* DISCLAIMER - I DO NOT OWN KINGDOM HEARTS OR AZUR LANE COPYRIGHT

While Sora was about to begin his meeting with Azur Lane, there was doubt leaking into the ocean.

Across the sea in the Sakura Empire, a fleet was returning to its base with two figures having much to think about deep in their hearts.

The two fox girls that Sora had encountered earlier were now standing on the deck of a large aircraft carrier. The brown-haired girl turned to the white-haired girl who was identified as Kaga. Having a lot to think about since the collaboration with the sirens, the brown-haired girl sighed sadly now staring out at the ocean and the clear blue sky.

Kaga turned to the other side of the ship looking for something out of the ordinary. Her eyes then moved towards the top of the carrier and spotted a Sakura Empire flag swaying back and forth in the wind. Next to the flag was an engraving of a name that belonged to the ship, Akagi.

Kaga slowly closed her eyes and called out to the other girl, "Akagi, what is on your mind. I can sense hesitation in your movements. And you've been quiet since we pulled back from encountering the Grey Ghost."

The girl now known as Akagi merely continued to stare out at the ocean before responding to Kaga, "Dear sister, the fundamentals of battle truly pay a toll to the mind, but yes, you're right there is much on my mind. I have many questions regarding the future. And I fear that my actions won't be enough to change the future."

Kaga became wide-eyed at what her sister had said and turned to look at her with a serious expression. The Akagi she knew was strong and confident while this Akagi seemed unsure of herself. Worry began to spread throughout Kaga's heart, and she feared that her sister was going down a path that she might not be able to come back from.

"Akagi, do not worry about what is out of your control. You knew just as much as I did the consequences and difficulties that would be down this path. We must keep on walking forward in order to achieve our goal."

Listening to her sister's words, Akagi nodded her head agreeing with everything said. However, one thing that was troubling her greatly was the sudden appearance of the boy. The boy with the spiky brown hair and a long black hooded jacket with red hemming, and red flannel flaps. She didn't have much time to observe the boy but one key detail that she noticed and remembered being stunned was his necklace. The crown shaped necklace.

When Akagi had been approached by the Sirens to help her achieve her goals, she remembered attending one of their meetings that was kept secret from everyone in the Sakura Empire. She recalled a time that she arrived at a meeting without alerting anyone and overheard the Sirens mentioning something about a key. The Siren leader, Observer Alpha, mentioned something about a key being brought to this world and that it would help them with the lock.

This drop of information was interesting but didn't really make sense at the time, however, Observer Alpha further elaborated on the key being in the form of a person. And said person would have a crown attached to their person somewhere. Such a small distinct feature that Akagi merely decided to ignore and go back to her focusing on her main goal.

Now however, when she was engaging the Grey Ghost, the boy appeared confronting her about the fighting and did appear to have a crown necklace. Something Akagi never expected to happen, especially in front of her. If the boy with the crown necklace was part of the Sirens plans', then she started to consider the possibilities that lied with the boy since he was considered the key to their plan.

While Akagi was in deep thought, Kaga looked toward the ocean and spotted an island covered by pink trees. She called out to her sister alerting her that they were close to arriving back to their headquarters.

Meanwhile on another ship following close behind the aircraft carrier that was carrying Akagi and Kaga, a beautiful girl with waist-length brown hair and orange highlights tied in a high ponytail by a hair ornament. She was wearing a long-sleeved hooded kimono with flower motifs and red strings on each side of her chest with a red skirt and black socks. This girl was Zuikaku, Aircraft Carrier from the Sakura Empire and part of the Shoukaku-class.

Zuikaku also had a great deal to think about. While she wasn't present for the entire skirmish between the Grey Ghost. She was there to alert her seniors to retreat for the moment and what she saw threw her off guard. The appearance of a boy not too old but not young either. The boy also had really spiky brown hair along with a red and black hooded jacket.

However, what was bothering Zuikaku about the boy was that when she was scanning the battlefield for her seniors, she came across Akagi who looked bewildered and frozen while staring at the boy who had been calling out to her. She had never seen that look on Akagi's face before and that's what is bothering Zuikaku now.

Many thoughts ran amok around her head from her senior's reaction to the boy suddenly appearing and not cowering in the middle of a battle. While Zuikaku was trying to process her thoughts, a shadow loomed behind her until said shadow poked Zuikaku in the back.

