret, or those in-charge to keep it a secret were once again incompetent enough to not prevent any sort of leaks."

Mitsuki narrowed her eyes as she glared back at her captain. She wanted to launch a tirade at her for keeping secrets from the president but she fought the urge to defend herself from her accusatory look. Now was not the time.

"Miss Watari," Miho turned toward the black-haired commissar. "I heard you compiled a report regarding the accidents and I apologize for not being able to read it but… Can you please confirm to me if what I know are correct?"

"Of course ma'am." Mitsuki gave her captain one last annoyed look before turning to face the brown-haired president.

"Is it true that storage room 11MA on deck G was flooded due to a broken ceiling pipe?"

Mitsuki felt her stomach churned. How… How did she knew about that?

Even though her captain didn't informed her about the accidents, she still managed to know about them. Was there a spy? An inside informant? She could hear the sudden rush of questions in her head, all screaming to be answered, but she shook her head to dismiss them all. Yes, answers would be sought and, if there was indeed a breach of secrecy, heads would indeed roll.

"Um, yes ma'am… A rusting pipe broke and flooded the room which rendered all the HENL shells for our three warships soaked and unusable." Mitsuki answered. "And in addition, we were only able to find that out when the water pressure for the adjacent block severely dropped."

"I see," Miho lowered her head in deep thought. "Then can we still use these shells?"

"Err well," Mitsuki adjusted her collar. "No ma'am… Once the inside of these HENL shells are soaked in water, they become unusable."

"Then we have to procure replacements." The brown-haired president nodded, as she adjusted her sitting position. "Please send to me an order form for additional High Explosive Non-Lethal shells, set it as high priority interdepartmental purchase and I will sign them immediately."

"Yes ma'am." The commissar concurred. "I will send the order form before lunch."

"Thank you Miss Watari," Miho nodded before continuing. "Likewise, is it true that a dock-crane down in the hangar-dock collapsed on the Furutaka?"

Mitsuki winced. Ah yes, the dock crane incident. It was fortunate that it happened during the night with only the maintenance team of the Furutaka present in the hangar-dock to witness the incident. It was also fortunate that there were no injuries despite the damaged the fall of the crane did to the IJN Cruiser. It was, however, a headache to cover-up and more so to explain to the other Naval Students as to why the Furutaka no longer had a funnel and a mast.

"Err, yes ma'am, that's true… The cause was found out to be a combination of human error and mechanical fatigue. The specific details are in my report." Then she quickly added when she saw the concern look on the president's face. "But… But rest assured no one was injured when the crane fell."

"Oh. T-thank goodness… That's good to hear." Miho let out a sigh of relief. "Do you need any assistance in the repairs?"

"Everything is being taken care of ma'am, the Furutaka will be able to sail again before month's end." Mitsuki wanted to add further that the Morals Committee had already sent the operator of the crane to re-education class but decided to keep mum on it.

"And lastly," The president's face immediately turned neutral. "Is it true there was a fire inside the engine room of the Atlanta?"

"Ah." Mitsuki placed a hand to cover her face as she lowered her head. "Yes about that… Miss President, I think that-"

"Your predecessor was duped Nishizumi." Sanae interjected. "Saunder's lend-lease program was nothing but an elaborate scam to dispose of their junk."

"Junk?" Miho furrowed her brows in confusion.

"The fire was caused by faulty wirings Nishizumi…" Sanae crossed her arms. "Faulty. Wirings. That idiot Anzu got suckered by Kaye and accepted a piece of junk."

"But didn't we send a team to do post qualifications on the Atlanta before we accepted it?" Miho countered.

The American Cruiser was accepted and delivered last month as part of Saunder's lend-lease program in order for the Naval Studies to qualify for this year's Naval War Games. It was the last act of the previous president, Anzu Kodotani, before she stepped down. As such, Miho didn't took any part on its' acquisition.

"Oh yes, yes we did but…" Sanae grinned as she turned to look at her subordinate. "Why don't we ask someone who was part of the team hmm?"

Mitsuki felt sweat running down her temple. She didn't like it as to how Sanae thrusted her on the hot seat. True, she kind of expected to be questioned about these accidents by the President herself. She, however, did not expect her captain to be questioning her as well since she had already debriefed her a week ago. What's more, she knew this sort of questioning was more of an ego trip for Sanae than a substantial inquiry.

