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Chapter Text

For RADM Wallace Denhurst, Commander United States Naval Forces Japan, the call came as a surprise, and one that he had no idea how to deal with.

"Let me get this straight, Admiral Fuchida," he addressed the Chief-of-Staff of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). "You want me to give you one of the few officers I have as a sort of 'permanent loan', to take command of a program that none of your officers want any part of?"

There was an embarrassed silence on the other end before Denhurst heard, "That is correct."

"Admiral," Denhurst began, but was stopped by Fuchida continuing with, "I just finished speaking with your Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Martin. He asked me to tell you he would leave the final decision of what officer to send up to you. I will be there in thirty minutes to meet the officer."

Denhurst pouted briefly, wondering why Washington couldn't have given him the courtesy of a direct phone call, but then he remembered that American reception between U.S. Naval Forces Japan and the bases on the West Coast were bad enough with all the Abyssal interference...a direct call to Yokosuka from Washington, D.C. would've been a logistical nightmare to coordinate. Small wonder Martin had asked his Japanese counterpart to pass on the message.

"So I can pretty much give you any officer I want, eh? Even the greenest Ensign I've got?" The comment was underscored with the fact that there was no love lost between the two flag officers.

"I would hope, Admiral, that you saw fit to allow the officer you chose to be at least somewhat experienced." the Japanese officer's tone now had a slight frost to it.

Denhurst sighed and looked out of his office door at the HQ bullpen. Damn shame I can't give him an enlisted person instead, he thought to himself as his eyes landed on Yeoman 2nd Class Jenni Cavanaugh. That girl can't make a decent cup of coffee to save her life, and I'm stuck with her for the next three years.

As he looked around, he heard the faint 'ding' of the elevator, and when it opened to discharge a passenger, a wide grin split Denhurst's face. All his problems had just been solved.

"Late...don't ask!" Lieutenant Commander Matthew Avers barked to a Petty Officer as he made a beeline for his office. Avers was the best weapons officer in Denhurst's command - his War College presentation on a hypothetical Leyte Gulf scenario between Kurita's Center Force and Halsey's battleships was nothing short of brilliant - but he was also an antisocial loner who shunned social interaction outside of work like it was a strain of anthrax. These shining traits didn't stop him from being deep-selected for O-4 after only four years as an O-3 (normal time was six years), and scuttlebutt said that he was already being eyed for deep-selection for O-5 as well. In Denhurst's opinion, Matt Avers was not high-ranking officer material, and any chance to see him gone was a chance that had to be taken.

Denhurst smiled as he turned his attention back to his phone conversation.

"Admiral, I have just the officer in mind."

~~~~~~

Matt Avers placed his laptop case on his desk and sat down in his desk chair, a pleased expression on his face. Denhurst, Two-Star Peckerwood Extraordinaire, had apparently been on the phone when Avers had rushed in, and thus missed his Weapons Officer's late arrival. A commotion in the bullpen caught his eye as he booted up his laptop, and Avers looked up to see a retinue of JMSDF officers making their way to Denhurst's inner sanctum.

Better you than me, he thought, but further thought was interrupted by the phone on his desk ringing.

"Bubba J's Chow House...you kill it, we grill it," he answered in a Southern accent.

"Sir, the Admiral would like to see you in his office," YN2 Cavanaugh's voice replied, although Avers could tell she was trying to suppress a giggle at his greeting.

Avers mentally swore a blue streak; his late arrival had not gone unnoticed after all.

"On my way, Yeoman."

He hung up the phone as he rose from his seat and headed for the door. As he stepped out into the bullpen he was nearly run down by one of the junior Logistics officers, Lieutenant Junior Grade Eddie Blaskewicz, who stepped aside to avoid the collision and inadvertently knocked over the nearby water cooler. The nearly full five-gallon jug of water attached to the cooler proceeded to come loose and poured most of its contents right down the back of the large expensive copier behind it, which - needless to say - did not react well.

"Aw, jeez...I'm sorry!" Blaskewicz attempted to apologize as a Seaman ran for a mop and a Yeoman 3rd Class got on the phone to the IT division for a copier repair detail.

Avers sighed as he headed for Denhurst's office. Blaskewicz was a Logistics wizard, seemingly able to procure supplies even when there were none to be found, but he was also the most accident-prone person Avers had ever met.

"Commander," Denhurst greeted Avers as he entered, "what was all the commotion out in the bullpen just now?"

"Long story short, sir: Lieutenant Blaskewicz, the water cooler, and the copier," Avers replied, and Denhurst did a facepalm, muttering a few choice words under his breath as he did so before turning to his visitors.

"Gentlemen," he spoke in English, "allow me to present the officer I told you about: Lieutenant Commander Matthew Avers."

Fuchida nodded and extended his hand to Avers. Avers, however, responded by bowing low from the waist in respect to Fuchida's rank.

"Yoi tsuitachi, Teitoku," he greeted, keeping his eyes averted.

Denhurst barely avoided cringing. The last thing he needed was Avers offending a group of senior Japanese officers with his sarcasm and anti-social tendencies. However, he saw that the junior officer's action and his flawless Japanese had deeply impressed the JMSDF group.

"Soshite, anata ni dakedenaku, Shōsa," Fuchida replied, before switching to English. "Please, sit down."

Denhurst took a seat behind his desk. "Let me tell you why I've called you here, Commander." He was going to enjoy this very much.

~~~~~~

Ten minutes later, Avers was staring at Denhurst like the admiral had a screw loose.

"Lemme get this straight, sir: you want to transfer me to the JMSDF, where I'll take charge of a bunch of girls who possess spirits of long-gone warships?"

"That's right, Commander," Denhurst grinned, thoroughly enjoying Avers' discomfort. It was about time this upstart got what was coming to him. Nevertheless, he thought he'd best grease the wheels a bit, and so appealed to Avers' ego in an effort at getting him out the door faster. "The JMSDF wants the best officer I have, and so naturally I thought of you."

His efforts failed to have the desired result; Avers' expression practically screamed 'I call bullshit'.

"Sir," Avers began, "No offense meant to anyone in this room, but the absolute LAST thing I am is a babysitter!"

Denhurst's expression hardened. This was not going how he'd hoped. "Commander, are you refusing to follow orders?"

Avers mentally paused upon catching the gleam in Denhurst's eye. He knew for a fact the admiral didn't care for him much and would probably eagerly throw the book at him for even the slightest infraction. Charging me with disobeying orders would probably give Ol' Stars-Upon-Thars a hard-on, he thought darkly. Denhurst had him backed into a corner and he knew it. Guess my days in the U.S. Navy are over...it was fun while it lasted.

"No, sir," he replied.

"Excellent!" Denhurst was practically beaming. "Admiral Fuchida, he's all yours."

The JMSDF Chief-of-Staff had observed Denhurst's interaction with the Lieutenant Commander and had noticed the senior officer's dislike for Avers immediately. However, his impression of Avers was of a young man who liked putting his own spin on the way the Navy did things, and did not suffer fools lightly. And it was plain to see he considered Wallace Denhurst a fool...although he was wise enough not to voice this opinion aloud.

Avers' Transfer of Service was completed fairly quickly, and the newly-minted JMSDF officer followed Denhurst and the Japanese contingent out into the bullpen.

"Admiral on deck!" YN2 Cavanaugh called out, causing all activity to stop.

"At ease, people...I have an announcement to make. Copier repair people, carry on," Denhurst began before turning and indicating Avers. "Today is Lieutenant Commander Avers' last day with us." Denhurst all but smirked as he continued. "As of tomorrow, he will begin full-time service with the JMSDF as head of one of their projects. Lieutenant Blaskewicz!" Denhurst addressed the junior officer, who had walked into the bullpen with his head buried in a file and was therefore oblivious to his surroundings.

At the sound of his CO's voice Blaskewicz jerked his head up, causing him to stumble over a Chief Petty Officer on the copier repair detail. The Chief, knocked off-balance, brushed his hand against what Avers thought to be some sort of circuit board on the copier's interior. Whatever it was, the contact caused an impressive arcing of electricity and the senior NCO to jerk his hand back while shouting an equally impressive display of swear words.

As the Chief was escorted to the infirmary and Blaskewicz apologized profusely for the accident, Denhurst turned to Avers with a malicious grin.

"I think I just found the first member of your staff, Commander."

Avers' face betrayed no emotion as he thanked his former CO for the extra manpower. He didn't mind having Blaskewicz on his staff; the two of them had always gotten along. Blaskewicz was called over and quietly informed of his new assignment, after which Avers watched as the junior officer stammered his way through greeting the JMSDF officials. The quality of the Lieutenant's Japanese was enough to make Avers almost cringe, but he could tell Fuchida and the other JMSDF officers appreciated the Lieutenant's efforts to greet them in their native tongue.

~~~~~~

Two hours later, Avers and Blaskewicz were carrying the last of their personal effects out to a taxi that was stopped in front of HQ.

"All right there, Lieutenant?" Avers asked his new Logistics Officer.

"I guess so, sir," Blaskewicz responded. "I dunno how good I'm gonna do at this job, though. With all due respect, sir, I can't speak a lick of Japanese. You saw my attempt at greeting Admiral Fuchida and his staff, and now I'm gonna serve in the JMSDF? Somethin's kinda screwy about that logic, if you ask me."

Avers encouraged his subordinate as the two officers emerged from the building.

"You'll do fine...take some Japanese language classes or just learn as you go. And I'll help you when I can; besides, we're probably going to be the only American officers there, so we'll need to stick together."

"Didn't RADM Denhurst allow you to pick a few more people, sir?" Blaskewicz looked perplexed.

Avers was about to reply when an approaching commotion caught his attention.

"Hey! Get your hands offa me!" An irate Operations Specialist 1st Class was being led towards HQ in handcuffs by two Military Policemen. As they approached Avers, the senior-ranking MP snapped off a salute. Avers returned the salute and then motioned for the trio to pause a moment.

"OS1 Mancini," Avers greeted the fuming NCO, "I see they found you again. How long did it take them this time?"

"Three days, sir," Mancini grinned. "Woulda been longer had it not been for me goin' in that McDonald's for lunch. Damn McNuggets," he muttered under his breath. "How's it going, Lieutenant?" he greeted Blaskewicz, who smiled amiably and nodded in response.

Avers stifled laughter as he considered the base's resident 'escape artist'. OS1 Louis 'Gino' Mancini was an excellent training NCO, but sometimes he got a hair crosswise and decided to wander off on his own to either see the sights or blow off steam, with or without proper authorization. Whenever the MPs found him and brought him back, he was never violent physically, but he certainly let those bringing him in know verbally that he was Not Happy. After a week or so in the brig each time, Mancini would return to duty and then about two weeks later the whole process would start all over again. However, with the Abyssals controlling the seas and skies over the Pacific, there was no way to ship Mancini back to the States, so Denhurst and the JAG Corps personnel stationed in Japan had to be content with the brief periods of brig time. If he were honest with himself Avers had no idea how Mancini had managed to remain an E-6, and with his record the chances of him ever making Chief were slim to none.

It was then that Avers got an idea, but he didn't want to reveal his cards too soon. "Well, good luck in the fight that's coming," he encouraged the Petty Officer as he stepped aside so the MPs could proceed. "They're transferring us, so we won't be around to hear how it turns out."

"Thanks, Commander," Mancini replied as the MPs led him away. "I'll see ya, Lieutenant."

Blaskewicz waved as the enlisted trio moved on, but his eyes were already back on Avers, whose expression told him he was thinking hard about something.

"Something on your mind, sir?" he asked.

Avers nodded. "I've got an idea, but I'm going to run it by a few people first," he replied. "If it pans out, we just might have found a trainer for the shipgirls."

~~~~~~

The following morning Avers walked into his old duty post, still slightly in shock at what had already transpired that day. Upon arrival at JMSDF Headquarters, Fuchida had welcomed him and Blaskewicz warmly, before informing Avers that - in conjunction with his new post - he was officially promoted to full Admiral. The newly minted Admiral had requested that his new post be formally known as Rengō Kanmusutai (Combined Shipgirl Fleet), as an homage to the ships whose spirits they possessed. Another request - which Fuchida approved - was that all human personnel attached to his command be allowed to wear the uniforms of the former Imperial Japanese Navy. He'd then put forth the plan he'd thought up the previous evening and was now about to implement.

After leaving Admiral Fuchida's office, both he and Blaskewicz had gone straight over to Nakata Shoken uniform outfitters and purchased several uniforms - both blues and whites - and had also placed orders for others. Thank God for uniform allowances, thought Avers, or else this would've put a serious dent in my savings.

He was thoroughly enjoying himself as they walked to the brig area; the gold on the full Admiral's shoulder boards of his summer whites prompted quite a few snaps to attention, even if probably 90% of the personnel coming to attention had no idea what either his rank or Blaskewicz's was.

"Ok, Captain?" he asked, using the rank he'd promoted Blaskewicz to only two hours ago.

Blaskewicz looked around before realizing Avers was addressing him. "Oh, right! That's me!" he muttered to himself, causing Avers to stifle laughter. "Fine, sir...just not used to being addressed as a senior officer. My parents aren't gonna believe what's happened." An uncertain expression flickered over his face. "I'm glad my Grandpa's no longer around...he'd disown me for wearing this uniform."

"World War II veteran, I take it?" Avers guessed, and Blaskewicz nodded.

"He was a Gunner's Mate on the California at Pearl Harbor, then he transferred to the Astoria. He was aboard her at Savo Island and then the San Francisco at 1st Guadalcanal. Then he was on the Maryland at Surigao Strait."

"I'd say he saw some action," Avers quipped as they arrived at the brig area and walked up to the window for admittance.

"Heard you transferred out, sir," the Lieutenant on duty greeted him as he buzzed Avers and Blaskewicz in.

"Just here to visit someone, Lieutenant," Avers replied. "I'd like to see OS1 Mancini."

"Aye, sir...I'll have him brought to the visiting room." the Lieutenant turned and motioned to two MPs on guard duty.

Avers and Blaskewicz were waiting in the visiting room for only a few minutes when Mancini was brought in. As he entered, he appeared completely surprised to see the two officers.

"Thanks for comin' to see me before you headed out, sirs, but you really didn't have to. I mean, it's standard procedure...I get my Captain's Mast tomorrow, and then it's seven days back here."

"What if you could change that?" Avers asked.

"How so, sir?" Mancini replied. "There's no way I'll ever progress beyond OS1...I was lucky to make that. My Dad's made it perfectly clear I'm not Chief material."

That statement made Avers pause. Apparently, I missed something here... "What does your father have to do with this?"

Mancini scoffed. "He's an Admiral back in Norfolk. He shipped me out here before the Abyssals attacked because he thinks overseas duty's gonna shape me up. Ha!"

"I took the liberty to review your service record," Avers replied. "Aside from your penchant of going AWOL, your CO has given you excellent fit-reps regarding your duties as a training NCO. If you'd quit going AWOL, I imagine you could be a Master Chief in ten years' time."

Mancini shrugged. "Why give my Dad the satisfaction?"

"Or would you rather get out from under his thumb and make your own way?" Avers started easing into his idea.

Mancini looked interested. "How so, sir?"

Avers proceeded to outline his plan. When he was finished, he motioned for Mancini to voice his own thoughts.

"Lemme get this straight, sir," the OS1 was quick to reply. "You're offering me the chance to transfer navies and work for you instead of having my Dad's shadow over me at all times?"

Avers nodded, adding, "And another thing: if you transfer, you'll start with a clean slate…all those AWOL infractions will be completely expunged. All I ask is that the whole AWOL thing stops, and you find a constructive way to blow off steam. Take up jogging, swim laps, get a PlayStation 4, whatever you need to do, just no more going AWOL, ok?"

Mancini was stunned by Avers' offer. All he was asking was that Mancini follow the rules...pretty much what he was supposed to do all along. In exchange, he'd have a clean record and would no longer be a subordinate of his father. Definitely a win-win situation if he ever saw one.

"Where do I sign?" he grinned.

Avers motioned to Blaskewicz, who produced a packet of paperwork from a briefcase and handed it to Avers. Avers set the papers before Mancini and handed him a pen, indicating where the Petty Officer should sign his name.

"Welcome to the first day of your new life."

Mancini laughed as he scribbled his signature. "Feels damn good, sir."

When Mancini was done signing the paperwork Avers revealed the last bonus of Manicini's new position as he handed the papers back to Blaskewicz.

"Oh, one more thing. I know you're a training NCO, but I don't need one of those...I need a Training Officer."

That seemed to give Mancini pause. "Come again, sir?"

Avers extended his hand to Mancini. "Louis Mancini...you're hereby assigned as the Training Officer for Rengō Kanmusutai and as of this moment are promoted to Captain. Congratulations."

"CAPTAIN?!" Mancini gaped at Avers’ statement.

Avers nodded, both he and Blaskewicz sporting wide grins at the former Petty Officer's reaction.

"Sir, no disrespect intended here, but I don't know nothin' about bein' no senior officer."