Startled by what had happened, Zuikaku jumped and flashed her head back only to be greeted by her sister, Shoukaku. Her sister's appearance consisted of waist-length silver hair with one side tied in a small side tail by a hair ornament and blue eyes with orange eyeliner. She wore a long-sleeved hooded kimono with flower motifs and red strings on each side of her chest. Now Zuikaku had her doubts about her own chest size when compared to her sisters' but that was a topic she quickly brushed to the side, for now.

Shoukaku was not present when Zuikaku encountered their seniors and only joined up with her sister after the Sakura Empire girls retreated. However, knowing her sister very well, Shoukaku knew something was bothering her and she was going to get to the bottom of it, starting by poking her sister in the back, surprising her.

"If I didn't know any better, I would've thought my sister turned into a statue. That's a shame. I would've liked to place you in our garden for everyone to see, hmm."

Once Zuikaku had calmed down from being surprised by her sister, she pouted in a cute manner and sighed while bringing a hand to rest on her forehead.

"Shoukaku, I'm not in the mood for your games."

"Oh? Has my sweet sister grown annoyed with me? Next, she'll want me to stop teasing her and then I'll have to find someone else to tease."

Annoyed with her sister but not wanting to lash out, Zuikaku sighed.

"No, that's not it. I just have a lot on my mind. You weren't there for the engagement between our seniors and the Grey Ghost."

Shoukaku perked up at what her sister was saying about the battle she was too late to appear in. "What do you mean? Did something happen before you all retreated?"

"Yeah, something happened. A boy appeared."

"A boy? Like a human boy?"

"Yes, but he wasn't young or old but around his late teens. The boy also had really spiky brown hair and weird looking clothes that I've never seen before. But the boy had a crown necklace that really stuck out. But that's not even the craziest part. The boy approached Akagi and Kaga while they were fighting the Grey Ghost, and he wasn't even fazed about the Sirens surrounding the area. He even shouted at Akagi."

Stunned beyond belief, Shoukaku took a moment to process everything her sister had said. After regaining her senses, Shoukaku got a glint in her eyes and a smirk was plastered along her face.

"So, the boy caught your eye, didn't he?"

"...Really sis? I don't even know the boy and I don't think he even noticed me since it happened so fast. Plus, we didn't even interact; I just saw him from a distance before we retreated. But that's not the thing that's bothering me."

Confused, Shoukaku tilted her head while staring at her sister with squinted eyes asking for her to elaborate.

"Akagi was stunned when she saw the boy. I understand being dumbstruck at seeing an actual boy given that only the higher up seniors have interacted with male officers beforehand, but to see a boy in person is strange to say the least. Akagi however, looked almost dazed. Like she knew something about the boy but wasn't sure."

"Zuikaku, are you sure about any of this? Perhaps you were just shocked at seeing an actual boy."

"No! You have to believe me sis. I saw Akagi's body language change while looking directly at the boy and she was analyzing him very closely."

Shoukaku considered calling her sister irrational and needing to rest, but deep down she knew her sister was many things but being a liar was something she was not. Plus, Shoukaku had noticed Akagi and Kaga being more quiet than usual.

"Sigh... Ok, I believe you, Zuikaku. But we need to be careful, we don't want to alert those two that we are watching them closely. Not to mention, if Akagi does know something about the boy then it would make sense for her to tell us once we get back home. And if she doesn't... then we will definitely know something is up."

Zuikaku let out a breath she didn't know she was holding onto and smiled knowing that her sister was on her side. Now the real challenge would come with spying on her two seniors to see what they knew about the mysterious boy.

Back with the two kitsune girls, Kaga calculated that they would arrive on the island within a couple of minutes. However, Akagi hummed to herself while her ears were twitching back and forth. Not even a second later a girl appeared out of nowhere seemingly dropping down from the top of the ship and made an entrance.

Akagi kept looking out towards the sea and already knew who the new girl was, "Oh my, what a surprise? Didn't expect to see you here, Prinz Eugen."

The girl identified as Prinz Eugen had long white hair with a red streak on the right side of her hair. Her hair reached down to her waist with twin tails that are held up by a red metal accessory. Her eyes are a fiery red color, and attire wise she wore a very short black dress with long red and grey sleeves along with black thigh-high tights and red boots.

Prinz Eugen merely walked towards the two kitsune swaying her hips back and forth which would've for sure left many people dazed. But Kaga merely kept looking at Eugen with a deadpan expression. Once Eugen stopped walking forward and was close to Akagi she brought both her arms under her chest letting them rest on her forearms.

