Authors note: Little later than I planned for this chapter to arrive, but I've been having issue IRL that can be summed up my car committing seppuku, and needing to work more to pay for new one, leaving me with less time to write. As I've been asked about it in the past I gave it some thought recently, and decided to set up a Ko-fi, so if you'd like to throw money at me to support my writing, you can do it there. Link is on my profile page, though its real simple as it's just /Touhoufanatic, after you type Ko-fi's website. (Ko-fi . com)
But enough about that, onto the writing!
Ps, I'm hoping ti have lord of the dead in the land of lust updated in the next few weeks.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Shinano walked through dreams. That was the way that those of the Sakura saw her gift. The abilities to walk through the dreams of other places. It was simplistic view, but not entirely incorrect. Or wholly correct.
When in her deep sleep of dreams Shinano could see the events of other places and times. Sometimes she saw battles she was never present for, that did not go as history told them, and other times she saw events that had yet to take place.
Such information was not always good to have however as most people, humans or Kansen, would be easily swayed by their own selfish desires if they knew what was to come, and as such Shinano had to think deeply about every events she foresaw, lest actions of others told about it change it for worse.
She had been seeing such dreams for a long time though, and with experience came skill, the skill to see what the best plan of action was, and the ability to lead her drams toward events places, or sometimes people, as she willed it.
Within reason of course.
The better she knew someone the easier it was to look into their possible futures or pasts.
So the fact that she was thinking of the prisoner when she went to sleep, and found herself seemingly immediately standing in a scene she did not recognize was a surprise to say the least.
She was standing upon a building, a teahouse, in the middle of the main island of the Empire. Looking around the island was as it should be, with Shipgirls laughing and enjoying their lives. She could even see a number of Union Shipgirls wearing Sakura style clothing and seeming perfectly happy. It was the ultimate end that they all hoped for. A future where none of their kind were fighting amongst each other, and for just a second she cracked a smile.
And in that instant the entire vison she was seeing seemed to crack. With a sound of shattering glass and shearing metal the lighting changed first, from a midday blue to the dark of night illuminated by flame upon nearly every building that licked up their walls and if to taste every part of them. Screaming came next, as the forms of smiling Shipgirls were replaced by all of them running around in panic or fear. Wounded were everywhere, Shipgirl and Human, and overhead were swarms of dark craft dropping bombs upon the island. In the main bay sat the Orochi, Akagi's pet project, but it was stuck at an angle and broken in half, and upon it, even from distance, Shinano could see two figures fighting.
"Another end, where the two of them, fight to death?" Shinano asked herself as she began leaping from rooftop to rooftop in a display of grace and agility most would not attribute to her. It did not take long for her to reach the bay. She was long since desensitized to the suffering of future times or possibilities. They were images of the future, and could be avoided after all. But when she stopped upon the hull of the Orochi she felt the breath in her lungs be sucked out.
Because while it was Akagi fighting upon the Orochi's form, it was not Enterprise that she was fighting, or the one sometimes Called Code G. Instead it was the prisoner.
Her arms and legs were covered in black and glowing green Metal plated, overlapping and shaped like a great insects carapace. Her clothing was shredded down to a bodysuit, and hanging off her back was Rigging that looked like nothing Shinano had ever seen before, like great rectangles connected by the long edges, some with open tops and ashen debris around the edges. Her left arm was nothing else beside a giant monstrous claw covered in blood, and overtop of it connected to her armbrace was some kind of rotary cannon that was steaming, while in her right uncovered hand she held a sword with an irregular serrated edge that looked more to be made of shrapnel than forged steel. Her hair was white and shaggy, while her eyes glowed a baleful green like chemical fire.
What made Shinano's breath hitch however was when she notice Code G land nearby with an uncaring expression and speak. "We are done here."
"Good, then there is only one last thing to do!" The prisoner declared as she lunged forward and impaled Akagi with her blade, and then beheaded her with her claw. Throwing Akagi's body off of her blade she walked over to Akagi's head and picked it up and pointed it toward the Great Sakura. "This, is the fate your kind will always find, Sakuran, Whore!" the prisoner yelled before she then crushed Akagi's head into a pulpy mass upon her claws.