"Then you'll fit right in," Avers joked, and both Mancini and Blaskewicz laughed.

~~~~~~

There was a paperwork problem as they attempted to leave the brig area; the Lieutenant on duty refused to accept the fact that Mancini was no longer a part of the U.S. Navy and that his record had been wiped clean, even with the requisite paperwork in front of him. He simply passed the situation up the chain, and it was not ten minutes later when Rear Admiral Denhurst marched into the brig's admin area, demanding to know why he'd been called down here to deal with such a matter. The Lieutenant showed Denhurst the paperwork, and Avers' former CO glared at him.

"You're taking someone else from my command? Who is it this time?"

"Me, sir," Mancini replied, to which Denhurst's expression changed to one who is barely containing laughter.

"You want the Escape Artist?" he scoffed, and Mancini, instead of being offended, merely grinned and turned to Avers.

"See, Admiral? My illustrious reputation precedes me."

While Avers thought Mancini's comment was humorous, he wanted to laugh his ass off at how Denhurst's face was quickly turning a very nice shade of puce.

"ADMIRAL?!" Denhurst rounded on Avers with the speed of a viper. "ADMIRAL?! The JMSDF made you the same rank as me in one fell swoop?!"

"Of course not," Avers replied soothingly, and Denhurst's complexion gradually returned to normal with the Admiral thinking Avers had one star to his two. Avers therefore took great pleasure in what he said next. "The JMSDF made me a full Admiral. In U.S. Navy terms, I've got two more stars than you."

Everyone in the room - including the MPs - was impressed at how Denhurst's face turned a sickly shade of gray as he realized that his brilliant, iron-clad plan to get rid of someone he thought had no business being a Naval officer had backfired spectacularly.

"Um, Admiral? Are you all right, sir?" the brig Lieutenant looked at Denhurst with growing concern. When the Admiral remained silent and proceeded to lean heavily against the counter and grip it for support, the Lieutenant motioned for an MP sitting at a nearby desk to phone the medical building for a doctor.

Denhurst reached over to the stack of papers lying on the counter, grabbed them, and thrust them at Avers using only one severely shaking hand.

"Get out," he croaked.

Avers was more than a little tempted to ask Denhurst to address him correctly - meaning adding a 'sir' on the end of his request to leave - but as his former CO looked like he desperately needed a hospital he simply motioned Blaskewicz and Mancini to follow him out the door.

Chapter Text

It took two hours for Mancini to pack his belongings and purchase a proper uniform, but by 1000 the trio had met up with Admiral Fuchida and his staff and were finally on their way to their new HQ.

After a ninety-minute flight from Tokyo to Kure, the group boarded a ferry for the last 48 minutes to Eta Jima.

"Where are we going?" Blaskewicz wondered as the ferry approached the large island.

"That's Eta Jima up ahead," Avers responded. "It used to be the JMSDF Academy until the Kanmusu Program began and the JMSDF Academy moved to Hiroshima. Now everything that was JMSDF on Eta Jima belongs to the Kanmusu Program."

The ferry reached the island without incident and the group entered cars for the brief trip to the naval base.

"I thought Abyssals were attacking anything on the water," Mancini turned to glance at the open sea, as though he expected to see groups of the alien war machines just waiting to pounce on anything that floated.

"Too close to the enemy, I guess," Avers replied.

"That's the opinion of our intelligence officers," Admiral Fuchida put in, "but who's to say we have any clue whatsoever as to how the Abyssals think?"

The cars passed through the gates of the naval base without incident and pulled up in front of the administrative building. As Avers got out of the car he briefly took in the scenery before following Admiral Fuchida inside. As an amateur historian, he'd studied the Imperial Japanese Navy extensively, and knew quite a bit about most of their Pacific War-era ships. To now be standing on the hallowed grounds of the Naval Academy - the halls of which so many historical figures had passed through - was slightly overwhelming. However, for holding so many personnel, the base appeared to be deserted.

"Where is everybody, out fighting the Abyssals?" Blaskewicz posed the question.

"Probably in the classrooms for instruction," Admiral Fuchida replied. "It's the middle of the day, after all."

With that question answered, the group headed inside the administration building, where the trio followed Admiral Fuchida and his aide onto an elevator and up to the second floor, then down a large, brightly lit hallway to a door marked 'Admiral's Office'.

Fuchida knocked and a voice inside barked, "Enter!"

As Fuchida opened the door, an attractive brunette noticed who was coming in.

"Chūi!" she commanded, and the other two occupants in the room, a dark-haired girl dressed similarly to the brunette and another dark-haired girl wearing a uniform and manning the radio set - shot to their feet, the eyes of all three girls widening when they took in the uniforms of the three Americans, obviously recognizing them instantly.

Fuchida motioned them to be at ease. "Good morning, ladies. I've brought your new Commanding Officer. Allow me to present Admiral Matthew Avers."

Avers noticed the girl standing behind the desk stiffen when his name was announced. Before he could address this, Fuchida called the room to attention once more to conduct the change-of-command ceremony, although Avers' predecessor was not present. Fuchida and his aide departed once the brief ceremony was completed, leaving the three Americans with the three girls. Avers decided to get introductions out of the way first.

"As Admiral Fuchida said, I'm Admiral Matthew Avers, your new CO. This is my Logistics Officer, Captain Eddie Blaskewicz, and my Training Officer, Captain Louis Mancini."

The brunette and the girl manning the radio set appeared to automatically look at the girl behind the desk.

"Welcome, Admiral," the girl replied. "I am your Secretary Ship, Nagato."

Avers could tell Nagato was uneasy at being under the command of an American, so he decided to be frank with her.

"I'm honored to have such an illustrious ship as my Secretary," he stated. "Allow me to say that Toyoda should've assigned you to Nishimura's force in Surigao Strait...a fitting death for the samurai all IJN ships were. Go out with all guns blazing instead of sitting in an atoll. But even in that, you chose your own time...not even two nuclear bombs could stop you. You’ve earned the right to be a flagship. That said, let me put one question to rest right now: there will be no bright flashes - if you catch my meaning here - in ANY kanmusu's future."

Nagato's eyes moistened slightly and Avers could tell she was struggling mightily to control her emotions, obviously not having expected him to say what he had.

"Mutsu," he turned his attention to the brunette. Under other circumstances, he might have looked for the possibility of there being more than just a professional relationship between them, for there was no doubt the battleship was extremely attractive. However, two things precluded this: for one thing, he'd erected a titanium wall around his heart and refused to allow anything to get through, and another was that he could tell his Secretary Ship and her sister ship were interested only in each other. To each their own, he thought as he continued.

"I want you to get in touch with the Ordnance Bureau, and have their people run double-, triple-, quadruple-...even quintuple-checks on the Type 3 San-Shikidan antiaircraft shells. As long I am Commander, we are NOT going to have ANY girls lost due to the explosion of faulty ammunition."

"Hai!" the battleship replied, her eyes glistening with tears as well.

Avers then turned to the girl manning the radio set. "And you are?" he asked.

"Oyodo-des," the girl replied, and instantly Avers knew her story.

"The only light cruiser to ever hold the mantle of Combined Fleet flagship," he noted. "I can't think of anyone better to man the radios."

Oyodo appeared to blush at the compliment as Avers proceeded to address all three of them.

"Being Commander-in-Chief, I obviously need a larger staff, but as I was unable to pilfer anyone else from my former assignment, and Admiral Fuchida has informed me that the JMSDF is unable to allocate anyone to me for the foreseeable future, I'm going to need the three of you to help me out. Nagato, you're my new Chief-of-Staff, Mutsu, my new Fleet Adjutant, and Oyodo, you're now the Fleet Communications Specialist."

"Admiral -" Nagato began.

"I need people in these slots who know their jobs," Avers halted her objections. "Who better than the shipgirls who have been in similar positions for a while now? Now," he moved behind the desk and sat down, nodding in approval at the very comfortable chair - yet another sign that rank had its privileges - and motioned for Blaskewicz and Mancini to take the chairs in front of the desk, "I would like to have an assembly in two hours' time for all kanmusu personnel so that the three of us, " he indicated himself and his two companions, "can introduce ourselves to everyone."

"Of course, Admiral," Nagato replied. "I'll make the announcement." She handed a folder to Avers. "This was left for you by your predecessor."

Opening the folder, Avers found the documents he'd expected to find detailing the variables of his new command, along with a blank sealed envelope. Intrigued, he picked it up and opened it, finding two sheets of paper inside: one a letter and the other a list. As the letter was on top, he decided to read it first:

To My Honored Successor:

            Congratulations on your appointment as the new Admiral to the kanmusu. Allow me to say that the assignment you are about to undertake will be probably the most unique duty posting you’ve ever had. Attached is a list of rules I came up with as a result of various happenings during my tenure of command. As unpredictable as things here are, I imagine you will find cause to add a few rules of your own. All I can say is: Better you than me. I wish you the best of luck.

(Signed)

Nakayama M.
Former Commander, Kanmusu Program

"Read this," Avers handed the letter to Blaskewicz, who did so before passing it to Mancini, who did the same.

"Boy, sounds like your predecessor was glad to leave, sir," Blaskewicz stated.

"'All I can say is: Better you than me.'? The hell did he mean by that?" Mancini asked as he handed the letter back to Avers.

Avers shook his head absently as he began scanning the list. "I have no idea." As he scanned the list, his concerns grew with each line. "What the hell kind of list is this?" he asked rhetorically.

"Problem, sir?" Mancini inquired.

"Honestly? I don't know," Avers reread the list. "Listen to some of these and maybe the two of you can make sense of them." He started reading them off:

"Using Haribo sugar-free gummy bears as a prank will result in severe punishment." He looked at his fellow Americans, whose faces were the epitome of confusion.

Over by the radio set, Oyodo coughed discreetly, causing Avers to look over at the three kanmusu in that corner of the room.

"Do you three have any idea about what that could possibly mean? Because I gotta tell you, the three of us are completely stumped."

"Um, well, sir..." the light cruiser trailed off embarrassedly.

Nagato sighed loudly and spoke up. "For those who are unaccustomed to eating it, sugar-free candy tends to act as an incredibly strong laxative."

The three men grimaced. "Just out of curiosity, how bad was it?" Avers asked.

"Me, Oyodo, destroyer Inazuma, and FIVE of the carriers," Nagato replied. "The carrier dorms had only two bathrooms at the time."

"Zoinks!" Blaskewicz muttered under his breath.

"Ouch...talk about drawing battle lines," Mancini joked.

"The bathrooms in all dorms have since been rebuilt to more than accommodate all ships of each dorm," Mutsu offered weakly, though everyone in the room knew it was little comfort.

"Moving on," Avers overrode any other jokes Mancini might have been planning on making and listed another item.

"World of Warships is not a training simulator. You cannot skip out on practice to play it. Who did this one?"

"Destroyer Yudachi," Nagato replied. "Nagara had to forcibly remove her from her computer. Some of the other girls still play it, but its use is regulated now."

"So, measures are in place to make certain the girls get outside and remain accustomed to natural light...that's good," Avers quipped, causing Blaskewicz to grin and Mancini to laugh. "Next - Using kaiju films to terrify the younger destroyers is strictly forbidden. What are 'kaiju' films?"

"Movies like Rodan or Gojira," Nagato answered. "Light cruiser Kitakami showed Destroyer Division 31 Gojira one night and they refused to sortie for a week."

"Gojira?" Mancini inquired.

"Godzilla," Avers clarified.

"She also exposed Destroyer Division 6 to Snakes on a Plane," Nagato continued, "and Destroyer Division 24 was shown the original version of The Hills Have Eyes."

"Wonderful...one of my torpedo cruisers is a sadist," Avers muttered as both Blaskewicz and Mancini grimaced; they had apparently seen both of those films.

"The matter was quickly taken care of," Nagato replied. "Battleship Kongo intervened and the destroyers have been spared from seeing films like that ever since."

Avers didn't bother to ask what Kongo had done to Kitakami, as the expressions on all three kanmusu's faces said the less the Americans knew about that one the better.

"What about this one? Akagi is no longer allowed to order refreshments for movie night. What did she do, order veggie burgers and soy milk for everyone on the base?"

"No," Oyodo shook her head. "She ordered 200 pounds of popcorn, 150 plates of nachos, 150 hot dogs, seven stacks of forty soft pretzels each, the same number of churros, a forty-gallon freezer full of popsicles and ice cream bars, a dozen soda machines, and a sushi bar."

"I gotta admit, I like a woman who knows her junk food," Mancini stated, and Blaskewicz nodded in agreement.

"Impressive array indeed," Avers commented. "What was the catch?"

"She ordered it all on the previous Admiral's credit card," Mutsu replied, and all three officers cringed.

"Yikes," Mancini muttered.

Avers closed his eyes briefly, imagining what he might do in such a case. I'd probably go ballistic, he thought. I keep such a tight lid on my finances, such an extravagant purchase would probably cause me to lose it.

"All right, next," he stated. "Shipgirls are forbidden from getting tattoos. What's the story behind this one?"

"Destroyer Akatsuki found a picture of a woman with a large, elaborate dragon tattoo covering most of her upper body and thought that was how an elegant lady should look," Nagato replied. "Kongo had to dissuade her from that notion."

"Let's not forget the Iku episode," Mutsu put in, and Nagato groaned.

"'Iku episode'?" Avers inquired.

"Submarine I-19 showed up to practice one day with a tattoo to commemorate the occasion she attacked Task Force 18."

Avers cringed at that. The submarine's attack on 15 September 1942 had sunk the carrier Wasp and killed 193 of her crew, and damaged the battleship North Carolina and destroyer O'Brien, the latter so severely she later broke up and sank en route to permanent repairs on the West Coast. He shuddered to think of what might happen if the Americans managed to summon some fleet girls of their own and those three ships were among them. That would not be pretty.

He shook himself out of his reverie and continued down the list.

"All personnel are forbidden from distributing any forms of erotic artwork. Who was the cause of this one?"

"Heavy cruiser Aoba," Nagato replied. "She stopped after being cornered by Kitakami, Furutaka, and Kongo, however."

"Oh, good...dissension in the ranks," Avers muttered, now almost afraid to continue reading the list for fear of what he might see next. I was right, he thought as he read the seventh item.

"Abyssals are not pets...they cannot be captured in the hopes of domesticating them...who in the world - ?!"

"Light carrier Hosho," Mutsu replied. "She's the sole exception to this rule because she actually did it. On her last combat mission before she retired to open her restaurant with Irako, she came upon an Abyssal and brought her back with her. She named the girl Hoppo and has kept her ever since."

What the hell kind of zoo did the previous Admiral run here?! Avers screamed inside his head. You don't keep enemy personnel as pets!

Oyodo apparently sensed Avers was about to object because she went over to her desk and picked up a framed photo, handing it to Mancini. "This is Hoppo."

"Cute..." Mancini muttered awkwardly, not used to using that word to describe the enemy. He handed the photo to Blaskewicz.

"Aw, she's adorable!" Blaskewicz exclaimed. "I can't wait to meet her!" He handed the photo to Avers.

Avers had been prepared to march straight down to Hosho's restaurant with a formal eviction notice for the Abyssal, but one look at the picture told him there was no way he could possibly do so. The Abyssal he was convinced would go berserk and destroy them all in their sleep was a beyond-adorable little girl with silver hair and bright red eyes who looked to be all of four years old. She posed no threat to anyone.

"She calls Hosho-san 'Mama'," Oyodo continued. "Everyone on the base adores her."

Avers smiled slightly. If the light carrier and the Abyssal had bonded like that already, there was only one answer he could give.

"I'm sure we will too," he replied as he handed the photo back and picked up the list again.

At his statement, the tension in the room seemed to lessen, now that he had confirmed he was not going to evict the Abyssal.

"Let me see," Avers mused, "continuing with the list...where were we? Ah," he found his place, read the next rule, and nodded in approval, "now here is a rule that makes sense: Video games will be screened for approval first before introduction to the shipgirls. Perfectly reasonable."

"Yes," Nagato agreed, "we had to enforce it, especially after Destroyer Division 31 discovered Five Night's at Freddy's."

Mancini grimaced. "Yeah, kids don't need to see that."

"That's not as bad as what happened to Destroyer Division 6, remember?" Mutsu put in. "Iku thought she'd be 'helpful' and showed them a walkthrough of Doom 3."

All three Americans grimaced at that one. "Aw, geez..." Blaskewicz trailed off.

"Yeah, that rule's gonna remain in force until hell freezes over," Avers muttered as he looked at the next rule. "Ok, this one needs explaining: Destroyers cannot upgrade themselves to battleships by surprise attacks on said ships."

Nagato sighed as if remembering something she'd rather have forgotten. "We don't know where the destroyers got the idea, but somehow they thought that if they attacked battleships by surprise, they would somehow become battleships. Thankfully, I managed to quickly dispel the idea."

Avers did a double take at the next one. "Hibiki is not allowed vodka. She is only a child."

"Who in their right minds is letting a kid drink straight vodka?" Mancini demanded to know.

"No one...she disables the internet filters and orders it herself," Mutsu replied.

"She spent six years in the Soviet Navy after World War II," Avers stated absently as he continued down the list. "I imagine that's where she gets it." He read the next rule and had to stop briefly before asking, "What's the story behind this one? Naka is forbidden to compete with Kongo over who has the largest fan following."

"Naka fancies herself the 'Fleet Idol'...almost a sort of pop star or celebrity," Mutsu informed them. "Kongo - while she doesn't hold concerts and webcasts like Naka does - has a large following as well, as she puts herself out there for the public to admire." She looked somewhat embarrassed as she admitted, "The two of them sometimes become involved in fierce competitions for fans. I should give Naka credit, though...she gives her fans a lot all on her own. Kongo has her three sisters helping her."

"What do you mean by 'fierce competition'?" Avers asked, somewhat afraid to find out the answer.

"They hold singing competitions on the parade grounds sometimes," Mutsu replied. "Most of the time these things are scheduled, but sometimes they just happen. One moment everyone can be going about their day, and the next those two are singing their hearts out on makeshift stages, each trying to outdo the other."

"Great..." Avers muttered. "Our fleet's got warship versions of pop star divas." Blaskewicz and Mancini cringed at this image. Avers shook his head. "If the two of them wish to compete for fans, fine, as long as it doesn't interfere with their training or with fleet operations. The moment it does, I'll put a stop to it."

"Understood, sir," Nagato nodded in approval as Avers resumed reading the list.

"All right, next item: Pool parties, toga parties, and raves are now banned. What's wrong there?"

"Pool parties had to be banned because at the first one Iku decided it would be fun to pants Kumano and then untie Tatsuta's top," Nagato replied, grimacing at the memory. "It was similar chaos at the toga party, only this time the victim was Musashi."

"Sounds like Iku's a bit of a pervert," Mancini laughed. "I don't blame her for the pool party thing, though...I did that once or twice back when I was a teenager." He grinned, lost in memory. "Ah, Alissa Baker...spoiled brat personality-wise, but she had legs that rivalled Stacy Keibler's." He blinked, coming out of his thoughts, to see the other five occupants of the room looking at him, and he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Yeah, um..."

"Finished, are we?" Avers asked pointedly. Mancini nodded as Avers turned back to Nagato. "And the rave? What happened there?"

Nagato reddened considerably. "Flashing lights piercing the darkness and a wall of noise caused myself and several of those who had been to Guadalcanal to have PTSD flashbacks."

"Aw, jeez...that sucks," Blaskewicz grimaced.

"Enough said about that one," Avers replied. "Moving on...All aviation facilities are now off-limits to shipgirls." He was silent for a moment before he muttered, "I'm almost afraid to ask..."

"Junyo and Zuiho learned the hard way that just because they were aircraft carriers in a past life does not mean they automatically know how to fly," Oyodo stated. "They went to Shizuhama Air Base and decided to take a T-7 trainer up on a joyride."

Avers cringed. "I take it things didn't go so well?"

Oyodo smiled nervously. "They walked away from the crash, sir."

"I imagine there were a few words said about that," Avers muttered.

"Colonel Nishizawa and General Genda both had strong opinions on letting shipgirls fly aircraft," Mutsu put in.

"I think that's the delicately phrased version of the statement 'they were both royally pissed'," Mancini informed the others. Mutsu blushed attractively and nodded.

Avers stared at Mancini a few moments. "Thanks for that, Captain...wouldn't have been able to discern that without your help." He turned back to the list and cringed. "Here's another one that's pretty much a given: Shimakaze is not allowed candy on a regular basis."

"What's so bad about that?" Blaskewicz wondered.

"Shimakaze's the fastest destroyer we've got," Avers informed his Logistics Officer. "Picture a girl who can go nearly 41 knots, has six 5-inch guns, and three quintuple Long Lance torpedo mounts. Now add copious amounts of caffeine and sugar into the mix."

"Yikes..." Blaskewicz trailed off, thinking about the consequences of such a thing.

"Warp speed, Mr. Sulu," Mancini quipped, and Mutsu giggled.

"Right...Not Good," Avers confirmed. "Next - If you value your life, Kongo's Tea-Time is NOT to be interrupted. I'm guessing this has something to do with her being built in England?"

Nagato nodded. "Yes...she takes her English roots very seriously. An Abyssal force decided to attack one day during tea-time, and she was forced to go out and defend the base. She was not pleased."

"Let me guess: all the Abyssals died violent deaths?"

"She defeated the entire force single-handedly, sir," Oyodo confirmed. "Six destroyers, two light cruisers, and a Ru-class battleship."

"I'd call that a big 'yes'," Mancini muttered.

"Next," Avers stated, deciding to move on without offering any comments of his own. "Ooi is prohibited from exhibiting obsessive behavior concerning Kitakami. Story?"

"Ooi is..." Oyodo trailed off, seemingly unsure as to how to put into words exactly what she wanted to say, "...protective of her sister, and it shows to a large degree."

"Understandable," Avers replied. "They served together for much of the Pacific War and were the only two ships converted to torpedo cruisers. Stands to reason they'd want to stick together."

"I've seen her walk behind Kitakami and mutter like that creature from Lord of the Rings," Mutsu put in. "I don't believe that's healthy."

"It's not," Avers confirmed. "Ok," he thought out loud briefly, "so we're up to one sadist torpedo cruiser, a pervert heavy cruiser and submarine, and the other torpedo cruiser has a Fatal Attraction kick...great," he glowered at the next item on the list and did a double take.

"Get this one," he got the attention of Blaskewicz and Mancini. "The only way this rule could possibly have been instituted was if someone was actually bonkers enough to try this: Fights with the Abyssals are not Pokémon battles. Stop trying to catch them."

"You're kidding me, right?" Mancini asked. "Seriously...you have to be with that one."

"If I'm lyin', I'm dyin'," Avers handed the list to him. "It's number seventeen."

Mancini read the indicated line and shook his head. "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't read it for myself," he muttered. "But I gotta ask, who was behind this one?"

"Yes, please tell us," Avers encouraged his staff, adding mentally, so that I can order them to undergo a mandatory psych eval.

"That would be Torpedo Squadron Four: light cruisers Yubari, Kuma, and Tama and Destroyer Division 30," Oyodo responded.

"DesDiv 30 means Mutsuki, Uzuki, Yayoi, and Mochizuki, correct?" Avers reeled off names of ships from his memory.

The jaws of the three shipgirls were practically on the floor. "C-close," Nagato finally stammered. "Kisaragi, Yayoi, and Mochizuki. How did you -?"

"I've read countless books on the Pacific War," Avers replied. "Relentlessly studied the former Rengō Kantai since I was 14. Just a matter of memorizing names and numbers. Anyway," he returned to the matter at hand, "that rule will still be enforced. I believe the reasons for this are painfully obvious?"

The three kanmusu nodded, but to his consternation Avers saw Blaskewicz and Mancini looking at him blankly. He sighed.

"Because there are no such things as Pokémons..." Avers trailed off.

"Oh, right..." both Mancini and Blaskewicz nodded, finally getting what Avers was saying. The Admiral shook his head while Mutsu and Oyodo giggled.

Avers glanced at the next line. Thankfully, he thought, we're nearing the end of this crazy list. When he read the next rule, he smiled in relief.

"Now here's another sensible one: A portion of everyone's monthly paycheck will be set aside in savings. Excellent thinking!"

"You're right, but there's gotta be a story behind it," Mancini grinned, "and I bet it's a good one, too." He turned to the shipgirls. "Ladies? Might you have something to add here?"

"Naka and Kongo bought Lamborghinis," Mutsu replied. "Neither of them knows how to drive."

"Kirishima decided to teach them," Oyodo put in. "She doesn't know how to drive, either."

"Yes," Nagato agreed. "Then when they decided they had the basics of driving down - which was nowhere near true - things got even worse."

"Two extremely hyper, highly competitive girls with six-figure, high-power luxury sports cars and no clue how to drive them...I fail to see how things could possibly get worse," Avers responded.

"Movie night the following week showed The Fast and the Furious," Oyodo stated, and Avers facepalmed.

"Let me guess: they got ideas, right?"

Nagato nodded.

"We're still cleaning up the rubble from the dorm they destroyed, but the portion of the base wall they hit is almost rebuilt," Mutsu put in, trying to put a positive spin on the situation.

"Please tell me those cars are no longer in their possessions," Avers was disappointed to notice a somewhat pleading tone had entered his voice with that statement.

"The cars were totaled," Oyodo confirmed, and all three Americans breathed sighs of relief.

"Then there was the situation with Iku," Mutsu noted, and Nagato growled low in her throat as though suddenly remembering something she'd have rather forgotten.

"What did she do this time?" Avers asked.

"She bought gifts for all the heavy cruisers and demanded that they demonstrate said gifts for her."

"What's the catch there?" Mancini asked.

"She bought them off a website called 'Adam & Eve', if that means anything," Nagato replied as the Americans cringed. "The cruisers nearly started a war."

Mancini shifted uncomfortably in his seat, while Avers cleared his throat and glanced down at the list again, and Blaskewicz went redder than a tomato.

"Moving on!" Avers announced loudly. "Do I even want to know?" he muttered after reading the next-to-last rule on the list. "What's the story behind this one? Yubari and Akashi are forbidden from playing 'Mad Scientist'."

"Akashi is our resident repair ship, as I'm sure you know," Nagato stated, to which Avers nodded. "Yubari likes to tinker with mechanical things in her spare time and has gotten quite good at it. So, a few months back, she and Akashi got bored and decided to challenge one another to see which of them could create the best weapon to exterminate Abyssals."

"And the results were…?" Avers was almost afraid to find out.

"They created competing death rays," Oyodo muttered.

"What was that?" Avers swore he'd misheard her.

"They each created their own death ray," the light cruiser repeated. "They wiped out an Abyssal fleet comparable to the size of what America's Fifth Fleet had off Iwo Jima in 1945."

"Mother of God," Mancini muttered.

"And what happened to these death rays, might I ask?" Avers inquired. "Do we still have them in our arsenal?"

"Unfortunately, no," Oyodo replied. "The Army found out about them and persuaded the Diet and the Chairman of the Joint Staffs to confiscate them."

"Figures," Avers muttered. "Don't feel bad," he consoled the girls, "the U.S. Government does the same thing…when something works well, they have to fuck with it or confiscate it."

Blaskewicz and Mancini nodded in agreement.

"And now the last rule, thank God for small favors," Avers announced. "Submarines are not allowed to play the Jaws theme during exercises. Let me guess: Iku?"

Mutsu nodded. "Who else? Destroyers were depth-charging sharks for two weeks after that incident…the animal activist groups nearly had the former admiral's head."

Avers put the list in his desk, along with the letter from the previous admiral. "We'll deal with this further later," he stated before motioning to Nagato. "I'd like to see the current fleet composition…let me know how many I have under my command."

"Our fleet consists of 162 shipgirls thus far," Nagato informed him. "Twelve battleships, twelve fleet aircraft carriers, seven light aircraft carriers, two seaplane carriers, eighteen heavy cruisers, twenty-four light cruisers, seventy-five destroyers, seven submarines, one repair ship, one fleet oiler, two food supply ships, and one amphibious warfare ship."

"Most of the heavy ships of the fleet," Avers mused. "And of these, how many are available for combat?"

"All but two, Admiral," Nagato replied. "Light carrier Shoho is still in the repair docks after being heavily damaged during Operation MO, and destroyer Kisaragi was nearly sunk after the West Island Capture operation. Her squadron flagship Yubari found her moments before she sank and managed to bring her home."

"I'd like to read the reports on the various operations you've conducted thus far before I make my speech to the rest of the fleet," Avers informed her. "I need some information before I do what I'm planning."

"I'll get you the reports, sir," the battleship left the room with Mutsu, who went to get the new admiral and his staff some refreshments. Oyodo put her headphones back on and resumed monitoring the radio traffic.

With the shipgirls occupied, Avers reached down and opened the carryon he'd brought with him into the office and removed a large plastic bag, inside of which were several smaller plastic bags containing various military ribbons.

"What're those?" Mancini asked.

"For the ceremony this afternoon," Avers replied. "One of the things I spoke with Admiral Fuchida about is getting these girls some recognition of their service, both now and in the past. He agreed, and I came up with these. The ribbons themselves and the intended recipients were approved this morning. As to what the ribbons are and who gets what, you'll have to wait until the ceremony to find out."

Nagato returned with the reports Avers had requested and placed them on his desk. If the battleship noticed the bag full of ribbons, she didn't bother commenting on it. Avers picked up the first folder and got to reading. This afternoon's ceremony will certainly be interesting, he thought.

Chapter Text

At noon, all the kanmusu formed up by unit on the parade ground. The three Americans stayed in the Headquarters building until Nagato signaled everyone was ready, then Mutsu escorted the three of them over to the small stage overlooking the field.

As they mounted the steps behind the curtained-off platform, Mutsu nodded to two enlisted men nearby, who raised bugles to their mouths and played a brief fanfare. As the last musical notes died away, Nagato turned to the assembled fleet.

"Keirei!" she ordered, and the entire fleet saluted as Avers, Blaskewicz, and Mancini stepped through the curtain. Large television screens had been erected on both sides of the stage so that every kanmusu could get a look at their new Admiral.

"Admiral, the fleet is formed for your address," Nagato informed Avers while saluting.

Avers returned her salute and strode to the podium while Blaskewicz and Mancini stayed off to the side. As Avers came into view for the first time, there a murmur of surprise ran through the crowd at the sight of an American wearing a uniform every one of them recognized, having seen different styles of them throughout their previous lives.

"Good morning," Avers addressed them. "My name is Matthew Avers. Obviously, I am an American by birth. I previously served in the United States Navy, and - along with the other two officers standing here with me, whom you will meet momentarily - was transferred into service in the JMSDF at the request of my former CO, Rear Admiral Wallace Denhurst, Commander United States Naval Forces Japan, and Admiral Fuchida Hiroyoshi, JMSDF Chief-of-Staff. As of 0800 this morning, I am the new Director of the Kanmusu Program."

He paused to let this sink in before continuing. "There are a few changes you need to be aware of. First off is the uniform I'm wearing, which probably every one of you recognizes. Any human involved in the Kanmusu Program will from now on wear the uniforms of the former Imperial Japanese Navy. This will serve two purposes. One, I hope it will serve to make the transition to living as humans in the 21st Century easier for all of you. And two…well, as the Commanding Admiral I get to decide what kind of uniforms my people wear, and I just happen to think the IJN uniforms look nicer."

Laughter rippled through the assembled formation and Avers smiled.

"Second, we've got a change in name. Upon my taking command, this unit is no longer known as the Kanmusu Program. Its new name is Rengō Kanmusutai. To put it succinctly: ladies, you're back in business."

A huge cheer resounded across the parade ground at this announcement. If the fleet girls hadn't approved of their new commander before, they certainly adored him now.

"Now let me introduce my fellow officers so they can say a few words. First up is our new Logistics and Supply Officer, Captain Eddie Blaskewicz."

Avers motioned for Blaskewicz to come to the podium, whereupon Blaskewicz looked at him like a deer out for a nighttime stroll who suddenly found himself in the middle of an eight-lane superhighway packed with speeding eighteen-wheelers. He approached the podium looking like a man going to his execution. He stepped in front of the microphone and froze.

"Say something!" Avers hissed.

"Um…hi…" Blaskewicz muttered before blushing tomato red and backing away. Giggles erupted from the formation as Avers did a mental facepalm and stepped back to the microphone, giving Blaskewicz a look that said, we'll talk about this later.

"Thank you, Captain Blaskewicz…and second, our new Training Officer, Captain Louis Mancini."

Mancini walked up to the podium and grinned at the assembled group.

"Morning, ladies! As the Admiral said, I'm Captain Mancini, your new Training Officer. I know how you feel about working with somebody new because I'm new to this myself. Yesterday I was a Petty Officer 1st Class in the U.S. Navy, and now I'm a Captain in the JMSDF. Talk about a whirlwind promotion, huh? But then again, they say excellence knows no age."

The assembled girls giggled. Avers did another mental facepalm as Mancini continued speaking.

"I've reviewed the training SOP you've been going by, and I want to let you know I see no reason to change it now…to the girls who are serving as instructors, keep up the great work. Thanks."

He stepped back from the microphone and Avers replaced him.

"Thank you, Captain Mancini," he paused briefly before changing the subject. "And now we come to the last thing I wanted to bring up in this assembly. Upon becoming C-in-C, I made mention to Admiral Fuchida that many of you deserve recognition for your service to your country. He agreed with me, and as such I am pleased to announce there is now a way for you to earn ribbons just like regular naval personnel. Many of you will now receive the first of these awards…most of which are long overdue. When I call your name, please come and stand before the stage and we will present you with your awards."

One by one various awards were called...the World War I Victory Medal (for participation in World War I), the Great East Asia War Ribbon (for participation in World War II), and the Indian Ocean Service Ribbon (for service in the Indian Ocean). Two shipgirls received the Diplomatic Service Ribbon for participation in diplomatic or foreign military functions; Ashigara got hers for being present at the Coronation Review in 1937, while Tama received one for transporting the body of an American Ambassador back to the U.S. in 1925.

Service ribbons were also presented in both 10-Year and 25-Year versions. Ribbons for service as division flagships were also awarded in 1st (Carrier or Battleship Divisions), 2nd (Cruiser Divisions), and 3rd (Destroyer and Submarine Divisions) Class versions. Ribbons for service as a Destroyer or Submarine Squadron flagship, Fleet flagship, or Combined Fleet flagship were also presented; various shipgirls received these awards several times over. There was also a ribbon recognizing service as the Emperor's Ship.

The last two awards were special recognition awards.

"The next-to-last ribbon presented today is also the second-highest award a kanmusu is eligible to receive. It is the Distinguished Performance Ribbon, and today we are presenting it to five deserving young ladies. Aircraft carriers Akagi and Kaga, for their exemplary service in the war against the Abyssals. Destroyer Yukikaze, for her uncanny knack to serve through the entirety of the Pacific War - including being present at some of the largest and hardest-fought battles of that conflict - and coming through virtually unscathed. To destroyer Shigure, for her amazing luck at coming home alive several times whenever all other ships she was accompanying were sunk."

The named shipgirls proceeded to the area in front of the stage, both Yukikaze and Shigure surprised at hearing their names called. Avers smiled at this and finished reading the last name out.

"And finally, for her marked improvement in her combat and training skills, as well as her excellent performance thus far in the war against the Abyssals, this award is presented to destroyer Fubuki."

The destroyer in question appeared frozen in place initially, as her teammates in Torpedo Squadron Three all crowded around her, squealing excitedly. Eventually, her flagship Jintsu got her to go up to the front of the formation and receive her award. Avers announced the last award as a still-dazed Fubuki returned to her position.

"The final award is the Distinguished Service Ribbon. Awarded for selfless service in the defense of the nation, it is the highest award a kanmusu can receive. Today we present this prestigious award to ten kanmusu." He read over the document briefly before continuing.

"For their selfless actions in the East China Sea en route to Okinawa on 7 April 1945, the Distinguished Service Ribbon is hereby presented to battleship Yamato, light cruiser Yahagi, and destroyers Hatsushimo, Kasumi, Yukikaze, Isokaze, Hamakaze, and Asashimo."

One by one, the ships that had participated in Operation Ten-Go came up and were presented with their awards. Once they had all returned to their places in the formation, Avers spoke again.

"Another kanmusu earned this award only recently. When one of the ships under her charge was severely damaged, nearly sunk, by an Abyssal dive-bomber, she managed to rescue her and literally carry her home. For her actions in saving the life of destroyer Kisaragi, the Distinguished Service Ribbon is hereby presented to the flagship of Torpedo Squadron Four, light cruiser Yubari."

Yubari seemed to be rooted in place, but one of her charges had no such problem. Kisaragi herself, released from the repair docks only a few hours ago just so she could attend the ceremony, immediately glomped onto her squadron flagship, hugging her tight and crying profusely. Once the destroyer had wrapped herself around Yubari, the light cruiser seemed to come out of her daze and reciprocated the embrace before going up to accept her award, leaving Kisaragi in the care of her fellow destroyers.

As Yubari returned to her place, Avers announced the final award of the day.

"And the last award goes out to a pair of ships who accomplished a truly amazing humanitarian feat during a terrible war. For their rescue of 442 sailors from British cruiser H.M.S. Exeter, British destroyer H.M.S. Encounter, and American destroyer U.S.S. Pope in the Java Sea on 2 March 1942, the Distinguished Service Ribbon is hereby presented to destroyers Ikazuchi and Inazuma."

The destroyers in question appeared frozen in place as their two sisters crowded around them, one squealing excitedly and hugging them, the other merely favoring them with a small smile. Eventually, they managed to walk up and receive their awards from Nagato. Once they'd returned to the formation, Avers introduced the last item of business.

"One more thing before I dismiss you. There will be several times during the year that we will have formal ceremonies. As such, everyone will be required to wear a uniform. Yes," he spoke over excited murmurs, "that means you will be wearing Imperial Navy uniforms. There is a uniform allowance for each shipgirl, so you won't have to spend your own money on these. You'll need two uniforms: a set of winter blues and a set of summer whites. Right now, there are five dates throughout the year where you'll be required to wear one of these uniforms: 27 January, which is the birthday of Fleet Admiral Marquis Togo Heihachiro…4 April, which is the birthday of Fleet Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku…29 April, which is Shōwa Day…27 May, which I'm sure all of you know is Japanese Navy Day…and finally 23 December, which is the Emperor's Birthday. Also, to go along with your uniforms, you will also be issued appropriate rank in accordance with how long you served, both previously and as shipgirls."

As the excited murmurs began anew, Avers decided to clarify his previous statement.

"Again, the rank you receive is based on your time in service, so some people will obviously be higher than others. Also, these ranks are honorary, so there is no need to walk around saluting your fellow shipgirls all the time. And you can be promoted, so please don't think the rank you receive is a permanent one. Nagato has the list of everyone's names and the rank they've been awarded, so when I dismiss you, please form a line and get your rank, then go over to the uniform shop and place your order. Remember to tell them your rank so they'll attach the proper insignia. My advice is to go over in groups, so Torpedo Squadron flagships, take your squadron members over there together."

After a moment, he ended his speech with, "That concludes this ceremony…I look forward to getting to know and serving with all of you. Dismissed."

As the line formed up, Avers noticed a few personnel heading off without getting in line, so he decided to clarify what he'd just announced.

"Everyone here is being issued rank, whether they are active-duty or retired, so please do not leave until you've looked at the list."

Avers stepped away from the podium and met up with Blaskewicz and Mancini, and the three Americans stepped down from the stage and stood off to one side, observing the line of shipgirls and their reactions to their new ranks.

~~~~~~

"Petty Officer 3rd Class?!" Iku squawked. "I'm the highest-scoring submarine in the fleet! I should AT LEAST be a Lieutenant!"

"Perhaps, but you aren't the longest-serving," I-168 replied, coming away from the line with a grin on her face. "That title would go to me…Ensign Imuya." She turned to the line. "Submarines: once you have your rank, report to me and we'll go over to the uniform shop together." As she said this, she kept a firm hold on a pouting Iku, who was repeatedly trying to sneak off.

~~~~~~

"Are you all right, Yukikaze-chan? What rank did you receive?" Amatsukaze addressed her sister, who had come away from the line with a stunned expression on her face and hadn't said a word since. The other ships of the Kagero-class crowded around her, also wanting to know.

"Commander..." the young destroyer murmured, still in shock.

Her sisters gasped in surprise.

"C-Commander?!" Tokitsukaze stammered. "That's much higher than any of us!"

"Even higher than me," Kinu, one of the Squadron Flagships for the Kagero-class ships walked over. "The Nagara-class cruisers are all Lieutenant Commanders."

"She's higher than ANY other destroyer!" Isokaze stated. "I just checked! The closest ships to her are Satsuki-chan, Fumizuki-chan, and Hibiki-chan, and they're only Lieutenants!"

The other Kageros murmured in awe.

"I guess it's because I served with the Republic of China for so long..." Yukikaze trailed off, as she followed her sisters to the uniform shop.