"Correct. I must say it was quite impressive that you were able to control those Siren ships for so long. Though the ships in your control were mass produced models, you still showed quite some promise. I take it this is another one of your goals in that project of yours?"

Akagi at this point turned to look at Prinz Eugen with a glint of anger appearing in her eyes for a split second before returning back to normal.

"Yes, controlling those Siren ships proved to be a difficult task but I have my own goals and ambitions that cannot be stopped. However, there is one thing that's bothering me. Prinz Eugen, were you present when my sister and I encountered the Grey Ghost?"

Prinz Eugen tilted her head to the side and pulled out a piece of candy and unwrapped it before stashing the wrapper in her pocket. "No, I wasn't there when you fought Enterprise. Why? Did something peculiar happen?"

While Prinz Eugen was asking about the outcome of the fight with the Grey Ghost, Kaga was unsure if her sister would bring up the fact that a boy had appeared out of nowhere. Although the Sakura Empire and Iron Blood were working together against Azur Lane, the two groups still had many secrets they didn't indulge the other in. The sudden appearance of the boy was something major and unexpected which spelled uncertainty for how the future would play out.

Akagi meanwhile decided to respond, "No, nothing of the sort, just that while commanding the fleet of Siren ships something was off.

"Oh, how so?"

"I noticed one of the ships in formation was missing."

"Missing? What did you do with it? Losing a ship is kind of impossible is it not? You would have to be quite scatterbrained to lose something of that size."

Akagi was becoming irritated with how Prinz Eugen was nonchalantly calling her a fool for losing a ship without even noticing. She knew that if she lashed out, diplomatic relations with the Iron Blood would become damaged leaving her and the Sakura Empire to pay the price. Not to mention, she still had plans that she needed to fulfill.

Giving her best neutral face, Akagi responded, "Yes, I had considered the possibility that in my strive towards taking out the Grey Ghost there may have been the off chance I misplaced the ship. However, the ship missing was the infused ship."

Prinz Eugen perked up and looked straight at Akagi trying to make sense of what she had just said. "That...that is definitely not good. In fact, that raises some questions even I would like to know."

Confused by what she had just said, Kaga spoke up from her spot which was to the side of Akagi merely watching their conversation. "What do you mean? What exactly do you know of that infused ship? It looked somewhat normal for its design aside from the strange looking flag."

"That infused ship is a prototype. Something we over at the Iron Blood were given only recently. The thing that doesn't make sense is that the infused class ship has a bit more firepower than a regular produced ship, but the infused ship seems a bit unstable. Almost like the ship can't be controlled by kansen at least."

Before any of the girls could respond, Kaga jolted her head back to the sea and realized that they were about to dock into the shipyard. "It seems we will have to postpone this conversation for later. We are about to arrive."

Prinz Eugen closed her eyes and finished her candy that she was eating while conversing with the kitsune girls. Once done she summoned her rigging which took the form of a mechanical shark and fed it the candy wrapper. The shark destroyed the wrapper and started disappearing in a flash of light leaving making it seem as if there never was a shark in the first place.

Once she de-summoned her shark companion, Prinz Eugen spoke up about her request to the Sakura kitsunes, "Now then, I'd like to ask you for a favor."

Akagi turned to look at Prinz Eugen, curious about what she wanted. "Well then, what's the favor you're asking?"

"I'm taking Z23 and that Ayanami girl from your side with your permission that is."

Kaga nodded her head while Akagi responded to Prinz Eugen's request, "That's fine. I'll hold you to it so that nothing bad happens to her under your command."

Prinz Eugen only nodded while having a smirk cross her face. Thinking of what plans of hers needed to start kicking into fruition. She strutted away swaying her hips again while walking off the ship and disappearing from sight.

Sometime later after Akagi landed her ship in the docking yard, Zuikaku also parked what appeared to be her ship as well in the yard. Realizing that her seniors were going to report on their endeavors to Lady Nagato, Zuikaku along with Shoukaku took off to go find their friends and discuss their thoughts.

While making their way to meet up with their friends, Zuikaku and Shoukaku were greeted by many girls. The warm feeling of having so many people care about who returned from a mission and celebrating their return was a nice feeling that Zuikaku would usually grow embarrassed about. However, with a great deal to think about, Zuikaku simply gave a smile and waved at everyone who cheered at her for returning home.

