Kijin Sentai

奇人戦隊

Chapter 03

The exhausted and badly damaged Hatsushima fleet hurried back to port for repairs. Saito immediately sent reserve ships on sortie with live ammunition, guarding against the possibility of further hostilities. Having re-armed Akagi, with combat-ready planes, he had her join the patrol to provide air support. The shipgirls were assigned double shifts to temporarily make up for a lack of manpower.

Although he was in a rush to see the captured ship, he could not afford to be hasty. The defence of this base still took precedence. Once defence preparations were finalised, he hurried to the factory, where they were temporarily holding the prisoner.

Upon his arrival, Kaga guided him over to the room where she was being held. He opened the door, and the shipgirls within made way for him.

With her limbs tied to the bedposts, the captured shipgirl could not move. She was dressed in what seemed to be the standard uniform of the hostile fleet: a maroon jacket, black trousers, and knee-high boots. The ushanka hiding her bleached hair had fallen off in battle. At this distance, and without distractions from the excitement of battle, the poker-faced Hibiki was unmistakable.

"[Prisoner. Identify yourself,]" demanded Saito in Russian, standing next to the bed with his hands behind his back. Between his appearance and his mannerisms, he struck an imposing figure.

Her reply was as cold as ice, seemingly unaffected by his attempt to make himself more powerful in her eyes. "[My name is Verniy. Hull number DD-066. Military Maritime Fleet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.]"

He knew that voice. It was undoubtedly Hibiki's. What have they done to you, Hibiki…? He asked himself, pacing round the room. He approached the opposite side of the bed, so that his hands would be hidden behind his back. He clenched and unclenched his fist behind his back to secretly relieve the tension he felt in him. He could not afford to lose his cool, especially not in front of the people he led. "[Your name is Hibiki. You once served the Imperial Japanese Navy with distinction. You were once under the command of a man who saved 442 enemy sailors while he was in command of your sister ship, Ikazuchi. Do you remember that?]"

"[Lies. My name is Verniy. You are the enemy. I must exterminate you.]" Her expression did not change one bit as she responded.

Saito took in a deep breath and clamped his jaw shut, gnashing his teeth in reaction to what she had just said. It was not the words, but the fact that she had forgotten who she was, that shook his confidence. I know it's you, Hibiki. Don't do this. This was getting nowhere fast. There was nothing more to be done… for now. He could not see an immediate solution, and he had to be somewhere else. Saito turned about and filed past the other officers without so much as a pause.

"Kaga, have someone keep an eye on her," he beckoned her on his way out. "I'll see you in my office after lunch. We'll talk about this then." The carrier compliantly nodded with eyes closed. Saito then gestured to the three junior officers to follow him. "Fujiwara, Kirigaya, and Koizumi, come with me. We need to meet with Base Commander Watanabe."

/1230 hours, Base Commander's Office/

"I've heard from Chief Sugihara about what happened today. I'm not surprised that the Russians attacked, but I'm surprised that they did so in this manner, so close to our base," began Base Commander Watanabe. "Not even Ooyodo or my secretary ship Nagato picked up on any of this."

"My apologies, Sir," said Nagato, bowing her head as a show of sincerity. "I knew the Russians had been testing our borders recently, but I didn't expect them to attack us all of a sudden."

"No, it's not your fault. I can't expect you to expect the unexpected, after all. We say that we should all the time, but it's not practical... Now, Captain Akiyama, give me your report."

"Sir," acknowledged Saito with a nod. "I was conducting a shakedown with Kaga and Akagi, approximately 5km north of home base. Fuso was the escort, and she was the only ship carrying live ammunition. Chief Sugihara was conducting training with the three junior commanders here in the practise area 15km northeast of home base. The encounter was sudden. There was no warning, except for Yamashiro's report of unidentified contacts approximately 60 seconds before the attack, and Koizumi's identification protocols. The hostile fleet spoke in the Russian language, and it would thus be natural to assume that they belong to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

"As the attack commenced, I ordered Koizumi to hold position, and had Fujiwara and Kirigaya's fleets form a U-formation, in which we trapped the hostile fleet and returned fire with Fuso from long range. We damaged the enemy flagship. The hostile fleet escaped soon after." Saito took a pause. While slightly shifting his footing, he cast a brief glance at his fellow officers, before returning to face his superior. "The junior commanders demonstrated willingness to adapt to dynamic situations, and excellent teamwork. No ships were lost, but the majority of Koizumi's fleet is damaged and fatigued, and they will take some time to fully recover. We captured one member of the hostile fleet as well, whom we believe is the former Hibiki: IJN Hull Number DD-56, and second of the Akatsuki-class destroyers. She is currently being held in the factory. I end my report, Sir."