~~~~~~

Other reactions included Mamiya's surprise at being appointed a Lieutenant in the Supply Corps Reserves, and the carriers all congratulating Hosho at her being appointed a Lieutenant Commander on the Retired List, the only carrier to be awarded the rank.

"BURNING LOVE…Chū…sa!" Kongo bounced out of line and all but did cartwheels on the grass. Her sisters also appeared quite excited to receive their ranks; due to their lengthy service times, all had been made Commanders. Most of the battleships had been made officers; only Mutsu, Yamato, and Musashi were lower-ranking officers due to their time in service not being as long.

~~~~~~

Avers watched all this and turned to his two staff officers.

"And thus, it begins, gentlemen," he stated. "The coming weeks will definitely be interesting."

Chapter Text

The following day, with excitement over the previous day still fairly high, Avers decided to explore his new base. Leaving Nagato and Oyodo in the office to deal with any matters that came in, he headed off on his impromptu inspection accompanied by Blaskewicz, Mancini, and Mutsu.

Dorm inspections took up most of the morning, though Avers didn't look in each room of every building, preferring to let the shipgirls have their privacy. At the carrier dorms, he admired the open area that was covered in AstroTurf and had the markings of the front of a carrier flight deck that the carriers used to practice launching aircraft.

Once dorm inspections were done, the group stopped for lunch at Hosho's restaurant. The light carrier personally seated them in a private room and took their order before heading back to the kitchen.

"What's next after lunch?" Mancini asked, sipping from his glass of Yamato soda.

"The repair yard area," Avers replied. "We'll give Akashi and Yubari a chance to show us around their neck of the woods."

Mancini was about to reply when he looked at something next to Avers and grinned. Avers followed his line of sight and noticed Hoppo was standing beside his chair, looking at him.

"Hello," Avers addressed her, "you must be Hoppo."

The little Abyssal appeared to recognize her name, for she pointed at herself and nodded.

"Do you like living here?" Avers asked, and Hoppo nodded again, pointing at a painting of Hosho's carrier form and stating, "Mama."

Avers was about to reply when Hoppo suddenly grabbed onto his pants leg and started to climb up. Recognizing what she wanted, Avers hoisted the little girl onto his lap. The Abyssal immediately made herself comfortable and leaned against his chest, letting out a little sigh before waving a toy Reppu fighter around.

Avers pointedly ignored Blaskewicz and Mancini, who appeared to find the situation quite humorous, and especially ignoring Mutsu, who appeared ready to squee out loud at how adorable the scene looked.

"Is that yours?" Avers asked Hoppo, indicating the toy plane. The little Abyssal nodded.

"Reppu," she stated, holding out the plane for Avers to inspect. Avers did so, looking over the aircraft with great interest. "I see you're taking real good care of it."

"Reppu," Hoppo stated again before concentrating on playing with her plane.

The doors to the room slid open and Hosho came in with a tray bearing their meals.

"Mama!" Hoppo spoke up from Avers' lap, and the retired light carrier blinked in surprise at seeing the girl on the new Admiral's lap.

"So that's where you wandered off to," she smiled as she set her tray down on a nearby empty table before turning to Avers. "Admiral, I'm so sorry about this –"

"It's fine," Avers replied, dismissing her concerns. "She was showing me her plane."

"Reppu," Hoppo waved the plane at her 'mother', and Hosho smiled as she handed out the food.

"Yes, she loves that plane…she got it from Ryujo when it crash-landed in our back garden. It's been her constant companion ever since." Now finished with handing out meals, Hosho appeared to get nervous. "Admiral…would you mind if I took a picture of you two?"

If he was honest with himself, Avers was floored by her request. That was the last thing I was thinking she'd ask, he thought, but smiled and nodded. "Not at all." he looked down at Hoppo. "Your Mom wants to take a picture of us…that ok with you?"

Hoppo nodded and looked in Hosho's direction, while Avers put his hand on Hoppo's back to support her and smiled for the camera.

"Perfect!" Hosho snapped the picture and nodded to Mutsu, who - unseen by Avers, but caught by Mancini, who grinned - was motioning for the carrier to send her the pic as well.

"Come on, darling," Hosho addressed her adopted 'daughter', "these officers need to eat so they can continue working. Say goodbye to the Admiral."

To everyone's surprise, Hoppo leaned in and hugged Avers.

"Toku," she muttered before sliding off his lap and walking over to Hosho. As the two left the room, Hoppo waved goodbye before heading off to the kitchen with her 'mother'.

Avers turned his attention to his food, but his Fleet Adjutant decided to voice her opinion on what just happened.

"That was so cute!" Mutsu squealed.

Avers groaned inwardly and merely smiled. "I wasn't exactly in a position where I could refuse, now was I?" He shrugged. "Besides, I didn't mind doing it."

"If I may say so, Admiral…you seem to have a knack with children. I think you'll make a great father someday," Mutsu smiled.

Mancini snickered, while Blaskewicz appeared to agree with Mutsu's statement. Avers shook his head, inwardly caught off-guard. "Thanks, but I seriously doubt that will ever happen. I don't see marriage and a family as being in the cards for me. Now," he changed the subject, "let's dig in…we've got a base to inspect."

~~~~~~

That afternoon Avers and company spent about an hour touring the various repair shops in the shipyard. Akashi was only too happy to show off her territory, as Yubari was off training with Torpedo Squadron 4. Avers noticed Akashi seemed to completely avoid a small section of buildings in the far corner of the shipyard, and once the tour was complete and they were back in Akashi's office he brought the matter up.

"I have to say, Akashi," he began, "you definitely keep this shipyard running like a well-oiled machine. Excellent work." The repair ship blushed at the words of praise. "But" Avers continued, "I must admit, I'm curious about those buildings over there," he pointed in the direction of said buildings, "that you continuously avoided. Might I inquire as to the reason why those buildings weren't on our tour?"

An uncomfortable look came over Akashi's face. "They're not part of our shipyard, sir."

Avers was confused. "What do you mean by that? They're on my base, aren't they? That makes them part of this repair yard."

"They're the Headquarters of a private firm. A man showed up one day, presented me with a large envelope full of papers, and told me those buildings were now off-limits to any active duty kanmusu." To the Americans' surprise tears came to the repair ship's eyes. "I didn't argue because I never want to set foot in there!"

Surprised at seeing her get so upset at just a simple question, Avers asked gently, "May I see those documents?"

Akashi nodded and opened the bottom drawer of a nearby file cabinet. She withdrew a large manila folder and tossed it on her desk like it was diseased. Avers picked it up and pulled out the papers, wondering what in the world would cause her to act in that way. One look at the letterhead on the top of the first page gave him his answer:

SEIOTO SHIPBREAKERS, LTD.

"Oh, hell no," he snarled, rising to his feet and heading for the door. "I want the following personnel to report to this office in full combat gear: carrier Junyo, light carrier Ryuho, light cruiser Kashima, torpedo cruiser Kitakami, and destroyers Yukikaze and Ushio. When those ladies get here, bring them over to those 'off-limits' buildings. Captains," he addressed Blaskewicz and Mancini, "with me, now!"

He stormed out of the office, papers in hand, the other two Americans hot on his tail.

"Sir, if I might ask, what's on those papers that's got you so pissed off?" Mancini asked, as he and Blaskewicz struggled to keep pace with Avers.

Avers pointed at the buildings they were approaching. "The company that appropriated those buildings is a shipbreaking company, Captain…you make the connection."

Mancini's expression turned dark. "Permission to evict the bastards, sir?"

Avers nodded. "That's just what we're going to do."

The trio arrived at the main building only to find it locked with a security keypad, with a call button next to it. Avers pressed the call button and they waited.

After a few minutes, a man's voice came through the speaker.

"We're on lunch…come back some other time."

Before Avers could reply, the speaker clicked off. Avers saw red but was surprised when Mancini spoke up.

"I've got a skeleton key, sir," he grinned. "I bought it after I became an officer." He reached down to his belt and Avers noted he was carrying his service weapon. What surprised both him and Blaskewicz was that Mancini's service weapon of choice happened to be a Desert Eagle.

Avers grinned before pressing the call button again. "Oh, so sorry to have bothered you, gentlemen…thank you for your time."

He and Blaskewicz stepped back. "Unlock that door, Captain," Avers ordered Mancini.

"Roger that, sir…one unlocked door coming right up!" the Training Officer aimed the powerful handgun at the lock on the door and pulled the trigger. The resulting noise nearly deafened them all, but the lock was obliterated. Mancini raised his foot and kicked in the door.

"CABLE GUY!" he yelled before allowing Avers to precede him inside.

The resulting explosion had brought whatever employees inside the building running, and the foreman - a stocky man in a long white lab coat - met Avers as he stepped inside.

"What the hell - Admiral, sir!" the shop foreman wasn't in the military, but he appeared to recognize that the amount of gold leaf on Avers' shoulder boards meant he was someone of great importance.

"Are you in charge here?" Avers wasted no time in getting down to business.

"No, sir…I'm just a foreman," the man replied. "The man in charge would be Mr. Tsuji, and he's -"

"Right here, Admiral," an oily voice announced. A short, reed-thin man with a shaven head stepped forward, blinking at Avers with an unnerving, owlish gaze. His eyes were encased behind thick, coke-bottle glasses, and just being around him made Avers desire to take a shower and scrub himself repeatedly.

"Welcome to the main building of Seioto Shipbreakers," he greeted the trio with a huge smile that all three could tell was entirely false. He extended his hand to Avers, who did not return the gesture. Tsuji's fake smile thinned somewhat before he continued speaking. "Admiral, I earnestly hope you're here to tell us you plan on throwing some business our way soon?" he giggled girlishly as Avers and Blaskewicz looked at him strangely and Mancini looked at him like he was something disgusting he'd inadvertently stepped in.

"As I understand it," Tsuji continued, "two of your ships, a carrier and a destroyer, if I'm not mistaken, were grievously damaged in recent battles. Why waste resources repairing such massive damage? My employees would gladly handle those matters for you."

The almost-eager way Tsuji spoke of disposing of two fleet girls made Avers want to bash the man's skull in.

"That won't be necessary. As a matter of fact, the presence of your firm on this island is no longer required, much less wanted." He turned to the gathered employees. "It's moving day, boys…grab your things and get out."

While the employees looked at each other uncertainly, Tsuji merely smiled his oily smile.

"Come now, Admiral…when we arrived here, I presented your repair office with a set of paperwork saying that we'd appropriated these buildings, and no one was to set foot in here without proper authorization. So, I'm going to have to ask to see your authorization for being here, and," he glanced at the now-useless door before turning back to Avers with a faux-regretful look, "I'll have to report your damaging of company property to your direct superior. I imagine he'll dock the cost of a new door from your pay."

"Who might give authorization for us to be here?" Avers wanted to know what sort of documentation Tsuji would accept.

"No one short of the Director of the Kanmusu Program himself," Tsuji smirked, seemingly under the impression that Avers was merely the new Repair Yard Commander or something similar.

"The Director of the Kanmusu Program, eh?" Avers mused as Tsuji nodded. He glowered at the Director. "Well, guess what? You're looking at him, Jack! Change of command as of this morning!" He pulled the papers Akashi had given him out of their envelope, then pulled a lighter out of his pocket and set them ablaze, tossing them on the ground to burn to ashes. As he set them afire, Tsuji's face went white with shock.

"And your contract was just terminated. You've got ten minutes to gather your things and get out of this building."

"Admiral, surely we can come to some sort of mutual understanding -" Tsuji attempted to placate Avers.

"Tick-tock, Clarice! Time's a-wasting!" Avers pointedly ignored the now-stammering shipbreaking director and spoke over his attempts. Tsuji's men, realizing this naval officer meant business, needed no further urging and made a mad dash to gather their personal belongings. Seeing that things were proceeding nicely, Avers turned and walked out the door, Blaskewicz and Mancini following closely behind him.

As the trio came outside, the Admiral stopped short when he saw every kanmusu on base standing at a safe distance away. He turned to Blaskewicz.

"I did just specify certain ships to come here, right?"

Blaskewicz nodded. "Guess the invitation got around, sir."

"No matter," Avers shrugged. "I think they'll all enjoy seeing this."

Once a still-protesting Tsuji - he had to be literally manhandled out of the building by two of his employees - and the rest of the men were outside, Avers turned to his assembled fleet.

"I'd only intended for a select group to be here, but since all of you decided to show up I'll just make my stance on this matter known directly instead of some of you hearing about it through scuttlebutt."

He paused briefly before gesturing at the buildings behind him. "These buildings are the offices of a company called Seioto." When that failed to get a reaction, he elaborated. "They are a firm specializing in the business of shipbreaking."

At that, most of the shipgirls recoiled; the battleships and carriers looked disgusted, while the destroyers huddled in terror around various light cruisers as though frightened by the boogeyman. Avers decided not to drag this out any more than necessary and asked,

"Would the shipgirls I requested please come forward?"

The six girls - each wearing their combat gear - approached him. The two carriers and two light cruisers looked primed for battle, while the destroyers looked nervous - although both were making valiant efforts to hide it.

"Ladies, I requested the six of you because you all have…experience…with this sort of company."

The six shipgirls each repressed shudders at certain memories at Avers' statement. Noticing this, the admiral gestured at the shipbreaking buildings.

"There's your target, ladies…obliterate it." He turned to Akashi. "When target practice is over, level the site and build something we can use on it. Let's see…" he mused briefly before grinning, "how about a bath complex large enough to accommodate five times the number of the one we currently have? Along with full spa and beauty treatment facilities, of course."

Judging by the ecstatic squeals and murmurs of excitement this announcement produced, Avers could tell his suggestion had met with hearty approval. He waved his hand at the seven shipgirls.

"Ladies, you may commence demolition," he stepped aside as Junyo grinned wickedly and drew an arrow.

The next twenty minutes consisted of the kanmusu group pounding the scrapyard complex into rubble and Tsuji alternating between screaming threats at the shipgirls - which went mostly unheard over the din of gunfire, roaring planes, and collapsing structures - and wailing in anguish over the destruction of his headquarters. When absolutely nothing but rubble remained, the girls rejoined the others and Avers turned to Tsuji and his men.

"Now, I want you on the next ferry off this island. If for some reason you're not on it, you can swim for it and take your chances with the Abyssals lurking out there. And you'll be doing it alone because I seriously doubt any girls in this fleet are going to be willing to lift a finger in your defense. One way or another, today's your last day on this island…come hell or high water, you'll be gone by tonight."

"Admiral!" Avers turned to see Yamato and Musashi step forward, both wearing their own combat rigs.

"We would like to escort these…unwanted guests…to the dock to ensure they catch the ferry," Musashi looked at the scrapyard bunch like they were vermin that needed to be squashed quickly.

Avers nodded, grinning at the scrapyard bunch. "Permission granted, ladies…see they catch their boat home."

"We're not going anywhere!" Tsuji shrieked. His enraged demeanor combined with his owlish stare from behind the coke-bottle glasses he wore made the now-deposed scrapyard director seem completely unhinged. "I absolutely refuse to be summarily dismissed like some -"

Musashi rotated her 18-inch gun turrets around to aim right at his nose.

"NevermindI'llgoquietly," Tsuji quickly changed his mind and the scrapyard contingent moved off, Yamato in the lead and Musashi bringing up the rear with a smug look on her face and her gun turrets still aimed right at Tsuji, who now appeared to be one step away from either wetting his pants or having a complete meltdown.

Once they'd left, the kanmusu turned their attention back to Avers, who smiled at them.

"I don't know if those men were sent by the JMSDF, and frankly I don't give a damn if they were. It's time the higher-ups realized that you ladies are human now, not ships. They can't simply discard you because it's not worth modernizing you anymore. You have the right to live your lives like any other human." He sighed, looking over the sea of faces. "God knows every single one of you deserve it." He shook his head and cleared his throat awkwardly, not having expected to get emotional. "That is all…you may resume your day."

He started back for the Headquarters building with Blaskewicz, Mancini, Nagato, Mutsu, and Oyodo following him, steadfastly ignoring the mass of fleet girls who now looked on him with nothing short of sheer abject worship. Once they were through the group and walking alone, Mancini grinned. "I think you've got a lot of fans now, sir," he joked, and Mutsu giggled. Blaskewicz and Oyodo stifled laughter and Avers was inwardly stunned when he spotted a humorous glint in Nagato's eyes as well.

"Yes, well…that was completely unintentional," he attempted to downplay it as they walked up the driveway of the Headquarters building. "A CO should stick up for the personnel under his command, shouldn't he?"

"Right, right…of course, sir," Mancini nodded and attempted a serious expression. Avers stopped and glowered at his Training Officer.

"Don't patronize me, Captain," he muttered and stomped inside, forcing himself to ignore the giggles behind him.

It wasn't until he got into the elevator alone to go up to his office that he allowed himself to smile at a job well done.

Chapter Text

The following day was Saturday, meaning the majority of the shipgirls had two days off for the weekend. For Avers and his staff, it meant two days of playing catch-up with paperwork and generally getting acclimated to their new assignments. By late morning Avers decided to head over to the commissary for an early lunch, and as it was such a nice fall day outside, he decided to walk.

As he started off from the Headquarters building, he slowed his pace, giving himself time to admire the beauty of all the trees changing color. He smiled, remembering being stationed in Boston early in his career and strolling through a park near his apartment. It had been one of the most peaceful times of his life, far away from the disapproval of his parents and the pressures of home. Then came what he'd deemed as ‘The Trouble’, and when his duty in Boston had come to an end, he'd immediately applied for duty in Japan, which was about as far away from his hometown of Wolf Point, Montana as he could get.

Avers shook his head, forcing those memories back into the darkest recesses of his mind. Now was not the time to think about the past...there was a war on, and he had been put in charge of ending it in humanity's favor.

He paused in his walk when he saw two forms crouched down in a field near one of the dorms. He recognized them as Ikazuchi and Inazuma, the destroyers that had received the Distinguished Service Ribbon. The destroyers were staring raptly at a group of bottle rockets set up nearby…and lit fuses were attached to each one.

This can't be good, was Avers' initial thought, followed immediately by Who gave them fireworks in the first place?

However, it appeared he needn't have worried, for when the fuses reached the fireworks, they simply burned out, the fireworks themselves sagging on their stabilizing sticks. Avers breathed a sigh of relief, but Ikazuchi didn't appear pleased at all.

"Hwa-?" the little shipgirl complained, stomping her foot cutely. "Why aren't they moving?" She stepped forward to check on the rockets. "There should be lots more smoke and - WAGH!"

She jumped back as the rockets suddenly ignited, but the sagging stabilizing sticks caused them to launch every which way but up. One zoomed to the left and plowed harmlessly into the grass nearby. The second, however, launched backwards, zoomed past Inazuma, and made a beeline for Avers.

"YIPE!" the Admiral was forced to dive out of the way as the rocket detonated in the spot where his stomach had been seconds before. Inazuma had turned at his exclamation and paled when she saw who had nearly been hit, but Avers was too busy watching the last two rockets…which crashed right through two sets of dorm windows, after which there came two loud bangs and a lot of screaming.

"Uh-oh…" the destroyers chorused. Avers was highly inclined to agree.

As Avers picked himself up off the ground, around ten or so cruisers - some more dressed than others - swarmed out of the dorm, many looking quite put-out. One with shoulder-length black hair wearing a white blouse, short black skirt, knee-length black tights, and an eyepatch over her left eye saw the two destroyers and marched over to them.

"Where'd you two get bottle rockets?!" she demanded while Ikazuchi wrung her hand worriedly and Inazuma babbled nervously. The latter was the one to see Avers approach and snapped off a salute when he got near enough.

"Inazuma, what are you doing?" the cruiser asked the destroyer before noticing Avers herself.

"Oh, shit…" she muttered under her breath.

Ikazuchi blinked in surprise upon hearing the expletive from the light cruiser, then looked at her disapprovingly.

"Mama, you shouldn't use such bad language…after all, it's not fair if you can do it and then get onto us whenever we say such things -"

It was then that she spotted Avers as well and emitted an ‘eep!’. Avers inwardly admitted the sound was adorable.

He returned Inazuma's salute before addressing Tenryu.

"Are you these two's squadron flagship?"

Tenryu nodded dumbly before remembering protocol and snapping off a salute of her own.

"Yes, Admiral…light cruiser Tenryu, flagship of Torpedo Squadron 5!"

Avers returned her salute and nodded. "Then I'll let you see to disciplining them…don't be too hard on them; my having to dive to the ground to avoid being hit by one of the rockets served to tell me I need to get back to the gym soon."

Tenryu had paled considerably upon hearing of Avers' close call. "Y-yes, sir."

Avers turned to the two quivering destroyers. "Who gave you the fireworks?"

"J-Junyo," Ikazuchi stammered. "She said they were the same type Unryu used to shoot at Abyssal planes and that we'd really like shooting them."

"I see," Avers replied, knowing who he was having a chat with in the very near future. "And I'm guessing that now you know not to play with fireworks just because an aircraft carrier says they're fun?"

Both destroyers nodded frantically, eager to please their admiral.

Avers nodded and allowed himself a slight smile before saying, "Carry on," and resuming his walk, suppressing laughter as he heard Tenryu drag her two charges away for a serious lecture.

~~~~~~

Avers sat down at a table in a corner of the commissary and inhaled the scent of his lunch of Ramen noodles with beef strips. He'd come to love the commissary, as there seemed to be a never-ending supply of food in order to cover the appetites of nearly two hundred girls, most of them having transferred their notorious rates of fuel oil consumption into requirements of massive quantities of human food. He shook his head briefly, smiling to himself as he recalled the first time seeing Akagi eat lunch. She'll be the envy of every actress in Hollywood, he thought, with the way she can eat enough to kill three horses and not gain a single pound. Of course, I couldn't see any actress in Hollywood going out to fight Abyssals, either…

As he began eating, he saw Mancini emerge from the line with a tray and motioned him over. The Training Officer walked over and sat down.

"Afternoon, sir…how's things at the top of the heap?"

Avers smirked. While most flag officers would ream out any lower-ranking officer for addressing them in such an informal manner, he was of the opinion as long as Mancini did his job, kept out of trouble, and maintained professional courtesy, he wasn't going to throw a fit over informalities.

"No major complaints, Captain…the Training Division doing ok?"

Mancini nodded. "I gotta say, Tone and Chikuma keep things running really smooth. And the two training cruisers, Katori and Kashima…them and the four Myokos are excellent classroom instructors. A few tweaks here and there concerning the training program, but otherwise I can sit back and let things move along at their own pace."

He then appeared to notice the remaining streaks of dirt on Avers' blue uniform.

"Not to offend or anything, sir…but you got some dirt on your uniform."

Avers looked down and brushed the dirt off before recounting to Mancini where said dirt had come from, upon which he then had to endure Mancini laughing at him for the next few minutes.

"All right, Captain…yes, ha-ha, very funny," he muttered.

Mancini was about to reply when an agonized scream rent the air.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" the voice wailed. "I CAN'T GET MARRIED ANYMORE!"

The voice turned out to be that of Kongo, who appeared to be quite upset. The fast battleship ran into the commissary, glancing around with tears streaming down her face and fire in her eyes. A little voice inside Avers - one that usually let him know how long it had been since he'd been graced with…female companionship - voiced the opinion that said fast battleship looked beyond gorgeous and impishly proposed drying her tears by kissing them away before dragging her back to his quarters for a 'private staff meeting'. Another little voice - this one representing Avers' side of logic, morality, and reason - cautioned him against such a brash course of action and then silenced the first voice by hitting it over the head with a sledgehammer.

Before either Avers or Mancini could even ask Kongo what the matter was, another voice joined in the chaos.

"NOOOOOOOOOO! MY SISTER WILL THINK I'M SOME SORT OF WANTON HARLOT!"

Yamato burst into view, her blush matching the red of her outfit, and she too appeared to be looking for a certain person.

"AOBA!" a third voice roared, "YOU WILL DIE!"

"At least now we know whom everyone's looking for," Avers quipped to Mancini, who nodded nervously.

Kitakami stormed in, looking like she could take on at least five Abyssal super-dreadnoughts by herself and come away without so much as a scratch.

"AOBA MUST PAY!" Ashigara stormed into the room, the air around her literally crackling with energy.

Almost on cue, the heavy cruiser in question stepped from the chow line with her tray. She scanned the room for a seat and her eyes landed on the four irate girls at the entrance to the commissary.

"Uh-oh…" Avers heard her mutter before she set her tray down on the nearest table and bolted for a side door. Kongo, Yamato, Kitakami, and Ashigara quickly moved to follow, and the group was outside before Avers could stop them. He rose from his seat and headed outside, sighing in regret at not being able to finish his lunch. Mancini followed, interested as to what was going to happen next.

Outside, the four angry kanmusu had almost caught up to the heavy cruiser in question and appeared ready to tear her limb from limb. Aoba appeared to be regretting her previous infraction, but that was not deterring her adversaries. She stepped into the road and prepared to make a run for it.

"AOBA!" a new voice snarled, and it was so authoritative even Avers and Mancini stopped dead in their tracks. The two officers turned to see Kaga and Zuikaku standing in the middle of the road, glaring at Aoba. Even more troubling was that both carriers were wearing full combat gear, had arrows ready to go…and were targeting said heavy cruiser, who froze like a rabbit facing down a pair of hungry wolves.

"Holy crap…this is like Gary Cooper in High Noon," Mancini muttered, and Avers inwardly agreed with him.

"This is for Akagi!" Kaga growled and drew back her bow.

"I don't give a damn about your girlfriend, Miss Battleship-Hull!" Zuikaku snarled to her fellow flat-top. "I have to redeem myself or I'll never be able to face Shokaku-nee again!"

"Childish insecurities…" the older carrier muttered, causing Zuikaku to glare at her.

"How dare you!" she shrieked and appeared to be about to turn her arrow on her fellow carrier.

At this point Avers decided enough was enough and whistled loudly to break it up. The fleet girls looked around, their rage momentarily abated by the sudden shrill noise, before Kaga's eyes landed on Avers and widened momentarily at the fact that the Commanding Admiral had been forced to get involved in the matter. Avers approached and waved away salutes from Kaga, Zuikaku, Ashigara, and Yamato. Aoba also saluted but Avers suspected it was largely an effort on her part to get into his good graces rather than to show military protocol.

"Before we drag out the torches and pitchforks, ladies…can I at least know why one of my heavy cruisers deserves to be hung, drawn, and quartered?"

"THIS!" Yamato thrust a calendar into Avers' face. The admiral opened it and nearly dropped it when he got a look at a picture of Yamato in a dangerously skimpy red string bikini. Thumbing through the calendar revealed one picture of twelve different shipgirls in all: Kongo, Yamato, Atago, Takao, Ashigara, Ooi, Shimakaze, Mutsu, Iku, Tenryu, Akagi, and Zuikaku.

"I see," Avers replied, showing the calendar to Mancini briefly before handing it back to Yamato and addressing Aoba. "Were these pictures taken with the knowledge you were going to put them into a calendar?"

Aoba laughed nervously. "Umm…I might've forgotten to mention that part."

"I see," Avers gave the same response. "And the idea for this calendar was something you yourself came up with?"

"No way!" Aoba giggled. "Silly admiral…Shimakaze wanted some pictures for her Facebook profile and asked me to take some pictures, and during our photography session she told me she thought a swimsuit calendar featuring shipgirls would be a great idea." She shrugged. "It took off from there."

"I see," Avers was about to ask another question, but Yamato's anguished voice overrode him.

"And because of you Musashi will be so embarrassed of me!" Yamato shrieked, barely restraining herself from attacking Aoba.

Mancini leaned in and muttered to Avers, "Musashi's the one that wears a few strips of cloth and calls it clothing, so wouldn't that be a case of the pot calling the kettle black?"

Avers glowered at his Training Officer, who shrugged.

"What? I make a good point."

Avers shook his head and turned back to the group of shipgirls.

"We'll deal with this in my office…will everyone please adjourn there? Without combat gear," he looked pointedly at the two enraged fleet carriers before motioning everyone onward.

~~~~~~

The group arrived back in Avers' office, and as they entered Nagato and Mutsu looked up in surprise.

"Mild situation!" Avers barked to his Chief-of-Staff and Fleet Adjutant, as he walked over to his desk and sat down, taking solace in his comfy chair.

"Take a seat, everyone," he invited the newcomers before turning to Oyodo.

"Please summon Atago, Takao, Ooi, Shimakaze, Iku, Tenryu, Tatsuta, Musashi, Akagi, and Shokaku," Avers instructed her.

Once everyone had arrived Avers began.

"I'm going to work through this in parts. Who here has no objections to this calendar?"

Iku raised her hand. "What calendar?" the submarine asked innocently, although Avers had a sneaking suspicion she knew perfectly well what he was talking about. With an inward sigh Avers handed it over to her.

"Niiiice…" the submarine's eyes appeared to glaze over at several points as she flipped through the pages. She grinned at Aoba as she handed the calendar back to Avers, who glowered at her approval.

"I don't have any objections." she turned to Aoba. "Hey, let people around the base know if they want any pics of mine, they’re $5 a pop, ‘k?"

