Author's Notes
Thank you, Mr/Mrs Never to Lose -Hope, it's these comments which make my day and reassure me by letting me know that I'm doing something right.
Sendai was keeping track of the ship girls who landed on Aogashima Island, and they were now approaching the Combined Fleet from the South West direction.
She could hear Saratoga addressing not just her, but also the entire Combined Fleet about the Abyssal fleet which was approaching them, albeit from a distance.
"Everyone!
Another Abyssal fleet's approaching us from the East, but we have reinforcements approaching us from the North-West.
The ship girls on Aogashima Island are approaching us from the South-West, so what are we to do next?"
Sendai took charge as she turned to look at everyone and threw out her suggestion for everyone to consider, preparing all her cannons for battle whilst doing so.
"Well, this one isn't that hard to figure out.
We need to regroup with our girls to ensure their safety, before meeting up with the backup fleet and engaging the enemy with everyone accounted for."
Nodding, Jintsuu looked over at the bird carriers as she requested Chitose and Saratoga to sharpen their readings in order to determine who they would be going up against.
"Chitose-san, Saratoga-san, would you please try to discern who we're about to fight?
We need to know everything about our situation in order to determine our exit strategy, so if you please."
The two carriers did as they were told while Sendai sailed towards the destroyers in order to meet them halfway, circumventing the incoming Abyssal fleet as she spotted the silhouette which was Aogashima Island, with its sharp cliffs preventing them from accessing the island from anywhere other than the island's harbor, where the five destroyers were leaving from.
Shigure was being held in a bridal carry by Shiranui while Kagerou, Arare and Kuroshio protected them as they met up with Ayanami, who hurried over in order to check up on Shigure as Sendai saw that Shigure's condition was deteriorating at a decelerated pace, thanks to Haruna's timely treatment of her injuries.
She placed a comforting hand on Ayanami and Shiranui's shoulders, the latter looking down with a fair bit of concern for the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer, whose face was wan and sweat due to her weakening body, a lack of proper medical attention and the slightly frigid ambient temperature, reminding them of their priorities and how to best help Shigure.
"Girls.
There's only one way to help Shigure at this point in time, and it's to focus all our attention on fighting our way through our enemies.
Shiranui, let Haruna carry Shigure, I understand that your affected arm might feel tired after carrying her for so long.
You'll need both your arms to be in working condition, because we've got company."
The destroyers looked up at her, surprised at how commanding and perceptive she could be, but their gazes hardened as they eventually nodded in acknowledgement, splitting up as Sendai turned to point in the direction of the backup fleet before continuing.
"Meet up with the backup fleet, I don't want us to be cut off by the Abyssal fleet before then.
Double time!"
They followed her orders as they circumvented the Abyssal fleet which approached them, Sendai meeting up with Chitose and Saratoga as she heard Chitose talk about who they were going up against.
"Sendai-san.
Things aren't looking too good for us.
The enemy consists of a Re-Class aviation battleship, three Tsu-Class light cruisers, a Wo-Class carrier, a Ta-Class and Ru-Class battleship, four destroyers and a Ne-Class heavy cruiser.
And the Re-Class is an Elite, so…"
Sendai cocked her head, understanding that they were facing powerful enemies who were sent to make sure that they never escaped with whatever information they obtained on Aogashima Island.
But she then remarked cheekily.
"Well, at least it'll prove to be an even fight this time."
Before accelerating and meeting up with the backup fleet, detecting familiar signatures which she often sailed with other than those of the Infiltration Fleet.
Joining them was the 1st Fast Response Fleet, Kitakami replacing her as the flagship of the 2nd Fleet which consisted of Shimakaze, Yuudachi, Furutaka, Hatsushimo and Ryuujou, the ship girls whom she usually rolled with in order to quickly respond to threats.
Both Yuudachi and Shimakaze looked extremely worried about Shigure, sailing towards the Kongou-Class battleship as Yuudachi's expression morphed into one of horror upon witnessing the wounds which Shigure had sustained, running up to a cradled Shigure as she asked while on the verge of tears, Shimakaze wearing a concerned grimace on her face as she looked on.
"Shigure?!
What happened to you!
Please, answer me!"
And Haruna was pleading for Yuudachi to not press Shigure too hard, speaking her in a strained tone which was trying to be patient with the distressed blonde in the face of advancing enemies.
"Yuudachi-san, please…
Shigure-san's condition is stable for now, but…we need to get back to Yokosuka as soon as possible for her to receive medical attention!"
But Shigure was the one to clasp Yuudachi's hand, looking her sister dead in the eye as she spoke to Yuudachi in between exhausted pants.
"Yuudachi…
I'm alright for now.
But it seems…we need to fight our way back to Yokosuka…
You are now carrying… the reputation of the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyers on your shoulders… now…"
Yuudachi blinked, but Sendai grabbed her shoulder and spoke into her ear in a no-nonsense tone regarding their situation, also making sure that Shimakaze could hear her words.
"Yuudachi.
If you put all your effort into defeating this Abyssal fleet, it'll allow us time to slip back into the Safety Zone by hightailing it back to Yokosuka, where we can treat her.
You need to focus on clearing a path for everyone, since you're not a repair ship.
You're a night battle specialist who's now in her element in the dead of night."
And even though Yuudachi was still looking extremely tormented about not being able to tend to her sister's wounds, she nodded once as she accepted her powerlessness in terms of not being able to treat Shigure's wounds and acknowledged the fact that she was a human weapon, and had to fight to defend her sister.
Sendai knew that Yuudachi was the Nightmare of Solomon Jr. right now, and even though she hadn't achieved her full potential yet, she was still a formidable night battle specialist who would be of more use to everyone if she was to engage and sink the enemy.
She knew that Yuudachi and Shimakaze were mature enough to know this, she simply had to point it out to her distressed destroyer teammates in order to help set their priorities straight.
She sailed toward Kitakami as the Kuma-Class cruiser stood as far away from the crowd of destroyers as possible, remembering that the company of destroyers irked Kitakami to no end due to their capacity to cry and whine in incessant high-pitched voices, and their ability to ask annoying and useless questions like 'Are we there yet?' which drove her up the wall.
Nodding to Ryuujou and Furutaka in order to acknowledge their presence and thank them for being here on time to provide reinforcements, she used a friendly tone to casually address them as she greeted.
"Yo.
We need to hold our ground and kill them Abyssals when they arrive, so anyone got any good ideas to suggest?"
Ryuujou shook her head and notified them of her uselessness in night battles, since she was a bird carrier and couldn't send her planes out at night.
"Well, whate'er it is, just make sure I'm far away from the action.
I carried our fleet in battles leading up to this fuckin' island so that the rest a you could get 'ere in one piece and fight at night, where I'm more useless than a hedgehog inna condom factory."
Sendai raised an eyebrow upon hearing that analogy, but chuckled as she pointed at the carrier in her temporary fleet while noting that everyone was preparing for battle by checking their weapons and performing stretches on the go.
"Well, it's not all doom-and-gloom here, Ryu-chan, because it looks like our resident American carrier Saratoga is capable of night battling with her planes, unlike our Japanese carriers.
I think we'll be good friends, with night battles as our common interest."
Kitakami raised her eyebrows as she rolled her eyes while Furutaka nodded understandingly, but Ryuujou's expression morphed into one of barely-restrained discomfort as she hid behind Kitakami's rigging and remarked warily.
"Alright, you know what, I'm definitely staying at the back of the formation if she's here.
I'll help out however I can, but there's nothing much I can do right now."
Sendai looked at the approaching Abyssals as she readied her torpedo launchers, having reloaded after getting everyone to donate some to her since throwing torpedoes everywhere depleted her torpedo supplies fairly quickly, and she sometimes had to resort to getting more from her teammates.