Before anything else could be seen though a mist rolled in and covered Shinano's vision, and when it passed she saw a port of the Ironblood on fire, with the prisoner looking even more covered in dark armor, slaughtering Ironblood ships as if they were made of mere paper.
Alongside Siren forces that seemed to ignore her presence, or as she quickly saw, followed her commands as she pointed toward a building and a dozen Siren ships all converged their fire upon it, turning it into pyre in a bare second. She watched as Bismarck flew out of the wreckage, screaming bloody murder, only for a half dozen Humanoid sirens to assault her and slow her down. The prisoner took that time to pull out a Black cube, pulsing with hatred, and then lunged at Bismarck as well from an unseen angle and managing to shove the black cube against her skin, and into Bismarck.
Bismarck then fell as her entire form seemed to creak and groan as she let out an animalistic scream, before turning into a creature that could only be described as a Siren corrupted Kansen.
The images changed again with a wall of mist, showing a Union city on fire, then changed again to show the same of the Royals capitol of Londinium, its great clock tower being struck by some kind of projectile and blowing apart.
Then again the scene changed, but this time it was not one of violence, but of darkness, the depth of the Sakura jail, with the prisoner sitting in the cell with another Shipgirl standing across from her, one Shinano had seen in visions before.
"Are you, the one who causes such endings, perhaps?" Shinano asked before realizing that she could not hear what either of them were talking about.
"Bon Homme Richards,"
Shinano turned to see Fusou standing in the hallway across from her, looking directly at her. Only this Fusou looked wrong. Darker, colder. Like she had seen far too much and been forced to keep walking ever onward.
"Ashes," Shinano greeted the Fusou that stood before her before looking at the prisoner and the other Shipgirl. "Is that, her name?"
Fusou nodded, making it abundantly clear that she could see Shinano's presence, and was likely interloping to speak to her. It was rare, but it had happened a few times before. "A Union Shipgirl, who made a mistake. Her mistake led to the deaths of billions, and in her despair, she broke. She became the first of us, the First of the Ashes."
"She, follows Enterprise then?" Shinano asked carefully to make sure it did not sound like she was insinuating something.
"No." Fusou said clearly with a shake of her head. "She is less a person, than a phenomenon at this point. A phenomenon that pushes those of us who failed, who have become broken, to cast off what we were and break further. Her very words cause insanity, and despite that, it becomes hard to not listen, hard to not be drawn in by her words regardless of what those words are. She is evolution by chaos and suffering."
"And must, be stopped?"
"She cannot be stopped, not by the likes of mere Kansen, nor Siren," Fusou said grimly. "She can only be pushed away, denied. She is a wildcard, separate from you, from us, from the sirens, from the true enemy, from everything." She stopped and turned to the jail, looking at the prisoner. "She is more important to a future that can survive that any of you realize. If she falls, if Bon Homme Richards turns her to as we are, her mind will not take it. She must not fall.
"Why? What, do the Ashes, wish of her?" Shinano asked, knowing that the ashes never did anything for no reason. They were like the Sirens in that regard.
Fusou turned to Shinano. "We, hope that she would not become like us. She is powerful, she is potential even greater than Second tier rigging, potential that could save our kind, and humanity. But she is also dangerous, for she teeters on the edge of no return, because she has had no time to come to terms with her life, or with what is to come," Fusou said as the edges of the walls seemed to start to turn to fog. "Our time runs short."
"Then, what is she, aside from child, of man and Kansen?" Shinano asked as the prisoner and Richards disappeared.
Fusou's answer made the mists collide, her words barely making it to Shinano as the vision ended.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Shinano Gasped as she sat up in an instant, her heart beating nearly out of her chest while sweat drenched her body and nightclothes.
She recalled all of her vision, every moment of it, and now knew she needed to act quickly. But how was the real question. How could she help a girl she barely knew from the whispers of what sounded like a mad ghost who fed off of despair and negative emotions? How could she-"
"Shinano, are you alright?"
Shinano turned to see Amagi kneeling beside her bed, worry covering her face.
"No, I am not," Shinano said as she tried to swallow and found it hard, her body still hot and painful. "But I will be, it will, pass."