Aoba nodded as Mancini snickered and Avers gaped at the nonchalant way the girls were discussing borderline erotic photographs.

"Seriously?" he asked the two shipgirls. "You two are going to stand here and quote prices to each other when you're in a world of shit already?"

"You mean I can't sell the pics I had taken?" Iku looked disappointed briefly before looking at the other shipgirls. "Hey, I'll buy copies of anyone's pics."

"IKU!" Avers snapped. "Please control your…baser instincts! Now," he addressed the group as a whole, "I will ask my question again: who here has no objections to this calendar? Yes, Iku…I know your vote," he pointedly ignored the submarine, "anyone else?"

Shimakaze raised her hand. "It was my idea to take the pics in the first place, so I don't really care one way or another," she shrugged. "Are we done here? I'm bored." she bounced in place.

Avers had no idea what to make of the speedy destroyer. She was a powerful fleet girl, but she apparently had the attention span of an ADD-afflicted gnat. He sighed.

"Yes, you're dismissed." He turned to Iku. "You are too…and no distributing those pics!" he called after the submarine as she ran out the door. He sighed - knowing Iku had probably chosen to ignore his order - and turned his attention back to the remaining fleet girls.

"Now, who here had a negative reaction to Aoba's little publication?"

Atago raised her hand and smiled flirtatiously at him.

"Neither Takao nor I had any objections to it, Admiral," she giggled. "In fact, we had a lot of fun posing for it." She stretched her arms over her head and bounced on the balls of her feet, certain parts of her 'reacting' to the sudden jarring of her frame. "Pan-paka-paaan! It was so liberating!"

"Onee-sama!" Takao clung to her sister ship, blushing, and the two cruisers giggled at what was apparently an inside joke.

Avers recalled the pic of Atago in the calendar. The swimsuit the heavy cruiser had worn had amounted to three triangles of material bound together with dental floss. Her impressive…attributes had been on full display, and he admitted to himself that he'd taken time to 'enjoy the view', as it were.

"Ok, then," Avers smiled awkwardly, "the two of you are dismissed as well." Atago and Takao smiled at him and left the room.

"Now then…anyone want to say something?" Avers opened the floor to the remainder of the group.

"I'd like to know why," Kitakami turned to Ooi, visibly upset at her sister ship. "Why Ooi-chi? Why did you want to degrade yourself in such a manner?"

Ooi appeared to be one step away from committing seppuku.

"I just wanted you to notice me, Kitakami-sama!" she whimpered. "I…I-I'm in love with you!"

From the expressions on the other kanmusu’s faces – especially Kitakami’s – Avers inferred this was the first time Ooi had uttered her true feelings aloud.

"Ooi-chi…" Kitakami trailed off, stunned. Ooi appeared to be seconds away from running out of the room and off to God only knew where, but she stopped when Kitakami smiled. "I love you, too!"

Before the two torpedo cruisers could treat the group to a display of their newly established feelings for one another, Avers interjected.

"The two of you are dismissed," he addressed them. "Go back to your quarters and talk things out."

The new couple nodded and left the office hand in hand.

No sooner had the door closed behind them than Tenryu, who had been looking at Aoba like she wanted to take her apart piece by piece, finally erupted. With an angry roar, she leapt at Aoba, but was restrained by her sister ship, who managed to get a firm grip around her waist and then dig her heels into the carpet.

"LET ME GO, TATSUTA! AOBA NEEDS TO PAY!" the flagship of Torpedo Squadron 5 snarled.

"Tenryu, stop!" Tatsuta was having trouble hanging on. She knew if she let go of her sister, Aoba was most certainly done for, and that was something said cruiser's sister ships – some had dubbed the two Furutaka- and two Aoba-class ships as the ‘Savo Island Quartet’ – would never forgive.

"Hey, enough already!" Avers yelled, leaping to his feet. "Would you be acting like this if your destroyers were present?" When Tenryu immediately shook her head no, he replied. "All right, then…settle down!" Once Tenryu had calmed down he stated, "Tenryu, rest assured Aoba will be punished, and that calendar will not see circulation. For your part, Tenryu, I want your word that we won’t find Aoba pieces all over this base after you two leave this office, understand?"

Tenryu still looked angry but nodded reluctantly. Avers figured that was about as good as he was going to get and turned to Tatsuta. "Please take your sister ship out of here."

Tatsuta nodded, figuring her sister had gotten off easy. The two Tenryu-class ships left quickly. Before Avers could address the remaining ten shipgirls in the room, there was a knock at the door.

"What now?" Avers muttered but nodded for Nagato to answer it. Six shipgirls entered the room, three going over to Aoba and the other three to Ashigara.

"Onee-sama," Kinugasa asked her, "what have you done now?"

To answer her question, Mancini handed her the calendar, and the girl looked at it and groaned.

"Aoba…" she sighed. The heavy cruiser in question shrugged and grinned unrepentantly. Avers was not amused by what he saw.

Neither, apparently, was Zuikaku, for she growled under her breath and looked to be about to spring on Aoba.

"Stop right there!" Avers ordered her. "I am not going to have a battle royal break out here in this office!" He gathered his thoughts briefly before continuing. "Zuikaku, you are one of the finest and most battle-hardened carriers this fleet has…I would advise you to remember that. While I understand your anger at this situation, I would also ask you to remember who you are. Being a fleet carrier, you are someone the younger shipgirls look up to. Ergo, act like it."

"Zuikaku", Shokaku addressed her sister. "I understand why you're angry at Aoba, but…" she trailed off, blushing, before admitting, "I liked the picture very much."

At that, Zuikaku's anger vanished, and she turned to look at her sister ship, stunned.

Shokaku gave her a hopeful smile. "Perhaps we could go to Mamiya-san's Cafe and talk about this…just the two of us?"

Zuikaku nodded dazedly, too surprised to do much else. Shokaku smiled happily and took her sister's hand.

"Admiral," she asked, "May Zuikaku and I be excused?"

Avers nodded. "Thank you, Shokaku…you may."

As the two ships of Carrier Division 5 left the room, Kaga turned to Akagi, who met her eyes nervously.

"Akagi-san…will you please accompany back to our dorm so that we may discuss this in private?" the fleet carrier appeared to be fighting hard to control her emotions, but when Akagi smiled sweetly and took her hand, Kaga seemed to only have eyes for her division mate.

"The two of you are dismissed," Avers stated, but neither ship seemed to hear him; they simply walked out without acknowledging him.

"How nice of them to observe protocol," the Admiral muttered, taking his seat again and turning to Ashigara, who was in conversation with her sister ships and had seemed to calm down somewhat.

"Better?" Avers asked, and Ashigara nodded stiffly. "Now, I'm going to deal with Aoba accordingly, but rest assured this calendar will not see mass publication, and I don't think something like this will happen again." He turned and looked pointedly at Aoba. "Will it?"

Said cruiser begrudgingly shook her head and Avers inwardly sighed in relief before turning back to Ashigara.

"I know you two share a dorm together, so I don't want to hear of any incidences of 'personal retribution' later, understood?"

Ashigara looked disappointed at this.

"Heavy cruiser Ashigara!" Avers addressed her formally, using his command tone of voice, "Is the Direct Order from your Commanding Admiral understood?"

Ashigara snapped to attention. "Hai!" she replied and Avers nodded in satisfaction.

"Then you and your sisters are dismissed." He watched as they left the room, Ashigara still muttering under her breath and casting a few dark looks at Aoba as she followed her sisters out the door.

Avers was prevented from addressing Aoba's punishment by a loud wail from Yamato, who was sobbing in her sister's arms.

"I'm sorry, Musashi!" the battleship whimpered. "I didn't want those pictures to go public…I only wanted you to see them! Now they're probably all over the place and you probably think your sister is some sort of harlot for posing like that!"

Musashi pulled Yamato back briefly to look into her eyes. "No, I could never think that about my own sister!" she reassured her. "Don't worry…the Admiral's made sure that the calendar won't get out, so you don't have to worry about the pictures being seen by hundreds of people."

Yamato sighed in relief and hugged her. The end of the sisterly crisis was broken by Avers clearing his throat.

"If you two have resolved your issues, you're free to go."

The two super-battleships thanked him and departed, talking excitedly about swimwear fashions. Avers turned to Mancini.

"Captain," he announced, "I'm going to delegate this responsibility to you. I want you to accompany Aoba to her dorm, where she will hand over ALL her photography equipment. You will then bring it here to Nagato, who will lock it up for a period of no less than two months. Understood?"

Mancini nodded and got to his feet, motioning for a pouting Aoba to precede him out of the room. Furutaka, Kako, and Kinugasa went with them, leaving only Kongo and Mutsu of the twelve 'calendar girls' remaining.

"Admiral," Nagato spoke up, "may I see this calendar that had everyone in an uproar?"

Avers handed it over without comment, having a feeling Nagato was in for one helluva shock. The battleship flipped through the pages, raising an eyebrow at some, scoffing at another, and shaking her head at a third, but Avers knew exactly when she found Mutsu's pic, for she flipped past it at first but frantically turned back and her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

"MUTSU?!" she gasped, and her sister ship glanced up from where she'd been doing paperwork.

"Hmm?" the Fleet Adjutant asked nonchalantly, and then noticed the calendar in Nagato's hands. "Oh, that," she brushed it off like it was nothing. "Don't worry about that…it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing."

"But…but your outfit!" Nagato had been caught off-guard so much that she was stammering, something Avers didn't think he'd ever see his Chief-of-Staff do. To be honest, it was fascinating, seeing what it took to get a rise out of the legendary battleship. Nagato's reaction was also completely understandable; Mutsu's swimsuit had been a miniscule number that had matched the green of her eyes perfectly.

Mutsu merely smiled coyly and sashayed to the door, putting an extra swing in her hips. Opening it, she turned and looked demurely over her shoulder at Nagato, a bewitching gleam of promise in her eyes.

"Oh, by the way…I bought that outfit from Aoba, just in case you might be interested in seeing it in person." she giggled and walked out.

Nagato's jaw nearly hit the floor at the Fleet Adjutant's comments, but as soon as the door shut the Chief-of-Staff seemed back to business as usual. Avers was inwardly dumbfounded at her reaction.

"Nagato," he began, inwardly kicking himself for even speaking up in the first place, "I'm by no means well-versed in the ways of the opposite sex, but if that wasn't a blatant invitation, then I have no idea what is."

"Sir?" Nagato looked up from some paperwork she'd picked up. When she saw Avers looking at her askance, she flushed attractively and shook her head.

"It's impossible…I'm the Chief-of-Staff and need to be above such things." She went back to reading.

Avers waited patiently. Three…two…one…

"Admiral -" Nagato began.

"It's the weekend…go on," Avers smiled slightly. Nagato was out the door before he'd even finished speaking.

A pitiful whimper from the couch caused him to realize that Kongo was still in the room.

"Kongo, this is not going to hurt your matrimonial prospects," he told the fast battleship in a kind voice. "If anything, you're going to get prospective candidates by the truckload," he muttered under his breath, but Kongo heard him anyway.

"Really, Dess?" She seemed to perk up immediately and bounced to her feet. "More suitors, Dess! I will find the one worthy of my BURNING LOVE!"

"You sure cheered up quick," Avers observed, somewhat concerned about her current mental stare.

"There's no time to be sad!" Kongo laughed. "I must look my best for all my prospective suitors, Dess!" she giggled girlishly and danced around with stars in her eyes.

"Yes, but, remember…don't just settle for the first guy who comes along and gives you a movie star-quality smile and promises you the world," Avers cautioned, even while a part of him was loudly screaming, 'WHAT THE FUCK?!' inside his head. "You have to find the one that looks past what's on the outside and through the battleship armor. Find the one who looks at your heart and knows to treat it like the most precious gift on the planet. And when you find that one, you'll know."

Kongo smiled at him and Avers thought that if he hadn't sworn upon graduating ROTC to remain alone for the rest of his life that he would've gone for the fast battleship himself.

"Arigato, Teitoku-des!" she giggled. "I will take your advice…after all, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, Dess!"

She bounded for the door, only to have it open and her sister ships pour into the room.

"Onee-sama," Hiei exclaimed worriedly. "We heard about the calendar! Are you all right?"

"No problem, Dess!" Kongo laughed. "I've decided to find the person who can capture my BURNING LOVE! forever!"

Her sisters squealed and clapped their hands, murmuring excitedly.

"And it's all thanks to our Teitoku-des!" Kongo indicated Avers, who was unsuccessfully attempting to make himself look busy.

"Ahhhh!" Hiei, Haruna, and Kirishima apparently approved of this.

"Arigato, Teitoku-des!" Kongo ran out of the room, followed by her three sisters, who each waved goodbye before leaving. The door closed and Avers was left alone with Oyodo.

"Just being in that girl's presence makes me tired," he stated aloud, and Oyodo giggled.

"She does have that effect on people, sir," she confirmed, watching as Avers pulled a sheet of paper out of the printer tray and began writing.

"Something I can help you with, Admiral?" Oyodo asked and Avers shook his head.

"No, thanks…it's just personal stuff."

Oyodo nodded and turned her attention back to her radio set while Avers began writing:

The New List of Rules for the Rengō K an musu tai
1) Destroyers are not permitted to play with bottle rockets.
2) Any and all swimsuit calendars featuring shipgirls are prohibited.

He allowed himself a small smile as he looked at the list thus far, having a more than just a slight feeling that he would be adding to this list regularly as time went on.

~~~~~~

Kongo skipped out the front doors of the Headquarters building with her three sisters and smiled to herself. The Admiral had given her perfect advice, Dess…find the one person who went for what was in her heart rather than what was on the outside!

As her sisters pulled her towards the battleship dorm, she spared a brief thought for her Teitoku…he was a perfect fit to his own description of the best kind of man for her. However, this would require finesse, Dess…she couldn't simply grab onto him like a leech and not let go. No, that would come later, and hopefully minus clothing, Dess! she giggled. She would have to plan her first move carefully; her Teitoku didn't seem like one who could be captured easily. But she was Kongo, first ship of the Kongo-class fast battleships…born in England so she had the heart of a lion but raised in Japan, so she had the adventurous spirit of the samurai. She would not lose in battle or love!

Chapter Text

Sundays on base were usually a relaxation day for everyone. Not even training was conducted on Sundays, for even Tone, Chikuma, Katori, and Kashima had to take a rest sometime. This left the shipgirls to their own devices…which - in some cases - was not always a good thing.

"Uggh," Naka whined, draping herself over the back of one of the couches in Dorm Three's common area, "I'm so bored!"

"Onee-chan, why don't you do a podcast for your fans?" Jintsu absently replied, not bothering to look up from the novel she was engrossed in that had a shirtless man with rippling muscles on the cover. She considered herself fortunate to get her hands on it, as books of this type were quite popular among the fleet girls and finding one that was not being read by someone was quite a rare occurrence.

"I just finished one," Naka replied. "And now I'm booooorrred!" she reiterated as Sendai walked in.

"We have movies, video games, books, and the wonder that is the internet…how can you be bored?" she demanded, flopping down in one of the armchairs and yawning. She'd obviously just woken up from a nap.

"All those things you just mentioned have you sit and do nothing," Naka shot down her sister ship's suggestions. "I wanna get out and do something!" She punctuated her frustration by childishly kicking her legs against the back of the couch, jarring the piece of furniture and further distracting Jintsu from her book, which was getting rather…steamy.

"I'll play a game of Battleship, if you want," Sendai offered. "Isn't that a favorite game of yours?"

Naka nodded, but still didn't seem pleased. "I like the game, but it gets repetitive after a while, you know?"

There was a brief silence before Sendai grinned.

"We could make it a little more…interesting."

"What'd you have in mind?" Naka asked. Jintsu also gave her sister ship her attention, for she knew some of Sendai's ideas had the tendency to get slightly out of hand.

"Well…"

~~~~~~

"Thanks for allowing me to play, everyone!" destroyer Miyuki enthused. She'd been embarrassed when she first answered the summons, having met her end in a collision in 1934 and was thus the only one of the twenty 'Special-Type' destroyers to not serve in World War II. However, her sisters had been ecstatic to see her, and after many tearful apologies from Inazuma - who was certain Miyuki would hate her or be out to get her, which was far from the case, Miyuki was quick to assure her – she had slowly gotten used to being a fleet girl. Being included in things was so nice…and with a sister like Fubuki - who wanted to help anyone and everyone - being included in games and practice drills and meals at Mamiya-san's cafe was almost a given.

"So how do we play this game, poi?” Yudachi asked as she, Miyuki, Mutsuki, and Fubuki waited for instructions from their light cruiser squadron-mates.

"We're just waiting for the last two members of our group and we'll be ready," Sendai replied, grabbing onto battleship Fuso so she couldn't sneak off. Fuso was probably the unluckiest ship in the fleet, and had been reading under a tree, minding her own business when the cruiser-destroyer group came along and decided she needed to be included in this game, despite her protests that her luck and games did not go together at all. Being informed she needed her combat gear for the game brought a whole new round of protests, but she eventually acquiesced. Now she was standing with the others with an expression on her face that clearly asked, 'How do I let myself be talked into these things?'.

"All right, we're here…what's up?" Junyo and Ryujo walked up to the group. "And make it snappy, would ya?" Junyo groused. "I've one helluva fucking hangover."

"Junyo-san, Ryujo-san!" Fubuki greeted the two light carriers happily. "We're playing a game Sendai-san thought up: Extreme Battleship!"

At the word 'Extreme', Junyo seemed to perk up.

"Yeah?" she grinned. "Count me in!" She looked at Ryujo, who shrugged.

"Sure…why not?"

"Ok, we have to divide up into teams," Naka enthused. "Onee-san," she indicated Jintsu, "you'll be on my team…along with Ryujo-san, Yudachi-chan, and Miyuki-chan. Junyo-san, you'll command the other team, with Fuso-san, Sendai-chan, Fubuki-chan, and Mutsuki-chan."

Jintsu seemed to be somewhat more at-ease when she found out she would be on the same team as her more…unpredictable sister, knowing Naka needed someone around at times to keep her at least somewhat grounded.

The teams got together and drew up their grids and once everyone was ready, Jintsu called the first shot.

"C-5," the light cruiser announced, and all ships on her team blasted that grid square (or in Ryujo's case launched aircraft).

"Miss!" Sendai announced smugly.

A torpedo detonated against the retractable door of the sortie shed, causing it to collapse on itself as the group of fleet girls watched.

"Oops!" Miyuki giggled nervously. "I think I better practice my aiming this coming week."

Jintsu cringed. "Your turn, Onee-chan," she gave Sendai a weak smile.

"E-8!" Sendai yelled, and her team opened fire. Some of Fuso's shots went wild; the group watched as one of the repair yard cranes was obliterated by three 14-inch shell hits.

"Oh, dear…I hate when that happens," Fuso muttered.

"It'll be ok, Fuso-san!" Fubuki replied cheerily. "I have to work on my aim sometimes, too!"

The battleship smiled bashfully while the others seemingly ignored the unspoken statement that errant 5-inch shells were somewhat less of a threat than those from a battleship.

"Your turn again, Naka-chan!" Mutsuki enthused.

~~~~~~

Avers relaxed on the small porch that was attached to his quarters. It was a beautiful, lazy Sunday afternoon, the sun was out, birds were singing, he had a comfy lounger to relax in, and Desi Arnaz was singing on the iPod about pulling a big straw hat over one's eyes and no longer being able to see your troubles. Life was good.

The torpedo explosion caught Avers off-guard, but he didn't pay it too much mind, having grown used to explosions coming from the repair docks. Akashi and Yubari must be at it again, he chuckled to himself, taking a deep breath and getting settled for a long afternoon of doing absolutely nothing.

The destruction of the crane caught him completely by surprise, causing him to fall off his lounger. As he picked himself up, wondering what the hell had just happened, the phone inside rang.

So much for a relaxing afternoon, Avers thought darkly as he stomped inside to answer the phone.

~~~~~~

"Ahhh, Fubuki-chan…you sank our cruiser!" Naka complained as the destroyer's teammates crowded around and congratulated her. Cheers came from the docks, where Kongo and her sisters had decided to watch.

"Yay, 'Buki! Way to go, Dess!" Kongo yelled. She noticed someone approaching out of the corner of her eye and turned to face the person.

"Teitoku-des!" she greeted Avers, who did not look pleased at what he was seeing.

"Ladies," Avers greeted the four fast battleships, each of whom smiled prettily and waved. "So, there I was, enjoying a relaxing Sunday afternoon away from the office, when I get a call from an irate Akashi that a group of shipgirls have decided to play a rousing game that appears to be called 'Destroy the Dockyards'."

"No, not 'Destroy the Dockyards’…'Extreme Battleship', Dess!" Kongo proclaimed.

"'Extreme Battleship'?" Avers cringed at the name.

"Yes!" came the happy reply. Avers had trouble wrapping his mind around the fact that Kongo found nothing amiss about a game that - if it went on long enough - could very well see major damage wrought to vital portions of his naval base.

"And to what extent, pray tell, are the four of you involved in this?" he asked, almost afraid to find out.

"We play the winners, Dess!" Kongo grinned. "Championship round!" she seemed quite eager for her turn.

A growing shriek signaled incoming ordnance, and a fourteen-inch shell slammed into the water not two feet from where Avers was standing, thoroughly drenching him and all four of the Kongo sisters in a geyser of water. The four battleships squealed and laughed, finding it extremely amusing, but Avers turned and glowered out to sea, only to zero in on Fuso, who'd been coming in to apologize to the spectators, but gave a quiet 'eep!' and quickly retreated upon seeing the Commanding Admiral standing there imitating a drowned rat.

Another explosion seaward followed by cheering and hugs apparently signaled the end of the game; apparently Sendai's team had won. The ten shipgirls headed in, but every one of them stopped dead in their tracks when they caught sight of Avers.

"Admiral! It's me, Naka-chan…the Idol of the Naval Base!" Naka smiled prettily and struck a pose. Jintsu, sensing that Avers was beyond pissed, smacked her sister upside the head before rendering a salute.

Avers returned it before smiling thinly at the group.

"Thanks to whomever fired that shell that struck the water near here a few minutes ago," he commented lightly. "I forgot to take a bath in the harbor today."

Fuso blushed and looked downward as Avers turned and gestured at several spots of destruction around the base.

"One of the things you do after you finish playing a game, ladies, is you clean up after yourselves." He smiled at the ten girls. "Once you've stowed your combat gear, go see Akashi…I'm sure she's got a list of things for you to do." He turned and was about to walk off, but then remembered something.

"Oh, and one more thing: when playing a game or just practicing your marksmanship, you do NOT use LIVE AMMUNITION!" he yelled the last two words before turning and storming off. The impact of his dramatic exit, however, was lessened by the fact that he made squelching noises with every step.

As he moved off, he heard Sendai ask behind him, "Does this mean the Championship Round is cancelled?"

Avers turned and glowered at the light cruiser, who smiled nervously.

"What do you think?" he growled, heading off to find some dry clothes. As he went, he was already mentally comprising the next update to his List:

3) The game of "Extreme Battleship" (and its Championship series) is now prohibited.

~~~~~~

On Wednesday, Mancini walked into Ashigara's classroom to give a leadership lecture. He was kind of nervous about it; he'd never had to stand up and talk in front of a group before. However, once he got going, he found it to be incredibly easy, and his joking and easygoing manner kept the classroom full of destroyers interested in his entire presentation.

"Thanks for listening to me," he thanked his audience. "Anybody have any questions?"

Mancini inwardly groaned as several hands shot up in response. This was the part he'd most been dreading, for he remembered sitting in his high-school English class, and whenever Mr. Faustino had asked that question, Gino Mancini had almost always piped up with inane questions like 'How do the Chinese eat spaghetti?' that always drew a laugh but also usually earned him detention or extra homework. But he figured that karma would catch up to him sooner or later, and this would be a perfect opportunity for it to do so.

He pointed to a destroyer with short brown hair.

"Ok, let's start with you…what's your name?"

The destroyer stood up. "Kuchikukan Shirayuki-des!"

Mancini nodded. "All right, Shirayuki…what's your question?"

The destroyer blushed hotly but managed to speak.

"W-what does the phrase 'jizz in my pants' mean?"

Two other destroyers in the back of the room burst into giggles, and Ashigara's jaw nearly hit the floor. Mancini was speechless; while he could tell Shirayuki's question was a genuine one - the destroyer appeared incredibly embarrassed at having to ask in the first place - the two giggle-boxes in the back of the room appeared to already know the answer. One other thing was certain: of all the questions he'd been prepared for, this damn sure wasn't one of them. Karma hadn't just gotten him back for all the times he gave Mr. Faustino trouble in high school, it had royally bitch-slapped him.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, since there appear to be two of your classmates in the back of the room that already know the answer, why don't I let them explain it?" He motioned to the two no-longer-laughing destroyers. "You two wanna stand up and answer Shirayuki's question? You seem to know what she's talking about."

The two destroyers stood up but were stopped from explaining by a shout from their teacher.

"Kasumi! Kagero!" Ashigara snapped. "Not a word out of you! Shirayuki," she addressed the still-violently-blushing destroyer, "I would advise you to pose this question to your Squadron Flagship."

Mancini winced and sent up a silent prayer for whatever shipgirl that might be.

"And on that note," Ashigara continued, "class is dismissed. Remember to do your homework, and I'll see you all tomorrow."

As the class filed out, Mancini turned to Ashigara.

"Boy…that question…how's the old saying go, 'Out of the mouths of babes…'?" he grinned.

Ashigara shook her head.

"Some of the destroyers are too inquisitive for their own good," she replied.

"Meh, most of 'em are just kids," Mancini shrugged. "Kids ask questions…it's their nature."

"Did you ask lots of questions as a child?" Ashigara asked as she gathered her things.

Mancini grinned. "Not too many…I usually just went and discovered things for myself. Probably why I got into so much trouble back then," he laughed, and was inwardly pleased when he got the heavy cruiser to giggle.

A conversation drifted into the classroom through the open window. It was obvious the destroyers had continued the conversation after they'd left the classroom.

"I don't think Abukuma will know the answer," Shirayuki stated. "She knows a lot, but she doesn't seem like the type to know about this sort of thing."

"Kinu might know!" another destroyer, Isonami, suggested, but Shirayuki shook her head.

"No, she didn't seem too happy to answer questions of this nature before…I don't think we should bother her again."

"I've got an idea!" Kagero grinned. "Why don't we go ask the Admiral?"

"Yeah!" Kasumi put in. "He's bound to know the answer…he's the Admiral!"

Mancini and Ashigara looked at each other in horror.

"Oh, no…" Ashigara trailed off.

"Oh, shit…" Mancini muttered, closing his eyes.

A brief second later and both were running flat out for the door.

~~~~~~

Avers admitted to being pleased. After the chaos on Sunday, he had braced for the shit to hit the fan the following day, simply because it was Monday. He almost wept for joy when Monday passed without incident, and Tuesday went the same way. Now there was only a few hours left and it would be a record of three days without any 'incidents'.

Perhaps the insanity's been dialed back for now, he thought hopefully to himself.

The atmosphere in the office was also more relaxed. Nagato and Mutsu showed up for work on Monday looking exhausted but judging by the smug little smile on Mutsu's face, the way Nagato flushed every time her sister ship went near her, and the various marks on parts of their bodies their outfits didn't really cover up all that well, it was obvious they'd had quite the enjoyable weekend together.

A knock on the door brought the Admiral out of his musings.

"Come in," he invited, and eight destroyers piled into the room.

"And what can I do for all of you?" Avers asked, as one of the destroyers nervously stepped forward, introducing herself as Shirayuki.

"W-we have a q-question," she stammered. "A-and we figured s-since you're the A-Admiral and all, y-you'd know."

"Your faith in my intelligence is flattering," Avers smiled, "and while I'm not exactly the Oracle of Delphi, I'll try and answer any questions as best I can. What did you want to know?"

Shirayuki took a deep breath and spoke.

"What does the phrase 'jizz in my pants' mean?"

Avers' mind went blank. Two of the destroyers burst out laughing. Oyodo made the mistake of trying to inhale the gummy worm she was eating. Mutsu collapsed on one of the sofas, stricken by a fit of the giggles. Nagato stared at Shirayuki, frozen in place as though unwilling to believe a destroyer would have the audacity to walk into the Admiral's office and pose such a question to him. She was then distracted by the choking noises from Oyodo and occupied herself by giving the light cruiser the Heimlich maneuver.

The sound of pounding feet could be heard outside and suddenly Ashigara and Mancini burst in, Mancini leaning on the doorframe and gasping for air, while Ashigara glanced around the room, taking in the various expressions, and groaned.

"We're too late, aren't we?" she muttered.

"Too late for what?" Avers asked. "If you mean too late to prevent Shirayuki from asking the Commanding Admiral a question that by far tops the list of Questions He Never Thought He'd Be Asked, then yes."

Mancini swore under his breath and straightened up. "Sir, I'd like to apologize for this. They asked the same question when I was in Ashigara's class doing a presentation today, but I had no idea they'd go to you about it until we -" he indicated Ashigara and himself, "overheard a conversation through the open classroom window."