They were closing in quickly, and Kitakami cracked her neck and turned off the safeties as she prepared for the oncoming battle, remarking about how Admiral Mako make the right choice in sending her here.
"Well, good thing for y'all, Admiral Mako was smart enough to guarantee our win by sending me out to deal with these Abyssals."
Naka raised an eyebrow as she met up with them, sounding worried about the enemies which they were facing off against as she glanced at the approaching Abyssal fleet.
"B-But, the Re-Class Elite!
And they have other powerful Abyssals in their line-up…"
But Kitakami comforted her as she spoke of why Admiral Mako would bother sending her out in the first place.
"Oh, don't you worry about that.
Admiral Mako sends you plebs out in droves to start fights around the ocean, but she only has to send out one fleet with me in it in order to end them, and she won't have to send any more."
Sendai grinned in response, pulling out a torpedo and holding it in a reverse grip as she observed the one enemy which would give them the most trouble, and was sent here because they were in Abyssal waters where almost any kind of Abyssal could be sent at a moment's notice.
The Abyssal Re-Class was every bit as ferocious and terrifying as reported since she was one of the more bloodthirsty Abyssals out there, and the fear she instilled in others was partially because of her large tail which extended from her lower spine and coiled around her like a pale basilisk, dagger-shaped teeth lining the jaws at the tip as its snout was a pyramid of steel, while its lower jaw had a torpedo sticking out of it ala a prominent chin in humans.
Cannons lined the eyeless tail's tip, with a 16 Inch Triple Gun Cannon mounted on the topside while two 12.5 Inch Twin Secondary Gun Cannons were stuck to its side, and Sendai knew that the Abyssal was capable of sending out Dive Bombers, elevating her threat status.
The humanoid which the tail was attached to was a prepubescent female, wearing a black raincoat which was unzipped to expose her torso and a black bra containing average-sized breasts, and what passed as 'feet' were hoof-like legs with 'horseshoes' being worn to allow her to sail the seven seas.
On her back was a white backpack of sorts, while around her neck was a striped black and white scarf which barely hid her slasher smile, her ghostly-purple eyes crackling with lightning as they flowed out her pupils while she emitted a saturated crimson aura, her short mop of pale hair contained within the hood of her raincoat.
She broadcasted her words over the radio without any encryption, so it was the equivalent of speaking into a loudhailer as everyone could hear what she said by picking up her publicly broadcasted radio waves while standing at a distance, remarking.
[Well, well, well.
Looks like we got some fucking sneaks thinking they can scurry around our territory and get away scot-free.
Gotta admit, I detest being treated as a dog who has to listen to anyone, but the upside to that is that they sic me on ship girls all day, so I never get bored due to a lack of targets to lash out at.
Get 'em, boys!]
And she was sure that the Abyssals let loose an entire cannon salvo as they were represented by a series of flashing cannon barrels, which were currently no larger than flickering flashlights at a distance.
Sendai heard someone shout,
"EVADE!"
With her coiled muscles ready to pounce, she boosted away from an incoming medium-caliber shell before noting another shell flying towards where she was sailing towards, planting her boat slipper into the ocean as she deflected her momentum to the left in order to avoid the shell via a spinning dodge, getting seawater all over her as she shielded herself against the water column which was thrown up and soaked her orange dress.
Stumbling a little from the acrobatic evasion move, she righted herself as she heard Kagerou shout into the radio, likely picking up enemy aerial signatures judging by her next words.
"Destroyers, diamond formation around Haruna-san!
Let's greet their bombers with white-hot lead!"
She looked up to find that the Wo-Class's Dive and Torpedo Bombers were ghosts in the dark backdrop of the moonless night sky, but Saratoga's night fighter pilots were attempting to intercept them in their four F4F Wildcats, lighting up the night sky with their bullets as they occasionally bounced off of the shells of the swerving Abyssal bombers.
One Abyssal Dive Bomber was forced to prematurely drop its payload as their efforts to shoot it down left it careening out of control, but she stopped her celebration short as it was inexplicably going to hit her, of all people.
She was only able to mutter a disbelieving,
"Are you kidding me?"
Before boosting away just as an ocean-shaking impact rocked her world, another hemisphere of seawater hitting her full-force as she stumbled away from the almost-successful attack and sailed on, wringing the seawater from her dress as she spoke into the radio upon witnessing the ocean shift ominously while something underwater skulked towards the Combined Fleet.
"Chitose, if you haven't gotten your Kouhyouteki in the water, do so now!
I think I spotted something in the water. Might be torpedoes, so watch out!
Everyone else, cover me!"
As she heard Jintsuu call out, insistent on following her into the heat of battle as a light cruiser who had also been through tough battles in her time, and even went down in a fierce last stand in the Battle of Kolombangara.
"Sendai, I'm coming with you.
I can still fight, and you need the backup despite being proficient in night battles."
Kitakami drawled as Sendai could see several ship girl signatures on her radar joining her in her charge into the fray.
"Well, fighting up close means that we can strike them with torpedoes at close-range, and that's gonna hurt, if not outright kill them.
And since we're close enough to the Abyssals to improve the accuracy of our salvos, shall we, ladies?
Three…
Two…
One…"
Sendai ducked in time to evade a large-caliber shell before dumping her torpedoes into the water, and Kitakami proved her worth as a torpedo cruiser as she fired all 25 torpedoes at the enemies, these underwater projectiles eventually entering her field of vision since everyone was positioned behind her.
The Abyssals, despite doing their best to evade the Combined Fleet's torpedo salvo, failed as their ranks were devoured by fiery explosions, a Ne-Class heavy cruiser stumbling out of the explosion with a charred left leg and missing foot while suffering from slight burns throughout her body, and Sendai detected that two Abyssal destroyers and a Tsu-Class light cruiser was taken out by the torpedo cruiser, Sendai shielding herself from the ensuing fireballs which threatened to cook her.
Gulping at the destructive power of a torpedo cruiser, Sendai fired her cannons at the partially submerged Ha-Class destroyer in an attempt to either sink it or scare it off, and it accomplished the latter as Sendai saw that her shell grazed the exoskeleton of the destroyer in question, spooking it and causing it to dive in order to temporarily flee.
The Re-Class was firing her fearsome large-caliber cannons in their direction, shaking the very ocean where she stood with every shot and sending decent-sized waves throughout the entire battlefield, cannon muzzles flashing like the fearsome peals of thunder in a thunderstorm as she roared, clearly getting fired about who she was going up against.
[Oh, yeah!
Now we're talking!
This battle's just getting started!
Let's move in up close and sink them, I'll take point!
After all, those who go into battle first get the chance to draw first blood, eh?]
The Re-Class's teammates looked rather annoyed about having the Re-Class order them around, but since she was likely the flagship and was undoubtedly the most powerful Abyssal in their line-up, the weaker Abyssals had no choice but to obey as they attempted to cut them off and stop them from retreating, firing their cannons and torpedoes while the Wo-Class's planes tussled with Saratoga's in the night sky.
Skipping over one torpedo and performing a vault over another with her enhanced agility as a light cruiser, a Ni-Class Abyssal shot out of the water as Sendai got a good look at its flattened exoskeleton which bore a passing resemblance to a horseshoe crab, a rocket's rear fuselage and a gas mask, with tubular apparatuses extending at angles beside its deformed upper jaw which displayed pearly white teeth for all to see.
The world slowed down in Sendai's mind, shivers running down Sendai's spine as she took in the fat, shiny beads of seawater which shot up along with the Ni-Class, taking in every detail of the Abyssal destroyer and her environment in an instant, and was only able to comment mentally,
'Wow, the Abyssals must have pretty good dentists for this Ni-Class to have a set of such well-maintained, shiny teeth.'
Before moving instinctively as she saw Shimakaze approach her from behind due to her radar detecting her teammate's signature.
