It was the day the Sakura Empire were leaving for their exercise. All the equipment that they needed had been put on boats and was ready to be shipped out alongside the KANSEN. The planning for the exercise had been conducted by Amagi, the kitsune had been incredibly through with how the Sakura Empire were going to conduct themselves while they were away from the Azur Lane base. At the Dock was Shoukaku, Zuikaku, John, Tsubaki, and finally, Belfast. The two cranes were currently saying their goodbyes to everyone before they were leaving. Shoukaku was looking down and speaking to her daughter, "Now you be on your best behaviour for your father and miss Belfast, Tsubaki. Papa and Miss Belfast are going to be very busy. I want you to promise me you will be a good girl and not cause any trouble for them, okay?" Shoukaku said to her daughter. Tsubaki was still a little upset that her mother and aunt would be leaving for a week, but she had come to understand why they were going away. In the mind of the half-KANSEN, her relatives were heroes, and heroes needed to be strong to stop bad people.

Tsubaki replied to her mother, "Okay Mama. I promise to be good." The little girl then hugged her mother. She then let go and hugged her aunt straight afterwards. While being hugged, Zuikaku spoke to her niece, "I know you will miss us, Tsubaki. And we will miss you too. But we will only be gone for a week, and we will be back before you know it." Tsubaki smiled at her aunt. The little girl would miss them, but hearing her aunts assurance that it wouldn't be as long as she imagined cheered her up. While Zuikaku was dealing with her niece Shoukaku pulled John over to one side where nobody else would hear them, they had to discuss a matter that had been happening this past week, "So, what happened with Taihou, John? What did you say or do to her to get her to stop?" The crane questioned her husband. During the week, Shoukaku decided that she had enough of Taihou constantly staring at her and disappearing when she tried to confront the phoenix. Taihou's behaviour was putting Shoukaku on edge, so she decided to tell John about it. The man called Taihou into his office one day and demanded the phoenix to stop what she was doing. Taihou tried to argue that she was only trying to protect him, but John was having none of it. He told the phoenix that if she didn't stop, there would be severe consequences if she carried on. From that point on, Taihou stopped her staring and following Shoukaku around everywhere she went.

"I simply told her that there would be consequences if she carried on her behaviour... though I might have been a bit too harsh when I said it. But Taihou stopped didn't she? I wish it didn't have to come to that. But I felt it was the only way she would listen to me." John explained. Shoukaku knew John didn't like having to discipline the KANSEN under his command, but he would do it when the situation called for it. Shoukaku also knew that John could be quite scary when he was angry. Very few KANSEN would dare try to defy him when he was pushed to that point. At least the matter with Taihou was resolved so Shoukaku could concentrate on other things in her life, like this exercise. The pair then walked back over to the others so John, Tsubaki, and Belfast could see them off. The group talked for a short time, Shoukaku then gave her husband a kiss on the cheek and her daughter a kiss on the forehead, the crane then said her goodbyes to Belfast before she got onto the water. Zuikaku said her goodbyes to the group before she followed her sister.

The two cranes then set off. John picked up his daughter so Tsubaki could see her mother and aunt leave. When the half-KANSEN was in her fathers arms, she waved and shouted at the cranes going off in the distance, "Goodbye Mama! Goodbye, Auntie!" The two cranes heard Tsubaki and gave her a wave back before joining the rest of the Sakura Empire that were heading off into the distance...

When John, Belfast, and Tsubaki returned to the HQ, the commander and the KANSEN immediately began to carry out their duties for today. The half-KANSEN watched them both fill out paperwork for a while but soon began to feel bored just sitting on the couch doing nothing. Tsubaki however didn't want to speak up as she remembered her mother telling her the two of them would be very busy and didn't want to get in the way. The little girl did however start to show signs of frustration being stuck in her fathers office, she kept sighing and couldn't sit still, Tsubaki wished she was at school right now but her father let her have the day off so she could see her mother and aunt leave for their exercise. Belfast finished some of her paperwork, and she decided to take a quick break. When the KANSEN got up from her seat and turned, she could notice the look of frustration on Tsubaki's face, "Is something the matter, young madam?" Belfast asked. Tsubaki turned to look at the maid and spoke, "I'm bored miss Belfast, There's nothing to do." Tsubaki said in a very annoyed tone.