Shoukaku meanwhile was admiring the beauty that her home had to offer. Ranging from the sounds of cheer and laughter surrounding her to the bright stalls and goodies being sold as far as the eye could see. Shoukaku loved being home where it was never a dull moment with her friends and family.

Once the two continued to trek forward, Shoukaku decided to split from her sister and meet up with her friends saying that she'll catch up later. Zuikaku smiled and waved her sister off before continuing to climb some stairs to a home of sorts. She crossed through the front yard and found herself in a training yard of sorts while spotting a couple of her friends watching a girl training against a training dummy.

Zuikaku made her way towards the group of girls watching the girl the train with her sword. The girl with the sword seemed to have her eyes closed and took a deep breath before slashing at the dummy with impeccable speed cutting the dummy into several pieces.

Everyone cheered her on while Zuikaku started clapping happily. The girl with the sword opened her eyes and spotted Zuikaku front and center and had a smile across her face. "Zuikaku, I didn't expect you to return so soon. Actually, sooner than expected."

Zuikaku nodded while understanding her friend's confusion and began to explain her encounter but not before addressing her other friends in attendance. "It's good to see you Atago, Souryuu, Ikazuchi and you as well Takao."

Takao approached Zuikaku and greeted her back while having a small smile plastered on her lips. Takao's appearance consisted of a slender figure and large breasts. She has long black hair tied in a high ponytail by a white ribbon and orange eyes. She wore a white military uniform with a high collar, yellow buttons and a white miniskirt, black pantyhose, black shoes and white gloves. Not to mention, Takao was very beautiful even with her sincere and determined look she gave off. Honestly, it added to her natural beauty.

Atago also had a slender figure and large breasts. She has a black waist-length black hair tied with a white ribbon and black wolf ears on top of her head, she has brown eyes and has a mole under her eye. She wore a white military uniform with a high collar and yellow buttons, white pencil skirt with side slits, black thigh-highs, white high heels and white gloves. Atago was Takao's sister and the two made a formidable pair in battle. Just like her sister, Atago was very beautiful while also really taking on the role of older sister.

Souryuu for her part had the appearance of a slender frame and a medium bust. She has waist-length dark-blue hair with long bunny ears on top of her head, she has blue eyes and wears round glasses. She wears a dark green onsen-like uniform with a high collar over a white buttoned shirt, black buttoned corset wrapped around her waist, dark-green pleated skirt, black thigh-high socks with black ribbons. Souryuu was someone you could get along with easily especially since she had the simple voice of reason personality that helped in times of doubt.

Ikazuchi appeared to be the smallest in the group because of her slender frame and a medium bust. She has long pink hair tied in a high-zigzagged ponytail and an ahoge on top along with her pink eyes and a small pair of horns. She has a black ribbon lace around her neck and was wearing a black loose kimono with red accents & designs, red tomoe symbols and a gray obi wrapped around her waist over a white top with red linings. If Zuikaku had anything to say about Ikazuchi it would be that she was cute and fun to be around. Although she did mutter to herself about things being strange or in her words 'meta'."

After all the other girls gave their greeting towards Zuikaku, they began to ask her questions about the recent battle that she returned from. This led Zuikaku to hesitantly confide in her friends about her concerns and worry about the whole event, and how Akagi was acting differently compared to usual. Once she finished explaining her thoughts about the whole situation, she asked them to promise to keep everything said to themselves. In fear that if word got out about suspicions towards Akagi then things could end up getting ugly.

Taking a moment to process everything Zuikaku had discussed, Takao was the first to speak up, "If what you are saying is true in any way, then it certainly does raise concerns for what Akagi's plans entail. Not to mention, the boy who appeared is most likely with Azur Lane now as we speak."

Souryuu decided to add onto the conversation, "Azur Lane is probably given him a run-down of the situation which may persuade the boy to see the Sakura Empire and Iron Blood as enemies. We don't know anything about the boy and yet it seems he may play a bigger part in all this."

Ikazuchi was quiet and had been staring off to the side with her hands covering her face. It appeared she was thinking about the boy and the possible reasons for his sudden appearance. She did however start mumbling about how the boy's appearance was something out of a manga. And she started calling his necklace something along the words of meta give its design making the boy stand out even more just through words.