Crouching in order to avoid the small-caliber shell which was fired at her head, she maintained her crouching position as she slid forward in order to slap her back on the ocean with her brought-in legs pointing upwards, at the Ni-Class's exposed abdomen as it flew above her.
She slammed her boat slippers into the Ni-Class's abdomen as she fired part of her boost gauge in order to deal more damage as the Ni-Class shrieked in pain, slightly charring its pale abdomen as it was thrown upwards by Sendai's double-legged kick to the gut while Shimakaze flew in.
Shimakaze drop-kicked the Ni-Class as she jumped and brought in her knees, only to slam her legs into the Ni-Class's snout in a move which required no spoken words to coordinate and pull off, Furutaka firing her cannons at where the Abyssal would land in order to put it out of its misery, everyone paying it no mind when what remained of the carcass sank in a puddle of bloodied seawater.
She spotted the Ne-Class with the blown-off leg crawling on the ocean surface, the Abyssal trying to be of use as she used her tails to fire at the ship girls, Yuudachi narrowly avoiding getting hit as a medium-caliber shell smashed her rigging in with a ominous-sounding crunch and threw her off-balance.
But not before the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer fired three torpedoes in a Hail-Mary shot before collapsing onto the ocean, and even though two of the three torpedoes were off-target as the Ne-Class rolled out of the way, she couldn't evade them all as she was enveloped in another lethal explosion.
Sendai ducked with her ninja reflexes as she saw the flash of a Ru-Class cannon barrel, watching the shell fly by as the Ru-Class's face was contorted in a grimace while she attempted to stop them.
And when Sendai braved enemy fire in order to fire her torpedoes in the battleship's direction, they were body-blocked by the last Abyssal destroyer as her torpedoes inexplicably detonated before reaching the target, granting the Ru-Class battleship time to evade the rest of the torpedoes as Sendai looked into her reloaded cannon barrels and cursed.
"Oh, shit."
Before throwing herself onto the ocean in order to evade the salvo of large-caliber shells, blind-firing her medium-caliber cannons in order to cover herself as she hit the ocean surface.
A large-caliber shell, likely Haruna's, nearly hit an incoming Tsu-Class light cruiser who was attempting to blindside Sendai, and she took advantage of the danger-close shell impact as she got up and fired at the retreating Abyssal light cruiser.
Judging the distance and predicting her enemy's movements, she brought up her left arm and fired the cannons on it while she pulled out a torpedo from her launcher with her right hand, lobbing it into the air either to kill the Abyssal via death from above or to serve as a distraction, the torpedo flying in a perfect parabolic arc and was likely unseen since Sendai was sure that her cannons' muzzle flash would conceal her toss in the darkness.
Part of night battles were the diminished environmental awareness due to the lack of illumination, and this was when smoke and mirrors as well as sleight of hand tricks could be used in order to draw their attention in the darkness and allow her to close in and strike.
Sadly, the Abyssal Tsu-Class unknowingly moved away from where the airborne torpedo would land, but the splash it caused surprised the Abyssal as the cannon fire immediately stopped, the Tsu-Class likely trying to find the non-existent bomber plane who tried to attack her from above, allowing Sendai time to boost forward and prepare another salvo in her reloaded launchers.
The Tsu-Class saw her advance and tried to resume her cannon fire, but even though Sendai was clipped by several small-caliber shells, she knew that no victory was attained through a painless battle, gritting her teeth as she fired off the remains of her boost gauge while performing evasive maneuvers.
She felt her own blood staining her uniform as she unloaded four torpedoes at point-blank range into the panicking Tsu-Class, spinning out of the way as a bloodied jet-black Abyssal cannon nearly hit her face, the scorching explosion flinging parts of the Tsu-Class's corpse in her direction as the deceased Abyssal went everywhere, the Sendai-Class cruiser sailing on.
She felt the strain of the sortie take its toll on her as her muscles burned and ached after enduring repeated small-caliber shell impacts and performing her intense acrobatic maneuvers, but she knew that things could always be worse as she saw that two clashing signatures were headed in her direction.
Scurrying out of the way of the Re-Class's tail smashing down in an attempt to eat her, the Re-Class was panting a little as she faced off against Kitakami, Furutaka, Yuudachi, Sendai and Jintsuu, everyone else being too preoccupied with taking the other Abyssals down to help them.
Kitakami shrugged, having sustained superficial injuries in her tussle with the Re-Class as she remarked.
"Well, remember what I told you about you losing?
Yeah, that seems a whole lot likelier now, since we brought friends, while you didn't."
The Abyssal Re-Class only cackled, sizing up her opponents like a beast who knew it was outnumbered, but not outmatched as she remarked.
[Well, you should've brought more.
I've taken on entire fleets alone, and none of them could sink me.
I am invincible!]
Kitakami shrugged, clearly not impressed as she retorted calmly.
"Well, it's quite clear why you'd think of yourself in such a manner.
In all your past battles, you certainly haven't met anyone like me, which explains why you didn't turn and run at the sight of me approaching.
Good thing I met you tonight.
I'm gonna do what your superiors never got around to doing and beat those delusions of invincibility out of your little mind."
Kitakami's aura flared up while the Re-Class emitted something resembling a childish shriek, her tail firing its cannons at them while her blood-red aura flared up dramatically, Sendai performing evasive maneuvers as the ocean quaked due to the discharge of the Abyssal's mighty cannons.
Kitakami skidded to a halt as she fired several torpedoes at the Re-Class, but the aviation battleship broke out into a shit-eating grin as she pulled back while her bestial tail coiled up like a snake, remarking,
[Come on, Quetzalcoatl!
Let's show 'em what we're all about!]
Before being flung forward by her tail as it extended like a compressed spring, achieving air time as she flew over the incoming torpedoes and caught a surprised Jintsuu off-guard as she punched Jintsuu in the stomach, Sendai's sister coughing up blood as she was sent flying.
Sendai's explosion of emotional fury was translated into her movements, moving a little quicker and firing a little faster as her expression darkened, sparing a look back in Jintsuu's direction to find that Yuudachi was protecting her body while Kitakami fired her handheld cannon and torpedoes in order to distance the Re-Class from the downed light cruiser.
Furutaka charged in as soon as the Re-Class was distracted, wrapping her arms around the Re-Class's tail Quetzalcoatl in order to prevent it from getting a bead on her teammates, clearly resisting Quetzalcoatl's strength as tail and ship girl attempted to out-muscle each other while Quetzalcoatl's jaws snapped in annoyance.
And the Re-Class eventually appeared, seemingly levitating in mid-air as Quetzalcoatl flexed its muscles in order to lift its master, the Abyssal aviation battleship's shit-eating grin growing while Furutaka's expression morphed into one of concern regarding her immediate prospects of survival as the Re-Class mocked.
[Wrong move, bitch.]
Before punching Furutaka in the face and sending her flying, cackling with laughter as she looked smug regarding her invincibility.
Right before she was shot in the back of the head by Kitakami, buying enough time for Sendai to move in close with her boost gauge as the Re-Class yelped in surprise.
[Ack!
Fuuuuuuu…]
Quetzalcoatl covered its master as it attempted to tail slam Sendai, but she dropped to her knees as she slid underneath the swishing tail, flexing her leg muscles in order to bring up her torso before slamming her palm into the ocean, getting back on her feet in order to face the Re-Class, who was still dazed from Kitakami's shell to her head and could only attempt a feral left jab, evading with relative ease she felt the air hiss menacingly around the Abyssal's blurred fist.
Pulling the Re-Class's hoodie down in order to buy herself some time, Sendai vaulted over the aviation battleship as she landed behind the Re-Class, emptying her boost gauge and torpedo launchers as she did the former to put some distance between them while the latter detonated and dealt damage to the dazed Abyssal.