Tsubaki's answer brought John's attention away from his paperwork. Looking at his daughter, he realised he should have given her something to do. The man then looked at Belfast, who seemed to be in thought when Tsubaki told her she was bored. Belfast took a few minutes to think, but then an idea came to mind, an idea that would help relieve the boredom of the half-KANSEN. Belfast then turned to John to explain her idea, "Master, if you don't mind, may I take the young madam over to the Royal Navy? It would do her some good to be outside of your office. The young madam could also get an opportunity to learn some history." The maid asked John. John took a second to consider Belfast's idea. He then looked at Tsubaki, who had a pleading look on her face. She clearly didn't want to be cooped up in his office. John finally looked over at the paperwork Belfast had completed, "She works fast. By the looks of it, Belfast doesn't have much more to do. If needs be, I can finish it myself. It shouldn't take that long. I think it's a good idea for Tsubaki to head over to the Royal Navy. It would certainly do her some good." John agreed with Belfast's idea.

"Okay Belfast, you can take Tsubaki to see the Royal Navy. Tsubaki, please behave while you are there. No causing trouble for Belfast, okay, sweetheart?" John told the pair. The half-KANSEN thanked her father and then promised John she would behave. John then thanked the maid for looking after his daughter. Belfast and Tsubaki then left John alone in his office. The man was grateful for being on his own as now he could fully focus on completing all his documents. Belfast and Tsubaki left the HQ and began walking over towards the Royal Navy. Tsubaki was sticking close to the maid. The little girl wanted to run off at first, but she promised her father that she would behave for Belfast, so she decided to stay close. The two walked in a comfortable silence until they reached the Royal Navy. Once there, the maid opened the doors to the entrance, and the two stepped inside the building. Once inside, the little girl looked around and was immediately mesmerised by what she saw, "Wow!" was all Tsubaki could say. The half-KANSEN could see the halls were all decorated in a brilliant white, many photographs and pictures hung on the walls showing many different ships, and finally Tsubaki could see statues of people who she didn't know.

"It's impressive, isn't it young madam?" Belfast asked. Tsubaki didn't answer as she was still taking in the sight of everything that she saw. Belfast could only giggle at how Tsubaki was amazed by everything here. Belfast then spoke again to Tsubaki, which brought her out of her trance, "There is still much more to see young madam. Follow me and I will show you." Belfast began walking with Tsubaki following close behind with the little girl taking in more of what she saw while they were walking to their destination. Belfast and Tsubaki arrived at the garden of the Royal Navy. The half-KANSEN was impressed by what she saw when they arrived, "Wow! It's so pretty miss, Belfast." Tsubaki said to the maid. Belfast could agree with Tsubaki's statement. The garden of the Royal Navy was an incredibly beautiful place, being here brought the maid peace.

The two walked around the garden and Belfast began to explain the history of the Royal Navy, the history of Britain, and parts of the great war, Belfast left out the most horrific pieces of information as to not upset the little girl next to her in anyway. Tsubaki was fascinated by what the maid was telling her. She was listening very intently to everything being said. Eventually, after much walking around, the stomach of the half-KANSEN began to rumble, which indicated she was hungry. Seeing Tsubaki needed food, the maid brought her to the kitchen of the Royal Navy and cooked her some typical British cuisine, a plate of fish and chips. After this, the two carried on walking and talking until it was late evening, Tsubaki then had to return to her fathers office.

"Good, that's all done. Finished later than I thought I would. It's getting late now. Hopefully, Belfast will return with Tsubaki soon." John thought as he finished his and Belfast's work for the day. The man was just glad to be finished and was hoping to get to spend some time with his daughter before both of them headed home. John's door then opened, and in stepped Belfast and Tsubaki, the half-KANSEN had a smile on her face, which indicated she had a good time with the maid. Seeing her father, Tsubaki ran over to him and sat on his lap, "Hello Papa, today was fun." The little girl said to the man. John asked what she did, and Tsubaki replied that Belfast had thought her so much today about the Royal Navy and Britain. The little girl also said she got to try British food today for the first time. This put a smile on John's own face. He was glad his daughter got to learn so much about his father's homeland. Seeing that father and daughter were both together, Belfast was about to leave. John stopped her, however, "Wait Belfast, I want to thank you for today. For everything. This means a lot to me, I just want to let you know that." He told the maid. "It is no trouble, master. I had a good time with the young madam today. I guess I will see you again tomorrow, master." Belfast replied.

