Chapter 24: False Safety
"Shikikan?" A voice reached him from behind softly.
Cautiously, he turned to face the unknown figure behind him, flashlight firmly in his hand for a flash escape. When his eyes reached the source of the conciliative woman, his guard immediately dropped.
"Roon? Oh thank god, you are here," Shikikan smiled warmly at her presence.
Roon has been his secretary for some time now. It was her request to know both him and the base to best herself. Shikikan still has no idea what that meant, but he figured that the best course of action to fulfill that was to make her secretary. Considering that she was here, she must be the guard he was expecting to show up, although it was strange how cheap she was for someone who was practically the most durable out of all of Iron Blood.
"What exactly kind of work do we have today?" Roon smiled lightly, her hands clasped each other with a soft sound of her metal gauntlets clanging.
"Not exactly what I would call work but there is a task at hand right now," Shikikan explained briefly. "I need you to protect me from… other people here."
"So I finally get to be deployed?!" Roon's excitement fueled her motivations even further for her task.
"More or less," Shikikan intervenes with her small celebration, staying on alert at his surroundings. "There are people in this building looking for me. I need you to protect me from them and… Roon?"
When he turned back to face her, she looked to be confined in her imagination, her hands gently holding her cheeks with her eyes closed and smiling sweetly.
"Roon! There is no time to be dreaming, we have to be alert at all times. Especially in this environment where we can hardly see without much light," Shikikan abrasively grabbed her left arm to pull her along, in doing so she didn't move an inch from where she was standing. "What is with you? We have to move to a safer place."
The cruiser didn't respond, let alone moved or made a sound at his statement. "Roon! Come on!"
She has yet to make a move, her eyes seemed fixated ahead of them at the end of the hall. Believing there is something in front of them, Shikikan whipped out his flashlight with the light illuminating the end of the hall to see that nothing stood there.
"Hey, Shikikan…" Roon's husky and rather sinister tone infused her voice. "Have you ever felt that satisfying feeling of tearing your foes to a million pieces? It's just… Ahhh… just thinking about…"
"Roon, we aren't killing anyone," Shikikan lightly tapped her forehead. "What is with you? Do you need a doctor? Why are you – never mind. I'm just glad that you are here."
Her eyes dropped along with her joyous smile, her expression darkened but Shikikan set that aside with a mindset focused on surviving.
"I think this way is safe, let's move," Shikikan took a brief look over his shoulder as he moved carefully. "Roon?"
The cruiser has vanished from where she stood. Shikikan swiveled his head in a desperate panic for any sign of her. "She couldn't have gone far from here without me noticing. Why is everyone so good at disappearing in my life? This place sucks, everything here sucks."
Shikikan kept wandering from classroom to classroom, frantically scavenging for anything that could yield beneficial to him, all while searching for Roon. Pushing the doors to the staircase carefully, with the push bar door's loud 'ka-chunk' as he hastily beat for the next floor. He was sparing with his flashlight, paranoid of a dead giveaway of his location as he tactically moved from door to door. He slid his hand into the handle before opening it up, peaking cautiously with only a sliver of his eye before swiftly moving in and making a temporary barricade with a stack of chairs at the door.
That should be good to alert me of any unsuspected guests. Speaking of which. He pulled out another one of the gadgets that he has bought; a proximity detector.
This will be perfect for the stairways.
He smiled gleefully at the thought of all the information he can gather. The more he continued to wonder about purchasing more to cover the entire school grounds with them. The more he thought about the idea, the more and more he realized how stupid an investment it would be. How difficult it would become to keep track of the kansens sporadic movements. Shikikan put his thoughts on hold when he found another code and eagerly punched it on his wrist device. In doing so put his total to six-hundred twenty-five points. His hand steadily rose to his shoulders for a quick massage, his back crashed against the wall as he slowly eased himself down to the floor. Breathing a slight sigh of relief, relishing in the solace of his temporary haven.
They won't be finding me for a while.