Avers turned to the destroyer group. "Who's your squadron flagship?"

"Kinu and Abukuma," was the response. Avers turned to Oyodo.

"Get Kinu and Abukuma here ASAP, please," he ordered, and Oyodo was only too happy to respond. The new Admiral was ever so polite when asking things of the shipgirls…small wonder so many of them had crushes on him.

~~~

Ten minutes later, the two light cruisers in question were standing before him and Avers explained the situation. Abukuma flushed tomato red, while Kinu paled considerably.

"Might you have an explanation as to why these destroyers want to know such a thing?" Avers inquired.

Abukuma's eyes widened, and she shook her head rapidly. Avers could tell just by looking at her that the light cruiser truly had no idea how her charges had found such information and was beyond mortified the matter had been brought to the attention of the Admiral.

Avers turned to Kinu. "Well? Any thoughts?"

Kinu giggled nervously. "I…er, might've…disabled the internet filter…on their computer yesterday, yeah…"

"And why in the world would you do something like that?" Avers had to struggle to process this. "The internet filters are there for a reason! Specifically, to keep stuff like this from those who shouldn't be allowed access to it!"

"I was just trying to teach them a lesson…" Kinu whined and Avers rolled his eyes.

"It would appear they got an education instead."

The Admiral settled back in his chair, trying to come up with a suitable punishment for the errant light cruiser. Then it hit him, and he grinned.

"Kinu," he announced, "I've decided I'm not going to punish you for this."

When Kinu, Mancini, Ashigara, Nagato, and Mutsu all looked at him in surprise, he added, "Instead, all I'm going to ask of you is that you answer any questions they might have…starting with the one they just asked me."

Kinu looked as though she would rather have relived her own sinking than do what her Admiral was asking.

"Ladies," Avers addressed the two light cruisers and their charges, "I believe that's all. You're dismissed." As Kagero and Kasumi dragged a reluctant Kinu from the room Avers called out, "Oh, and Kinu: turn those internet filters back on…today." The emphasis he placed on the last word left no doubt of it being an order.

As the door closed Avers opened his desk drawer and took out the sheet of paper he'd come to know rather well in the past few days. Picking up a pen, he added two more lines to the paper:

4) The meaning of certain phrases will forever remain a mystery to the destroyers.
5) Disabling adult filters for the younger shipgirls is not recommended.

Chapter Text

The following day was Thursday, and Avers dressed for the day quickly, looking forward to what was going to hopefully happen later that morning. For the first time since he'd taken command, an attempt would be made to summon more fleet girls. Around 10:30 that morning, Avers, Nagato, Mutsu, and Blaskewicz assembled in a large chamber in the Repair docks, while a team of scientists gathered around what looked like a small pool.

"Dr. Sakai," Avers greeted the lead scientist. "Are we going to see a successful summons today?"

"Hard to say for certain, Admiral," Sakai replied, "but I've got a good feeling."

"How exactly does this process work?" Avers looked at the rudimentary setup with some trepidation, as though it would suddenly come to life and somehow kill all of them.

"It's quite simple, really," Sakai seemed quite eager to talk about his work. "We turn play music through the chamber and wait to see what - if anything - comes out. Sometimes we get lucky, sometimes not."

"That's it?" Avers was aghast. "You play music into a pool of water and see what happens?"

"Well, yes…" Sakai trailed off, apparently realizing how seemingly dangerous that was.

"What kind of a half-assed operation is this?" Avers snapped. "You’re trying to connect to another plane of existence or something, and all you do is play music to see if anything responds?! Lord only knows what might come out of this thing!"

"We haven't had any problems so far." Sakai stated this as though that made everything perfectly fine.

Avers sighed and threw up his hands in disgust, striding over to where his staff had decided to stand, far back from the pool.

"Proceed, Doctor."

Sakai turned to the computer and began typing a series of commands.

"Commencing music play," Sakai announced.

The Imperial Japanese Navy anthem, the Gunkan March, began playing through huge speakers aimed at the pool. Only twenty seconds in, and the energy in the water seemed to suddenly increase.

"What's happening?" Avers yelled over to Sakai.

"We've got a bite!" the scientist yelled back. "Every time a successful summons takes place, this is how it starts!"

Seven seconds later, a new shipgirl broke the surface of the pool. The statuesque brunette wore grey shoes with red trim, black thigh-high stockings, a royal blue micro-skirt, and a white top like Nagato and Mutsu's but trimmed in the same shade of royal blue as her skirt. A black band wrapped around her body below her breasts, and in the center was the Imperial Chrysanthemum. Her arms bore flowing white covers like those worn by the Kongo sisters, and her shoulder-length brown hair was done up in twin pigtails with royal blue ribbons.

"Wh-Where am I?" she demanded, taking in her new surroundings.

Before anyone could answer her, another shipgirl broke the surface behind her, colliding with the back of the first girl and sending them both sprawling, with the second girl on top of the first.

"Oops," Shipgirl Two giggled, looking down at where she'd landed. "Sorry about the whole landing-on-top-of-you deal. But I won't apologize for the view." She grinned wickedly before looking pointedly down Shipgirl One's top. For her part, Shipgirl One blushed tomato red and scrambled out of the pool.

The newest shipgirl quickly followed, giving Avers and the others their first real look at her. She was of average height, with legs that seemed to go on forever encased in green tights with dark green patches on them. Her panty-length shorts and barely-there tank top were both patterned in the obvious markings of aircraft carrier flight deck camouflage. A black berét was perched atop her waist-length blonde hair. She waved happily at the others in the room before going over to where Dr. Sakai had asked her to stand.

The music continued, now about two-thirds the way through the march, and the pool came to life again as a shipgirl that was dressed much more conservatively in a kimono that began a deep royal purple at her shoulders and faded to almost white at the bottom. Traditional Japanese clogs were on her feet, the heels bearing tiny rudders. Pretty flowers were attached to either side of the white headband she wore, and her happy gray eyes were framed by wire-rim glasses. Dr. Sakai wasted no time in getting her to stand with the first two girls.

Just past the two-minute mark, the pool came to life yet again as two shipgirls broke the surface at once. The first wore a medium green knee-length kimono with a flowing hull red sash around her waist and had shoulder-length dark brown hair and wire-rim glasses like Oyodo's. The second wore a flowing knee-length black skirt and a deep red peasant blouse.

As the song came to an end Avers motioned for Sakai to kill the music.

"Shut it down! Five's enough for now…shut it down!"

Sakai looked like he wanted to get a few more but did as Avers requested. With the music shut down Avers walked over to the five girls, who were taking in their new surroundings with interest.

"Welcome, ladies, to the first day of your new lives," he greeted them.

"An American?" the girl wearing the green kimono asked in a quiet voice. "But how…?" she trailed off, confused.

"My name is Admiral Matthew Avers," Avers introduced himself. "I am the Commander-in-Chief of Rengō Kanmusutai, or Combined Shipgirl Fleet. I understand you probably have a great many questions -"

"Now there's an understatement," the shipgirl in the red peasant blouse muttered.

"But first allow me to say that the world you're now in is not the same one you left. The war you all fought in ended more than seventy years ago. While it might seem hard to believe, Japan and the United States are now staunch allies and have been for quite some time."

Shipgirl One raised her hand.

"What war are you referring to?" she asked.

The question made Avers pause. "You didn't see action in the war?"

The girl blushed. "Technically, I was never even completed." She straightened and bowed slightly. "Tosa-class battleship Tosa, at your service, Admiral."

Avers' jaw nearly hit the floor. The summons machine could bring forth shipgirls that were never even completed? This opened a whole new range of possibilities.

His thoughts were interrupted by the scantily clad blonde shipgirl grabbing his hand and shaking it so hard his arm felt like it was going to pop out of the socket.

"Light carrier Ibuki, Admiral! It's a pleasure to meet you! I'm so glad to be here! Are there any other light carriers around? What year is it? Do you like my outfit?"

Avers couldn't get a word in edgewise. Hosho's going to love her, he thought to himself, making a mental note to page the light carrier to his office when he got everyone back there.

"Thank you, Ibuki," he replied. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, all of your fellow light carriers are here, the year is 2016, and your outfit is very nice."

"Yay!" Ibuki danced around happily as Avers turned to the shipgirl in the purple kimono.

"What's your story?" he asked.

"Well, I was never commissioned either," the girl replied. "As a matter of fact, I was never even laid down."

"You could pass for a twin of Oyodo," Avers muttered to himself, but the shipgirl overheard and her eyes lit up.

"Oyodo…that's my sister's name! I'm Niyodo! Is my sister around?"

Avers nodded. "Yes, she's here…don't worry, you'll see her shortly." At this news, Niyodo squealed and bounced around excitedly.

"And you two?" Avers addressed the last two shipgirls. The girl in the green kimono was staring at Niyodo and Ibuki with trepidation, while the girl wearing the red peasant blouse just looked bored.

"I was completed, but I never fought," the former replied, blushing. "I was sunk before I even fired a single shot." She sighed. "I never even saw my sisters - well," she amended, "I guess they would be my half-sisters now. I wonder if they were called back, too."

When he heard the words 'half-sisters', Avers immediately knew who she was.

"My God," he breathed. "You're Shinano, aren't you?"

The girl nodded nervously and Avers smiled.

"Welcome back…I'm sure both of your half-sisters are going to be very happy to see you."

His statement seemed to lift a huge weight off the carrier's shoulders, for she smiled in relief. Avers then looked at the last shipgirl, but she spoke before he could even address her.

"I got laid down, but I was never finished," she stated. "They called me Number 111, but you can call me Kii."

"Holy Moses…the fourth Yamato," Blaskewicz murmured, and Avers looked over at Dr. Sakai.

"You have an explanation for this, Doc? Why four of the five shipgirls we got just now were never even finished?"

Sakai shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine, Admiral…I also thought only those ships that actually served could come back. It would appear we were wrong in that belief, for we have two ships that were never finished, and one that existed only on paper. Amazing."

Avers rolled his eyes when he saw no explanation would be forthcoming and turned back to the two shipgirls.

“Your sisters are here also, and I’m sure they’ll both be ecstatic to see you.”

As the two Yamatos smiled excitedly Avers saw Tosa looking like she wanted to ask a question.

“Yes?”

The battleship smiled awkwardly. “Are there any of our fellow shipgirls present here now?”

Avers gestured to Nagato and Mutsu. “Here are two of them: my Chief-of-Staff, battleship Nagato and the Fleet Adjutant, battleship Mutsu.”

The two ships in question nodded to the five newest members of the fleet. Tosa seemed somewhat in awe.

“It’s an honor to meet my predecessors,” she informed them. “I look forward to learning from your examples.”

“Ladies,” Avers addressed the group as a whole, “if you’ll please follow me, we’ll head to my office and get started on processing you.”

~~~~~~

Oyodo looked up as the group - minus Blaskewicz, who had returned to his own office - entered Avers' office.

"Five new summons?" she noted, surprised. "I imagine Dr. Sakai is quite pleased with today's results."

"Most likely, yes," Avers replied, sitting down behind his desk. "But he also should be thinking about better safety precautions whenever he performs that ritual of his…one would think there would be more safeguards in place when one is playing around with cosmic voids and other planes of existence, but surprisingly no."

He turned to the five newest shipgirls, casting a pointed glance, Oyodo noted, at the one dressed in a colorful floor-length kimono.

"Ladies, this is the Fleet Communications Specialist, light cruiser Oyodo."

Greetings were exchanged, and Oyodo was quite surprised when the girl in the kimono looked at her with tears in her eyes.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

The girl gave her a watery smile. "Onee-sama?" she asked in a choked-up voice.

Oyodo looked started. "Onee-sama…?" she trailed off questioningly.

The girl in the kimono nodded. "Niyodo-des!" she introduced herself.

Seconds later the two light cruisers were clinging to each other in a tearful embrace. Avers, noting that Oyodo was in no condition to page someone, turned to Mutsu.

"Get Yamato, Musashi, Kaga, and Hosho here ASAP, please," he requested, and his Adjutant nodded, reaching for the microphone.

Hosho was the first of those called to arrive, and Ibuki wasted no time in bouncing right over to introduce herself. Tosa was also dragged over to say hello, the light carrier apparently having attached herself to the battleship for unknown reasons. For her part, Tosa remembered Hosho from the brief time she'd languished as an empty hull and greeted the retired ship amicably.

Kaga was the next to arrive, having brought Akagi with her.

"You wished to see me, Admiral?" She asked, approaching Avers' desk.

Avers nodded and stood up, going over to where Ibuki was chattering excitedly to Hosho, who was smiling patiently like a mother dealing with a very hyperactive child, while Tosa was standing by Ibuki looking somewhat lost. She noticed Avers approaching and seemed relieved when he beckoned her over.

"Yes, Admiral?"

Avers indicated the two fleet carriers standing behind him.

"I've got some people I'd like you to meet," he informed her. "Allow me to present the top two carriers in the fleet, the 1st Carrier Division, consisting of carriers Akagi…and Kaga."

"Hi!" Akagi smiled happily at the new girl. Kaga nodded politely.

"Ladies," Avers addressed the two carriers, "may I present one of the fleetgirls summoned today…battleship Tosa."

Kaga's eyes widened upon hearing the name; Avers knew that for her that was the equivalent of her jaw dropping.

"Tosa?" the fleet carrier whispered softly before turning to Avers. "My sister? How is this even possible?"

"We don't really have an answer for that," Avers replied. "All I can say is she's here and I trust you'll make her feel welcome."

Kaga turned to her now-half-sister.

"You've got some big shoes to fill," she stated. "As I'm a carrier now, I cannot represent the honor of the Tosa-class battleships. I leave it to you to do that for both of us. Welcome back, sister."

Tosa's response was to glomp Kaga and hug her for dear life. Akagi wiped tears away at the reunion, while Kaga – by no means used to such displays of emotion - awkwardly patted Tosa's back in response, all the while looking at Avers and Akagi, the expression on her face screaming 'help'.

The reunion was broken up by a certain light carrier seeing Tosa clinging to another woman.

"Jeez, Tosa…I leave you alone for two minutes and you're hugging on someone else!" Ibuki complained jokingly, but when Tosa let go of Kaga and Ibuki was able to see who her friend was hugging, the light carrier let out a fangirl squeal and started bouncing up and down excitedly.

"Oh, wow! You're Akagi and Kaga! Hosho was telling me all about you two! The 1st Carrier Division ships are like celebrities here! This is so cool! I'm light carrier Ibuki…I'm so looking forward to learning from the two of you!"

Akagi was about to reply when a loud grumble came from Ibuki's stomach.

"You sound hungry," Akagi grinned.

Ibuki nodded. "Yeah, Hosho was telling me I need to eat human food now, but I don't know what all there is. Do you have anything good to recommend?"

A far-off look appeared in Akagi's eyes, and a happy little smile appeared on her face. Kaga saw the look and actually smiled.

"Come, Akagi-san," she looped her arm through her division mate's, "let's take the new arrivals to the commissary."

The four headed for the door with Avers' blessing; Akagi had come out of her thoughts and now appeared to be regaling Ibuki with all the joys food had to offer. As Hosho led them out, Yamato and Musashi came in.

"Ladies," Avers greeted the two super-battleships, "glad to see you. I have some new girls I think you'll want to meet."

Shinano and Kii turned to face the new arrivals. Yamato smiled at them and Musashi nodded in greeting.

"I am Yamato, lead ship of the Yamato-class," Yamato greeted them. "This is my sister, Musashi, second ship of the Yamato-class."

Shinano's eyes teared up upon seeing her half-sisters for the first time.

"I'm so sorry we did not meet in the war," she responded in a choked-up voice.

"Who are you?" Musashi inquired.

Shinano bowed low from the waist. "Shinano-des!"

Seconds later she had two super-battleships tearfully embracing her. After a few moments, Yamato pulled back briefly to look at Kii.

"Who's your friend?" she asked.

"Half-sister, actually," Kii smirked. "I occupied the dry dock in Kure after you were launched. My official designation was Number 111, but you can call me Kii," To her embarrassment, the bear hugs and tears began anew.

Avers watched the scene and breathed a sigh of relief. At long last, the Yamato-class was complete.

~~~~~~

Once the Yamato-class left, Avers' day seemed to go rather smoothly. This usually tended to make the Admiral somewhat paranoid, for chaos was usually quick to follow. Nonetheless, when lunchtime approached, he stood from his desk and addressed Nagato.

"I'm going for lunch…would you or Mutsu please make sure those two," he indicated Oyodo and Niyodo, who were conversing rapidly about communications equipment, "eat at some point?"

Nagato nodded. "Of course, Admiral...have a pleasant lunch."

Avers smiled. "I'll try, but the last time I ate in the commissary, the Calendar incident occurred."

Nagato flushed, apparently remembering a certain picture in said calendar, and Mutsu giggled. Avers chose not to comment and left for the commissary.

~~~~~~

As Avers was starting off for food, across the naval base, heavy cruiser Mogami was doing something she’d never done before: sit behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. Learning how to drive was not necessarily a requirement for shipgirls, but now that she was human, Mogami had decided to throw herself into her new life and was embracing all the challenges humanity had to offer, including the successful operation of an automobile.

Well, top priority was still given to not colliding with things or inadvertently torpedoing something, but that was beside the point. And besides, she'd been successful at that…mostly.

"Okay, so what do I do first?" she asked her instructor.

"First, put your hands on the steering wheel," Kirishima, the self-proclaimed 'instructor', replied. "I believe the standard position is called 'ten-and-two', if that makes any sense?"

"Not really," the heavy cruiser shook her head, but she managed to place her hands correctly with Kirishima's help, although she was so nervous her arms were quivering with tension.

"Excellent!" Kirishima enthused. "Now, let's put the car into 'Drive', shall we? Grab the handle, push the button, and pull down until the light is next to 'D'."

Mogami nodded shakily and managed to do the task correctly.

"You're doing great!" Kirishima told her.

Mogami smiled. "Thanks again for teaching me how to drive…were you this nervous when you first started learning?"

"Oh, I never learned how myself," Kirishima replied airily. "I'm just going by what I know from television or from what Kongo onee-sama told me." The stricken look on Mogami's face made her pause. "I guess I shouldn't have said that." The fast battleship shook her head. "Anyway, let's try putting your foot on the gas a little."

Mogami nodded, shifted her foot, and pressed down on the gas…putting the pedal to the metal. The car shot forward, the g-forces pressing both shipgirls back in their seats.

"Ahh, too much gas!" Kirishima exclaimed. "Take your foot off the pedal! Take your foot off the pedal!"

Mogami, by now completely absorbed in panicking, didn't hear her, and the car zoomed off through the naval base, carrying the two screaming shipgirls along with it.

~~~~~~

Avers found he was really starting to enjoy his midday stroll to the commissary. Normally, being an Admiral meant he could have the privilege of having his lunch brought to him so he could eat while he worked, but he found that getting out of the office and walking during the day gave him the opportunity to clear his head and enjoy his surroundings. The peace and quiet didn't hurt, either.

"Heyyy, Teitoku-des!"

Of course, it also royally sucks when said peace and quiet is interrupted, Avers thought darkly, but put a smile on his face as Kongo approached him.

"How's it going, Kongo?" he greeted the fast battleship, who never seemed to have a bad day.

"Great, Dess!" the brown-haired girl smiled. "Are you heading to the commissary?"

Avers nodded. "I've come to enjoy this part of my day…especially when I'm not diving out of the way of poorly aimed fireworks."

At Kongo's questioning look - Avers privately thought the way she looked at him and innocently cocked her head was adorable - he elaborated on his encounter with Ikazuchi and Inazuma. By the end of the story, Kongo was giggling madly. Avers was about to reply when he heard the fast-approaching sound of a car. Turning to look, he saw a sedan bearing down on them rapidly.

"Look out!" he grabbed Kongo and threw them both out of the way, twisting his body so that he wound up landing on his back on the grass with Kongo landing on top of him. The car - carrying two screaming occupants, he was sorry to note - zoomed past them, jumped a nearby curb, and plowed straight through the ground floor of one of the currently unused dorms before coming to a stop somewhere inside the building.

"You ok?" he turned to look up at Kongo, who was gazing down at him in surprise. The fast battleship nodded dazedly, seemingly in shock that her Admiral had probably just saved her life.

Avers rolled to his feet and pulled Kongo up as well, pointedly ignoring the little voice in his head that was babbling on and on about how perfectly Kongo's body had fit against his. Again, his logical side rose up and silenced the little voice with the proverbial sledgehammer.

"Stay here," Avers instructed Kongo. "I'm going to check on whoever was in the car."

Kongo watched as her Teitoku made his way towards the damaged structure. He'd literally just saved her life…such a gentleman he was! Yes, he was the perfect candidate to be her suitor.

Now begins the campaign to get him to see that, Dess! She giggled to herself, already starting to plot her next move.

~~~~~~

Avers crawled into the wreckage of the dorm and neared the car. Before he could call out to the car's occupants, he was surprised to hear voices inside the vehicle, one of them Kirishima's.

"Okay, our next lesson will be about how to apply the gas without doing something like this," the fast battleship was explaining in a perfectly calm voice to the other person in the car. "That's only if the Admiral allows you to continue with your lessons, however."

She turned and looked out the window, doing a doubletake upon seeing Avers clambering through the wreckage towards them.

"And something tells me he's probably going to say no," she finished nervously.

Now beside the car, Avers leaned down and looked inside to find Kirishima sitting in the passenger seat, unhurt, and a badly shaken Mogami slumped over the steering wheel.

"Are you two all right?" he asked.

Kirishima nodded and smiled as she adjusted her glasses. "Oh, we're fine, Admiral," she replied breezily. "How are you?"

Avers did a mental facepalm at this; nothing seemed to concern or perturb Kirishima, even during battle.

Mogami let out a pitiful whimper. "I can't seem to do anything without crashing into, colliding with, or accidentally torpedoing something," she whined. "Why did I even bother answering that summons? I'm just continuing my streak of bad luck."

"You answered the summons because you wanted to see your sister ships again," Avers replied. "And because you wanted to serve your country once more. Nothing wrong with either of those things."

Mogami smiled weakly. "Thanks, Admiral."

"You're welcome," Avers replied. "Now, let's get you two out of this mess and Mogami to a phone so she can call her insurance company and report the accident."

"Oh, the car's not mine," Mogami replied as Avers helped her and Kirishima out of the wreckage. "We just borrowed it."

Avers glanced at the hood of the totaled Toyota Corolla and groaned upon noticing the markings that identified the vehicle as one that came from the naval base's motor pool. "Oh, great."

Upon emerging from the wrecked dorm Avers noted a large crowd had gathered, and no sooner had he noted this than Mogami and Kirishima both were tackle-glomped by all three of their respective sister ships.

"Onee-sama…are you all right?!" Avers detected a frantic note to Hiei's voice.

"Oh, we're fine, Hiei-san," Kirishima smiled as though she didn't have a care in the world - The world she lives in must be really nice, Avers thought to himself - "all I can say is we'll try again tomorrow, right Mogami-san?"

The heavy cruiser in question nodded weakly while being mobbed by her own sister ships, if only to get the persistent fast battleship off her back.

"Mogami can try driving again when she buys her own vehicle," Avers stated. "Motor pool cars are not to be used for driving lessons."

"It's all right, Mogami-san!" Kongo called out cheerfully. "My sisters and I will help you pick out a car you'll love!"

Hiei, Kirishima, and Haruna all murmured appreciatively and clapped excitedly at their elder sister's announcement. Avers ignored the chill that went up his spine as he remembered the kind of car Kongo had bought. He shook off those thoughts and pulled out his cell phone, dialing the Supply Office.

"Supply & Logistics, Captain Blaskewicz," answered his Supply Officer.

"Captain, you need to get down to one of the unused dorms…I think it's Dorm 14. Kirishima decided to help Mogami learn how to drive, and they put a car through the ground floor."

"Aw, jeez, sir…are they okay?"

Avers smiled at Blaskewicz's concern for the shipgirls.

"They're fine, but you or one of your people need to come down here and fill out an accident report."

"Can I ask why, sir? Shouldn't she just inform her insurance company and then call a tow truck or something?"

"The car's one of those from the motor pool, so I'm afraid it's your territory."

"Aw, jeez…" Blaskewicz muttered. "I'll be down there as soon as I can, sir."

Avers thanked him and ended the call before pulling up his phone's notepad and writing a reminder to himself for when he returned to his office:

6) Shipgirls are forbidden from operating motor vehicles unless accompanied by a certified instructor.

Chapter Text

Captain Eddie Blaskewicz considered himself an easygoing guy. There wasn't much that could ruffle his feathers and being from a large family, he'd seen a lot growing up. However, the chaos that a family of nine children could create seemed like a vacation compared to the intermittent periods of zaniness that had occurred thus far in his current assignment.

It had been four days since Mogami and Kirishima had driven a car through one of the - thankfully unoccupied - dorms, and now that the entertainment that the extraction of the car from the building's interior had provided was over, Blaskewicz expected that the next 'something crazy' would occur any day now.

No sooner had he thought just that than the door to his office crashed open, causing him to jump. Ikazuchi rushed into the room, looking like her innocent little world was crashing down around her ears. Before Blaskewicz could say a word, the adorable little destroyer tackle-glomped him.

"C-Captain…p-please h-help!" she whimpered.

"What's wrong?" Blaskewicz asked, his mind going over various possible scenarios in his head. However, Ikazuchi's answer wasn't at all what he expected.

"I-It's Inazuma!" the little destroyer wailed, her eyes glimmering with unshed tears and her lower lip trembling. "S-She's dying!"

"What?" Blaskewicz didn't know what to say to that, and it was obvious that if he didn't give Ikazuchi an answer within the next minute or so, she was going to have a meltdown.

Desperate times called for desperate measures, so he did the only thing he could think of: he picked up the phone.

~~~~~~

Avers settled in his comfy desk chair and enjoyed the silence of the early afternoon. Nagato, Mutsu, Oyodo, and Niyodo - who was now serving as a Communications Specialist alongside her sister ship, as the pair had categorically refused to be parted from one another - were all still at lunch and Avers was able to sip his post-meal Pepsi in peace.

And then, of course, the phone rang. How incredibly rude of it. He sighed and reached over, picking up the receiver.

"Avers."

"Sir, I think I might have a situation here…could you come to my office?" Blaskewicz's voice asked.

Avers sighed. So much for Pepsi and peace. "On my way," he replied, and hung up.

~~~~~~

Three minutes later, Avers was standing in Blaskewicz's office watching Ikazuchi cling to Blaskewicz like a life raft in a storm-tossed sea and whimper pitifully. He walked over to where Blaskewicz was sitting behind his desk and knelt next to Ikazuchi.

"Ikazuchi, what seems to be the problem?" he asked gently so as not to frighten the adorable destroyer.

"I-It's Inazuma, Admiral!" Ikazuchi wailed. "S-She's dying!"

"I seriously doubt that's the case," Avers replied. "What caused you to come to that conclusion?"

Ikazuchi blushed and looked around awkwardly.

"S-She…she was bleeding…d-down there," she whispered to the two officers, as though telling them a vital secret.

Immediately both men knew what she meant.

"Aw, jeez…" Blaskewicz trailed off, the pained expression on his face plainly telling Avers he was currently wishing he was anywhere but there. Avers privately agreed with him.

"…I see," Avers managed, before drawing a deep breath to calm his nerves. He smiled at Ikazuchi.

"Don't worry, Inazuma isn't dying. It's just…" He trailed off, not really wanting to get into details, and then realized he could put the explanation off a little longer.

"Come on…let's go back to my office and we'll find out where Tenryu went, ok?"

"She and Tatsuta are at a meeting of all the light cruisers called by Katori and Kashima," Ikazuchi replied.

"All I have to do is page them, and they'll be excused," Avers assured her.

Ikazuchi nodded, and after thanking a visibly relieved Blaskewicz, the pair left for Avers' office. Once there Avers paged Tenryu and not two minutes later there was a knock at the door.

"Impressive punctuality," Avers commented to no one in particular. "Enter!" he called.

The door opened to admit Inazuma and Hibiki, who had apparently heard Tenryu's page and surmised Ikazuchi's location. Inazuma ran over to stand beside Avers' desk.

"Admiral!" she wailed. "What's happening to meeeee?!"

"Don't worry," Avers attempted to soothe the panicking destroyer. "Your squadron flagship will explain everything once she gets here." I hope, he added silently. If I’m forced to give these three The Talk, I'm going to demand hazard pay for one day. "But," he added when it appeared Inazuma was going to continue panicking, "I can tell you with complete confidence that you are NOT dying."

"I-I'm not?" Inazuma looked at Avers with wide, wet eyes, and Avers shook his head.

This caused Inazuma to nearly collapse in relief and for Ikazuchi to tackle-glomp her sister ship. Avers and Hibiki watched as the duo assured themselves of the other's continued existence, the Admiral with a slight smile on his face.

"Khorosho," the silver-haired destroyer muttered.