Zuikaku on her part had many thoughts and ideas popping up in her head about the whole thing but it still didn't make any sense. Letting out a tired sigh, Zuikaku informed the rest of the girls that they would need to keep an eye out on Akagi and Kaga to see what schemes the two might be involved in. Atago realizing that now was as good a time as any brought up the idea of going to get something to eat. To which all the girls agreed and began making their way to find something to eat together.

In a dark cave under the Sakura Empire Island stood Akagi in the center of a wide-open space holding what appeared to be a dark-purple cube that was radiating darkness from it. Intrigued by the cube, Akagi began to rotate the cube and see if anything would happen.

At that moment, a flash of purple light lit the space forcing Akagi to close her eyes. Once she opened them, she spotted a being with yellow eyes and white hair with tentacles wrapped around the being's body. Observer Alpha was her name. One of the leaders of the Sirens or at least that's what Akagi thought.

Observer Alpha slowly walked towards Akagi and smiled before speaking up, "So, I take it you're nowhere near getting the cube to activate. That's a shame but to be expected. You don't hold enough darkness in your heart."

Confused and angered by what Observer Alpha had said, Akagi retorted back, "Quiet you! I haven't had much time to examine the cube. Besides, why would I need darkness in my heart? I am already strong enough."

"No, you are not. Given time you will be able to harness the cube's power and make it your own. But for now, you aren't nearly strong enough to get the cube to open. However, onto other matters I take it you met the key?"

Akagi was puzzled and nervous. Observer Alpha knew that Akagi had knowledge of something that wasn't directly told to her, and now being confronted about the topic Akagi began to prepare herself in case things were to turn for the worse.

Observer Alpha simply smiled at Akagi waiting for her response before letting out a groan. Annoyed with the kitsune not responding, Observer Alpha began to laugh and enjoyed the confused look on Akagi's face.

"You really are a fool; did you really think that we didn't know about you overhearing our plans? The others wanted to rip you apart right there and then, but I decided against that since it would put a damper into our other projects. Besides, shouldn't you worry about your own business? Doesn't your sister Amagi need your help?"

Furious, Akagi summoned her rigging and aimed all her weapons at Observer Alpha. "Don't you dare say her name! You keep out of my business, and I keep out of yours'. Wasn't that part of the deal?"

Observer Alpha had a mischievous smile on her face while petting one of her tentacles, ignoring Akagi's threat like it was nothing. "Oh, don't worry. I have no interest in the resurrection of a kansen. Honestly, you activating the cube is all I'm interested in on your part. Once that is done, we can go our separate ways. But, if you try to interfere with my plans, you can kiss your sister goodbye."

Finishing her threat, Observer Alpha summoned a dark portal with electricity zapping the ground around the portal. The portal also had a blue and purple light outlining around the portal. Right before stepping through the portal, Observer Alpha turned to look at Akagi and gave her a sinister smile before going into the portal and disappearing which collapsed the portal leaving nothing behind.

Akagi closed her eyes and let out a tired sigh while bringing a hand over her chest. Glad that things did not escalate and take a drastic turn. Akagi opened her eyes and brought the purple cube into view, taking one last good look at it before stashing it away. Realizing that the fate of her sister's life was hanging in the balance and this cube was the key to bringing her back.

Letting out a silent prayer, Akagi then prepared to meet up with Kaga and prepare a counterattack plan against Azur Lane. But not before Akagi let out a whisper in the lonely cave, "Amagi... please wait a little longer. I promise I'll bring you back."

Within the deep and concentrated forest of Cherry Blossoms, the figure cloaked in a long black coat was still walking while admiring the beautiful scenery. The figure found a spot hidden well enough and provided a breath-taking view of the outskirts of the island as well as giving a great shot of the ocean.

The figure brought out a book from inside his coat and began to skim through it until he found a marker signaling that they found what they were looking for. Putting the book to the side, the figure got up and started stretching while letting out a yawn before clearing his throat with a cough.

"Well now, here should be a good spot to do a little reading. Can't have Sora be the only one learning the ins and outs of this world. Although, it would appear someone knows a bit too much about hearts."

The figure reached for the book and began to trace down the page that had been marked until he came across something that caused him to close the book again.

"If this someone managed to bring Sora here instead of there, then we're going to have a problem. However, I must say I'm curious to know how they can control the heartless. At least for the moment. Looks like I'll be on the sidelines this go around. Hope Luxu and the others don't mind waiting for me a little longer."