John explained that he would need to take Tsubaki to school in the morning so Belfast didn't need to arrive as early as she did today. Belfast nodded to signal that she understood. The maid then left the room to leave father and daughter alone. Tsubaki carried on telling John everything she had learned until it was time for them to go home. When it was time to leave, John locked his office and carried Tsubaki down the stairs as the half-KANSEN was starting to fall asleep. As he was leaving towards his home, John was thinking to himself while carrying his daughter, "I wonder how Shoukaku and Zuikaku are doing right now.."

On an island miles away from the Azur Lane, the Sakura Empire had just finished their first day of their exercise. When they had arrived at the location, Amagi immediately ordered them to start carrying out their respective drills. Shoukaku and Zuikaku had participated in a mock air battle drill against Akagi and Kaga. It had not gone so well for the cranes. Zuikaku was able to hold her own against the two foxes, but Shoukaku had struggled against them. Because she was a mother, the white-crane didn't get as much time to train as her sister, and it showed. Akagi and Kaga could see she was the weak link of the two and was targeted a lot more than her sister. Zuikaku did what she could to even the mock battle out, but in the end, the combined efforts of the two kitsune were too much for the cranes to handle.

Akagi relished in the fact she was much stronger than Shoukaku and immediately began rubbing it in her face. Shoukaku, however, simply showed her hand and the wedding ring on her finger to show she had won the most important battle between the two long ago. This caused Akagi to nearly lose her temper, but the kitsune held back. She simply walked away but had a sinister smile on her face, which Shoukaku noticed. "Why was Akagi smiling? What is she planning? It can't be good whatever it is." The white-crane was thinking to herself. It was currently nighttime, and many KANSEN had turned in for the night. They were in tents that they had taken for the exercise.

Shoukaku however couldn't sleep. That smile on the face of Akagi was keeping her up. The crane had a feeling that if she fell asleep, the kitsune would do something terrible. Shoukaku decided to think over it some more and decided to ride across the calm waves of the sea. She hoped it would clear her head. With a clearer head, Shoukaku hoped she could guess what Akagi was going to do. Unknown to Shoukaku, however, someone began following her. The white-crane carried on across the waves for some time until she came to a stop a very good distance away from where the rest of the Sakura Empire was. "Okay, what is Akagi's game? She wouldn't dare try to hurt me, would she? If she tried anything, John would go berserk when he found out. Akagi would almost certainly be disassembled, I don't think even she would be daring enough to try that. Does it involve Tsubaki? I swear if Akagi does anything to her or is involved in any way, then I don't care about the consequences. She won't get away with it." Shoukaku darkly thought. Even though Akagi had shown no signs of hostility against Tsubaki in any way, the crane still didn't trust her intentions. Shoukaku knew that Akagi was doing her best to manipulate her daughter. The crane believed that the kitsune was doing this to either turn her against herself or wait until Tsubaki had her guard completely down and then strike. The second possibility chilled Shoukaku's blood.

The crane carried on trying to think until she heard what sounded like torpedoes coming her way. Shoukaku barely managed to avoid them in time. She then looked around for who was responsible for trying to attack her. Across the water, the crane could see an individual approaching her location. She expected it to be Akagi but at the same time was surprised and wasn't surprised when she saw who the individual was. "Taihou! She's someone else who seems to have it out for me lately. I forgot about her, I thought John had dealt with her. But it seems she didn't want to listen." Shoukaku pondered. The crane could see the phoenix getting closer, Shoukaku didn't attack her as she hoped to finally find out why Taihou had been acting the way she did recently. Shoukaku hoped that she could resolve this peacefully with the phoenix, but her gut feeling was telling her that wouldn't be happening.