"W-We… We checked everything Miss President," The commissar tried to keep her voice cool and calm. "The list we used was very… Extensive."

It was true, as part of the commissariat, she was with the team sent to assess the Atlanta if whether it was seaworthy or not. It took them two weeks of exhaustive acceptance checks, confirming thousands of checkpoints, before they accepted the leased ship. In fact, the list of checkpoints was so specific that they had items ranging from inspecting the kind of tiles used on the shower rooms to testing if the ship could withstand sea-state 7, which was if it could survive nine meter tall waves during a storm.

"Oh yes it was very extensive," Sanae was now grinning from ear to ear. She glared at the commissar and savored her discomfort. "In fact, I believe I added some of the checkpoints myself especially the one about proper insulation for electrical wirings on the auxiliary generators in the engine room. Remind me again, with such a checklist, did we still accepted a defective ship?"

Mitsuki lowered her head as she sighed. "In light of the evidence, and how we performed the checks, I must officially conclude that the wirings in the engine room were not thoroughly checked."

"And because of that we accepted a piece of junk and a month's worth of repairs." Sanae's expression turned serious. Her grin had disappeared, replaced with a scowl. "Really now Watari, I expected more from you and-"

"Captain," Miho interjected. She kept a neutral expression, neither showing shock nor admonishment at the debacle of the Acceptance team. "Could the reason for the fire can also be arson?"

Mitsuki raised her head to face the brown-haired president.

A heavy silence fell on the room, even Sanae didn't dare utter a response. Both Naval Studies officers stood, unmoving and quite still processing what the brown-haired president had said. They stared at her as if she had just grown an extra head.

"Yes?" Miho pressed on. "Is it also possible that the fire was deliberate?"

To anyone who wasn't paying any attention to the conversation or the mood of this encounter, they might find the president's question to be a normal albeit an unexpected one. Mitsuki, however, knew it as something else.

The silence in the room was deafening. Miho Nihshizumi kept her face neutral as she crossed her hands on her desk and waited for a response.

Mitsuki realized she had to answer.

"A-As being said… The fire was due to faulty wirings in the engine room ma'am," The black-haired commissar paused and made a quick glance to her captain and saw her clenching her fists very tightly while keeping her choler in check. "A post fire analysis revealed that, contrary to the previous inspection, the wirings were actually severely corroded which resulted to the fire."

"That is the official findings of the Naval Studies yes?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Alright, then please tell me the unofficial one."

Mitsuki blinked. "Err ma'am?"

"The unofficial one." Miho clasped her hands in a steeple position as she leaned forward over her desk. "The one which points out to someone setting the engine room on fire. Deliberately."

Mitsuki gritted her teeth. She could hear her heart beating faster and she could feel sweat forming on her back despite the coolness of the room. How was it then that her president knew that, though bordering conspiracy theory territory, the evidence could also suggest sabotage?

Did she guess the question on a whim? Mitsuki shook her head. The president's calm demeanor showed her question was deliberate and calculated.

For a few seconds, Mitsuki stared at the brown-haired president as she finally realized that both she and her captain fell for her trap. Miho was indeed a hunter who lured her prey into a false sense of security before baring her teeth to strike.

Just like an anglerfish…

It might be subtle, but Miho Nishizumi had just warned both of them that, as the Supreme Student Council President, she knows everything.

"B-But, miss president…" Mitsuki started, "Actually the evidence on the fi-"

She caught something in the corner of her eye. Before she could process on what it was, her body acted out of reflex as she hurled herself toward her captain, pushing her to the ground and taking cover behind the leather couch.

A second later, the window exploded.

Tiny shards of glass flew in all direction as smoke and dust blanketed the room. Lying on the ground, Mitsuki shielded her captain from flying broken glass with her body. Instincts drilled into her from her officer's training made her move, without so much as a thought, to immediately protect her superior from any harm. She heard Sanae cursing under her breath and she could feel her wanting to stand up. She ignored her protest as her captain's safety was a priority compared to her comfort.

"Get off me!" Sanae growled. "The hell are you doing?"

Mitsuki didn't reply but then she felt a cold chill running down her spine as she realized that there was someone more senior in rank than her captain in the room. All her cells in her body screamed at her to move and secure the other VIP. For just a fraction of a second, she began to dread the worst. Images of blood and the president's corpse riddled with glass shards flashed in front of her eyes. The thoughts made her stomach churned which made her want to vomit.