"A vision?" Amagi asked in understand as she reached beside her and handed Shinano a towel.
"Yes, one with greater implications, than I could have expected," Shinano said a she took the towel and wiped her face. "It . . . may change everything."
"Then we should speak of it" Amagi said simply. "I am here to speak of a matter possibly grave myself, so let us clean you up, and then speak of them.
"Yes, let me first, calm myself, and tidy up," Shinano said as she turned to get up, but found her body feeling very weak, telling her of just how major her visions were this time.
"Please, let me help you,"
Shinano merely nodded in thank as she let Amagi help her up and to the baths of her estate.
After a long hot bath and a nice filing meal Shinano felt like she was just about herself again, and almost immediately she and Amagi entered her Tea room, Amagi sealed the door with Talismans.
"Is that, necessary?" Shinano asked in concern as she carefully pours Amagi and then herself a cup each of green tea.
"I do not know, and am not willing to take the chance," Amagi said with an exhausted sigh. "May I begin first?"
"Please, what brings you here with such worry?" Shinano asked with a nod as she moved her own teacup close but did not immediately drink. It was boiling after all.
"thank you. I have come because something has occurred with the prisoner which bodes ill," Amagi said before explaining everything she was told about what had happened between the prisoner and Kongou, as well as Akagi. When she got to how Kongou was acting and what she said she saw it made
Shinano lose a breath, but she did not show it and simply listened till Amagi finished regaling her of the event.
"So, you believe something is occurring and that she is . . . ." Shinano let her sentence hang, allowing Amagi to answer the question.
"I believe she may be possessed or something similar, yes," Amagi said with a nod as she gripped her teacup tightly. "There is no way that one girl, should have been able to do that to Kongou, or affect us as she did when we first met her. I spoke to Akagi overnight while I waited for you to awaken, and she admitted that her emotions ran high while speaking to the prisoner as well. She has some way to affect people's minds, and I believe we should make sure she cannot continue to do so for everyone's safety. I was hoping you perhaps could learn something of her, or have a suggestion of what to do?"
Shinano felt a cold feeling wash over her at Amagi's words. She did know something now, but it was the opposite of what Amagi would want to hear. If she told her any of it, she could react even more harshly upon the prisoner, and it would simply complicate the issues she now knew of even further. What could she say to begin fixing this situation? What could she do?
"Perhaps, it would be best to not jump to conclusions, and continue speaking to her," Shinano said finally. "She, is not where she feels, comfortable, and is likely going through much. Treating her as, a danger, may make it worse."
"I fear doing such a thing could cause more harm as well," Amagi admitted with a sigh, her tails laying low. "My current plan is to keep her isolated, have food delivered by Shikigami and allow no one to speak to her so that none may be affected by whatever spirit has taken hold of her. If the spirit thrives off of anger and emotions, it should weaken it, and allow us to exorcise it easier."
"I do not believe it is a spirit. Isolating a prisoner who does not deserve as such, would be, detrimental and frowned upon."
"To her, or us?" Amagi asked seriously. "Do you perhaps have an alternate idea of how to stop this from spiraling out of control? Our Ironblood allies have already heard about what happened to Kongou, and this morning I overheard one of them questioning one of her sisters.
Shinano went quiet, her tails slowly swaying about and making it clear to Amagi she was deep in thought. She had a few ideas, but none of them were great. She somewhat knew what she had to do, but doing it would be difficult if not outright impossible with the situation as it was. She needed a way to get the prisoner out of the prison, to not be in such a dark and dreadful place to start with, and needed to do so many other things but there was no place to . . . . No, there was that option.
"I, believe it is the ability of a Kansen, causing such a disparity, of emotion, "Shinanao said very carefully. "She has power she, does not understand, and needs to be taught. So I will take care of her."
"It would be far below our station to deliver food to a Prisoner Shinano."
"No, I will take care of here, here. Within my estate."
". . . that is a very dangerous idea," Amagi said carefully, making it clear she was at bet on the fence about the idea.
"It is less dangerous, than leaving her in isolation," Shinano countered calmly. "I saw it."
"Visions with her?"