His eyes began to grow heavy. The only thing that kept him awake was the constant idea of one of the crazed women barging into the room the instant he fell asleep. Shikikan tried fighting off his fatigue with every method that crossed his mind; slapping his cheek, pinching himself, fiddling with his wrist device to get a better understanding of its features. Unfortunately, he could only fight off the drowsiness for so long as his exhaustion began to wash over him, falling victim to sleep.
"This is beginning to become boring," Bismarck turned her gaze towards the doctor currently tapping on a tablet.
"Don't worry about it," Corrian calmly assured her. "We made sure that there isn't ever a dull moment for the sake of the audience's retention."
The doctor got up from her seat and meandered over to a separate room where Bismarck only managed to see a small glimpse. From what she saw, the inside resembled something of a recording room, with black sound-proof foam covering up the walls and a microphone hovering in the middle of the room.
However, both the kansens' attention was drawn to the screen when the doctor's voice was projected from the theater speakers.
"Hello, ladies and gentlemen. As you can see now, there is a bit of a dull moment," her words created confusion amongst the audience. "So to combat this, we designed something that will spice things up a little. If you all go to our website provided by the pamphlet, there will be a vote held to see what can alter this game around. We will provide five minutes for the voting to be finished."
Upon finishing her speech, a time box went off at the bottom left corner of the screen, just small enough to not miss a minor detail on the screen. An audible click came from the recording room with Corrian returning to the kansens, both having their phones out and deciding where to place their votes.
"Decided what to put that vote on?" Corrian questioned the two, their noses still stuck to their screens without them giving her a singular response.
"All of these choices are rather simple yet devastating to Shikikan," Bismarck averted her gaze from her phone. "Should we really be doing something this early in?"
"As I have said previously," Corrian closed her eyes momentarily as if she were absorbed in thought. "We owe these people our thanks. We just wanted to show our appreciation for their donations with something that mutually shows them our appreciation while gaining a bit more money to finish our priority ships. As for Shikikan, he agreed to our terms and anything that he missed in his contract is his fault."
Silence lapsed the room, nobody in the room dared to break the quiet until the countdown ticked to its last moments. The sound from the contestants on-screen was the only thing that kept the silence from being completely awkward; the mumbling of the shipgirls about their commander's whereabouts. As the timer was nearing its final few seconds, Corrian returned to the recording studio – staying silent for the entire duration up until the counter reached zero.
"The polls are as of now close. But don't worry if you haven't cast your vote. There will be two more polls later on. Alright, let's show the numbers!" The screen switched over to a business bar graph, each bar fluctuating up and down for dramatic effects until it selected an individual bar; showing off its popular vote, specific percentage, and what made it so intriguing. "Our winner is… Shikikan's location will be revealed every thirty minutes. I see that all of you want to turn up the heat. Very well, let's see if he can entertain us further."
Corrian hung up, exiting the room with evident impatience and sitting herself down next to the cruiser.
"So the commander has to deal with such nuisance the entire?" Jeanne tilted her gaze towards her. "That seems a bit unfair."
"Don't worry about it," Corrian assured her. "The information that the girls isn't much. This adjustment only slightly hinders his option of hiding."
She shook her head at that, got on her knees, and spoke a brief prayer. "May the Lord be with him the entire way and good fortune bless him."
Corrian merely smiled down at the blonde woman. "I think that he will do fine. He didn't become the youngest commander without a sharp mind. For now, all we can do is relax and enjoy the show."
"Mn…"
Shikikan shook himself awake, blinking the fatigue away with quick succession. Some sleepiness resided in his eyes, wiped it away with his sleeves, and caught a glimpse of a message that popped on the screen.
My position has been – compromised?
The confusion invaded his head. Thinking this was some sort of joke – he tapped the screen repeatedly hoping the unsettling notification was a glitch. Temporary relief washed over him when it disappear, only for fear to loom over him when he heard it.
"Shikikan-sama~" A familiar voice only identified as Akagi, shuffling his makeshift barricade; desks occasionally crashing to the floor like a whip-crack.