With sheer force of will, she closed her eyes and shut out all thoughts of despair.

Now was not the time for speculation… Now was the time to-

She heard the hiss sound of an airgun being fired followed by a yelp of pain coming from behind the president's desk.

Her heart skipped a beat.

No… No… No…

She rose to her feet and turned to check at the President.

Her face went ashen white.

Miho Nishizumi sat in her chair with her head lolling to one side. A dart the size of an eraser had embedded itself on her neck. The president sat motionless, eyes unfocused, as a strand of her saliva dripped from the side of her mouth.

"President!" Mitsuki shouted.

Click.

That was when she realized she made a mistake. She closed her eyes and cursed under her breath. Her commissariat training included an extensive course in counter-insurgency and still she failed to control herself from moving on impulse. Basic survival rule, never expose oneself from an unknown opponent. She opened her eyes and turned toward the direction of the sound of the cocked gun.

In front of her stood three female Special Forces operatives in various combat gear from various nations. The middle operative, the one pointing a Sig Sauer P226 handgun with a red plastic muzzle, wore the typical blue SAS uniform while her counterparts sported an urban Delta Force fatigue and a desert variant of the Carabinieri regiment respectively. All hid their faces in ski masks.

Mitsuki glowered at the one pointing the airsoft replica of the Sig Sauer. Now exposed, she could no longer afford to make any mistake. One wrong move and it would be over. True, an airsoft gun wouldn't kill her, but she was bound by honor to concede defeat, be in the mercy of her opponent, if she was ever hit. What's more, these intruders might not be playing by any rules and that the Sig Sauer might not shoot pellets but tranquilizer darts like the one sticking from the president's neck.

Mitsuki's eyes then darted from the SAS operative to her two teammates. They carried airsoft rifles but had not pointed them at her. They just stood their ground, letting their SAS teammate do all the talking.

Wait…

Mitsuki blinked. They might be wearing special forces uniform, but they weren't doing any perimeter checks? Amateurs?

"Who are you?" Mitsuki asked, her voice neutral but guarded. "Why are you here?"

"Say, miss sailor," The SAS operative replied, still pointing her gun at her. "Do you know this saying?"

Mitsuki set her mouth into a straight line. Really? A monologue in the middle of an assault? What was this? A Bond movie?

The SAS operative pointed her gun toward the commissar's shoes then back to her face. "Your shoelaces are untied."

Mitsuki blinked. "Um, what?"

"Yes." The SAS Operative replied.

And then she pulled the trigger.

Author's Notes

Terribly sorry for the late update of this chapter. At first, I thought I could breeze through with the scenes on this chapter but then it turned out to be a nightmare. Actually, this chapter was supposed to be the starting chapter as I am an avid advocate of in media res but then I realized that I would be having a lot of problems with the introductions of my main characters if I started midway. That's why I decided to instead create the first two chapters as a sort of introduction of the main characters and I was so sure that I could pull off writing this chapter in less than a month…

It turned out to be a nightmare as it took me four rewrites to finally get it right! Apparently, fleshing out the main characters first completely changed the flow of the story.

In addition, Miho Nishizumi also turned out to be a pain in the ass to write on. Don't get me wrong, I love Miho, and I don't want to mischaracterize her, but I also realize that, given her deep sense of responsibility for her teammates, she would always ante up her game when push comes to shove. That's why, as a Student Council President, she would have to overcome her timidness and emulate the cunningness (and ruthlessness) of her predecessor, Anzu Kodotani. Miho in this story might look like a whimpering puppy, but she's actually a hunter like an anglerfish.

So yeah… I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I also would like to give a huge thanks to those who subscribed and followed my story. Next chapter would involve absurd kung fu fights, over the top trashtalking, and an overly crazy car chase scene(Disclaimer: Next chapter may or may not contain absurd kung fu fights, over the top trashtalking, or an overly crazy car chase scene).

Lastly, a huge shoutout to Nameless Slinger, author of Haifuri - Contact! In the Haifuri section. Go checkout his story, he has an extensive knowledge on submarines and naval studies in general that I'm actually taking down notes on the terms he uses. XD

Until next time everyone!

Version History:

c3v1.0 (2016/07/31)