Kitakami, Yuudachi and Shimakaze took the time to dog-pile the Abyssal with their torpedoes, Kitakami moving in as the Re-Class emerged from the smoke which clung to her raincoat before vaporizing into thin air.
Kitakami smoothly evaded a large-caliber shell fired from Quetzalcoatl, her aura belying her superhuman concentration as she performed a high jump and brought her legs in before smashing her right boat slipper into the Re-Class's face.
She quickly alternated between right and left foot while emptying her boost gauge as she performed a tap-dance on the Re-Class's face, before pushing off and spinning her body in mid-air in order to evade Quetzalcoatl's terrifying bite as it came to its master's rescue.
Shimakaze and Yuudachi backed Kitakami up as Shimakaze slapped her hand on Quetzalcoatl's pale skin before vaulting over the Re-Class and pulled back her hoodie while Yuudachi followed closely behind, performing the same vault over the Re-Class and narrowly avoiding Quetzalcoatl's perilous jaws as she grabbed the Re-Class's scarf.
Instead of landing on the spot of ocean behind the Re-Class, Yuudachi instead slammed her boat slippers into the Re-Class's back and pulled on the scarf with all her might as though she were riding the world's deadliest bucking bronco.
The Re-Class panicked upon being strangled by her own clothing, Quetzalcoatl flailing about as its neural link to the Re-Class was likely bombarded with conflicting signals, the Re-Class's fingers desperately scrambling to untie the scarf from her neck, her eyes rolling up as she lost her oxygen supply while Sendai could hear the drone of an incoming allied bomber to provide Yuudachi with an exit.
Yuudachi sprung off the Re-Class's back and performed a back-flip, but still landed within the payload's projected area of effect, and Sendai already knew that the destroyer was going to be hurt by the splash damage since her physical abilities, while impressive for an unremodeled destroyer, wasn't going to cut it as she barreled towards her.
She tackled Yuudachi onto the ocean and shielded her as a Dauntless Dive Bomber descended from the night sky and bombarded the aviation battleship with its payload, the Abyssal possessing impressive stats to allow it to stay in one piece even after enduring all their attacks.
She felt her dress, skin and muscles get toasted a little due to the radiant heat of the explosion, but it was nothing she couldn't shrug off as a relatively experienced veteran as she looked down at the soaked Yuudachi, chastising softly.
"You know, just because I'm not your flagship, doesn't mean you should go all-out and expose yourself to danger like this.
Gotta watch out for enemy and friendly fire, alright?"
She helped Yuudachi back on her feet as the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer looked genuinely sorry about making her teammate worry about her, and Sendai was relieved that Yuudachi wasn't venting her frustrations regarding Shigure's injury, her lips attempting to form an apology of sorts.
"S-Sorry, Sendai-san.
I'll do better ne-"
But Sendai sensed the amplified killing intent from within the fireball as she pushed Yuudachi away, folded her legs and fell back onto the ocean just as a fiery blur emerged from the flames at a blinding speed.
She narrowly avoided a lariat from the burning Re-Class as she attempted her spring move again, feeling the flames on the Abyssal's blazing raincoat lick her face while her muscles and dress sizzled as she hit the water after getting slightly singed by the ambient heat of the Dauntless's payload, but what she saw terrified her.
The Re-Class had flown over her after Quetzalcoatl propelled its master forward, and it was now pointing its jaws directly behind the Re-Class and straight at her, its insides powering up for a hyper beam in order to take her out.
But a wild Furutaka appeared and body-slammed Quetzalcoatl in order to throw it's aim off by even a millimeter, and she succeeded somewhat as the hyper beam slightly roasted Sendai's flesh through its radiant heat as Sendai got up and barely spun away in time, thankful that her light cruiser agility came in clutch in order to avoid a fatal attack.
Furutaka's tackle made the Re-Class spun around mid-air as she landed, spinning around on the spot in order to do a 360 degree spin as Quetzalcoatl managed to sink its red-hot teeth into Furutaka's arm rigging, effectively trapping the heavy cruiser.
Sendai instinctively flung a torpedo in order to get the Re-Class to leave Furutaka alone, and the bestial tail fired its 12.5 inch Twin Gun Cannons into a struggling Furutaka before flinging her away as the Re-Class ducked in order to evade Sendai's torpedo, sending Furutaka flying again as Sendai called out worriedly.
"Furutaka-san!"
The Re-Class looked around for another target to terrorize, laying eyes on Yuudachi as her crimson aura intensified threefold, causing Yuudachi to freeze in place like a deer caught in the headlights of impending doom due to the sheer killing intent focused on her, and Quetzalcoatl aimed its three main cannons at the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer.
Sendai and Shimakaze came to the rescue, but the Re-Class had wised up to their strengths as she punched the ocean, the ocean caving in as though reacting to a small meteor impact before rebounding as Sendai and Shimakaze stumbled in their attempts to navigate the waves which radiated from the epicenter where the Re-Class was.
Spinning around like a spinning top, Sendai felt something crack within her body as Quetzalcoatl tail-slammed them both into the ocean, tasting seawater again as she landed head first and was dunked into the pitch-black ocean, pulling her head from the ocean and shaking the seawater from her eyes before looking around in the darkness to assess the situation.
Shimakaze was also prone on the ocean surface while the Re-Class's 16 Inch Triple Gun Cannons flashed in Yuudachi's direction as Sendai's heart stopped, and the world stopped spinning in her mind.
Yuudachi thankfully reacted by throwing herself onto the ocean and dodged the shells by the skin of her teeth, the large-caliber shell cleanly perforating her rigging without even crumpling it and causing Sendai to shiver at the thought of the same holes located where Yuuachi's chest, shoulders and even where her head would be…
But any respite she might have had from the Re-Class's cannons missing was crushed by the Abyssal doing a front flip with Quetzalcoatl launching her forward, clearly intending to crush the prone Yuudachi with a spinning tail slam as Quetzalcoatl blurred while in motion.
A shadow threw herself before Yuudachi as Sendai scrambled to get up and protect Yuudachi, finding a struggling Kitakami using both her arms to block Quetzalcoatl from hitting Yuudachi as she grumbled, buckets of sweat pouring down her forehead due to summoning the massive physical strength required to counter a battleship's strength as she did so.
"You shitty little brats…
Always gotta grief my sorties, and make me clean up after you and endure your whining and your antics and your repetitive questions…"
Before a vein bulged on her temple as she poured all her might into her next move, venting her frustrations along the way.
" …AS THOUGH I'M YOUR BABYSITTER, WHICH I'M NOT!"
And hurled a surprised Re-Class into the distance, landing about two meters away from the destroyer and torpedo cruiser due to the torpedo cruiser's limited physical strength compared to heavy cruisers and battleships.
Panting, she stumbled over to where Yuudachi was and pulled her to her feet by grabbing and lifting her by the back of her collar, retreating as she held Yuudachi away from the Re-Class, who was trying to re-orientate herself after her surprise landing, and muttered.
"Game over."
While lifting her free arm which carried two more torpedo launchers, firing all 25 torpedoes and blowing the Re-Class to kingdom come as she squinted from the sudden increase in brightness, planting herself in between the destroyer and the explosion while dragging Yuudachi away from the roaring fireball, pawning Yuudachi off on Sendai while Shimakaze skulked away to check on Furutaka.
And when Sendai checked Yuudachi for any injuries, Kitakami cracked her neck as she planted her palms on her knees and stared into the dissipating fireball, attempting to control her ragged breathing as she spat.
"Don't let your guard down just yet.
The Re-Class is somehow still alive thanks to its stubborn refusal to simply fuck off and die, although my torpedoes must've sent it to medium damage at the very least."
Sendai tensed up upon sensing the weakened yet undying presence of the Abyssal in the midst of the fireball as it dispersed and revealed what was left of the Abyssal.