When Taihou was within speaking distance, the white-crane decided to talk, "Taihou, wait! Why are you doing this? Why did you stalk me? Have I done anything to upset you recently? Please tell me, Taihou! I don't want to fight you! Whatever it is I've done tell me, and I'll make it right!" Shoukaku tried pleading with the phoenix. Taihou, however, was angry. She was angry with Shoukaku, "What you have done? What you have done is hurt the commander! My beloved commander! He doesn't love you anymore! But you can't accept that, can you? So you are keeping him trapped in your filthy hands! Well, not anymore, you disgusting insect! Today, Taihou swears she will free him from you! You pest!" Taihou screamed at Shoukaku with incredible venom.

"What is she going on about? I've hurt John? How? And she says John doesn't love me anymore but I can't accept it? None of this makes any sense! Just what is Taihou thinking? Why is she thinking this?" Shoukaku had more questions than answers when she heard what Taihou had just told her. The white-crane was about to ask more from the phoenix but didn't get the chance as Taihou summoned fighters who immediately started firing at her. Seeing the danger, Shoukaku summoned her own and began engaging the ones Taihou summoned. Taihou's fighters shot down all of Shoukaku's, seeing this, the crane realised she was really up against it. Taihou was an incredibly powerful shipgirl, nearly on par with Akagi, so the crane knew she couldn't beat her in a straight fight. She had to be more tactical.

Shoukaku summoned more fighters but didn't want them to engage. She used them to draw the attention of the phoenix's fighters away from herself to give her some room to manoeuvre. She then summoned her torpedo bombers while she was retreating to attack Taihou. Taihou saw the torpedoes heading in her direction and avoided them. Her fighters had shot down the white-cranes second group, and she ordered them to attack the crane again. The phoenix then summoned dive bombers to follow her fighters to hit Shoukaku with two attacks. Shoukaku could see the fighters coming towards her and evaded as best she could. However, a round managed to hit her in the leg and slowed her down. She could then see a second wave of planes coming towards her, and her eyes widened when she realised what they were. Shoukaku knew she couldn't avoid them. All she could do was brace for the incoming impact.

A short distance away, a KANSEN was travelling across the ocean. This KANSEN was heading back towards the Azur Lane. It was Zuikaku META. The shipgirl hadn't been able to find any information regarding her niece. Her search on her own had been fruitless. The META realised she needed the help of the Azur Lane and so was heading back to inform John and ask for his help. While travelling across the ocean, the META could hear what sounded like fighting, "What is that? Is someone under attack? Is the Azur Lane fighting the Sirens? I best go and see. They might need help." Zuikaku META thought to herself. Deciding to follow where the sounds of combat were coming from, she moved as fast as she could to give the Azur Lane help if it was required. An explosion was then heard, which caused Zuikaku META to speed up even more. When she arrived at the location of the fighting, she expected to see her comrades fighting Sirens. However, the sight she saw confused her, "Taihou? Who is she fighting?" The META could then see another badly injured KANSEN floating on the surface of the water, "Shoukaku! What's going on? Is Taihou responsible for this? She's not going to get away with this! Don't worry, Shoukaku! Help is coming!" Zuikaku META could see Taihou was getting closer to her injured sister and was looking like She was about to finish Shoukaku off. The META launched her fighters that were enhanced just like she and the began to fly in the directions of the phoenix.

Shoukaku was hurt. She couldn't stand. Taihou's dive bombers had caused massive damage. The white-crane was in pain all over and knew she could sink at any moment. Shoukaku could see Taihou getting closer to her. She was defenceless, and Taihou was going to kill her. The phoenix got closer and closer, and Shoukaku could see Taihou's hand outstretched. She was going to summon another group of planes to end her. Tears began to fall from Shoukaku's eyes, and it wasn't because of all the pain she was in. Shoukaku knew she would never see her loved ones again. John and Zuikaku would certainly be upset and definitely miss her. Shoukaku, however, knew she would never see her daughter again, Tsubaki would grow up without her in her life. This hurt the most, the fact that she wouldn't live to see her daughter become a grown woman, with possibly her own family someday.

Taihou was close now. The crane believed the end was near, "I'm sorry everyone, I know it will be hard without me there. But please, try to carry on without me." Shoukaku sadly thought. Taihou was about to launch her planes at the crane, but at the last second, several rounds hit the phoenix, which caused her to stop and look where the attack had come from. Shoukaku looked at where the attack came from. Whoever attacked the phoenix was her saviour. Shoukaku could see who her saviour was and couldn't believe her eyes when she realised who it was.

"Zuikaku...META!"