He didn't have time to plan, with each desk falling causing panic to swell up within him, having to escape through the back door. Pushing through his lethargic limbs; he manipulated his brain to overclock his exhaustion when he narrowed towards his exit.
His simple means of escape was no easy task. That being a carrier unexpectedly cooperating with Akagi by blocking his only outlet. Taihou struggled with the door, shaking the lock loose somehow. Shikikan over-compensated for his decision, daring to stare at the carrier for too long, having made eye contact with her fueled her motivations – the door becoming more sporadic as the lock began to creak and bend.
His head started to spin like a top, searching for anything in the room that can break him out. Eyeing a bundled-up electrical cord sitting near the projector, he snatched the thick wire and tied it up around a supply closet handle. In doing so, he gave the cord a pull to ensure that it was secure for what he was about to do. He unlocked the window, and a freezing torrent of wind came in, sending a shiver up his spine. He wasn't deterred by this, having to toss the rope out of the window and coiling the cable around his hand. He showed zero hesitation in crawling out of the window and having the wire slip through his palm, slowly descending for no more than a couple of seconds, stopping two stories down from his pursuers. The only thing stopping him was that the window was firmly locked off, leaving him no choice but to try and smash the window open with his foot. Placing his foot on the windowsill and clinging to the cord for balance, he used his opposite foot to fracture the thick glass. Each violent punt to the glass had his foot reflect off its surface.
"Shikikan-sama?" Taihou's voice was faint from the blowing in his ears but still audible from above him, tempting him to look up. "It's dangerous to be there. Don't move! Let me pull hoist you up."
Her head retreated into the building, the cord slightly rocking, making him lose balance for but a moment. That is when the cable steadily started to ascend. At that moment, Shikikan felt genuine fear and not solely from the great height that can prove to be lethal, but rather the sense of helplessness of either being stranded or his competitors fishing him from the window.
With no other option, he reluctantly lined himself up with the window with both his feet on the glass. Exhaling a breath of resolution, he coiled his legs and sprang back with all his strength. Upon reaching the peak, he threw his body towards the window with his shoulder, hoping that the impact would at least create a fracture.
That is what he hoped for until the window unlocked itself unexpectedly. Out of reflex, his hands let go of the rope. Although he was safe, his landing could have been more graceful – stumbling across the classroom floor and his feet stammering to keep up with the speed, ultimately ended in him toppling over himself. If that weren't unfortunate enough, his head got the worst of it, hitting the back of his head with great force, his vision falling in and out of consciousness. Only able to make out the last of his senses, he heard audible footfall but was unable to make out from where followed by the last sight of white heels stepping in front of him.
"Shikikan~"
"I want to go home–" His eyelids fell as his consciousness faded.
Gradually Shikikan regained his sight. Blinking slowly, it has come to his attention that he has not moved an inch from where he had the wind knocked out of him. He was laying flat on his back with his head tilted to the slide slightly.
"Ow…" Shikikan grunted, rubbing the back of his head, jerking it to the side for a much-needed popping of his neck's vertebrae.
Upon moving his head, he noticed how warm the ground beneath his head was and how soft it was. When he dared to look up, magenta eyes gazed back and surrounded him in an uneasy atmosphere when she flashed him an offset smile.
He swallowed his fear and attempted to engage with the woman above him. "Hey… Junyou. What are you doing here?"
The carrier's smile dissolved. "I was told that you were inviting here and that you wanted to relive our childhood."
She is still the same as when he first met her. The strange illness in her head still lingered within. Maybe she is put into this game for the same reason, but he wasn't entirely sure of this theory. This was mainly because of the nature of the other girls being of the aggressive type. Junyou was more docile when juxtaposed. Perhaps she is the one he was searching for safety.
"I think I'm fine, Junyou," Shikikan lied, but he endured the pain, masking it up with a half-hearted smile.
Her brow dipped slightly. "You hit your head pretty hard. Just rest and I will take care of the rest."