"Yes. I, cannot go into detail, but her despairing will lead to, destruction, in many ways."
Amagi seemed to think to herself for many moments before letting out a sigh. "Akagi will not like this."
"Akagi, does not like anything, which does not follow her preconceived, notions."
"Akagi is merely intent on helping all of the empire, that is all," Amagi responded, reminding Shinano of why she did not often bring up Akagi. Amagi's view of her was so strange, at some times being worried she would go too far, and at others acting like she could do no wrong.
It was why Shinano had ultimately decided not to mention or even allude to what Akagi was actually doing that could endanger the Sakura empire. Aft all, in all of her visions she had seen, less than a fifth of them proved successful in the usage of Orochi, it was simply fated to both fail, and either prove Akagi's instability, or in the extreme cases, end her, and revealing such a thing to early would only cause needless friction and chaos that would make the situation worse.
Truly she hated having to make such decisions all the time, like the one she now was. "I have made, my decision," she said with a nod. "I will take the prisoner here to my estate as a political hostage if I must, go so far."
"A Political hostage?" Amagi asked in surprise at the term. "We are at war with Azur lane, such a hostage would be meaningless it would-" Amagi stopped speaking as she looked at Shinano, her expression shifting to surprise, though she held it in check well. "You are not using her as a hostage to Azur lane."
Shinano said nothing, for there was nothing to be said as Amagi understood exactly what she was doing.
"You, are you sure you would wish to go so far for such a vulgar prisoner?"
"To her, Akagi is a monster who attacked her and her friends unprovoked, and kidnapped her. She has, every right to be angry, and hateful. Would many of us, be different in such a, situation?
" . . . perhaps not, but I do not doubt we would be far less upfront and aggrieve about it."
"Even if, the Sacred Sakura was destroyed?" Shinano asked, making Amagi tense at the mere thought of it.
"No, Azur lane would not do such a thing, not even the Sirens attempted such during the war."
"The sirens, do not hate us," Shinano said simply as she yawned. "I have, made my decision. I will bring her here to care for the prisoner, and I will not let her be, experimented upon, whatsoever."
"Even if she suggested as such, I do not believe Akagi would do anything truly untoward to her in that regard. She would-"
"I did not, name Akagi," Shinano interrupted with a simple tone.
Silence reigned between the two women for a time as Amagi and Shinano simply looked at one another. There was no hate, no disgust, and no distrust between them. There was only grim understanding.
"Lady Nagato will want an explanation," Amagi finally said, seeming to relent.
"And she, will receive it, when she asks."
"This will cause friction," Amagi then said, seemingly still somewhat intent on talking Shinano out of her choice.
"This war, causes the same."
"Very well," Amagi said with a drawn out sigh before standing up from the table. "I will inform Nagato of your decision on this matter."
"I thank you kindly for this," Shinano said with a sleepy nod.
"Lady Shinano, do not thank me, for if this does not go as you expect, it will be on you."
"I am aware."
"Then I shall take my leave,' Amagi said as she turned to the door, but stopped just before it. " Lady Shinano, what exactly did you see that makes you believe the prisoner is so important?"
"I saw, endings without hope," Shinano answered grimly. "Destruction and corruption, and an end to threads that were tied to futures unseen by eyes that wished for them. Hatred turned into a form of malevolence rarely seen, an all-consuming darkness. For everyone."
"All related to the prisoner?"
"Yes,"
"I see." A second later Amagi opened the door, tearing her Talisman in the process, and walked out, leaving Shinano alone in the tearoom with her thoughts. What she was doing was dangerous, but worse were the ideas and possibilities that ran though her mind to guarantee the future. Those had time to be decided however.
"Kii?"
A second later Kii walked into the doorway of the Tearoom and bowed. "You called Lady Shinano?"
"Yes. Please inform Kumano I would like her to, accompany me to the, main island. And please have the estates security seen to, and a guest room prepared."
"Of course may I ask for whom?"
Shinano slowly rose to her feet with a yawn. "For one who hates us."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Kongou was livid.
She was a fast Battleship, the last to be laid down outside of Sakuran Waters, but she was still part of the Sakura Empire. No matter how the few that derided her did it, she kept calm and moved forward as elegantly as many others of her nation, and as one who should have been considered a senior of their forces.