The Re-Class's leg stumps were scorched at the ends after the fireball consumed them from the bottom up, and she sported severe burns everywhere while she coughed out smoke.
The remnants of her raincoat and scarf were burning away, leaving behind her fireproof bra and panties which were similar to what ship girls wore in case of emergencies like these, and while Quetzalcoatl was still functional, it was missing chunks of armored flesh as several explosions tore armor plates and steel flesh from its main body while her aura barely illuminated her figure.
She stumbled out of the smoke as she stopped herself from falling while her bloodshot eyes struggled to look in their direction, and Sendai was again treated to another wave of killing intent despite the Re-Class sustaining significant damage, her burnt mop of pale hair falling forward and making her look even more crazed than she already was as she mumbled through short breaths.
[I… I'm still here…
Still breathing.]
While Kitakami sighed before lifting her head and puffing out her chest as she responded,
"And so am I, the brats, Sendai and the rest of the Combined Fleet.
So that's not really saying much, but in your situation, I'd say it's your crowning achievement after tanking all my torpedoes.
Not a lot of Abyssals get up after that, so I suppose you're either extremely lucky or extremely stubborn to even remain conscious after my salvo, and taking into account the fact that you met me tonight-"
The Re-Class growled while Quetzalcoatl followed suit, but she was distracted by an encrypted signal being sent through the air, the Re-Class's expression shifting erratically from pissed off to wide-eyed surprise to apoplectic as she shouted into the air and gesticulated wildly, now looking positively unhinged as she shrieked at the night sky.
[WHAT?!
RETREAT?!
I'm barely getting warmed up here; I'm on a hot streak right now, and I can go on for-
NO, I DID NOT GET MY ASS HANDED TO ME, YOU FUCKBOY, I'M-]
Before her screech reached a fever pitch as she punched the ocean in frustration, Sendai feeling the ocean quake as she tried to remain upright in the face of the crest and troughs which were produced in the wake of the ocean punch.
The Re-Class glared at them as though they were the cause of all her woes while her crimson aura intensifying fourfold as she breathed in through clenched teeth, her expression now a rictus of barely-restrained fury.
Kitakami cocked her head, now looking confident enough to tease the Re-Class as she threw the Re-Class's earlier words back at her.
"Well, like you said, even though a fearsome dog can be unleashed on its owner's enemies, it's still gotta be restrained, lest it disobeys calls for it to return.
Looks like your superiors recalled you by pulling on your leash, so…"
Kitakami gave her a goodbye wave while the Re-Class could only simmer in her glowering hatred as she inhaled sharply, before taking a step back to subtly indicate her intent to retreat as she tried to get the last word in.
[I'm gonna remember this, you hear me?!
No matter how many fleets you bring to kill me, I'll never go down!
Next time we meet, there'll be nothing standing in between me and tearing your head off in order to use it as a crapper, you little shits!]
Kitakami shrugged as she retorted, dropping a bombshell on the backtracking Abyssal as she wore the world's smuggest smile on her face after sending the aviation battleship packing.
"Blah, blah, empty threats.
To my knowledge, you rushed here with no interruptions when you were tasked with stopping us.
I fought several Abyssal fleets before even meeting your scrawny ass, so what's your excuse?"
Quetzalcoatl growled in response to the insult, but the Re-Class knew that she had no choice but to run with her tail between her legs as she looked back at what remained of her fleet and demanded, having been thoroughly defeated without any hope of an immediate comeback.
[Come on!]
While what remained her posse of Abyssals followed wordlessly behind, consisting of a Wo-Class carrier who was covering one eye socket with her left palm and had likely lost an eye, a Ru-Class carrying its dismembered right arm underneath her right armpit as blood seeped from an arm stump while the last Tsu-Class had lost her helmet, revealing short pale hair beneath her dark helmet.
The Tsu-Class had to close one eye as blood trickled down onto her face, threatening to get in her eye as she couldn't rub the blood away due to her unwieldy, gigantic palms.
They looked displeased with the outcome of the battle and the Re-Class's sub-par leadership, sporting frowns and dark expressions which disappeared beneath the ocean as they submerged, Sendai regrouping with the rest of the Combined and backup fleet in order to sail back into the Safety Zone.
They got what they had come for and had injured ship girls to tend to, including her sister.
The sooner they got away from this island before Abyssal reinforcements appeared, the better.
Shigure was surrounded by her sister ships as they looked down at her prone figure on the hospital bed in the early evening hours on the 15th of May, Yuudachi having spoon-fed her dinner while Murasame and Samidare looked at the hospital report which was hung at the foot of her bed, and Kawakaze folded her arms as she sat on a steel chair next to her bed, watching over her protectively.
After reaching Yokosuka in the afternoon and docking for several hours, Shigure was then treated by several surgeons and a pissed off Akashi who delivered one hell of a lecture on how foolish she was for sustaining these injuries in lieu of someone who had stats far superior to her and would have received less deadly injuries even without her interference, after which she was sent here to allow her to rest before her next dip in the docks.
She could hear Murasame reading from the clipboard which Shigure surmised Akashi had left behind after diagnosing her condition and writing something on it, not that Shigure could actually see these things as the furthest she could turn her head was to look at either the white wall which Yuudachi blocked or at Kawakaze's chair.
"Shigure-chan, I really don't like how you're throwing yourself into these life-threatening situations in your sorties.
First and second-degree burns which border on third-degree burns on your back, a lost right leg and symptoms of shock either due to said injuries or the significant blood loss from said injuries.
And what is this?"
Shigure could hear sheaths of paper being shuffled, and Murasame read out the words on the piece of paper which Akashi left behind on the clipboard.
"Hmm, looks like a Bingo game card.
'Lost left hand',
'Lost right hand',
'Lost left leg',
'Lost right leg', check,
'Lost heart',
'Burnt on 18/36/72/99% of body', first one, check,
'Blinded'
'Spine broken'-"
" - and that is all we shall read from this paper."
Samidare's voice sounded out as the paper was crumpled and tossed into what Shigure assumed was the trash bin, and she could see Yuudachi pouting as she leaned in close in order to speak to her, expressing her concerns about how Shigure was a magnet for trouble.
"Shigure.
I understand your need to go on sorties in order to become stronger.
But the fact that you're attracting all these life-threatening events or injuries like a trouble magnet, it really makes me worry about you whenever you sortie, poi."
Shigure sighed as she looked away, something which was difficult to do since she was lying prone on the hospital bed and the side of her face was pressed onto the pillow, and she could only focus on the white wall behind her sister as she answered Yuudachi in an exhausted tone.
"I … I understand.
I don't want to lose any one of you, but that's only going to work if I don't kill myself in the process of trying to protect all of you.
I know it was a questionable decision of mine to shield Chitose-san from the enemy's shell and torpedo, but in my defense, I require a shorter period of time to heal than Chitose-san, who would've taken a far longer period of time to recover if she were hit instead of me."
And she could hear Kawakaze speaking up on the other side of the bed, sounding extremely displeased about how Shigure tried to reason away her actions by prioritizing ship girls according to their usefulness and the strain on their base's resources, should they get injured.
"You know, Shigure-Aneki, I understand the need to prioritize the safety of more important and useful ship girls, but you shouldn't see yourself as a mere meat shield compared to every other ship class simply because you take a shorter time to recover.
We're also important in our own way due to our high speed and evasion, as well as our night battle capabilities, so please don't sell yourself short.
You mean the world to … to us, Aneki."
And Samidare moved into Shigure's line of sight as she suggested a horrifying possibility which occurred to her, looking extremely concerned about Shigure as she loomed over Yuudachi.
"Shigure-san, you didn't, by any chance, jump in front of the enemy attack simply because you didn't want to participate in the night battle, right?"
The atmosphere in the room became heavy, and Shigure tried her best to shake her head as her expression morphed into one of staunch denial, looking directly at her ship sisters as she retorted.