The pain that dwindled and racked his brain made it hard for him to create a conclusion. The affection that he received from the woman who gently stroked the side of his head, running her fingers through his locks of hair helped subdue the pain slightly.
"Hehe~ this is just like when we were in grade school," Junyou giggled softly. "How every after school you request to rest on me."
He didn't know what she meant by that. From what he remembered, he was always going home early to focus on studying. However, the mere thought of her false memory made his eyes feel heavy from the woman's care. Ultimately he got a wake-up call from his devices, ringing in his ears like a dinner bell when he got another notification about his location reveal.
Shikikan got up steadily with the help of his elbows, not too fast as to rack his brain around but enough to get back on his two feet. Scared of the carrier of imminent danger, there was no coming around it other than to leave her behind to not cause the others to go on an envious rampage.
"It's about time for me to go," Shikikan raised his arms out to strain the fatigue from his back and shoulders. "It was nice seeing you, Junyou."
His attempt to ditch the woman halted when the woman wrapped him in a warm embrace; her slender arms curled around his torso. She felt warm as she pressed up against his back, her chest being something of a familiar feeling that he didn't recall too fondly.
"Why must you go…" Junyou pushed her tender body more into his, making him tense up. He desperately wanted to distance himself away from her and whatever intentions she had for him.
Without many options, he placed his hand on her arm in an almost affectionate and sympathetic manner. "I understand that you don't want me to leave you behind. But I can't take you with me by my side, not when it is dangerous."
His response was met with silence, with each second passing increasing his anxiety to leave knowing that the obsessive women are probably circling his location like blood-thirsty sharks.
He was patient with the woman, putting his hand in his pocket and idly rolling his thumb over the pin of his remaining smoke canister awaiting one of the women to barge in.
His patience was soon answered when she let out a soft sigh, pressing her head against his nape. "If you need help against those bullies, don't be afraid to ask Junyou for help. I can take care of them for you, just like old times."
"As much as I appreciate your protection, I don't want you to get hurt," Shikikan attempted to be as empathetic without sounding condescending towards her ability to defend him. "Please understand that I've brought only troubles my entire life. I don't want you roped in with them as well."
"No, I don't want to be hurt."
Junyou was starting to test his patience. His fingers tensed up, gripping the canister with great strength. He had to relax to not trigger the woman, not wanting to turn a bad situation into inescapable. His options were limited but not bad, thinking of the best course of action. If his planning was correct he can turn this bad situation into a feasible escape without a fight.
"Alright, I told you about the consequences of staying with me," Shikikan warned, patting her arm as if confirming her presence. "If you truly want to help me, then please guide me out without anyone spotting us."
The woman smiled warmly at his acceptance, clinging their bodies to each other in an airtight hug. "Don't worry about a thing, Shikikan. I will keep us and your enemies away from us."
Junyou was completely unaware of the deathly suffocation from her grasp; she was practically squeezing the air out of his lungs. Fortunately, he gained her attention as he frantically tapped her face, snapping his fingers to cease the carrier's smothering affection. Her cheeks grew a faint but visible rosy blush when she let him go.
Shikikan gasped desperately for air, interspersed with several quick breaths as he coughed. "Let's… stay at least five feet away from each other."
Junyou was at first tentative of his decision but ultimately nodded in agreement, a way to apologize for her rashness. A slight curve formed at the edge of his lips, silently bringing out his small flashlight and offering it which she gladly took.
"Okay, they are currently searching for us so the soon we get to a safer place, the better," Shikikan advised carefully, signaling her to leave first.
"Do you have a place in mind?"
"Not yet, but this floor isn't safe. It would probably be wise to go to another floor. How about you go scout out for us first. I will be right behind you," Shikikan flashed her a smile of resolve, creating a sense of thrill flow through her.
Without a word, Junyou carefully snaked her way out the door, swiveling her head at every corridor and corner to make sure her "childhood friend" was clear of any kansens. Although Junyou is slow at her job, she was exceptionally thorough with her work. Slowly but surely, the both of them reached the stairwell uninterrupted.