Even when Akagi rose to power and began becoming even more arrogant and power-hungry, these things did not change.
Not until she met the prisoner and had been driven to a weeping wreck unfit to hold any form of title.
Yet now, after a good meal, a long rest, another good meal and the support of her sisters, she was back to her usual self with that one addition. That she was Livid.
The more that she thought about it the less sense it made. The girl's words had feeling in them, and from her point of view some made sense, but there was no way simple words should have affected her as much as they did. Had it been because of the odd simulacrum that she had seen behind the girl? The strange energy she seemed to hold?
No, it was both that, and the girl's exclamation about the attack itself. Everyone had been told that it was a simple strike against Azur Lanes military power and nothing else, yet the girl's exclamation otherwise, that kind of hatred was not easy to fake, but it was possible.
"Sister, are you alright?"
Kongou looked up to see Haruna looking upon her with worry.
"Yes, I am fine. Merely thinking," Kongou replied as she returned to her late breakfast. Fried fish, rice, miso, a fine breakfast.
"About?" Hiei asked calmly.
"About how badly I wish to find out the truth," Kongou said simply as she picked up her bowl and finished her Miso. With a content sigh she looked down at the empty bowl and made up her mind. " I am going to speak to the prisoner again."
"What?!" Haruna exclaimed in shock while Hiei almost dropped her rice.
"Kongou, why would you even think of doing such a thing?"
"Because, what happened was not normal, and I now realize that something else is going on here. I need to figure out what it is."
"Well, even if you want to, it will be impossible, "Kirishima said from where she sat still calm. "There are guards watching the prisoner under Amagi's orders and not even Akagi is being allowed entry. It seems your outburst last night has made Amagi very serious about keeping the prisoner contained, and hidden from our Ironblood allies."
"You know of another way in though, yes?" Kongou asked her sister without pause.
Kirishima took a drink of tea and put the cup down. "I do."
"Kirishima, you can't be considering this?" Haruna exclaimed before looking to Kongou. "Sister, you must still be tired why don't we-"
"I am not a wallflower who needs protecting," Kongou sated with a huff. "Everything that occurred yesterday was out of the ordinary, and I am not letting it end with things as they are. I am not letting myself stoop so low as to give up and simply walk away from a challenge!"
The sisters were all quiet for a moment. They were happy their eldest sister was back to normal, but what she was saying could be very dangerous. Something that Kirishima seemed to not care about.
"Very well. In the alley behind the prison building is a small storehouse. Within it there is a vent system that connects to the prison and is large enough for a person to fit through. Albeit barely with your sizes."
"Kirishima!" Haruna exclaimed in shock as she looked between her sisters. "You cannot be considering this. Lady Amagi is allowing no one inside, if you get found-"
"I will be in no small amount of trouble. Yes, I know," Kongou said with a nod. "I must do this however. It is the only way I will get the answers I need."
"How though?"
"By making the prisoner talk,"
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"So, you're saying Shipgirls are just a starting point? They can get stronger and become even more powerful?" Aggy asked as she sat in her cell on the bedroll with her back against the wall, while Bon Homme Richards stood against the opposite wall.
"Yes, exactly that!" Richards said as she finger gun pointed at Aggy. "Sirens and Shipgirls are more similar than people think, and both can evolve if they actually try, but here we are at war with each other, isn't it a damn shame?
"What?" Aggy asked, surprised by Richards opinion.
"I mean, if they were fighting their real enemy, wouldn't it be so much easier to evolve and become stronger?" Richards said with a smirk. "Honestly the only way to do that at this point, is to hurry up and kill the ones responsible for the war, right?"
"What?" Aggy said in confusion for a second, her mind still on previous words. "But, the sirens are gone."
"Are they?" Richards asked with a scowl. "Everyone thinks the Sirens were defeated and gone, but are they really? If so, why is this war happening? The Crimson axis is experimenting with Sirens machinery, that's why they left Azur Lane right? Where are they getting all the tech they are experimenting with?"
" . . . . You, are saying the Crimson Axis are working with the Sirens?" Aggy asked carefully.