"No.
Absolutely not.
I may be fearful of night battles, but I would not needlessly expose myself to lethal danger and risk sinking just to avoid night battles.
Please believe me when I say that your assumptions are wrong, and I genuinely wished to protect Chitose-san from harm."
Her sisters looked a little surprised at her firm statement which laid down her intentions, but Yuudachi, even though she looked rather concerned about Shigure, looked down with a morose gaze as she nodded slowly and responded sagely.
"I believe you, Shigure-chan.
Your kindness knows no bounds, but you need to understand the root of our concern.
While we wish to believe that you will be alright, if your past and present are anything to go by, you will always find yourself in life-threatening situations and risk sustaining lethal injuries which we cannot protect you from forever.
Not without suffocating you in our embrace.
We can only hope that the extra attention and care which we shower you with outside of your sorties is enough to make up for the lack of protection in battle, so I hope you can understand, poi."
Shigure nodded, hearing someone else enter the room via the clicking sound of the doorknob at the end of the room as she heard Junyou call out in exasperation, likely a result of seeing the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer get hurt all the time.
"Oh, god.
What did that injury-prone little emo kid get hit with now?"
Before she heard Hiei respond to that with a fair bit of exasperation on her end due to Junyou choosing to express her concern through her boorish and aloof behavior.
"Your attitude isn't going to help Shigure recover, so quit it.
She needs our attention and care, and that's what we're going to give her."
Before she spotted Yuudachi giving way to allow Hiei, Ayanami and Junyou to occupy her vision as Hiei's face relaxed into a caring one which was wracked with pain upon witnessing her injuries.
Ayanami's expression was somewhat distressed as she looked rather guilty about not being able to protect her, and as Junyou leaned over to observe her injuries, her face scrunched up as she wrinkled her nose and inhaled sharply after witnessing the severity of her injuries.
Hiei's eyes were brimming with a familial concern for her as she leaned in, and Shigure was glad that the Kongou-Class battleship wasn't wearing her headdress and thus couldn't poke her eye out or something, and Hiei asked Shigure tenderly about her condition.
"Shigure.
I heard about your sortie, and how you…
I know it's pointless to ask this question when you've already been treated and when I'm not a repair ship, but does it still hurt anywhere?"
Shigure did her best to shake her head in response to that, and Junyou knelt in order to look Shigure in the eye as she asked, looking extremely concerned about what she often got herself into without proper supervision at all times.
"I stay out of one sortie, and you get these kinds of injury in return.
I know that you mean well, but you know that it also hurts us to see you like this, right?"
Shigure nodded as she saw that Samidare patted a glum Ayanami who, much like her, occasionally blamed herself for any injuries which her teammates sustained, even if it was inflicted on them through no fault of their own.
Kawakaze responded to that, concurring with the Hiyou-Class light carrier as she spoke.
"I agree with Junyou-san, that it hurts to see you like this, Shigure-Aneki.
But I understand that you did this in order to protect others, so…"
Nodding in agreement, Shigure spoke with her friends and sisters offhandedly as she thought about how they now knew of how Apocalypse featured vehicles which were created in preparation for the next stage of the war known as Apocalypse, and she wondered about how a Beast's footprints were capable of being left on the island when the satellites had shown that only two signatures were present throughout the field-test, a flying signature and a land signature.
It was one thing for a steel Beast to be able to steamroll smaller buildings with relative ease, but it was quite a mystery as to how there was only one land signature when there were signs of a Beast and a vehicle being on Aogashima Island, the Abyssal flying signature being accounted for as the transport vehicle which flew the land vehicle onto the island.
Perhaps it was because of two-dimensional thinking on her part since she wasn't exactly used to lateral thinking, but regardless, she now saw firsthand just how much damage a modern war vehicle could do.
And not through pictures or video, she sat down on rubble and debris and witnessed the potholes in the roads and the demolished buildings due to rockets being flown into them en masse, so it was something far deadlier than the Nazi's V-1 Flying Rocket, simply due to its repeat-fire capabilities as evidenced in its village-wide destruction.
It scared her, to not know of what the Abyssals were up to in the shadows, but she also wondered if she would regret knowing what they were up to if she were to glimpse into the abyss in order to divine what they were up to, and the carnage which they would unleash on this world.
Her attention was drawn back to a concerned Hiei and Yuudachi, both of whom crowded her vision as they spoke for everyone by asking her about her down expression.
"Shigure, are you alright?"
"You spaced out there, is there something bothering you, poi?"
Junyou looked especially worried as she thought up of how Shigure might sate her curiosity by trying to listen in on the Infiltration Fleet's conversations, asking.
"Oh god, you didn't, like, eavesdrop on the Infiltration Fleet when they were scouring the island for clues, did you?
I heard that you went on the island with them because of your injuries, but did you get yourself injured so that…"
Shigure looked back up at her sisters and her fleet-mates as she put on her best 'I'm totally not lying to you all' face and thought to herself, preparing her answer.
'No, they mustn't know about Apocalypse.
Not yet, anyway, if Admiral Mako intends to keep it on the down low for now.
And besides, I didn't hear them talk about it, Shiranui-san recounted their conversation afterwards, so technically, I'm not lying when I disagree with Junyou-san on the eavesdropping part.'
She gave them a tired smile as she lied (it's not lying, it's not lying) through her teeth, suddenly feeling fatigued all of a sudden after thinking so much despite being injured.
"Of course not, Junyou-san.
It just that what little I remember about Aogashima Island was that everyone was talking in urgent voices, and if it's urgent enough to spook the Infiltration Fleet, I'm afraid that whatever's coming next is going to be unpleasant.
I was just worrying about everyone's safety in the immediate and distant future."
Everyone visibly relaxed as they let out a collective sigh, causing Shigure's eyebrows to crease as she wondered if everyone expected her to be a snoop in the interest of knowing more about everyone and everything.
Hiei leaned in as she displayed a genuine smile which was so radiant, it made Shigure's heart twinge at the guilt of having to keep secrets from them all as the Kongou-Class battleship reassured her.
"Don't you worry, Shigure.
I'll become stronger along with you and the rest of the 1st Fleet, so that you never have to feel alone when shouldering the responsibility of protecting others.
This, I can promise you with all my heart."
Before closing her eyes and leaning in to tenderly place a kiss on Shigure's forehead, surprising everyone while a dumbfounded Shigure froze up as Hiei pulled back, looking a little embarrassed but not at all regretful regarding her intimate action.
Yuudachi furrowed her brows as she raised a fist in a confrontational manner as she wished to express her sisterly love for Shigure, not backing down despite going up against a battleship.
"Hey!
I love Shigure-chan too, and I won't allow everyone to get ahead of me!"
And Junyou chirped, looking down with twinkling eyes as she slipped her hand into her pockets in order to fish something out.
"Well, if you want to one-up Hiei's kiss on the forehead, you need to either kiss her on the cheek or on the lips.
If you're going to do that, let me get out my phone in order to take a photo of it, these sell really well on the internet!"
Everyone turned away from Shigure in order to face Junyou as Murasame asked disbelievingly, Shigure herself raising an eyebrow in Junyou's direction as she assumed everyone else did.
"And how would you know about that, Junyou-san?"
As Junyou threw up her arms, retorting,
"Oh come on!
A naval base full of bisexual, beautiful female soldiers of all ages who eat, sleep and bathe together while forming close bonds with one another and sustain clothing damage all the time, it's no wonder that this would be the ideal place for any healthy adolescent boy or girl to want to be in, minus the alien invasion part.
Excuse me for wanting to earn some income aside from my monthly paycheck to pay for auntie Junyou's drinking habits, alright?"
Shigure could hear Kawakaze confidently speaking up behind her, sounding rather enthusiastic about the prospect of kissing her beloved sister as she remarked.