Another knock at the door produced both Tenryu and her sister Tatsuta, who entered and immediately headed over to the three shipgirls sitting on Avers' sofa.

"What happened and to whom?" Tenryu looked over at Avers for an explanation.

"It's Inazuma," Avers replied, "and puberty if you catch my drift."

Tenryu's expression went from slightly panicked to grim, while Tatsuta lurched as if she'd been stabbed in the kidneys and collapsed into one of the chairs in front of Avers' desk.

"I knew this day would come," Tenryu muttered, as though steeling herself for the conversation to come. "Tatsuta, you-?"

When she trailed off, Avers looked over at Tatsuta to see the light cruiser in question curled in a ball in the chair, her thumb in her mouth, rocking back and forth and muttering something unintelligible under her breath.

"Never mind," Tenryu muttered, then glanced around. "Where's Akatsuki?"

"Inazuma tied her into a pretzel and threw her down the laundry chute," Hibiki replied, a hint of fear entering her voice.

Avers and Tenryu grimaced.

"Yeesh," the latter stated. "This must've started a while ago, then."

"And what is 'this'?" Hibiki inquired.

"Let's go get Akatsuki and I'll explain," Tenryu replied. "This is one conversation I'd rather not have twice." She motioned her charges towards the door and then tapped her sister ship on the shoulder.

"Snap out of it, sis!" she ordered. "I'm gonna need your help with shopping, and you're better at things in this area than me!"

Tatsuta came back to reality slowly, haltingly, and with a lot of groaning. "No…please don't make me do this," she pleaded.

"Look, you either help me or I go get Kongo," Tenryu warned. "In case you were lucky enough to forget, she was the one who gave you and I this speech, and I don't know about you, but if I never hear another speech about a 'Maiden's Springtime of Youth' it'll be too soon!"

Avers barely refrained from uttering an expression of disgust upon hearing how Kongo described this…situation. With a low whine, Tatsuta followed her sister and the three destroyers out the door. As the door clicked shut behind them Avers drew his List out of his desk and picked up his pen, writing down the following:

7) A warning to light cruisers: destroyers can hit puberty.

That done, he rose to his feet and went over to a nearby cabinet, unlocked it, and drew out a bottle of vodka. It might've only been 1330 hours, but he needed it after what he'd just been through. As he poured himself a shot, he sang softly,

"Pour me something tall and strong…make it a Hurricane before I go insane. It's only half-past one, but I don't care…" he downed the shot and growled, "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere."

~~~~~~

A couple hours later Avers was taking a brief break from his duties by taking a stroll outside. As he walked by one of the docks, he saw Kongo sitting on the concrete pier. Her shoes and stockings were in a pile next to her, and she was dipping her feet in the water. A fishing pole was in her hands, while a small bag presumably containing fishing supplies sat on her other side. She was smiling like always, humming a cheery little tune as she wiggled her toes in the water and watched for a bite on the line. As Avers approached, she reached into the bag, pulled out a piece of mochi, popped it into her mouth, and then adjusted the line slightly.

"Heyy, Teitoku-des!" she greeted happily, keeping her eyes on her fishing.

"Catch anything?" Avers stood behind her, gazing out at the water.

"Nope!" Kongo replied, "Still waiting, Dess!"

No sooner did she say that, however, than the line moved.

"A bite?" Kongo wondered, getting to her feet, and then reeling the line back in slightly. The response she got was the pole nearly jerking out of her hands. The fast battleship squealed and fought back, bending down and then jerking the pole backwards. She proved to be much stronger than her opponent, for her movements caused the fish to be pulled out of the water and arc into the air before flopping down on the pier, the force of its landing putting hairline cracks in the concrete. Small wonder it did; the Pacific bluefin tuna was nearly nine feet long and weighed close to 500 pounds. All Avers could do was gape at the huge fish.

"Yes!" Kongo cheered happily, rebaiting her line with more bread, and putting it back into the water. Avers pulled out his cellphone to call the commissary for some people to come get Kongo's catch or at least bring her a cooler with some ice in it. However, as he prepared to dial, Kongo's line jerked again.

"Are you kidding me?" Avers put the phone away for now; he had to see this to believe it. However, when Kongo jerked on the pole, nothing happened.

"What?" the fast battleship cocked her head cutely and walked to the end of the pier, looking down at the water.

"What'd you hook this time, an orca?" Avers muttered, moving towards Kongo.

Both were completely surprised as an Abyssal Ri-class heavy cruiser emerged from the depths and wrapped its hands around Kongo's neck in an attempt at dragging her under. The fast battleship squealed in surprise, and it was then Avers realized Kongo didn't have her combat rig with her.

Avers had no explanation for his next actions except for the excuse he was acting on pure adrenaline.

"HEY!" he yelled, striding to the end of the pier, pulling his M9A3 service weapon as he did so.

The Abyssal cruiser turned to look at him and roared, at the same time seeming surprised that a mere human would challenge it.

"Go to hell…and take your friends with you!" Avers yelled and fired a single shot.

Abyssals were powerful beings, but taking humanoid forms had a flaw that had up to now gone undiscovered by them: head shots at point-blank range from any kind of firearms were fatal. The hollow-point bullet pierced the Ri-class ship's forehead and exited out the back of its skull, the exit wound being about five times larger than the entry one. The cruiser's body collapsed; the fight was over.

Kongo turned to Avers, her eyes wide with shock as she tossed the Abyssal form onto the pier. Avers merely grinned at her as he re-holstered his weapon.

"Nobody gets on my base without prior authorization."

Seconds later he found his arms full of a fast battleship hugging him so hard his ribs nearly cracked. Figuring it was Kongo's adrenaline wearing off Avers decided to let her get it out of her system and awkwardly patted her on the back.

"It's ok," he soothed, "the evil alien's head was blown open…it can't hurt us anymore."

Kongo's response was to release him - Avers' ribs thanked her for that - and then take his face in her hands and kiss him senseless. An electric jolt went through the Admiral the second Kongo's lips touched his, and when she pressed herself against him, emotions he'd long-ago forced down and locked away deep inside decided to make a prison break and take control.

And then…it was over. Avers came back to his senses to find Kongo smiling at him.

"Thank you for saving my life, Teitoku-des," she stated before bending down to pull on her stockings.

Avers nodded dazedly, still recovering from the kiss. Kongo grinned at him and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Could you grab the Abyssal, Dess?" she asked, as she grabbed the tuna's tailfin and began dragging it off.

Avers saw there wasn't any need for him to move the body, for the sound of an Abyssal's roar had produced a crowd - many in full combat gear - running towards their position.

"No need," he replied, and Kongo, seeing the approaching crowd herself, stopped as well.

"Onee-sama!" Kongo's sisters practically tackle-glomped her, frantic with worry.

"Now, now, now…I'm fine, Hiei-san…no need to worry, Dess!" Kongo soothed. "Besides, the Abyssal is dead!"

Meanwhile, Nagato had walked over and examined the remains of the Abyssal cruiser.

"How did you do this, Kongo?" she asked. "You don't have your combat gear with you."

"I didn't do it," Kongo replied, motioning to Avers. "The Teitoku killed her, Dess!"

Gasps of surprise were heard throughout the group. Nagato turned to Avers.

"How…?" she trailed off, at a loss for words for the first time since Avers had met her.

"Head shot with my service weapon," Avers shrugged, embarrassed by the attention he was getting.

Murmurs of awe rippled through the assembled shipgirls. It was obvious they never expected their Admiral would be one to destroy an Abyssal, especially a heavy cruiser, single-handedly!

"Anyway," Avers attempted to change the subject, "it's over and done with, so let's move on. Can someone help get this fish Kongo caught to the commissary? I'm sure they'll have a use for it."

"Sushi, Dess!" Kongo yelled, and several cheers could be heard as Avers managed to slip through the crowd and head off alone. The Admiral shuddered at the mention of sushi; he'd seen too many episodes of too many medical shows to ever eat raw fish. He preferred his fish batter-dipped and deep-fried with a side of French fries and hush puppies from Long John Silver's. The thought of that place caused him to pause for a moment.

There are times I really miss the States, he thought, before turning his mind to another matter: the newest addition to The List.

8) Situational awareness is a must at all times…even fishing can be dangerous.

Chapter Text

Torpedo cruiser Ooi was excited. She finally had the same time off-duty as her beloved Kitakami-san, which meant she could take her out on a date! Nothing too fancy, as Kitakami-san didn't care for fancy restaurants all that much, so when Ooi suggested simply going for some ice cream, the smile she received in return made her day.

Now the two torpedo cruisers were off-base and strolling hand in hand through the doors of a nearby ice cream parlor and up to the counter.

"Can I help you?" the clerk behind the counter looked bored out of his mind.

"I'll have three scoops," Kitakami replied. "One chocolate, one vanilla, and one black walnut, on a -"

"We don't have black walnut, miss," the clerk replied. "I could substitute butter pecan, if you're interested?"

Kitakami looked disappointed for a moment, but then smiled. "Sure, butter pecan's fine."

Both she and the clerk missed the look that passed over Ooi's face.

~~~~~~

Yamashiro smiled as she felt the early fall wind on her face while she strolled through the naval base. Life was good…she had a date with Fuso onee-sama later that afternoon. A date that will hopefully turn into breakfast tomorrow morning, she giggled to herself. Her relationship with Fuso was progressing slowly, but she had confidence things would change for the better soon.

She was distracted from her increasingly naughty thoughts by the sight of Ooi heading towards her, looking determined.

"Yes?" she asked the torpedo cruiser. "What's up, Ooi-san?"

"I've come to advise you against going to that ice cream parlor I recommended to you for your date with Fuso this afternoon," Ooi replied.

"Oh? Why's that?" the battleship replied. "Did they give bad service or something?"

Ooi shook her head. "They don't have black walnut ice cream."

Yamashiro froze.

"W-What did you say?" she asked, figuring she'd misheard the torpedo cruiser.

"The ice cream parlor doesn't carry black walnut ice cream," Ooi repeated. "I figured I should forewarn you, as I know Fuso-san loves that flavor."

"Yes, she does," Yamashiro confirmed. "Kitakami-san is also a fan of it, correct?"

Ooi nodded. "Because of them, I could not make my date with Kitakami-san a perfect one." Her expression hardened. "They must pay for this injustice. For the sake of Kitakami-san and Fuso-san's happiness, will you help me?"

Well, when she put it that way, there really was only one response Yamashiro could give.

"Lead the way."

~~~

Tatsuo Onoda was bored. His parents were forcing him to work at his uncle's ice cream parlor to bring in some money for the family, and in his opinion, it was the most boring job in the world. The only consolation was that it was in a different part of town from where he lived, so none of the people he'd gone to school with frequented the area. This was a true blessing in disguise; he didn't need more humiliation in his life.

He lounged against the counter, watching as the clock crawled forward to the end of the day. There hadn’t been a single customer all day aside from the two girls earlier that afternoon. And his uncle refused to allow his employees to have access to their cell phones while they were working. But of course it's perfectly okay for him to sit in his office and play go with his friends all day, Tatsuo thought bitterly.

The bell over the door jingled, signaling a new customer. Tatsuo sighed and turned toward the door.

"How can I help youuuuuholy shit."

One of the girls from earlier was back and wearing some sort of weapons platform that did not look friendly. But her friend - who was also wearing weapons - looked like she could do ten times the damage. Neither girl seemed to be very happy; Tatsuo decided that while he'd just been wishing for some sort of excitement in his life, this was not the sort he'd been asking for.

"No black walnut ice cream?" the girl who had been a customer earlier asked.

Tatsuo shook his head, wishing he could say the opposite. He nearly wet himself when the gun turrets on the second girl's rig rotated to target the store.

"Very well then," the girl stated. "For Fuso-san's happiness, this place must be cleansed."

"This place disappointed Kitakami-san," Girl #1 added. "For that it must die."

Girl #2 turned to a now-visibly-nervous Tatsuo.

"Please vacate the premises," she asked politely, "and get anyone else out of here as well…we don't wish to cause bloodshed."

Tatsuo nodded and ran to the back room and pounded on the door, even though he'd been strictly ordered by his uncle to not disturb them under any circumstances.

The door jerked open to reveal his uncle's livid face.

"What is it, boy?!" Mineichi Kawase, Yakuza boss for the area snarled. "Didn't I tell you we are not to be disturbed?!"

"Girls with guns!" Tatsuo stammered out.

"Takahara-san is making his move!" one of the men in the room growled.

"Perhaps," Kawase stroked his chin thoughtfully, "but sending girls to do his work doesn't really sound like something he'd do." He motioned to another man in the room. "Take a look out there and report back."

"Hai!" the man left, but returned seconds later, visibly shaken.

"N-Not T-Takahara-san!" he stammered.

"An upstart wanting to take over, eh?" Kawase mused. "I must say, he definitely has spirit to walk in and take us on his first day in town. A shame he has to die for this…he would be an asset to us." He turned to Tatsuo. "Get out of here, boy…go home," he ordered, as the men in the room opened various cabinets and started pulling out what appeared to be a private arsenal. "We'll handle this…this is our territory."

Tatsuo burst out the back door and took off running. He never looked back and didn't stop until he got to the JMSDF recruiting office. Compared to the ice cream parlor, Basic Training would seem like a vacation at one of the coastal resorts.

~~~

Ooi and Yamashiro waited in the front area of the store for the young man to return. After about five minutes, it became obvious he'd slipped out the back, and an uneasy silence had settled over the whole store. Yamashiro snapped her fingers at Ooi and when she got the torpedo cruiser's attention pointed to the back room as if to say, 'something's not right here'. Ooi nodded and the two tensed for a confrontation.

Seconds later Yamashiro heard the unmistakable sound of a shotgun being cocked behind the door. She leveled her main guns at the back wall in response. No sooner had she done this than the door leading to the back part of the store crashed open and a hail of bullets came out. Yamashiro squealed as several bullets shredded her outfit, but small-arms fire caused little to no damage to the battleship. She turned to look at Ooi and found that the torpedo cruiser was in the same condition, but quite a bit angrier.

"This is Kitakami-san's favorite outfit," she snarled. "They will die for ruining it."

~~~

Meanwhile, in the back of the store, Kawase chuckled. That hail of bullets should have been more than enough to stop any upstart from getting ideas about taking over. But then he heard a female's voice coming from the front of the store…the enemy was still alive! He had to admit, these girls were worthy opponents indeed! Perhaps an alliance would not be too far out of the question. He inched his way over to the door and looked out into the front of the store, finally getting a look at the ones who were opposing him and his men.

He nearly had a heart attack when he saw the two shipgirls standing there. While he was a criminal, he was also an ardent nationalist who loved his country very much. The shipgirls were national treasures and highly skilled fighters.

Now he and his men had just managed to piss off two of them…and one of those was a battleship. The other looked like a walking torpedo factory, but that didn't really matter, for the expression on the girl's face said she would rather rip him apart with her bare hands.

"Oh, fuck…"

The battleship's gaze met his, and Kawase wanted to shoot himself for his involuntary reaction. The girl, however, merely smiled at him, and for some reason when she did so Kawase felt like he was back in high school and Aya Tatsumi, the prettiest girl in the school, had smiled at him in the hallway.

Then the girl spoke.

"Main guns, load high-explosive rounds…target back wall. FIRE!"

~~~

One thing everyone there - and in the surrounding area - learned that day was that 14-inch guns - let alone TWELVE of them - are NOT meant to be fired indoors. The resulting broadside and its accompanying blast pressure obliterated the back wall of the store and demolished the entire rear portion of the building. Kawase and his men had no chance to escape before their headquarters literally collapsed on their heads. The front room of the ice cream parlor remained intact, however, and when the local police arrived, they found two shipgirls calmly eating bowls of ice cream and looking as though they hadn't a care in the world.

~~~

Avers didn't bother glancing up from his paperwork when the phone rang; perhaps if he remained silent, his staff would forget he was here and take a message.

"One moment, please," Mutsu informed whoever was on the phone. "Admiral," she extended the receiver to Avers, "it's an Assistant Inspector Takeda with the Kure Police Department."

"Kure Police?" Avers was at a loss as to why a civilian police officer would be calling him. He took the receiver and prayed it was a simple traffic or jaywalking violation.

"Inspector, this is Admiral Avers…how can I help you?"

"Greetings, Admiral," the police official replied. "I'll get right to the reason I called. Do you by any chance have personnel stationed at your base by the name of Yamashiro and Ooi?"

A sinking feeling started in Avers' stomach. "…Yes…?" He cursed himself at how hesitant he sounded.

"In that case I'm calling to thank you for their help…because of those two, we managed to take down a branch of Yakuza that's been operating in our jurisdiction for several years now, but we could never manage to pin anything on them. That little firefight they had with your personnel this afternoon, well…let's just say none of them will be performing any criminal activity for quite some time."

Avers had stopped listening after hearing the word 'firefight'. Causing chaos on base was one thing, but this…

"No charges have been filed, and they're currently en route back to your base. Again, thank you, Admiral…those shipgirls did the City of Kure a great service today, and I hope we have an opportunity to work together again in the future. Have a nice evening."

The line went dead and Avers dazedly replaced the receiver.

"Is there a problem, Admiral?" Nagato asked, noting Avers' shell-shocked expression.

"Yamashiro and Ooi managed to get involved in a gun battle with a Yakuza chapter," Avers murmured, still attempting to process the information. He noticed Nagato, Mutsu, Oyodo, and Niyodo staring at him in shock, and he nodded. "I know, right? Who would've thought?" He sighed and turned to Nagato. "Have them report to me as soon as they get back."

Nagato nodded. Mutsu went over to a cabinet, poured Avers three fingers of Johnnie Walker, and brought him the glass. Avers nodded absently in thanks and sipped the drink, taking solace in the burning of the whiskey as it went down his throat.

The sound of a truck pulling up in front of the headquarters building roused him from his thoughts, and he turned to look out the window. A large refrigeration truck was unloading what looked like several containers. Various destroyers were helping to unload the containers, and when one was placed on the ground and opened, a cheer went up from the assembled shipgirls.

"Yaaaayyy…ice cream!"

Avers couldn't help cracking a smile at the childlike exuberance, but a knock at the door prevented further observations of the crowd below. He turned away from the room.

"Enter!"

Yamashiro and Ooi walked in, both looking somewhat nervous. Both came to attention and Yamashiro saluted.

"Battleship Yamashiro and torpedo cruiser Ooi, reporting as ordered, Admiral."

Avers returned her salute and then settled back in his chair, observing the two shipgirls in front of him. Finally, he sighed in defeat.

"All right," he began, "how did this happen?"

The two shipgirls explained. By the end of the story, Avers – who had risen to his feet and begun pacing behind his desk - was looking at them like they both had a screw loose.

"So, to summarize, this whole thing started because you," he indicated Ooi, "were pissed that the ice cream parlor in question didn't stock your girlfriend's favorite flavor, whereupon you decided that grievous offense merited severe punishment. And you recruited her," he indicated Yamashiro, "in your quest for revenge because her girlfriend's favorite ice cream flavor is the same as your girlfriend's, so you thought she should be allowed to get in on the action."

Ooi nodded and Avers looked to Yamashiro for confirmation. "Y-Yes, sir." The battleship had the decency to look incredibly guilty.

"I see," Avers replied. "Well, with that confirmed, I really just have one question for the two of you."

He paused briefly before screaming, "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MINDS?!?!"

The shipgirls in the room jumped at the volume but Avers didn't notice; he was on a roll.

"You don't destroy someone's business just because you're pissed-off they don't have something you want! And especially, ESPECIALLY, you don't get into gun battles with the Yakuza! Th-There-There's just no words for this!" He collapsed into his chair, having seemingly yelled himself out.

"Admiral -" Nagato began, concerned, but Avers held up a hand to stop her and continued speaking to Yamashiro and Ooi.

"Was anyone hurt besides the Yakuza people?" When the two shipgirls shook their heads ‘no’, he continued. "What was with all the ice cream you brought back?"

"Well, the ice cream parlor was obviously shut down, as it was badly damaged," Yamashiro had the decency to look embarrassed. "And as a 'thank you' for helping to stop the gang, the police gave us the store's entire ice cream supply."

Avers sighed. "Very well…you two are dismissed. Oh," he added almost reluctantly as they turned to go, "excellent work in stopping that Yakuza branch."

The two shipgirls smiled in thanks and left the room. Avers sat back in his chair and rubbed his forehead. Nagato and Mutsu stood by, unsure as to what to do. Nagato was about to speak when Avers beat her to it.

"Everyone here, go down and get some ice cream." As the four shipgirls left the room Avers spoke again. "Mutsu," he addressed his Adjutant, "bring me back some Cookies & Cream if they have it. If not, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough or plain Vanilla's fine, too."

Mutsu nodded and left the room, a small smile on her face. Finally alone, Avers reached into his desk and pulled out The List, making a new notation in a shaky hand:

9) Shipgirls are not allowed to destroy ice cream shops if they don't have certain flavors.

That done, he sat back in his chair, turning it towards the window, and decided to spend a few moments staring out at the early evening sky and wondering how much of his hair would match his summer white uniform before the war was over.

~~~

The following day Avers arrived at his office with a slight hangover. The previous evening, he'd gone back to his quarters and sat outside on the porch until at least midnight, gazing up at the stars from his lounger and drinking some more Johnnie Walker. It was only when he'd almost fallen asleep outside that he figured he'd better go inside and go to bed.

Now he was back at work and fervently hoping that the day would be a quiet one. As he began reading through the messages received after he'd left the office the previous night, there was a knock at the door. Avers cringed as each knock reverberated through his skull.

"Enter!" he ordered, and to his surprise Hosho walked in carrying a Styrofoam container and a bottle of Coca-Cola and set the items on his desk.

"I was told you might need something like this, Admiral," she replied.

Avers opened the container to find a huge pile of freshly made French fries, covered in salt. His mouth began watering and he looked up at Hosho with an expression of extreme gratitude. The light carrier smiled.

"They're not from McDonald's, but I think they'll do the trick."

Avers thanked her profusely and after she left - with instructions to tell Hoppo hello - started chowing down. The fries were perfectly salted, and he felt better with each bite he took. He made a mental note to see if there was a way to advance Hosho to Commander on the Retired List.

Today actually might be a good day, he thought as he sipped the soda. I dearly hope I didn't just jinx myself.

~~~

Dr. Sakai hummed absently as he made his way to his office, making a mental note to try and schedule a meeting with the new Admiral later in the week in the hopes of making another summoning attempt soon. As a concession, he also thought to have several safety plans drawn up for the meeting to soothe the Admiral's concerns about the operating protocols of his beloved program.

He was so absorbed in his plans that he didn't watch where he was going and bumped into a shipgirl going the opposite direction.

"Pardon me, miss," he murmured absently, stopping to make sure the girl was all right.

"No problem, Dess!" came the cheerful reply, and Sakai smiled briefly before moving on.

As Dr. Sakai hurried off, Kongo twirled the keys she'd pilfered from his pocket on her finger. That was easier than I thought, she giggled. Now to business, Dess!

~~~

An hour later Avers was feeling almost human again. He'd switched over from Coke to Mountain Dew and was going over the most recent budget report that Blaskewicz had submitted to him when his desk phone rang.

"Admiral Avers' office," Mutsu answered. Almost immediately she jerked the receiver away from her ear. Frantic yelling could be heard coming out of the receiver, and when she noticed Avers staring at her, she extended the receiver to him.

"It's Dr. Sakai, sir…he's very upset about something."

Avers mentally prepared himself for the world to fall on his head as he took the receiver.

"Yes, Doctor? What seems to be the problem?"

"Sir, some of the shipgirls have locked themselves in the summoning chamber!" Sakai's voice shrieked. "I guess they must've pilfered the keys when I bumped into one of them earlier! Who knows what they'll do in there!"

Avers felt like banging his head against the surface of his desk. Shipgirls in control of the summoning chamber...yes, this was exactly what his stress level needed.

"Where are you right now, Doctor?" he asked, getting to his feet.

"I'm outside the summoning chamber."

"All right, can you see what shipgirls are in there?"

"I don't know their names!" the frantic scientist shot back. "All I know is there's four of them, and they're all dressed similarly. I'll hold my phone up to the door, and perhaps you can tell who they are by their voices."

Avers faintly heard a voice state over a very loud humming noise, "I have successfully activated the computer, onee-sama…we are ready to begin."

There was no discerning whom that voice belonged to, but there was no mistaking the next voice, an interminably cheerful and very familiar one:

"Wow…congratulations!"

"Kongo…" Avers growled, then yelled into the phone in order to attract Sakai's attention, "I'm on my way, Doctor."

He slammed down the receiver and headed for the door at a brisk pace.

"What's wrong, Admiral?" Nagato called after him. Avers stopped and turned to her.

"Kongo and her sisters have somehow managed to not only lock themselves in the summoning chamber, but they're apparently going to try a summoning of their own. Lord only knows what they're going to produce!"

Nagato and Mutsu looked at him in horror and Avers sighed.

"Hold down the fort…I'll be back soon."