"Excellent. Any action taken on the prisoner, thus far?"

"Yes, Sir. We have interrogated the prisoner and ascertained that she serves the USSR. We will evaluate the possibility of convincing her to rejoin the IJN as Hibiki. Hopefully, given some time, she'll remember who she was."

"That will not be necessary. Obtain whatever information you can and scrap the ship. She may be an enemy spy. We have no use for such shady characters in our midst. I expect a written version of this report on my desk by 1600 hours this afternoon." Watanabe did not even bother facing him as he gave these orders.

Scrap…?! A frown built up on Saito's face over a tense and silent moment. He sucked in a deep breath, prepared to speak at length. "Sir-"

"That will be all, Captain," Watanabe hissed dismissively, focusing on the papers on his desk rather than on his subordinate. "We've already reported the incident to High Command, and I have to produce a written report by this evening, to be flown to the mainland for review by the Chiefs of Staff. I don't have time to waste on petty affairs. This might be more than just a minor border skirmish."

Seeing no point in further argument, Saito said nothing, choosing only to stoically salute. "… Yes, Sir." The other officers followed suit, and without another word, they left the office with Saito.

Once the door had shut behind him, Saito cursed under his breath as he walked down the hallway. "What the hell does he mean 'petty affairs'…! Scrapping Hibiki… no, scrapping in general is just… This pompous son of a bitch…!"

"Sir… … Sir ...Um, Sir!" asked Fuji, walking alongside an indignant Saito. "Are we doing the debriefing now? Or…"

"No, we'll do it tomorrow morning. I need to go take care of some damned paperwork first. Go take a break." Saito hurried off on his own, not waiting for anyone to catch up.

"Wow. What's with him?" asked Fuji, looking at his comrades for ideas. Kuro casually shrugged, and only Sora hazarded a guess.

"It's probably got something to do with Hibiki... Or whatever she calls herself right now."

"Why don't we talk about this in the mess hall? It's lunchtime anyways," suggested Fuji. All were in agreement, and they went for lunch together.

/1300 hours, Docks/

While the commanders were at lunch, Fuso leaned back in the dock slot, enjoying a good soak in the warm and fragrant bath water. She had not taken any damage in the prior battle; this bath was just part of regular maintenance.

She heard footsteps along the wooden corridor leading to the dock, and in moments, the door slid open. The tranquility of the dock was now replaced by the chatter of tired and injured shipgirls, who boisterously chatted while removing their damaged clothing and placing them in baskets by the door.

"That shitty commander made me take a torpedo for her…" grumbled Akebono, pulling off her tattered sailor uniform. She made a mental note of the number of holes in it as she stared at it, vowing to herself that she would poke her commander once for each hole in her uniform.

"Now, now, don't go complaining about the commander," chided Shigure gently, patting her fellow destroyer on the head.

"D-Don't-!" Akebono snapped. Her outburst was abruptly cut off by more comforting pats on the head and loving hugs from her fellow shipgirls. "H-Hey, let go of me!" Zuikaku smiled in amusement as she watched the other girls carry the young destroyer into the shared bathtub. It was positioned in the centre of the docks, between two rows of private docks slots.

As Zuikaku entered the docks and put her bare feet on the dry, clean, and grooved ceramic tiles, she took notice of Fuso. The battleship was leaning against the low wall of the private dock slot with her arms stacked on top of the wall, and her head rested across her arm. She had a dreamy look about her, as if all was right with the world.

"Ahh, Fuso-san," Zuikaku greeted politely. "Thanks for the support fire earlier. If only I'd had some real planes instead of practise ones… Sigh." Fuso only nodded in response, retaining that dreamy smile on her face. Receiving no real reaction from Fuso, Zuikaku slid herself into the shared bathtub, where Akebono was busy hiding the lower half of her face underwater. Mogami, who was part of Fuji's fleet, joined in shortly afterwards. She had taken light damage during the battle.

"Onee-sama!" greeted Yamashiro, rushing over and giving her sister a loving hug. "You were so great during that battle… A-Are you alright? You look… dazed."

"He praised me, Yamashiro!" Fuso gushed with a smile that stretched from ear to ear, sitting up and holding her sister's hands with sparkles in her eyes. Her morale must have broken the scale at a value of 101, an impossible feat for a shipgirl less clingy than she.

Yamashiro was taken aback by the sudden proclamation. "Who? You mean-"

"Saito… Hahhh… he patted my head and said I did well… That my shots were on target, and that I saved everyone…" Fuso kept a supremely satisfied look upon her face.