"Why else would they start a war but to weaken humanity as a whole?"
"That's, concerning," Aggy muttered as she thought it over. It did make sense. What other reason could there be for starting a war when another one had just passed a decade before? Why would they-
Aggy's thoughts were cut off as she suddenly turned her head to the wall, sensing someone behind her. But being that it was a wall that made little sense.
"Hey, Shipgirls, I, they had, have, Radar, right?"
Richards looked at her in confusion. "Well, yes, for finding ships on the water or planes in the air, though ones uses Sonar more than Radar depending on ship type. Why?"
"Well, uh, can Shipgirls, detect each other?" Aggy asked awkwardly as he could sense the person getting loser, though the wall. Maybe there was a building behind the prison?
"Sure, they can sense full size vessels," Richards said before eyeing Aggy. "Are, you saying you can sense people when not with their vessels?"
"Um ,in not sure if that's how I'd put it but I-"
"AAAAAHHHCK!"
Aggy jumped as a scream and a crash came from right outside the cell, and in a second she was up and at the bars looking out to see the one Sakuran woman from the day before on the floor, with a vent in the ceiling hanging open.
"Ow, if it was a drop straight down she should have told me the vent was on a hinge," she said as she got up off the floor and brushed herself off with a hand before fixing the alignment of her hat.
"You're that Sakuran from yesterday," Aggy said in disgust. "here to ignore your peoples warmongering again?"
"No, I am not. I am here for answers," Kongou said as she brushed herself off a bit more before walking to the front of the cell and taking on a stony expression. "First however," She began as she pointed not at Aggy, but at Richards. "I do not know what sort of ghost, spirit, demon or whatever you are, but I know you must have been why her words stuck me so hard. It will not work again, so get out of here and get lost before you get exorcised!"
Bonn Homme Richards simply stared at Kongou in shock, allowing Aggy to overcome her own. "Wait, I thought you said they couldn't see you?"
"It seems this one can, though, she probably can't hear me, or tell what I look like, can you?" Richards said with a smirk as she looked at Kongou.
"Stop your hollering," she said with a scowl before looking to Aggy. "Can't you get rid of whatever this thing is? It is clearly haunting you and that is not healthy."
"Why? If she angers you, I have no reason to ask her to go away when she actually talks to me and isn't a genocidal-"
"Look I understand you are angry at what has happened to you, and how you have been treated but most of us do not know what Akagi actually did! All I want is to talk to you and come to an understanding as to what actually happened and how much of what you said is true!" Kongou suddenly yelled, cutting off Aggy and surprising both her and Richards.
"Ignore her, we can-"
"Alright, let's talk," Aggy said seriously, making Richards stop and look at her in shock.
"Uh, Aggy gal, she's a Sakuran, the ones who captured you? Just ignore her and once we have a way out of here for you I can help you get strong enough to-"
"She, said she, would let her talk."
Both Aggy and Kongou looked to the stairway into the prison to find Shinano stepping own it not making the even barest of sounds as she did.
"L-Lady Shinano," Kongou said in clear worry. "I am sorry I-"
In that moment as Kongou tried to speak Shinano lazily reached upwards, touched an almost ethereal katana that seemed to appear at her touch, and in the next moment it drew out of its sheath and flew forward at Bonn Homme Richards.
Only for her to disappear as if she was never there.
"What, what diyou just do!?" Aggy exclaimed in shock.
"I merely, made her leave, for now," Shinano said as the blade returned to its original positon only to disappear a second later. Shinano then stepped full down the stairs and up to the cage across from Kongou and merely looked at her for a moment, ears twitching ever so slightly.
Kongou, wilting slightly under the gaze of one of the Sakura's most important and powerful figures, found herself unable to simply say nothing. "Lady Shinano, I-"
"Am here assisting me, with moving the Prisoner, to a less dreary, location," Shinano said before turning her gaze to Aggy and took out a key from somewhere, unlocking the door. "Please, come with me. We will have much to speak of, in my home, without prying eyes."
"What, so you can try to interrogate me again?"
"No," Shinano said as she stepped into the cell and held out a hand for Aggy. "So that we can get you home, and end this war."