"I totally wouldn't mind kissing Shigure-Aneki, too!
If you're gonna do it, gotta go all the way and do it mouth-to-mouth, that's the way to go!
Better break out the fire extinguishers, 'cause this kiss's gonna be hot!"
While Samidare turned to face Kawakaze, raising an eyebrow and pointing out Kawakaze's poor choice of words as her expression morphed into one of slight discomfort and amusement all in one.
"Kawakaze.
Shigure is recovering from severe burns, so it might not be appropriate for you to focus on the 'hotness' of the intimate move which you suggest."
She could hear Kawakaze utter out,
"Urk!"
Upon realizing her mistake, and she then leaned over on the hospital bed to look into Shigure's eyes, her dangling fringe exposing her forehead as she spoke into Shigure's ear.
"Sorry, Shigure-Aneki!"
Shigure broke out into a relieved smile upon seeing everyone interact with each other and providing her company in her ward, everyone looking somewhat relaxed as the dust settled after the sortie and allowed everyone to enjoy each other's company before the next bloody battle.
She wasn't going to be personally responsible for destroying the peace which was their main respite from the horrifying reality of war, and if that meant she had to keep Apocalypse from everyone to allow them some peace of mind before the other shoe dropped, she would do so for the greater good.
Perhaps it was also selfishness on her part to indulge in these peaceful moments and allow herself the chance to be happy even though she knew of their impending doom, but if Admiral Mako didn't want to let everyone know about this, she was in no position to act against her Admiral's wishes by telling everyone about Apocalypse, inadvertently souring everyone's mood.
She was simply acting in everyone's best interests, and she was confident that Admiral Mako, the woman who led one of the largest naval bases in the world, had the situation under control.
All she had to do for now was to observe the situation as best she could without interfering, and offer her help at a help at a time when she knew she wouldn't be rejected and would least likely be punished for her less-than-legal activities in order to allow herself to become stronger.
Ashigara was walking towards the park on the 16th of May, where she suspected the Admiral would be in order to work outside while eating, since she always identified herself as an outdoors person.
She found Admiral Mako sitting on a bench which was shielded from the summer sun thanks to a nearby tree, and since she disliked working inside office spaces for extended periods of time, she sometimes brought her laptop outside so as not to doze off at her desk, with signs of a finished lunchbox being placed beside her to be thrown away later.
Ashigara came to a dead stop beside her and helped herself to a seat beside her commanding officer-slash-girlfriend in order to provide her with some company, feeling rather concerned as she watched her girlfriend work on something.
"What're you working on, Admiral?"
Admiral Mako's eyebrow quirked up as she gave Ashigara an aside glance and answered bluntly.
"Oh, you know.
Looking into Abyssal plans which would likely engulf the world in a sea of fire and a hail of steel and cause the end of the world as we know it, and it's up to me, a lesbian Admiral, to think up of ways to save us all without leaving behind an uninhabitable shit-hole for whoever's left.
No pressure."
Ashigara blinked as she attempted to comprehend Admiral Mako's words while wearing a deadpan face, before bursting out into laughter as she howled and clutched at her stomach, Admiral Mako smirking as she knew how to get Ashigara into a good mood while the Myoukou-Class heavy cruiser shook the bench with her weight and strength.
She eventually stopped trembling from the laughter as she wiped a tear away from her right eye with her gloved hand, taking deep breaths before lightly patting her Admiral on the back and admitting.
"Alright, you really got me good there.
I already know what's going on, but to hear you describe things like that, it just…"
Before devolving into a giggling fit, and Admiral Mako followed suit as she broke out into a wry smile, finally getting down to business as she coyly slipped an arm around Ashigara's waist while they both looked down at the laptop, which displayed several alternate strategies to face the Abyssals, Ashigara asking her seriously this time.
"What's this?
The plans for the Battle of Twelve Navies, hmm?
Are you considering other possible strategies?
And these Strike Groups, I know that we have the 1st at the vanguard, but the others?
Just asking."
Admiral Mako nodded as she leaned in to whisper the answer into her girlfriend's ear.
"Kamogawa, Isumi and the Kujukuri Naval Base will make up the 13th Strike Group, while Shizuoka and Shimoda Naval Base will make up the 11th."
Admiral Mako cuddled her girlfriend-slash-close-confidante as she continued her explanation on how she wanted to be prepared for any situation which could arise and keep her strategy flexible enough to adapt to how the Abyssals would engage them.
"I'm considering alternatives to the tactics used in the first three stages of the battle, since I don't want our girls to be decimated in the initial stage of the battle when they meet the Abyssal vanguard.
I'm considering an alternative plan where we have the 13th and 11th Strike Group participate in a three-pronged attack along with the 1st Strike Group in order to engage the Abyssals before we retreat like a receding wave, and we'll continue onto stage two and three in order to turn the tide of battle.
Another possible strategy requires our North-Eastern and Western allies to utilize an aggressive and risky approach, where the 1st Strike Group will be the only one to engage the Abyssal vanguard as per usual in the first stage, and the North-Eastern and Western Strike Groups will flank and box the Abyssals in as they chase a retreating 1st Strike Group in the second stage of the battle."
Ashigara lifted an eyebrow as she observed the slideshow which changed from stage to stage of the alternative battle plan and how they differed from the original, remarking on how well they might pan out in real life.
"Well, how do you think these will eventually work out in real life?
Personally, I prefer the former over the latter, since the 11th and 13th Strike Group don't have the same numbers as we, the main bulk of the armada, do.
To get them to attempt to bottleneck the Abyssals might not be the best idea when they might be overrun by the Abyssal horde.
The former could theoretically be carried out in practice, since it would increase the number of ship girls in the initial engagement phase and improve their odds, and to split up and retreat might cause them to split up their forces in the second phase of battle."
Admiral Mako nodded, agreeing with her experienced heavy cruiser's viewpoint as she thought about the pros and cons of both alternatives.
"Well, great minds think alike, I suppose.
I also think that the latter seems too demanding of the other Strike Groups, since they hail from other regions and won't like it if they sustain more casualties than usual when resisting the wave of advancing Abyssals in the second stage of the battle.
The former strategy is a viable alternative to our plan, since getting the 11th and 13th Strike Groups to reinforce the 1st Strike Group would improve their odds of survival due to greater numbers.
It also occurred to me that the Abyssals might split up their forces to chase the 1st, 11th and 13th on three fronts, although the bulk of the armada will still be headed towards us.
Still…"
Admiral Mako looked down at the laptop and commented on how she wasn't an oracle and could only hypothesize how the Abyssals would attack them, and prepare accordingly.
"I can't say for certain how the battle will play out, but I want to prepare for everything and make sure that we're not caught off guard.
What I can do for you all is to think up of how the Abyssals would attack us, and I have to try and counter-attack them with tactics of our own."
Ashigara nodded as she pointed out the shape of the battlefield and how the Abyssals could potentially encircle their main armada by sailing around Oshima Island, and how they might have to play a game of merry-go-round on the battlefield if that happened.
"If the Abyssals sailed in a clockwise direction around Oshima Island in order to attempt to hit us from behind, I think we need to play their game by sailing South, evading them and sailing out into the Pacific.
It's us which they want, and we'll sail over the naval mines in order to bait them over to us, and during the second and third stage, they would be stuck in between us in the South and the jet fighters and artillery to the North."
Admiral Mako nodded approvingly, noting it down as her fingers clacked on the keyboard while she commended Ashigara for thinking up of another plan in response to the possible moves and tactics which the Abyssals could utilize to better position themselves.
"Hmm, it's a radical move, but I don't want to discount any possibilities, since they may blindside us if they do the last thing we expect them to do.
Well played, Ashigara."
Ashigara nodded, leaning on her Admiral's shoulder as she commented.