"That-!" Yamashiro shuddered in disgust at the very mention of that officer. She must still be under his spell… She took hold of her sister's hands and tugged on them. "Onee-sama, shall we join the other girls in the shared bathtub?"

Not one to refuse her sister, and in an incredibly good mood, Fuso rose and stepped over the side of the dock slot. Yamashiro slid herself in first without incident, proceeding to the opposite wall of the shared bathtub. As Fuso approached the bathtub, she managed to lose her footing while walking on grooved, anti-slip ceramic tiles, and slid butt-first into the water, next to Mogami. Warm bath water splashed over the sides and all over the other girls. The water cushioned Fuso's fall, enabling a safe recovery.

"I'm so sorry, everyone…" she said apologetically. She then looked at Mogami, who was seated to her right. The girl seemed shell-shocked, so Fuso put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Are you all right?"

"Ahhh, ouch, ouch, ouch!" exclaimed Mogami. She leaned back against the wall and curled up defensively. "Fuso-san…I think I just went from light damage to moderate damage… Those poor sailors in sick bay…"

"E-Eh?!" Fuso hurriedly retracted her hand, worried that she had hurt a fellow shipgirl. "I'm so sorry!"

Shigure chuckled. "Just like old times… The Nishimura Fleet's back together again!"

"That's right!" Yamashiro agreed, coming to the same realisation. "Ahh, I remember that we served under the command of Admiral Nishimura..."

"Ahh, yeah. And I was under the command of Commander-"

"Nishi-NO. Nothing ever went right for your fleet," Akebono interjected, before submerging the lower half of her face in the water again.

"Hm? Well, I guess I was an unfortunate ship…" lamented Fuso, suddenly listless as she recalled the operations she was involved in during World War Two. "I was mostly on support missions… I didn't do very much. Even my own sailors hated me…"

Yamashiro immediately responded to that remark. "That's not true, onee-sama! Th-They just weren't worthy of sailing with you…!"

"Perhaps…" Fuso fell silent, suddenly sinking into her default state of lamentation.

"The battle today was just like Surigao Strait, though…" remarked Shigure, recalling the battle from a long time ago. "We got caught completely by surprise, and Yamashiro-san was one of the main targets again…"

"Hmm? I don't really remember much about Surigo Strait…" Fuso replied, trying her best to recall the events of that battle. "I only remember a white flash… Someone must have blown up at Surigao… Who was it…?"

The entire dock suddenly became eerily silent. Fuso looked around at everyone's faces, and nobody would make eye contact with her. Fearing she had said something inappropriate again without realising, she lowered her face to look at her own reflection in the water. "Why's everyone suddenly so quiet…?"

"I'm pretty sure it was you, Fuso-san," answered Zuikaku, breaking the awkward tension in a completely casual manner. Since nobody was willing to talk about it, she took it upon herself (as an outsider to this shared history) to move the conversation along. "… if I recall correctly, that is. Nobody can be sure, though. Records couldn't confirm whether it was you or Yamashiro… But yeah, you suffered a massive explosion, caught fire, and broke into two parts that refused to sink for hours…"

"An explosive wail loud enough to be heard over 13 km away... On fire and broken into two pieces, remaining afloat long enough to leave a permanent question mark on history… just like her heart. That's burning love on a whole new level, Fuso-san," Akebono remarked snarkily, making reference to a certain battleship's favourite phrase.

"Ahh, how… romantic…? I guess," Shigure commented with second-hand embarrassment, wishing Akebono had not said those words quite so poetically.

"You're not off the hook either, Shigure. Commander Shigeru Nishino sailed past the floating wreck that was Fuso, while valiantly hailing her and completely ignoring her physical body. Talk about cold."

"Ahh! I thought everyone had forgotten about that part!" Shigure hid her face underwater just like Akebono had done up to this point. Mogami, Yamashiro, and Zuikaku burst into laughter, and eventually, everyone else joined in. These were times gone by, and they were not going to harp on things that had happened in the past. What laid in store for them remained a mystery.

/2000 hours, Fuji's Quarters/

"Hoooohhhh, man, I'm tired…" muttered Fuji as he closed the door to his quarters, pulling the towel off his neck and tossing it into the laundry basket by the door.

"Went for a workout again, Commander?" asked Tone, flexing the biceps on her left arm for emphasis.

"Haha, yeah. It was great!" Fuji flexed his in response, to Tone's amusement. "Feeling nice and clean after a shower, too, so I'm back to hang out for a bit before I rest for the night. How are you girls feeling? You had your first real battle in a while, today."