"What is next, Shikikan?" Junyou whispered calmly.
"I need to restock on more items. I know that there is a vending machine on the first floor," Shikikan replied, placing a proximity detector near the doorway.
All she could do was nod in agreement. The two came down the flight of stairs and opened the door silently. Junyou was the first out the doors when she saw that the coast was clear, she called him over as Shikikan guided her to where he last saw the machine, quickly weaving and moving in the process.
Upon turning a corner, a bright white hue filled the hall. Seeing this was enough to put a smirk on the commander's lip. Shikikan told Junyou to be on guard as he browsed the wares again. Checking his balance, he noticed that his points were almost the same as what he started with at around a thousand waiting to spend. This was probably the interest that the doctor mentioned.
"Smoke bombs are a must but what else is there?" Shikikan asked himself nonchalantly.
His eyes darted all over to find nothing of real interest to his eyes, all except the most expensive items that he was very much tempted to buy. A tranquilizer gun, night vision goggles, and radar scanner are the many things that he wished he had.
"Junyou, should I spend around half my savings on a tranquilizer gun? Or maybe a thing that can gather information?"
There was no response from the carrier, tempting him to look over at an unexpected visitor.
"Hello, Kommandant," Roon smiled innocently, one of her arms wrapped around the carrier's waist with her metal gauntlets grasping her neck. "Is this girl pestering you? If so, then I'll be sure to make sure she never messes with you ever again."
Fear immediately infused into the carrier's eyes, mumbling soft inaudible words for them to be stifled when the cruiser grasped her neck tighter. She mouthed him indistinguishable words but he needed no more of an obvious hint to what he needed to do.
"Let her go, Roon, she isn't a threat," Shikikan grunted dully.
Her lips formed a slight frown at his answer, but despite his request, she didn't let go. Instead, her expression darkened, and a clear shot of bloodlust flashed through her.
Shikikan saw this but didn't let her violent intent get the best of him. His hand balled up and slammed into the side of the machine, the ear-shattering bang dispersed throughout the entire floor.
"Let her go," Shikikan threatened with no ill-intent of harm.
This didn't do what he intended to do. Rather it calmed the woman down, her bloodlust simmering down. "Shikikan, I thought this would be a prime opportunity to do some real training but I guess you are simply holding me back."
The atmosphere grew heavy, the growing tension was palpable.
"Roon, I'm simply trying to see where your potential is going," This was a complete lie. He was informed by the doctor to not let her fight until they completely understand each new priority ship.
Ever since the priority ships set foot on Azur Lane, they were required to take a sanity test from their strange first words to him. All of them except Roon passed the test so now she is on everyone's watch list. Still,l everyone tends to avoid her due to some unknown force around her.
"You have always been holding me back Kommandant," Roon's eyes darkened. "I haven't gotten the satisfying sight of an enemy get torn to shreds ever since I've laid foot on the base."
Shikikan let a soft exhale escape. "What is it that you want, Roon?"
"I want to go out on commissions, Shikikan. A battle is what I want to see"
"That is beyond my control," Shikikan spoke truthfully. "If you want to go out on commissions, ask Corrian."
"Then should I tear this little one piece by piece," Roon threatened, her gauntlets nearly clawed at Junyou's throat pipe.
In a flash, Shikikan reached his hand into the machine's pick-up, stirring his hand for the item he hoped that he had bought. When his fingers grazed what resembled what he had bought when he slammed his fist, he aimed at the cruiser and fired without skipping a beat. What he fired was a dart with a pink feathery end, with the needle piercing itself into Roon's shoulder.
The cruiser, who was completely unphased by this dart, threw the carrier aside like a ragdoll with a loud clang and severely dented the nearby lockers, knocking the wind out of her in the process. However, Roon didn't stop there, fixing her gaze over to Shikikan with vengeful eyes, and started to quickly shuffle towards him.
Fear filled his brain, his hands shaking from the anxiety's force, but his fingers were able to squeeze the trigger once more, firing off another dart this time at her stomach.