"Well, just doing my part to help out.
You need help with anything else?"
Admiral Mako nodded, opening up another computer window as she looked at the intelligence which the Combined Fleet had gathered from Aogashima Island, speaking with Ashigara in a hushed tone.
"Our Infiltration and 1st Fleet have been on Aogashima Island, and what they found disturbs me greatly.
Look at these."
She spun the laptop a little in order to allow Ashigara a better view of the screen, and Ashigara's eyebrows creased upon reading more about the Abyssal activity on Aogashima Island.
Reviewing the information which the Combined Fleet had obtained by visiting Aogashima Island, she pored through the notes which her ship girls had typed on their laptops in their attempts to deduce what the Abyssals were up to.
And finally, Ashigara looked up and met Admiral Mako's gaze, now feeling extremely concerned about its relation to Apocalypse as she asked.
"It's that bad, huh?"
Admiral Mako nodded as she turned the laptop back to herself, her eyebrows creasing in frustration as she looked at the computer screen as though staring harder at the screen would somehow help her divine all the answers, remarking gruffly.
"Yes.
I know that all this is pointing to some sort of conclusion, and I have the puzzle pieces at hand.
It's just that I don't know how to put them together just yet, and it's driving me crazy."
Ashigara shrugged, understanding her need to relieve her Admiral's stress as her girlfriend while she thought of something to say off the top of her head in order to distract Admiral Mako, commenting offhandedly about Admiral Mako's last words.
"Well, I'm thinking that if you were a guy, I could've used the line 'I'd drive you crazy with my skill with your gear stick', but eh…"
Admiral Mako's face flushed in response to that sex joke, and as they both looked each other in the eye, Ashigara's face became a luminescent red as she covered her face and turned away hastily, mumbling silently to herself.
"Oh. My. Fucking. Goooooddddd…
Did I really go through with saying that?
I simply wanted to make you feel better, and…
Not like that!"
Raising her voice before Admiral Mako could use her unintentional double entendre against her, Ashigara turned back to find that her Admiral was barely restraining her enthusiastic giggle, pouting as she shoved her face in front of Admiral Mako's face and ordered through clenched teeth.
"You. Didn't. Hear. Anything."
Turning away as Admiral broke out into a hearty laugh and threatened to tear up, Ashigara wondered if she was to ever free herself from her curse to forever encounter these humiliating sexual situations, which were entirely a result of her own (unintentional) doing.
But Admiral Mako had to go on about the sexual joke which she had accidentally blurted out, questioning just what ride were they supposed to emulate.
"Well, it would certainly be one hell of a ride, but what would it be like?
Neither of us is a guy, so it certainly wouldn't be a drop tower ride, but then…
Perhaps a pirate ship ride, which oscillates back and forth…?"
Ashigara's hand slowly slid over her face as she facepalmed herself, something which she did quite often whenever Admiral Mako let her thoughts wander (sometimes on live TV) while a direct circuit went from her mind to her mouth, such as right now.
She turned back to face her Admiral, feeling rather incensed both at her Admiral for teasing her so much, and herself for being unable to participate in these 'mature' talks with Admiral Mako without becoming a blushing wreck, especially since she had already slept with Mako several times in the past.
"You…"
She inhaled sharply in order to gather her thoughts before reiterating herself.
"I thought I told you to forget it."
But as expected, her Admiral had something to say as a witty retort to her request, tilting her head and placing her index finger on her left cheek as she pointed out a loophole in Ashigara's words.
"Well, you said forget about it, but there was nothing about not talking about it.
And by the way, what should your ride be called?
I mean, you're no longer called 'Lone Wolf', but 'Hungry Wolf' might be a bit too mainstream, despite being true…"
The Myoukou-Class cruiser's eye twitched twice as she had an inkling of where this conversation was headed towards, and she wanted to do everything in her power to change their course before hitting the conversational iceberg which she dreaded with all her heart, leaning in as she remarked darkly.
"Don't do it.
No more bullying."
And Admiral Mako, blushing and breaking out into a shit-eating grin, leaned in intimately and whispered conspiratorially into her ear.
"How does 'Howling Wolf' sound, eh?"
Ashigara's right eye twitched uncontrollably in anger, breaking out into a small temper tantrum as she was reminded of something which she desperately wanted to travel back in time in order to erase from history, shrieking as she waved her fists around like a child.
"NOOOOOO!
Don't remind me of that!
Anything but that!"
Admiral Mako broke out into a fit of laughter, teasing her about the embarrassingly well-known incident between them which the Myoukou-Class heavy cruiser was occasionally reminded of by someone in order to induce either a rage-induced tantrum or a mental Blue Screen Of Death, Admiral Mako speaking after calming down and bringing her ragged breathing under control.
"That'd be one hell of a theme park ride, you know?
To ride this great and magnificent beast across the seven seas.
Or on land, would that mean taking a joyride on this beast cross the seven continent-"
Ashigara took several deep breaths in order to calm herself down before she attempted to punch her Admiral in the face, her bosom heaving as she felt the temperature of her sweaty, blushing face cool down a little after she reminded herself that she was doing this to get the Admiral to lighten up.
And as she heard her heartbeat slow down somewhat, she felt that her Admiral had become a little too silent for her liking.
Turning around in order to observe her Admiral, Ashigara was somewhat unsettled by how Admiral Mako had a 'eureka' moment, although she knew that her Admiral's epiphanies were nothing positive since they were about the Abyssals' plans.
Her expression was a mix of excitement, concern and fear as she was excited about having an epiphany, yet looked absolutely horrified about what it would entail, looking away at nothing in particular as her hands froze in their last known position.
And while Ashigara was concerned about her girlfriend, it was hard for her to find the right words to reassure her since she was the boisterous sister who preferred to be on the battlefield while engaging the enemy, and aside from giving people hugs, these situations often left her stumped.
But Admiral Mako solved that quandary for her as she stood up, now looking as if she was working out what to do in her mind before finally shifting her gaze downwards to look Ashigara dead in the eye, leaning down to clasp Ashigara's face as she cooed.
"That's it.
Ashigara, you're a genius.
I think I have an idea of what the Abyssals are up to, thanks to you."
Ashigara shook her head, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion as she looked up at her Admiral's relieved smile and remarked with nary an idea of what went on in her Admiral's head other than her ship girls, sex, and sex with her ship girls.
"Um OK?
I mean, you're the one who made the connection, so you're technically the genius, but… OK?"
Admiral Mako cocked her head whilst raising an eyebrow in order to concede the point, leaning in closer as she softly spoke her next words.
"Well, I suppose I am.
I know I'll be paying for my misbehavior tonight, and I'll be eagerly waiting for your punishments.
But first, let me leave you with this parting gift…"
Before leaning in, closing her eyes and giving her a passionate kiss, Ashigara being caught slightly off-guard before being reminded of Admiral Mako's impressive oral skills, amongst many others which were only known by her circle of girlfriends…
Ashigara's face erupted in another furious blush as Admiral Mako drew back, their sensual lips parting as she lifted her eyelids in order to lay eyes upon her Admiral, who gave her a genuine smile which was now relieved of another burden, something which meant that she was doing something right,even if it was to unintentionally provide inspiration for her.
Packing up as she closed her laptop and tossed her disposable lunchbox into the bin, Admiral Mako clamped her laptop underneath her left arm as she gave Ashigara another quick peck on the right cheek, looking at her with tender eyes before wordlessly turning away to perform her duties.
She left behind a silent Ashigara alone with her thoughts, looking at nothing in particular as she brushed her lips with her gloved fingers while rewinding and replaying the entire conversation in her mind as she attempted to make sense of everything, from the myriad of emotions which she experienced in such a short length of time to how Admiral Mako was able to achieve an epiphany in their time together.
And the only word she could come up with in her loved-addled mind was a simple,
'What?'