With that, he dashed out the door.

~~~

Ten minutes later, he was standing in front of the door to the summoning chamber, panting and telling himself he really needed to get back to the gym ASAP, having run the entire way there. Dr. Sakai was almost in tears, and as Avers looked into the chamber he saw that the computer had been shut off, and Kongo was in lively conversation with two new shipgirls, while a further four were huddled together looking very, very lost.

"Status report!" he barked at the two Petty Officers attempting to unlock the door.

"The door lock's an electronic one, sir," a Warrant Officer who was apparently in charge replied, "so we can't cut around the lock or we'll risk shocking the crap out of someone. Therefore, we have to trigger the mechanism to unlock."

"And how long is that gonna take?" Avers growled.

"We've been at it for about five minutes now with no luck, sir," growled a Petty Officer 2nd Class who was working on the door, before cursing at the lock in Japanese.

Avers rolled his eyes and gestured through the glass to the next room. "Those four have already summoned six new shipgirls…I don't need another fleet to worry about!" He looked down at the two NCOs. "Take the door off the hinges…we need to get in there ASAP!"

As he glowered through the glass window Avers saw Kongo look up at the door. When she saw him, she grinned widely, and waved.

"Heyyy…Teitoku-des!" she called cheerfully, and at this statement, her sisters looked up at the door and waved as well, although Haruna appeared to recognize that Avers was thoroughly Not Happy. Four of the new shipgirls - those who had been huddled together - also looked up at the door and waved, although Avers let it slide; he could tell they had no idea who they were waving at.

A few minutes later and the Petty Officers were lifting the door off its hinges and Avers stormed into the room and straight up to Kongo, who smiled up at him happily.

"Explain. NOW," he growled.

"It was a successful experiment, Dess!" Kongo replied cheerfully.

"An experiment for what purpose?" Avers demanded. "To see how high you could drive my blood pressure without me losing it completely?! Because if that was the case, you pushed the red line with this stunt!" He paused a moment to calm himself and glanced over at the six new shipgirls. "You summoned six new shipgirls…how did you four even manage it?"

"We watched a video, Admiral," Kirishima responded. "Once I learned what all I had to do by copying the steps from the video, it was a breeze."

"What video?" Avers snapped. "There better not be any cameras in here…this is a top-secret facility!"

"YouTube, Dess!" Kongo supplied happily. Avers saw red.

"YouTube?" he snarled, before turning his gaze on a now-very-nervous Dr. Sakai. "YOUTUBE?!" he roared, "YOU PUT A VIDEO ON HOW TO DO THIS ON YOUTUBE?! ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS?! THIS IS BEYOND-TOP-SECRET MATERIAL, AND NOW IT'S OUT THERE ON THE INTERNET FOR ANY TOM, DICK, AND HARRY TO SEE! WE'RE AT WAR RIGHT NOW, DOCTOR, IN CASE YOU'VE FORGOTTEN, AND YOU'VE JUST MAJORLY COMPROMISED NATIONAL SECURITY! DO YOU REALIZE I COULD PROBABLY STAND YOU IN FRONT OF A FIRING SQUAD FOR THIS?!"

Dr. Sakai's response to Avers' tirade was to keel over in a dead faint. Avers rolled his eyes and turned back to the Kongo sisters.

"OK, you four? Big Trouble," he stated, causing Kongo to pout cutely and Haruna to whimper pitifully. Hiei occupied herself by attempting to console her sisters, while Kirishima was apparently not even listening; she'd gone back to studying the computer and was from all appearances wrapped up in her own little world.

"We're at war again, are we?" the rich Scottish voice surprised Avers and he turned towards the group of new shipgirls. The one who'd spoken was at least six-one, with porcelain skin, sapphire blue eyes, supermodel body, and long, fiery red hair that went past her waist. She had a black headband in her hair and was wearing a white peasant blouse, long black skirt, and deep red shoes with two propellers on either foot. Avers nodded.

"Yes, we're currently at war…how much did these four tell you?"

"Nae much, I'm afraid," the girl replied. "All we could really get from her was that she was really happy to have summoned some gels from her birthplace," She laughed, her smile blindingly beautiful. "And then come to find out she's from England, nae Scotland." When Kongo appeared slightly disappointed, the girl clapped her on the shoulder. "Cheer up, lassie…we're nae from too far away, at least."

"Oh, you're farther from Scotland than you think," Avers smiled thinly, then addressed the six of them as a group. "Welcome to Japan, ladies…I'm Admiral Matthew Avers, Commander of Rengō Kanmusutai, the Combined Shipgirl Fleet. The year is 2016, and the world needs your help once more."

The jaws of all six girls hit the floor.

"Japan?! Why th' blazes would we be brought here?!" the redhead exclaimed in shock.

"Because we're the only ones with a setup like this," Avers replied before turning back to Kongo. "What music did you play to get these girls here? I seriously doubt it was the Japanese Navy march."

"Nope!" Kongo grinned at him before going over to where she'd somehow managed to hook an iPod into the speakers that projected music into the void.

"First song, Dess," she stated, pressing play. Almost immediately, Scotland the Brave began playing.

"Ah cannae explain it, sairrr," the statuesque redhead informed Avers, "I heard tha' music and went toward it, and next thing you know, here I am." She extended her hand to Avers. “RMS Aquitania, at your service, sairrr.”

Avers absently shook her hand, his mind still on the fact that his four most mischievous battleships had somehow managed to summon Britain’s second-longest serving passenger liner. "Next song," he instructed Kongo.

The next song was more bagpipe music and Avers recognized it instantly: Bonnie Lass of Fyvie. He looked toward the door, half-expecting Rowdy Roddy Piper to come striding into the room. He smiled sadly, remembering the great wrestler was gone now.

"'That song brought my sisters here," Aquitania stated, gesturing to two other redheads who were shorter than her, but just as striking. Both were dressed nearly identical to her, save for one having a long blue ribbon trailing from her hair. They nodded nervously, still unsure as to how they got where they were.

Avers turned back to Aquitania. “From what I can recall, you didn’t have any sister ships.”

“Nae full-blood sisters, tha’s true, sairrr,” the great liner confirmed, “but I did have two half-sisters…they were completed abou’ seven years before me.”

Avers turned back to the two shipgirls in question and looked them over again. When his eyes landed on the long blue ribbon trailing from the hair of one of the twins, he shook his head and smiled faintly.

“I can’t believe I didn’t recognize it before…Lusitania and Mauretania,” he indicated each girl as he said their names, and the twins nodded nervously. “Welcome back, ladies.” The redheads smiled in relief.

"Th' three o' them came through on the last song, sairrr." Aquitania indicated the other three shipgirls. All three were blonde, with two of them dressed nearly identical: black headbands in their hair, white peasant blouses, long black skirts, and deep red shoes. The only difference between the two that Avers could tell was one had a thin gold stripe around her waist, while the other had it further down her skirt. The third girl was, for some strange reason, dressed in a World War I nurse's uniform.

"What song brought them here?" Avers asked. Kongo pressed 'play' again, and the opening notes of Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On began playing. In that second, everything fell into place about the blonde trio.

"My God…" Avers trailed off, "Titanic."

The girl with the gold stripe around her waist sighed. "Why does everyone associate that song with me? Yes, it's a nice song, but I don't get it."

"It's from a movie about you made in 1997…you're probably the most famous ship in the world, surpassing even Noah's Ark," Avers informed her.

"So, people will want to interview me, then?" the blonde appeared somewhat nervous.

"I'm afraid that's a gross understatement," Avers replied. "Lucky for you all overseas communication has been cut off by our enemy. Until their defeat, your 'return', as it were, can't be made public." And when it does go public, it'll be complete insanity, he added silently, but finished with, "So you'll have a chance to adjust to being human."

The tension the famous liner was exhibiting seemed to evaporate. "That's a relief," she muttered.

"Please keep all submarines away from me," Lusitania requested. "Nothin’ against any o’ them, it's just tha’ - as I'm sure ye know - I had a bad experience with one back in the Great War."

"Submarines are annoying, but you just have to turn at the last second and BOOM! Ram right into them!" Olympic encouraged the smaller ship. "It's not that difficult…I did it in May 1918," she stated proudly.

"And it's still the only case of a target sinking the submarine that was planning to attack it," Avers informed her, and Olympic grinned proudly.

"As I recall, ye also cut th' lightship in half in thirty-four," Aquitania mused, a humorous glint in her eye.

Olympic blushed. "It was very foggy…I can't be held responsible for the weather!"

"Och, reit, sure…blame it on th' weather," Aquitania nodded, grinning. Olympic huffed in response and turned away as Lusitania and Mauretania giggled. For Avers, it was plain to see that the old Cunard-White Star rivalry was still in play.

~~~

Ten minutes later Avers was leading the ten shipgirls towards Blaskewicz's office so that the six liners could be processed. Once the liners were in Blaskewicz's hands, he and the Kongo sisters would proceed to his office so that he could decide a suitable punishment for them.

"What the bloody hell is tha' thing?!" Aquitania's outraged shout brought Avers out of his thoughts.

"Cruise ship, Dess!" Kongo replied cheerily, showing her phone to Aquitania. Avers groaned when he saw the screen displaying a pic of the late Royal Caribbean cruise ship Allure of the Seas.

"THAT'S whit replaced us?!" Aquitania sputtered. "That's nae a ship…that's a floatin' apartment building!"

"Shortly after she made her debut, the Abyssals started attacking any vessel at sea, military or civilian," Avers informed them. "The company that operated her, Royal Caribbean International, was warned that to continue operating their ships was increasingly dangerous, but they didn't listen." He sighed. "In March 2011 Allure of the Seas left Port Everglades, Florida on a regular cruise of the Caribbean. She was at maximum capacity for the first time, which RCI touted as the world thumbing its nose at the Abyssals." He paused, remembering what had happened. "An Abyssal submarine caught her at sea unescorted in the middle of the night. There were only 370 survivors."

"Out of how many on board?" Titanic asked weakly, as though afraid to hear the answer.

"8,680 passengers and crew," Avers murmured. "The Abyssal submarine let one lifeboat escape so that the world would know exactly what happened."

The liner shipgirls looked sick.

"RCI went under three months later, buried in lawsuits…not that it matters," Avers added, "but you see why we have to fight against this menace. And if we fight, we absolutely MUST win."

The six liners looked at one another and nodded.

"Count us in," Aquitania replied. "We'll dae whatever it takes tae brin' these bastards down."

Avers smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that."

~~~

An hour later Avers relaxed in his office, smiling at the memory of Blaskewicz being in awe of the six new shipgirls. He'd left them in the Supply Officer's capable hands before returning to his office to deal with the Kongo sisters. In the end, he'd given them all extra duties for two months as well as docked their monthly allowances by 25%, as there really wasn't much he could do…reducing them in rank would've been meaningless, and he wasn't about to dock their pay completely; Lord only knew what Kongo would get up to if she got bored enough and didn't have money to play around with. Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy with Dr. Sakai, who had left a few minutes ago for the mainland under escort by some JMSDF MPs. His replacement, Professor Tanabe, was scheduled to arrive in a few days.

He finished writing the latest Rule down, and read it over before replacing the List in his desk:

10) Kanmusu are forbidden from stealing the keys to the summoning room and conducting their own summoning ceremonies. Only authorized, highly trained personnel may summon new shipgirls.

As he shut his desk drawer, his eyes were drawn to the date on the calendar: 25 October. He groaned inwardly; Halloween was coming up, and with the…numerous and unique bunch of personalities he had on the base, there was absolutely no way the holiday was going to pass chaos-free.

Chapter Text

Akashi stared at the four ships of DesDiv 18 as they looked at her expectantly. Well, three of them did, anyways; Shiranuhi had the same deadpan expression as usual.

"Let me get this straight," the fleet repair ship stated, "you want to know how repair buckets are made."

"Yeah!" Kagero nodded enthusiastically. "I mean, they're mystery items, so how they're made has to be a cool story! Ooh! Do you break apart clay pots to get them?"

"What are you, stupid?" Kasumi scoffed in derision and smacked Kagero upside the head. "That's from a video game!"

"Owie…" Kagero muttered, rubbing her head.

"Hmmm…" Akashi frowned at their antics while racking her brain for an explanation.

"Come on!" Kasumi complained. "Tell us already, shitty repair ship!"

Akashi glowered at her and was about to order them to leave because of that comment, but then an idea took shape in her head. The fact that it was nearing Halloween made it all the sweeter. She grinned.

"Well," she hedged, "that's kind of a secret…I dunno if I should be telling you."

"Come on," Kasumi complained. "You wouldn't be telling us it's a secret if it was actually classified; if that were the case, you'd simply deny all knowledge. So, give already."

"Very true…what a smart girl you are!" Akashi smirked. "All right…you girls really wanna know the truth?"

Arare, Kasumi, and Shiranuhi nodded, while Kagero gave her best impression of a woodpecker.

"Well…"

~~~

Three days later, heavy cruiser Nachi was in the middle of a tactics lesson and had just turned back from writing something on the chalkboard when she saw a note being passed.

"Takanami!" she addressed the note-passer sharply, "do not pass notes in my class!"

She was stunned when, instead of pouting or apologizing, the destroyer burst into hysterical tears.

~~~

“All right,” Avers looked at the group of shipgirls crowded into his office, “explain this one.”

“To be honest, Admiral,” Nachi began, “I don’t really know what happened. I caught her passing a note in my class and scolded her on it, and the next thing I know, she’s lost it completely.”

Avers turned to look at the flagship of Torpedo Squadron 2, light cruiser Isuzu, who currently had Takanami glomped onto her left leg like a leech. The destroyer had a viselike grip on her flagship and had yet to utter a word, her expression vacant and wide-eyed in terror. Her sister ships Naganami and Okinami, fellow members of DesDiv 31, were standing off to the side, looking fairly upset themselves.

“Got anything to add to this?” the Admiral asked, and the light cruiser shook her head.

“Not a thing, sir,” she replied. “I’ve never seen her act like this before.”

Avers rose to his feet and walked over to Isuzu, kneeling so he could talk to Takanami face-to-face.

“Takanami,” he spoke to the destroyer gently, “would you care to tell me what’s wrong?”

The destroyer turned to him, tears welling up in her eyes. “I-I’m sorry for passing the note in class!” she wailed before the waterworks started all over again. “P-Please don’t turn me into a repair bucket! I’ll be good!” she pleaded and resumed bawling her eyes out.

Avers – and nearly every other shipgirl of light cruiser size or larger – was stunned by her statement.

“Turn you into a repair bucket…?” Avers trailed off, beyond confused. He turned and looked to the others for an explanation, but when they looked as clueless as he felt, he turned back to Takanami and asked, “What do you mean by that?”

“Ka-Kagero told us,” Takanami whimpered. “She said that repair buckets were originally made from failed shipgirl summons, but that the researchers found a new process wherein they melt down destroyers that have been misbehaving instead!”

The destroyer ended her explanation on a heart-rending wail and resumed crying as Isuzu knelt to hug her and her sisters joined in as well, Naganami and Okinami not looking very calm themselves. Avers and his staff looked at each other, horrified that someone would even suggest that, though the Admiral didn’t really blame himself when Iku’s face automatically popped up in his mind as the perpetrator; it seemed like something the submarine would get a kick out of. However, before he meted out punishments, he needed confirmation.

“Where did Kagero get this information from?”

Takanami’s answer surprised everyone in the room.

“A-Akashi,” Takanami whimpered.

“Akashi?” Avers asked blankly. “Why in the world would she say something like this?” Not expecting a reply, he turned to Oyodo. “Call Akashi here, please.”

When the repair ship arrived Avers greeted her before getting to the matter at hand.

“Thank you for coming so quickly,” the Admiral began. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I summoned you to my office, so I’ll get right to it. I believe you recently had a conversation with a destroyer about the origins of repair buckets?”

Akashi nodded nervously.

“And in that conversation did you happen to imply that said repair buckets are made from failed summons?”

Again, the repair ship nodded, looking even more nervous.

“And then, did you happen to imply that a new method was discovered that somehow involved misbehaving destroyers?”

Akashi nodded again, now with tears in her eyes.

“And are you aware that conversation you had with DesDiv 18 was repeated to every destroyer on base, and now every destroyer is paranoid that if they screw up in any way, they’ll be turned into repair buckets?”

Akashi dissolved into tears, running over to Takanami and embracing her.

“I’m so sorry!” she sobbed. “What I said wasn’t true…it was a joke for Halloween meant to scare Kasumi! I could never use repair buckets made from my fellow shipgirls! I’m so sorry!”

“I-I’m not going to be turned into a repair bucket?” Takanami asked nervously.

“Of course not!” Akashi rubbed Takanami’s back. “Something like that isn’t even possible!” She turned to look at Avers. “And even if it were, I seriously doubt that our Admiral would allow it.”

“You got that right,” Avers muttered.

Akashi rose to her feet, wiping her eyes. “Admiral, I am so sorry this happened…please allow me to fix this. I’ll make sure all the destroyers know this was a huge misunderstanding.”

Avers nodded; he could see that the repair ship was deeply regretting her actions and figured the guilt trip she was inflicting on herself was more than enough punishment.

“Make sure it happens today, and I’ll consider the matter closed.”

“Hai!” Akashi came to attention and bowed to Avers. Uncertain as to how to respond to this, the Admiral simply smiled, nodded, and dismissed her. As Isuzu and DesDiv 31 followed Akashi out Avers went back to his desk and smiled thinly as he looked over at Nagato and Mutsu.

“Nope,” he muttered sarcastically, “never a dull moment around here.” He opened his desk drawer and took out The List, writing a new rule at the bottom of the page:

11) Do not tell destroyers that Instant Repair Buckets are made from the corpses of failed summons.

~~~

As Avers was dealing with the repair bucket situation, Blaskewicz was dealing with a situation of his own. He arrived in his office bright and early like usual and – also like usual – didn’t expect anyone to greet him; unlike Avers, he didn’t have a Chief-of-Staff or an Adjutant to help him run things. Therefore, when he unlocked his door and entered his office, he was quite surprised to see a pile of blankets and pillows on the floor.

He blinked, trying to recall if he’d brought the pile of bedclothes in the previous night, but didn’t remember doing so. After maneuvering around the pile, he set his briefcase down on his desk before going to pick up one of the blankets, and then stopped as the pile began to move. As he watched, Inazuma crawled out sleepily, then froze upon seeing the lights on and Blaskewicz watching her.

“O-Ohayo, n-nanodesu,” she stuttered.

“Hi…” Blaskewicz trailed off, completely at a loss as to why the little destroyer had chosen to sleep in his office instead of in her dorm where she belonged. He watched as Inazuma turned to the pile on the floor and began yanking blankets off, revealing her three sister ships curled together in one adorable little ball.

Blaskewicz’s heart melted at the sight of how close the four of them were and sent up a quick prayer in response. God, please let all four of these girls survive this war…with how close they are, I think losing one would kill all of them.

Ikazuchi murmured sleepily as her covers were removed; finding her blanket not within reach, she merely curled up tighter and lapsed back into sleep, letting out a cute little sigh as she did so. Akatsuki was so deeply asleep she didn’t even react to losing her blanket, but Hibiki immediately awoke. Seeing it was now morning and Blaskewicz had discovered them, she sat up and rubbed her eyes, yawning cutely.

“Good morning,” Blaskewicz greeted her.

“Dobroye utro,” the little destroyer muttered in Russian. Blaskewicz had no idea what she just said, so he merely smiled and nodded.

Hibiki reached over and nudged her two sisters that were still sleeping; Akatsuki’s eyes popped open and she shot to her feet, blushing cutely at being caught in such an unladylike position. Ikazuchi raised her head groggily and got up as well upon noticing Blaskewicz.

“Why’re the four of you sleeping here instead of in your dorm?”

Inazuma blushed and looked away nervously.

“We-got scared by a story we heard, and we tried to go to Tenryu, but her room was locked, and she must’ve had her headphones on because she didn’t answer, nanodesu.”

“So, we decided to find somewhere to sleep where the Goya Monster couldn’t get us,” Ikazuchi put in.

“The Goya Monster?” Blaskewicz was at a loss.

Akatsuki nodded. “The Goya Monster wanders through bedrooms late at night, waiting to grab up sleeping destroyers and eat them.”

“So, we decided to sleep in a place it would never look for sleeping destroyers!” Akatsuki proclaimed proudly.

Blaskewicz conceded she did have a point; if he were a destroyer-eating monster, the last place he’d look for food would be an office building in the middle of the night.

“Who told you guys this story?” he asked, the name of a likely candidate already in his mind.

“Iku, nanodesu,” Inazuma replied, and Blaskewicz groaned.

“That figures,” he muttered under his breath. “But seriously,” he addressed the four adorable little destroyers, “you four are the ships of DesDiv 6…one or more of you were present at some of the heaviest fighting in the Pacific War! You slugged it out with the ABDA fleet in the East Indies and with the Americans and Australians in the Solomon Islands…and you’re going to let some submarine scare you with a ghost story?”

His speech apparently awed the four shipgirls, for they looked at him with determined faces.

“Nyet,” Hibiki murmured.

“Being scared is not eleph-er, elegant,” Akatsuki stated. “It’s not the mark of a true lady.”

“You can rely on me to not be scared,” Ikazuchi informed them.

“I’ll do my best, too,” Inazuma put in.

“Now,” Blaskewicz stated, privately congratulating himself for handling the situation without dragging Avers into it, “I’m sure your Squadron Flagship is going nuts looking for you guys, so if you’ll tell me who she is, I’ll page her to come get you.”

~~~

Light cruiser Tenryu was having a shit morning. She’d fallen asleep with her headphones on the previous night and had awoken in the morning to realize that not only had this happened, but she’d somehow tripped the lock on her door. Her kinder-er, destroyers had been forced to spend an entire night without being able to go to her for comfort, and she’d been beating herself up about it ever since. And when she went to wake her charges up in the morning, they were gone. Their beds had been stripped bare of blankets and pillows, too, and while Tenryu considered that to be quite strange, the main problem was that her charges were GONE, and she had No. Idea. Where. They. Were. Hence, it was a shit morning.

“Stop being so hard on yourself, will ya?” her sister Tatsuta complained. “These things happen. And besides, those girls adore you…the last thing they’re gonna do is hold this against you. Short of murder, I don’t think you can do wrong in their eyes.”

“There’s still no excuse for what happened,” Tenryu muttered. “I’m supposed to be watching out for those girls, and I fall asleep listening to music?”

“How much trouble can they get into overnight?” Tatsuta asked, then went over what she’d just said, even as her sister looked at her with an expression that said, ‘Seriously?’. “Never mind,” she muttered.

A buzzer sounded over the PA speakers placed throughout the base.

“Light cruiser Tenryu, please report to Captain Blaskewicz’s office…light cruiser Tenryu to Captain Blaskewicz’s office. Thank you.”

The PA system went dead as Tenryu cursed a blue streak. She didn’t have time for this right now!

“All right, I can’t ignore a summons from the top brass,” she stated, “so you keep searching while I deal with that. Text me if you find anything, ‘k?”

Tatsuta nodded, and the two cruisers went their separate ways, Tenryu breaking into a run as she did so. She wanted to get this over with and go back to searching ASAP.

~~~

Overall, Blaskewicz was quite pleased with the morning’s accomplishments. He’d talked the four destroyers out of being scared over a ghost story, and after they’d folded up their blankets and pillows, he’d turned on the television he had in his office for them to stay occupied until their squadron flagship got there.

A knock sounded at the door.

“Enter,” Blaskewicz responded, and the door opened.

Whatever Blaskewicz had expected DesDiv 6’s squadron flagship to look like, the shipgirl in question surprised him. She had short black hair, an eyepatch over her left eye, a black blazer, skirt and shoes, white blouse, and black stockings that came up to mid-thigh, leaving a slight patch of flawless skin visible between the tops of her stockings and the hem of her skirt. She was wearing an odd piece of headgear and – to Blaskewicz’s surprise – was carrying a samurai sword strapped to her back.

In short, she was the hottest girl he’d ever laid eyes on.

However, Blaskewicz’s opinion of Tenryu took a backseat when the cruiser snapped to attention in front of his desk.

“Light cruiser Tenryu, reporting as ordered!” Blaskewicz noted that for all her military bearing, the light cruiser’s mind seemed to be elsewhere.

“Got somewhere you need to be?” Blaskewicz decided to mess with her a little.

“Actually yes, I do,” she replied. “I’m looking for my destroyers.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “They were gone when I went to wake them up this morning, and I fell asleep last night with my door locked and my headphones on, so I wasn’t even able to hear them if they needed me.”

Blaskewicz merely pointed to the couch behind Tenryu and to her right. The light cruiser turned in that direction, and her jaw dropped when she saw her destroyers sitting there like nothing had happened. Ikazuchi even tore her eyes from the television to wave at her.

“How…?” she trailed off.

“They were sleeping in my office when I got here this morning,” Blaskewicz replied, and Tenryu surreptitiously wiped her eyes before going over and hugging her charges, listening to an account of the previous night in between murmuring apologies to them for not being there when they needed her.

“Ok,” she smiled shakily at them, “I’m going to kill Iku, and then we’ll go for ice cream.”

“Yaaay…ice cream!” her charges squealed, but Akatsuki quickly shushed her sister ships.

“Quiet,” she admonished the others, “another episode is starting!”

“Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger!” the television announced.

“Oooh…” the four destroyers appeared enraptured by the images on the screen.

Blaskewicz grinned at their childlike exuberance. He remembered watching the American version of the show with his siblings on Saturday mornings.

“Tenryu!” Akatsuki exclaimed as though suddenly having an idea, “can we be them for Halloween?” she pointed at the screen where the Red Ranger had just sent three Putties sprawling with a roundhouse kick to the head.

The light cruiser shrugged. “I don’t see why not,” she replied. “I’m sure there’s a costume shop around here that carries their outfits in your sizes.”

Akatsuki bounced off the sofa. “To the costume shop!” the little destroyer shrieked, and ran for the door, Ikazuchi and Inazuma following behind her. Hibiki watched them go, then sighed long-sufferingly and followed them at a more sedate pace.

Tenryu turned to Blaskewicz and smiled. “Thanks for watching out for them.”

“No problem,” the Supply Officer responded. “You do a great job with them.”

The light cruiser blushed attractively. “Thanks,” she muttered, embarrassed by the compliment. For a moment, she looked as though she wanted to say something more, but then realized her charges had left her behind.

“I better go after them…they’re very inquisitive.”

“Yeah, I can see where they’d keep you on your toes,” Blaskewicz replied. “Let me know if you ever need help with them…I’ll be glad to do what I can.”

Tenryu smiled in response and ran off after her charges, leaving Blaskewicz to calm himself down from feeling brave enough to successfully converse with a woman close to his age. He pulled out his phone and opened the notepad, making a note to inform Avers about a new rule for his List:

12) No telling horror bedtime stories to the younger destroyers.

Chapter Text

A few days later Avers sat in his office. It was Halloween, and there was a fleet-wide costume party that night. That meant throughout the day, his office was invaded by shipgirls trying to get their costumes approved. Some – like DesDiv 6’s costumes; Avers seriously doubted Tenryu would allow her four adorable charges to dress inappropriately – had been approved sight-unseen, but most shipgirls had to report in costume for approval.

Avers had quickly realized that his definition of ‘appropriate’ and that of various shipgirls differed greatly, forcing him to already add yet another rule to The List:

13) All Halloween costumes must be appropriate.

“No,” he barely glanced up from his paperwork at Iku’s mermaid costume.

“Oh, come on!” the submarine complained. “It’s myth-accurate, and it doesn’t actually show anything!”

Avers sighed. “I’m not going to veto a mermaid costume, but the top needs to be a little more sensible than that. A bikini top, at the very least.”

“Ok!” Avers noted Iku agreed to that waaayyy too quickly and decided to amend his previous statement.

“A normal bikini top, not one of the ones you’re thinking of!”

“But-!” Iku started to complain,

“No buts, Iku…that’s final,” Avers cut her off. “So, go get yourself a suitable top…I’ve got work to do.”

~~~

By lunchtime Avers was – as per normal, he suddenly realized - ready to tear his hair out. While most shipgirls’ costumes had been fine, there were a few that he’d vetoed outright. Now, as he sat in his office sipping a Pepsi, he thought back over some of the more…adventurous costumes.

“Everything in place for tonight, sir?” Mancini and Blaskewicz had joined him for lunch, and the trio had spent the meal discussing various items of business.

Avers nodded. “In between doing paperwork, I’ve been saying ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ to various costumes.”

“Any interesting ones?” the Training Officer wanted to know.

Avers sighed. “Submarine RO-500 came in wearing the most accurate Waffen-SS uniform I’ve seen outside of 1940s Berlin…that was a definite ‘no’. Then Sendai came in wearing the costume of some anime ninja character that had a skirt on it so short it let everybody know she wasn’t wearing underwear, so that too was a ‘no’.”

The two Captains laughed at his description as the Admiral continued.

“Destroyer Kiyoshimo came in wearing Musashi’s rigging…how she got hold of it and managed to carry it all the way to my office I’ll never know, but that was all she was able to do. After the rig collapsed on top of her, she decided to find another costume to wear tonight. I’ve also had three shipgirls – Atago among them - come in dressed in what they think a shipgirl version of the World War II U.S.S. Enterprise would look like. I didn’t refuse that but told them they weren’t the only girls who’d thought of that costume, so at least two of them decided to change.” He sighed. “I shudder to think what kind of costumes this afternoon will bring.” After pausing for a sip of Pepsi, he asked, “What about the two of you? Are your costumes appropriate, or will they cause my blood pressure to spike?”

Blaskewicz told his two friends about his costume idea, and both Avers and Mancini heartily approved. “What about you, Captain?” Avers asked Mancini.

The Training Officer looked down, somewhat embarrassed.

“Well, sir, to be honest, I don’t know what my costume’s going to be yet. My date wanted to do couple’s costumes, so I let her pick.”

“You’re a brave man, Captain,” Avers replied. “Just out of curiosity, who’s your date?”

Mancini blushed slightly as he mumbled, “Ashigara…we’re going together as friends.”

Avers was about to wish Mancini luck when there was a knock at the door.

“Another costume approval, I imagine,” Avers informed his two guests, before calling towards the door, “Enter!”

Destroyer Shimakaze entered, but her costume floored all three of them.

“Are you kidding me?” Avers asked the young destroyer, as he took in her homemade Abyssal Re-class battleship costume.

“No?” Shimakaze looked surprised as she adjusted the cardboard tail she’d glued to the bottom of the hoodie she was wearing and sighed loudly. “I don’t see what the problem is.”

“Seriously?” Avers looked at her like she was nuts. “You don’t see how bad an idea it is to stroll into a Halloween party dressed as one’s mortal enemy?”

Shimakaze shook her head and Avers resisted the urge to bang his head against the surface of his desk. “Just…change, please,” he murmured, and the destroyer huffed in frustration and flounced out of the room.

Avers turned to the two officers sitting in chairs in front of his desk. “See what I’ve been dealing with all morning?”

The two officers laughed. “What about you, Admiral?” Mancini asked. “What’re you going as?”

“Well, I was going as the scariest thing I could possibly think of,” Avers began, “but I don’t think I could successfully pull off Hillary Clinton. So, I’ll probably just put on my dress whites and go as an Admiral.”

Mancini snickered at Avers’ response, but Blaskewicz looked surprised. “You’re not going to dress up, sir?”

Avers shrugged. “Never really saw the reason for it…I didn’t go trick-or-treating as a kid, and I never went to Halloween parties as an adult.”

“So, now’s the perfect time to dress up!” Mancini encouraged.

Avers shook his head. “I can’t even think of something I’d care to go as...going as an Admiral’s fine with me.”

~~~

“How do I look?” Goya asked, taking in her outfit in the mirror.

“Perfect!” Iku grinned, giving her fellow B-Type submarine a thumbs-up. “You pull off the ninja look perfectly!”

Goya smiled, taking in her ninja outfit. It was standard ninja garb, the only concession to her submarine heritage being the headband was one worn by her kaiten pilots in the last days of the war. One had to keep up appearances, after all.

“Now,” Iku smiled at her pupil’s enthusiasm, “you look the part, and you proved you can handle the weapons in yesterday’s practice session, but we need to work on your stealth. So, I’ve got a mission for you tonight…it means you’re going to miss the costume party, but which is more important to you: learning this ancient way of life, or going to some party?”

“The way of the ninja, Iku-sensei!” Goya breathed. “I will follow whatever instructions you give me!”