This did stagger the woman for a split second, observing her new accessory until she pulled the dart out. "YOU WILL PAY!"
In a fit of anger, she lashed out with her metal gauntlet, trying to apprehend the frightened commander with her brute strength alone. However, she was stopped when a pair of arms held her back just out of reach; nearly scratching Shikikan's cheek.
"Run, Shikikan!" Junyou pleaded, holding on to the cruiser with every ounce of strength.
Shikikan needed no further instructions and ran with no plan in mind other than to get out of sight.
"Come on! Keep moving!" Shikikan's mind prompted, his legs scampering down the hallway; heels echoing as they heavily thudded against the ground.
There weren't any classrooms that seemed to be open as he desperately tried to pry them open but to no avail didn't budge an inch. All the noise that he had made must have drawn the attention of every kansens, hearing their clanging footsteps close in on his location.
There was one more door that he was more than desperate to try, that door had the sign hanging above that read the principal's office. He bashed the door with his shoulder and to his luck, the door was locked. He wasn't all out of options as he pulled out a lockpicking kit that he had saved since the start and started picking away at the lock. His fingers were nimble but shaky; slowing him down as he tried getting the pins to fall into place. The footfalls grew closer, his hands sweating but soon managed to turn the lock open, practically throwing himself in and kicking the door close.
Though his safety was only temporary, the audible scratching and booming rattled the air. The unnerving sound gave him enough of a sharp eye when looking for a heavy barricade in the form of a vent. The vent was conveniently open with a toolbox sitting close - mostly likely having to do with maintenance. The opening was just slightly smaller than his body but more than enough to squirm through without getting trapped.
Without hesitation, he started crawling his way through, the sound of a rhythmic pattern of metal clanging as he shimmed through alongside the banging of the wooden door. The vent was untouched for who knows how long. Dust collected in his eyes, making it more difficult to move without knowing where he was crawling.
The door gave in to the influence of the raw strength from the kansen. The door's deadbolt splintered its frame open.
"Shikikan~ Where are you~" A musical, ominous nigh-audible voice reached within the vents.
That was more than enough to have Shikikan scrabble at unseen speeds - kicking up more noise for the kansens to pick up on.
"I'm... stuck," the shipgirl muttered, thrashing her arms about, enough to have the echoes of metallic clangs come barreling down the ventilation shaft. "Shikikan, wait for a moment. Taihou will be with you in a moment~"
Shikikan naturally didn't follow the request, continuing his journey down the dark, cool corridor. It didn't take long for him to find another grate; one, strangely enough, had light shining through its slim slits.
What first came to mind was that it was a trap waiting to be sprung, but he decided to instead take a closer look inside.
The inside was rather plain and looked to resemble that of a teacher's lounge – white walls with an abstract art piece, a table with several kinds of snacks, and several kitchen appliances such as a microwave, fridge, and coffee maker. The temptation to break in was made only more when his stomach growled at that moment… until he came around to the idea.
Pushing the vent cover, the square slit didn't budge an inch resulting in him shifting forward a bit and started ramming the square-filled slit with several forceful kicks.
Shikikan wasn't by any means scared of alerting anyone in the room, mostly due to now being able to defend himself, having around two or so more shots.
After a few more vigorous punts, the screws came loose, making the grate go flying across the room after one more kick. In doing so, he lowered his legs carefully, his foot finding a foothold in the form of a chair and dropping his body from the vent. All it took was a glance around the room to realize that he was safe… for now at least. His eyes then shot off towards the door and to his surprise, the door had been reinforced with steel and sealed shut.
Shikikan immediately gave off a huge sigh of relief, planting himself in the nearest chair with a plop. "I'm so done with this game…"
Hey all! So the past months have been busy. I had finals, senior trips, and now I have to attend a wedding. This year hasn't been very productive but I plan to try and change that when I graduate this year and get to doing a little more over the summer. What did you think? I think I did a fairly fine job. The next chapter will be the last of this little game so look out for that near the beginning of June. So with that, I say good day and night to all of you!