"Wagahai is always ready!" she proclaimed confidently, patting her chest with a closed fist. "Commander, we should train together sometime! But about today, the enemy we countered… Who were they? I don't know what to make of them."

"Yeah…" muttered Hiei, uncharacteristically unenthusiastic about it all. "I talked to Kirishima at dinner. The whole base is talking about the battle. They're Russians, she said… That itself doesn't mean anything, but I… I really don't want to shoot at people again, after the last war. It's… really pointless."

Fuji was silent for a moment, only able to awkwardly stand there and offer little more than moral support. He was unsure how to react to this… This was completely abnormal behaviour for her, and he did not like overthinking things. He was just good at following orders. "Well, girls, isn't it good enough that we won and made it through the day? Only Kuro's fleet took heavy damage… I think we're okay. Right?"

"You're right, commander!" exclaimed Hiei, pumping her fist in the air to regain some of her usual enthusiasm. "We can't let that get us down! We won today, and we should be happy! Hieiiiiiiii~!"

"That's right, girls. Just be happy we're all back safely. I'm glad we're all okay. Could you let me have the room to myself, now? I want to do some work before I sleep."

The shipgirls obediently cleared out of his room, bidding him goodnight. Fuji wrote in his journal about the events of the day, before setting the pencil and notebook aside neatly. He put out the oil lamp on his work desk, and laid in bed in preparation for a good rest… But even after an hour, he could not fall asleep. His gaze was locked upon the ceiling, while the cool sea breeze blew through the windows and into his room, ruffling his hair. The sounds of crashing waves and flipping paper were all that accompanied him in the darkness.

He had thought of just going to sleep, but something was bothering him. What Hiei said had gotten stuck in his head, and there was no way he was going to get it out on his own. Kicking off the bed, he decided to drop by Sora's quarters, located at the other end of the corridor.

On his way over, he looked at the gap between the door and the floor. The lights were still on. He's probably still inside… He knocked on the door twice, and Sora answered immediately. "Yo, man, you got a minute? I need to talk about stuff."

"Eh? Now? Okay. Seems important… Yuudachi, turn in first, okay? I'll come back later." Sora headed out with Fuji, and the duo exited the officers' barracks. They started discussing what Hiei had mentioned, as they made their way towards the pier. This was where they commonly went for late night chats.

"Hiei told me something that I found a little bit disturbing," began Fuji, as they walked along. "I'm actually kinda scared."

"What was it?" enquired Sora, raising an open hand to encourage Fuji to share his story.

"Well, uh… where to begin… I came back from the gym, and Hiei looked kinda disturbed about the battle we had today. She seemed worried about fighting other people. You know how up until recently we were fighting Abyssals? Now we're at war with humans again, and she just… I dunno, kinda got upset about it."

"Now that you mention it… yeah…" muttered Sora, contemplating this point with his hand cupping his chin. "It'd be pretty hard for me to pick up a gun and shoot a human even though we've shot at targets in training. We didn't… fight in World War Two, so we wouldn't understand what it's like. But I think… maybe she's just more worried about her sisters than anything else."

"Hmm, I don't know if they were even really okay while fighting Abyssals, though," countered Fuji, positing an alternative view. "Sure, the Abyssals were faceless and nameless, but… the danger of being sunk was still there, right? Not really sure what's on her mind, but I really hope this doesn't turn out as badly as I think it will…"

Sora nodded in understanding as they approached the tranquil pier, where Saito's command cruiser had docked just days before. "I wouldn't be too worried… You've gotta remember, these girls have the souls of warships… They've seen a lot more than we have," suggested Sora, as the pier pulled into view.

The rush and fade of waves crashing against the pier; the cool wind sweeping across the quiet waters of the bay, and the silence of night… These were all things that made this place perfect for introspection. Tonight, especially, because the full moon hung bright over the bay, its reflection clear and bright in the calm waters off Hatsushima.

"Hey… who's that?" asked Fuji, pointing in the direction of the pier.

"Hmm?" Sora followed Fuji's gaze, towards the silhouette of a broad-shouldered man standing at the edge of the pier, staring out into the ocean in what seemed liked deep contemplation. "Let's go find out."

As they approached, the soles of their leather shoes clacked against the concrete surface of the pier. The figure turned, and the two young men caught sight of a swinging ponytail, in the figure's attempt to get a look at who was behind him. "Ahh, it's you two," he said, before shortly turning back to face the ocean. That voice was unmistakably Saito's.

"Captain Akiyama," addressed Sora more formally. "What brings you here?"

"Many things," replied the senior officer with a sigh, as the two men came to his side. "I like to come here to think. Being in the office or my quarters doesn't give me the right mood for that." He looked up as he heard the droning of propeller engines overhead. The silhouette of a transport plane could be seen against the full moon. "Look up. That's the plane that's carrying my report on today's events. I should save this chat for the debriefing tomorrow morning, really…"

"Well, what are you thinking about?" prodded Fuji as he sat down and let his legs dangle over the edge of the pier. "We're here because we like to come here to chat and think about things, too."

"Everything that happened today, of course… The battle; what's likely to come; the Base Commander's comments… and…" Saito sighed again, running his hand over the top of his head and casually stroking his ponytail for a moment. "Hibiki."

"Whoa, whoa, one at a time, man…" said Sora with a little sarcasm, as if he was trying to tell Saito that he was overthinking things. "What about Hibiki?"

"You might recall that she was one of our ships, yes? We handed her over to the Soviets as a war prize after World War Two," he replied, completely ignoring Sora's first comment.

"Yeah. She was the flagship of the Sixth Destroyer Division… The only one of her sisters to survive the war," added Sora. He did have some knowledge of Hibiki's history.

Saito nodded in confirmation, his ponytail fluttering lightly in the wind. "She spent most of her life as an escort ship, supporting the Imperial Japanese Navy's operations in the Pacific. As she went through the war, she lost her sisters one by one… and by the end of the war, she was the only one remaining. I sailed with the fleet that handed her over to the Russians at the war's end. I remember that look she had as we turned to leave… Those lonely eyes were as cold as the Russian winter."

Departing from his normally flippant demeanour, Sora said, "Wow. I didn't know you had a history with Hibiki." He had become more serious, out of respect for a commander's history with his ship. "I can't imagine how lonely she must have been, surrounded by people she didn't know, and living in such a harsh environment." He recalled the callous way in which she had responded earlier in the day. "Do you… do you think she resents us, for what we did? For giving her away?"

"I don't even know what she thinks, right now. But I know I resent the fact that she had to be given away. Even today, it's still difficult for me to accept what had happened. I went and learned the Russian language in case I ever managed to see her again…" Sora thought he heard Saito's voice crack, for a moment… and then he clearly heard Saito growl. "And now that she's back with us, that bastard of a Base Commander Watanabe wants her scrapped…!"

Fuji suddenly stood up and put a hand on Saito's shoulder, grabbing it tightly. "Hey, hey, you're not going to let that happen, are you, Sir?!"

Saito furrowed his brows and locked eyes with Fuji, sensing his concern and sincerity. "Of course not. What kind of commander do you think I am?" he retorted, swatting Fuji's arm aside and turning to walk back down the pier. "She calls herself Verniy now, but I know Hibiki's in there somewhere. I'll bring Hibiki back, no matter what it takes."

Fuji looked over at Sora with his jaw agape. "Whoa… Did you catch all that?"

"Yeah…" confirmed Sora, patting Fuji on his shoulder. "You know… I still think he's naggy and annoying, but… I can see that he cares about his shipgirls. Maybe he's not so bad…"

Striding down the pier and fading into the dark of the night, Saito left the two young men in awe of his steely determination to recover the soul of his beloved warship.

Authors' Note #1:

Hi there, reader! Thanks for all that feedback; it's really helping the story move along. We hope you've enjoyed reading this chapter as much as we enjoyed writing it. We'll consider some ideas posited, such as the inclusion of Aurora.

Authors' Note #2:

We missed this out in earlier notes. "Kijin Sentai" roughly translates into "Misfit Company" (literally, "Eccentric Person Battle Group"). The characters are intended to be eccentric misfits, which led to them being "posted" (banished) to this frontier island. As for how, that will be explored in detail later.

Authors' Note #3:

On the dock scene with some of the members of the Nishimura fleet:

Fuso and Yamashiro are sister ships of the Fuso-class, known more informally as the Fukou (unlucky) class. Sailors considered a posting to the Fuso-class ships the worst possible sea posting.

Historically, Fuso and Yamashiro sank at the battle of Surigao Strait, but historians cannot agree as to which sister sank first.

It is also speculated that Fuso suffered a tremendous explosion that split her in two, and these two halves floated and burned for hours before finally sinking to the bottom of the sea.

During the battle of Surigao Strait, Fuso mistakenly opened fire on Mogami, killing three sailors in the ship's sick bay.

These are things that we referred to in that scene, because we found them particularly amusing. For further reading, we recommend the following sites: . and wiki/Japanese_battleship_Fus%C5%8D .

Authors' Note #4:

We've scrapped the idea of commander abilities, because it sounded awesome in planning but translated poorly into text. :s