Iku ignored the shiver that ran up her spine when Goya said that and tamped down her inner lewdmarine. Later, she promised herself. That comes when Goya wants to thank me for teaching her this stuff. All in good time…

“All right, then!” she smiled at Goya. “Your first task is…”

~~~

Later that afternoon Avers felt he could finally breathe a sigh of relief. The afternoon had been quiet; only a few shipgirls had come by for costume approvals and Avers was pleased to note he’d been able to clear most of them. Now it was approaching 1630, and it was time to start wrapping things up for the day and then get his uniform ready for the party that night. His staff had already departed and Avers was just finishing up when there was a knock at the door.

“Enter,” Avers responded, bending down to put some papers into his briefcase as he heard the door open.

“Heyyy, Teitoku-des!” Kongo’s cheerful voice exploded into the silence of the room.

“What can I do for you Kon…go?” Avers’ voice trailed off as he beheld the fast battleship’s costume.

The black jumpsuit she wore was obviously made of spandex, and it was painfully obvious Kongo had no underwear underneath. How she’d managed to get into the outfit Avers would never know, for the damn thing looked like it had been painted on. It had a modest neckline, revealing nothing yet at the same time showing everything, and was without a doubt one of the hottest outfits he’d ever seen in his life.

“Urk…” the Admiral muttered, inwardly cursing himself for temporarily losing the power of speech.

Kongo smiled widely, apparently having gotten the reaction she wanted.

“You like my costume, Teitoku-des?” she twirled around, showing her outfit off to Avers from all angles, and the Admiral noted that the backwards view was just as incredible as the front view.

YUM! It’s close to dinner time, baby…and Daddy’s HUNGRY! A certain part of Avers’ brain was screaming, but logic again managed to shut that part up. Speech would be good here, it reminded Avers, who shook his head and cleared his throat awkwardly.

“I thought Tama was the one going as Cat Woman,” he joked, and Kongo giggled.

“Silly Teitoku…I’m not Cat Woman! My sisters and I are going as Charlie’s Angels, Dess!”

“…Oh…” Avers didn’t know what to say to that. All four Kongos dressed like this…God help the male personnel at the party, he thought.

Kongo grinned as she watched her Teitoku restrain himself from grabbing her and throwing her on his desk to ravish her. He was so adorable when he was flustered, so she decided to keep him that way and not give him a moment to think.

“I wanted to come by a show you my costume, Dess! I’ll see you at the party, Teitoku-des!”

With a flirtatious wave, she was gone before Avers could utter a word. The Admiral plopped down in his chair, his mind racing. Did she even realize what she was doing to him? He flashed back to the Calendar Incident, going over what he’d told her to look for in a potential suitor and how she’d cheered up almost instantly.

Oh, shit.

Something clicked in his analytical brain. She was thinking you meant yourself when you gave her that speech, his brain calmly informed him. I don’t believe you meant that, did you?

Of course not! Avers growled. But you see how she is…she’s…

Like no other woman you’ve ever met, right?

Yes! She’s…

“Amazing,” Avers murmured. “She’s completely and utterly amazing.” He turned to the window and looked out at the late afternoon day as a smile came over his face.

“All right…I’ll play your game,” he said to himself, “by fighting fire with fire.” He rose to his feet and quickly finished shutting down his office. He now knew the perfect costume for the evening.

~~~

Light cruiser Tatsuta was not happy. While she’d been touched that the girls of DesDiv 6 had asked her to be a part of their costume team, she’d quickly discovered that the costume they had for her wasn’t exactly one she wanted to wear.

“Ok, I understand that we’re doing group costumes,” she began, “but why do I have to be Bandai the Evil Space Witch?”

“It’s Bandora,” the Pink Ranger replied, “and I agree…her hairstyle is by no means ladylike, is it?” She turned to her fellow Rangers. “Come on…we need to go see Captain Blaskewicz before we go to the party.”

“Why do you get to order us around, Akatsuki?” the Yellow Ranger complained. “The Red Ranger is the leader, not you.”

“Come on, girls…stop fighting,” Tenryu admonished them, as she herded her charges out of the elevator and down the hall towards Blaskewicz’s office. “Remember, the Rangers didn’t fight amongst themselves.”

“Khorosho,” the Blue Ranger muttered as Tenryu knocked on the door.

~~~

Blaskewicz looked up as four adorable Power Rangers and the hottest Red Ranger he’d ever seen crowded into his office. He expected them to shut the door, but the Black Ranger looked out into the hall.

“Come on, Tatsuta-san,” she admonished, “I’m sure Captain Blaskewicz wants to see your costume too, nanodesu.”

An annoyed growl came from the hall, and the light cruiser in question slunk into the room. Upon seeing her costume, Blaskewicz was very hard-pressed not to die laughing. Tatsuta saw his struggle and gave him a black look.

“Laugh and die, sir.”

“W-Wouldn’t d-dream of it,” Blaskewicz managed to force out. Tatsuta flounced over to the sofa and sat down.

“Aren’t you going to dress up, Captain?” Akatsuki pulled off her helmet and looked up at him.

Blaskewicz nodded. “If you’ll give me a minute, I’ll change into my costume and head over to the party with you.”

His answer seemed to please the little destroyer, for she nodded and walked over to the couch.

“Feel free to watch television,” Blaskewicz told them as he ducked into the small bathroom attached to his office, “I’ll be out shortly.”

“Stop messing with your wig, Tatsuta-san,” Akatsuki admonished the light cruiser. “If you keep messing with it, you’ll knock it out of place.”

“Small wonder Bandito always complains she has a headache,” Tatsuta griped. “This baka thing is driving me crazy.”

“It’s Bandora!” the four destroyers corrected.

“Whatever,” the light cruiser muttered.

“Actually, we had our own version of that show in America,” Blaskewicz’s voice came through the bathroom door, “In the American version, Bandora was named Rita Repulsa.”

Tatsuta slumped down even further. “Yeah, like that name’s any better.” She noticed Akatsuki getting close to the large staff that came with her costume. The little destroyer had been trying to play with it since she first laid eyes on it, and Tatsuta had taken it away from her more than once already this evening. “Akatsuki, I swear if you try and grab that staff one more time…” she trailed off, letting the threat hang.

The little destroyer in question simply blinked at her innocently and folded her hands in her lap while making a comment that real ladies did not make threats, causing Tatsuta to grit her teeth, Tenryu to giggle at her sister’s annoyance, and Inazuma to babble nervously and beg the two not to fight.

“I don’t think so, Bandora!” Blaskewicz sprang from the bathroom in a fully authentic Green Ranger costume. “If you want to get my fellow Rangers, you’ll have to go through me first!”

Tatsuta looked thoroughly unimpressed. “Meh, too much work,” she muttered.

DesDiv 6 looked ecstatic at Blaskewicz’s choice of costume, and the Supply Officer noted Tenryu looked quite pleased as well. And if he wasn’t mistaken, she appeared to really like the view of him in spandex.

“Everyone ready?” he asked, and the destroyers nodded. Tatsuta appeared to be the only person not showing enthusiasm.

“There’s going to be alcohol there…” Blaskewicz trailed off.

The light cruiser got to her feet almost immediately. “Lead the way, Greenie,” she ordered, and gestured for Blaskewicz to proceed ahead of her.

~~~

Avers walked into the commissary where the party was being held, grinning as he saw the six Power Rangers and one very unhappy Rita Repulsa in the anteroom.

“Great costumes!” he informed them, ignoring how Tatsuta and Tenryu were checking him out. “Almost makes me wish we were holding a costume contest.”

The four destroyers ducked their helmet-covered heads, pleasantly embarrassed at the level of approval from their Admiral. Avers was about to continue the conversation, but he noticed Mancini and Ashigara entering the building and promptly burst out laughing.

“What?” Blaskewicz looked confused.

Avers motioned for Blaskewicz to look toward the door. The Supply Officer turned and promptly lost it as well. Mancini was wearing civilian clothes, he had a wig of wavy brown hair on his head, his skin had whitening powder on it, and he had amber-colored contacts in his eyes.

“Shoot me,” he growled, and Ashigara giggled.

“A-Are you…that Edward guy from the vampire movies?” Blaskewicz gasped out.

“Again, shoot me,” Mancini replied, which caused Avers and Blaskewicz to laugh even harder. By now, even Tatsuta and Tenryu were giggling.

“It’s not funny!” the Training Officer snapped. “It’s not funny at all!”

Avers privately begged to differ, but he decided to take pity on Mancini and let the matter drop. He bid the group a pleasant evening and walked into the main area. Tables had been set up around the room and Halloween-themed music was playing as groups of people moved around on a makeshift dance floor. There was also a large carnival area where games were set up to win various prizes and of course huge amounts of candy. Avers smiled as he saw DesDiv 6 make a beeline for that area, followed by Tenryu and Blaskewicz, while Tatsuta detached from the group and made a beeline for the makeshift bar instead. He was thinking about heading over to the games himself to give encouragement to some of the destroyers when he saw Kongo sitting alone at a table, apparently people-watching.

Showtime, he told himself, and started in that direction.

~~~

Battleship Kongo sat at the table she and her sisters had commandeered upon their arrival. Hiei had gone to see if she could help with the refreshments – her dear onee-sama just wouldn’t accept the fact that cooking was not her forte – while Kirishima and Haruna had wandered over to the carnival area. Kongo didn’t mind being alone; she was perfectly happy humming a little tune while doing some people-watching. And it was especially fun this evening, because there were so many interesting costumes about!

“Howdy, Miss Kongo,” Avers’ voice greeted her.

Kongo turned to greet him in return and whatever she was going to say died in her throat when she beheld Avers’ costume.

From top to bottom, her Teitoku’s outfit was – in her opinion – positively drool-inducing: form-fitting black western shirt and jeans, black suede chaps, a fancy belt with an even fancier custom-made buckle, what looked to be a pair of very expensive pointed-toe leather cowboy boots along with custom-made spurs and topped off with a black Stetson hat.

All she found herself able to do was blush furiously and giggle like a schoolgirl.

Kongo – 2, Admiral – 1, Avers thought, smirking inwardly as he saw the fast battleship’s reaction, as well as the look of pure lust in her eyes. About time it’s someone other than me who’s reduced to incoherence. He decided to keep her off-balance.

“Would you care to dance?” he extended his hand to her. Kongo’s response was to giggle again and take his hand.

As he led the fast battleship to the dance floor and then took her in his arms Avers was startled to realize that for the first time in a long while he felt content. Kongo made a happy little noise and snuggled closer; Avers clamped down on his instincts to display a ‘natural male reaction’ to the way her body practically molded to his, and instead pressed a feather-light kiss to the top of her head, the pressure muffled by her silky hair.

Crap…I am in sooo much trouble, he thought to himself.

The Admiral didn’t see the wide smile on his dance partner’s face as she felt the kiss.

~~~

Eddie Blaskewicz was nervous. The past few days, ever since he’d helped DesDiv 6 when they’d been scared by Iku, he’d come to realize that not only did the four adorable destroyers seem to gravitate toward him whenever they saw him, their ‘mom-boat’ was seriously hot. Only problem was, he’d never exactly been Mr. Smooth when interacting with beautiful women. But the four destroyers gave him an in…one that he wasn’t ashamed to say he was putting to good use. And it was becoming apparent that his choosing to dress up as the Green Ranger had won him some major brownie points.

As Tatsuta had ditched them for the bar, he and Tenryu were the only adults walking through the carnival area supervising DesDiv 6 as they went crazy at the games. The group was only a quarter of the way through the festival area, and already all four of the destroyers had large bags of candy.

“You know, you can go mingle, maybe ask someone to dance,” Tenryu stated as they watched the light cruiser’s four charges compete at a water gun booth, where – judging by the small smile on her face – Hibiki appeared to be winning. “You don’t have to stay with us.”

“I don’t mind,” Blaskewicz replied, stopping at a balloon dart game. He paid the attendant and threw the darts, the combined points he scored winning him one of the larger prizes.

“Pick your prize,” he informed the light cruiser, who blushed and picked out a stuffed dog. Blaskewicz took it from the attendant, and they continued through the carnival area, following DesDiv 6. When the destroyers stopped at another game booth, Tenryu turned to him.

“What are you doing?”

“Um…hopefully going to win you something else?” Blaskewicz wasn’t sure how to answer this question; his Dad had always said honesty was the best policy, so he decided to go that route.

Tenryu shook her head. “I meant with me.”

“Huh?” Now Blaskewicz was completely lost. Wasn’t that strange when it came to him and the opposite sex, but still…

“I’ve basically got four kids to look after, Captain,” the light cruiser replied. “A lot of guys would run screaming the other way when confronted with just two.”

“So, you’re questioning if there’s something wrong with me?” Blaskewicz joked, and Tenryu blushed.

“No,” she replied, “I’m wondering why you’re not running for the hills, too.”

“The fact that you’ve got four kids is not an issue for me,” the Supply Officer informed the light cruiser. “You and those girls go out and fight to save humanity on a regular basis. All five of you are heroes. Those girls are adorable…I couldn’t object to them if I wanted to.” He then got visibly nervous; Tenryu tried very hard not to think about how cute he looked. “Not to mention that their mom-boat’s pretty hot and I’d like to get to know her better.”

The brilliant smile Blaskewicz got in response to his statement told him he’d said the right thing.

~~~

Hiyo strolled back to her dorm room that she shared with her sister Junyo. She was one of those who’d been unfortunate enough to be chosen to remain on duty that night, but she didn’t mind; being able to serve her country again meant making sacrifices, and if missing a Halloween party was one of those sacrifices, then so be it. Upon hearing her sister had duty that night, Junyo had decided to skip the party as well, and mentioned something about some sort of online challenge that she was going to participate in while Hiyo was on duty. Hiyo figured if it kept her more impetuous sister out of trouble, it was fine with her.

As she opened the door to her room, she called out, “Junyo, are you -”

But the scene that greeted her caused her to lose all power of speech. Her sister ship lay on the floor, passed out in a puddle of her own vomit, her breathing slow and erratic and her skin steadily turning an unhealthy shade of blue. A fanfic that appeared to be a collection of horrendous grammatical and spelling mistakes was visible on the screen of Junyo’s laptop, while dozens of vodka bottles and what appeared to be Junyo’s entire alcohol stash lay scattered around the room.

Confronted by such a sight, Hiyo did the only thing she could think of: she ran screaming from the room.

“AAAAAAAAAADMIRAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLP!”

~~~

Avers staggered into his quarters late that night. While the party had been a resounding success, he’d been called away from it to deal with a medical emergency. He hadn’t been pleased about it, either; while he normally shied away from social situations, spending the evening slow-dancing with a beautiful fast battleship – who appeared to have no objections dancing the night away in his arms – was not something he liked being pulled away from. However, in her defense, Hiyo’s reason for him being called away from the party was a good one.

Junyo had alcohol poisoning. Had Hiyo not come back when she did, the fleet would’ve lost its first carrier and it wouldn’t have been due to sinking in combat, but self-inflicted through a stupid online drinking game. Akashi had unfortunately informed Avers of this where Hiyo overheard it, and the carrier had emotionally fallen apart at the thought of how close she’d come to losing her sister ship. Now there were two carriers in the repair docks: one slowly recovering from nearly drinking herself to death and her sister ship from complete and severe emotional exhaustion. They were berthed side-by-side, and after being given a sedative, Hiyo had finally passed out holding Junyo’s hand.

The party had been over for an hour by the time the situation was under control, so Avers decided to hit the rack and start over the following day. Exhausted, he removed his costume and hung it in his closet, placing the diamond-studded belt buckle back in its case on the top of his dresser, and then collapsed on his bed in Navy-issue t-shirt and boxers. His last thought before going to sleep and dreaming of scantily clad fast battleships, was the addition he was going to make to The List the following day:

14) ALL drinking games are now banned.

~~~

Goya waited for thirty minutes after the lights went out in the Admiral’s bedroom before silently picking the lock on one of the front windows and slipping into the house, using the suction cups on her hands and knees to climb up to the ceiling. Her mission was simple, steal a pair of boxers and then get out without being seen. She could’ve done this already, but Iku-sensei had ordered her to wait until the Admiral was back in his quarters so that she could employ all her ninja skills at once. If she passed this test, then she would be a true master of invisibility.

She crawled along the ceiling through the house and into the Admiral’s bedroom, realizing the easiest route to the dresser was to cross the ceiling over the bed. Steeling her nerve, she began the most treacherous part of her mission, looking down at the sleeping officer below. He apparently was having a very nice dream, judging by the soft moans he was making and the growing bulge in the sheets, and the submarine had to bite her lip to keep from giggling. However, her silent laughter immediately turned to terror when – to her horror – the Admiral suddenly awoke.

~~~

Avers cursed silently as he returned to consciousness, especially since it interrupted a very nice dream featuring himself, Kongo, and a deserted beach. He groaned as he opened his eyes, then froze as he saw the fully-decked-out ninja on his ceiling.

I have to be seeing things, he thought.

He blinked, rubbed his eyes, and then looked again. The ninja was still there, now looking distinctly nervous.

“Hi…” she trailed off in a small voice.

Personnel in three nearby buildings were awoken by a blood-curdling shriek from the Admiral’s quarters, which was cut off abruptly when the ninja, startled by Avers’ reaction, fell from her perch on the ceiling…inadvertently performing a suplex dive onto the Admiral’s stomach.

~~~

Avers staggered into his office the following morning. The previous evening, Goya had been hysterical, thinking she’d killed her Admiral by landing on him from the ceiling, but when Avers had shown signs of life after a few seconds, had quite eagerly told him all about how this had happened. Iku was now in big trouble, while Avers figured Goya was punishing herself enough with the massive self-inflicted guilt trip. Thankfully, the Admiral had come through the entire incident having suffered only some bruised ribs.

Avers sighed in relief as he sat down in his comfy chair, reaching into his desk and pulling out The List. After adding the rule he’d come up with before falling asleep the previous evening, he wrote down another he’d come up with after getting home from the medical building:

15) For the sake of everyone’s sanity, encouragement of ninja fantasies is NOT recommended.

He sat back and turned his chair to face the window. Now that Halloween was over, and Japan didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, he knew it would be close to two months before another holiday reared its head to spread more chaos. He sighed in relief.

“Everything all right, sir?” Oyodo glanced up from her work upon hearing her Admiral’s sigh.

“Just thinking that we’ve got less than two months until the insanity of Christmas,” Avers replied blissfully, a small smile on his face.

Oyodo looked nervous. “Actually, sir…Christmas celebrations here last the entire month of December. We really only have little more than a month.”

Avers groaned.

Chapter Text

December arrived with the announcement of a Christmas talent show. Avers groaned inwardly when Nagato handed him the requisition form to be allowed to hold the event. One of the few advantages of his upbringing was not being allowed to participate in such things, and to be honest he’d never had an interest in them anyways.

“I’ll sign this,” he told Nagato and Mutsu, “with one proviso: that you two are the judges for this, not me.”

The two battleships agreed, although Mutsu had a secretive smile on her face as she did so. Avers immediately knew she was up to something, but he also knew there was no way he’d ever get the scheme out of her. Thus, he left it alone; she’d spring the trap sooner or later, and he just had to hope he wasn’t the target.

~~~

Eddie Blaskewicz stared at the piece of paper as if it were blatantly lying to him.

“How the hell can we be out of eggnog already?” he wondered, while at the same time thankful that he was alone in his office and therefore no one could see him talking to himself. He slumped back in his chair, racking his brain as he tried to think of where he could get a few hundred tons of eggnog on short notice in December.

He was distracted from his troubles by a knock on the door.

“Enter!” he called, and smiled when DesDiv 6 walked in.

“What can I do for you ladies?” he asked, rising to his feet respectfully.

Akatsuki spoke for the group, with a determined look on her face.

“We would like you to help us with our skit for the talent show,” she replied.

Blaskewicz looked nervous. “I’m not sure I’d be the best guy for the job,” he demurred. “I’ve never done well at performing in front of large crowds.”

“No one will know it’s you, nanodesu,” Inazuma responded. “You’ll be dressed as Santa Claus.”

“All you have to do is stand in the background while we sing,” Akatsuki added.

“That’s all?” the Supply Officer clarified. “I just have to stand there while you sing?”

The four adorable destroyers nodded and proceeded to give Blaskewicz four sets of maximum puppy eyes. Coming from anyone else, it would be adorable, but from these four it was irresistible. Had I been Nagato, Blaskewicz mused, I’d be on the floor in convulsions. He nodded.

“Sure, I’ll help you out.”

The four destroyers cheered and ran out of the room after each had given him a thank-you hug, leaving the Supply Officer with a happy smile on his face.

~~~

Mancini leaned back in his chair and relaxed. He’d just finished the training schedule for the next three months - along with rough drafts for the following three months – so he figured he was entitled to a break. He glanced up as a knock sounded on the door.

“C’mon in!” he called and smiled when Ashigara entered the room. He had to admit, he liked what he saw: the heavy cruiser was dressed in a deep red cashmere sweater and form-fitting black jeans. Her hair was down, reaching almost to the small of her back, and the perfume she had on smelled incredible. Sure, she’d had him dress up as a girly vampire from that stupid teen angst series, but at that moment, she looked so good he was perfectly willing to overlook the Halloween debacle.

“Hey there,” he greeted her. “What’s up?”

The heavy cruiser smiled sweetly and handed him an envelope. “I wanted to invite you to the Christmas party the heavy cruisers are throwing. You’ve done such good work as the Training Officer, I wanted to make sure you knew we care.”

Mancini grinned and took the invitation. “I’ll be there,” he confirmed, before noticing Ashigara was carrying a large plastic grocery sack. “What’s in there?” he asked.

“Oh, that’s the rest of the invitations,” she replied, not noticing Mancini’s smile dim somewhat. “We’re inviting most of the other officers on base, so I can’t stay. See you at the party!”

“Y-Yeah,” Mancini replied, although his voice sounded a lot less enthusiastic now. “See you there.”

Ashigara didn’t appear to notice as she bounced out of the room. Mancini slumped back into his chair and was about to start feeling sorry for himself when he realized something.

“Hang on a minute…” he consoled himself, “I’m one of the highest-ranking officers on this base. Rank gets first pick, or so I’ve been told.” And he knew he had no reason to worry; Avers had been claimed by Kongo long ago. Whether or not the Admiral knew it yet was a different story. And Blaskewicz appeared to be focusing all his attention on a certain light cruiser, something Mancini wished him the best of luck in. This meant all officers of higher or equal rank on base had set their sights elsewhere, and therefore Mancini would only have competition from lower-ranking officers, if any of those.

He smiled. “Gino, my friend…you’re movin’ up in the world.”

~~~

The talent show was held on the night of December 23rd. Avers decided to put in a cameo appearance despite having originally planned to remain in his quarters that night, and he was pleasantly surprised when he did. Some of the shipgirls had great talent, and it showed in their performances. Naka, Hiei, Kirishima, and Haruna teamed up to sing Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You, while Mutsu stunned everyone – especially her sister ship – with her performance of Faith Hill’s Where Are You, Christmas? Avers found himself joining in the standing ovation when the song ended, before seeing Hosho motioning to him from the side stage area.

“What is it?” he asked, approaching the light carrier, primed for chaos to descend on his head, and completely missing Mutsu’s grin as her proverbial trap closed.

“Nothing major, Admiral,” the light carrier smiled, seeming to sense his mood. “I just need someone to play Santa in the last number of the night.”

“Isn’t Captain Blaskewicz playing Santa tonight already?”

“Just for this next number. I need someone else for the final performance of the evening, and so I thought of you.”

“Santa?” Avers glanced down and saw Hoppo gazing up at him with wide, pleading eyes, and he knew there was no way he could say no.

“Get me a costume and I’ll do it,” he heard himself mutter, and Hosho smiled.

“Thank you, Admiral! You’ve just saved the show!”

Avers nodded at her, not considering it that big a deal. As Hosho and Hoppo went off in search of the costume, the Admiral decided to watch the next number from the backstage area.

~~~

Blaskewicz was nervous as he stepped out on stage. Even though he was fully decked out as Santa, he knew both Avers and Mancini knew it was him under there, and he wanted to give a good performance because of it. He had no idea how it was possible to mess up just walking out on stage and standing there while DesDiv 6 sang, but he figured if there was a way, he’d somehow manage to find it.

He walked to center stage and set down the sack he was carrying, opening it and putting presents under the large tree that had been set up. Suddenly a light came on, revealing Tenryu. She grinned and walked over to him, and before Blaskewicz could do or say anything, the light cruiser nailed him with the kiss of his life. This certainly topped every Christmas present he’d ever gotten, so he was absolutely going to savor it. He wrapped his arms around the flagship of Torpedo Squadron 5, pulling her in close, and forcibly ignored how well her body fit against his. However, there was no ignoring the sexy little whimper Tenryu made when he pulled her against him; it merely added to his lust for the beautiful young woman. He’d been trying to work up the courage to ask her to be his girlfriend ever since he’d taken her, Tatsuta, and the destroyers out for Tenryu’s birthday dinner back in November, and he knew something had to give soon.

Then DesDiv 6 started singing, and Blaskewicz found it hard to keep from laughing at the irony. There was no way the group wasn’t going to walk away with a prize for something tonight: these four singing We Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus was too adorable for words.

~~~

Avers eagerly joined in the standing ovation for DesDiv 6 when they finished their song. Tenryu led Blaskewicz off stage and then disappeared into the crowd with her charges, leaving behind a goofily grinning Supply Officer who babbled incoherently to Avers as the Admiral attempted to get him to hand him the Santa costume he had on over his outfit. Once the change of costume had been completed, Hosho went out on stage to announce the final number of the evening, and then shoved Avers out into the spotlight.

The Admiral began his scene just like Blaskewicz had done, imitating putting presents under the tree, but paused when he heard music start. A spotlight clicked on nearby, and what he saw made his mouth go dry.

Kongo stood there in a long black evening gown, her hair lightly curled and teased, giving her a natural, sultry look. There was a slit in the left side of the gown that went nearly up to the fast battleship’s waist, and blatantly showed off the fact she was wearing black stockings and a garter belt. She smirked at Avers before starting to sing in the sexiest voice he’d ever heard her use.

“Santa baby, slip a Sable under the tree for me. Been an awful good girl, Santa baby…”

I beg to differ on that one, Avers thought, recalling the Summoning Chamber Incident. He watched as Kongo advanced on him, the movement of her hips putting Mutsu’s seductive movements to shame.

“So, hurry down the chimney tonight. Santa baby, a ’54 convertible too, light blue…”

Have we forgotten the last time you bought a car? Avers nearly asked but held his tongue.

“I’ll wait up for you dear, Santa baby…so hurry down the chimney tonight.”

Avers gulped as Kongo advanced on him, circling around him as she continued singing.

“Think of all the fun I’ve missed; think of all the fellas that I haven’t kissed…”

Avers blatantly ignored the feeling of white-hot anger that flared inside him when he so much as thought of Kongo kissing another man.

“Next year I could be just as good…if you check off my Christmas list.”

Talk about your empty promises, Avers thought. If there was one thing the Kongo sisters seemed to be unable to do, it was stay out of trouble for any length of time. Kongo stopped her circling and snuggled up against him.

“Santa baby, I want a yacht and really that’s not a lot. Been an angel all year, Santa baby…”

Avers started to sweat as Kongo walked her fingers up his chest.

“So, hurry down the chimney tonight.”

He was startled when she shoved him backwards and he landed in a large comfy chair. The Admiral was even more surprised when the fast battleship plopped herself down on his lap and crossed her legs, the slit in the side of her gown and the high heels she was wearing combining to make her legs seem miles long and beyond delectable. He barely refrained from groaning aloud as Kongo trailed her hand along the left side of his face and gazed into his eyes.

“Santa honey, one little thing I really need…the deed…to a platinum mine, Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight.”

At this point Avers was inclined to give her pretty much anything she wanted.

“Santa cutie, and fill my stocking with the duplex and checks…sign your ‘X’ on the line, Santa cutie, and hurry down the chimney tonight.”

Kongo rose off his lap and sashayed around the chair.

“Come and trim my Christmas tree with some decorations bought at Tiffany’s…”

She leaned down and crooned in his ear. “I really do believe in you…let’s see if you believe in me…”

Avers watched her as she walked towards the door she’d originally come from. When she reached the door, she turned and grinned at him, and it was then that the Admiral realized she wasn’t simply singing this part of the song; Kongo was speaking to him and not singing a part to Santa Claus.

“Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing…a ring…I don’t mean on the phone, Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight.”

She ducked out of the doorway and then popped her head back in.

“Hurry down the chimney tonight.”

Her head vanished briefly before popping back in one last time.

“Hurry, tonight!”

The song ended, leaving Avers sitting in the chair completely flummoxed, and the audience on their feet, giving Kongo thunderous applause. He also recognized Mancini whistling loudly and rolled his eyes before getting to his feet, acknowledging the crowd, and escaping to the back.

Very well, then, he thought to himself. Kongo – 3, Admiral – 1.

~~~

There were curtain calls galore after the show, although Avers didn’t participate; he was on the lookout for a certain fast battleship. Finally, he saw her coming out of the dressing room, having changed back into her regular outfit. She was humming a cheery little tune and seemed quite pleased with herself and Avers decided to catch her off-guard.

As he approached her, Kongo turned and saw him, flashing him a pretty smile.

“Heyyy, Teitoku-des!” she smiled, but was completely thrown for a loop when Avers forewent a return greeting and simply walked up to her and kissed the living daylights out of her. The fast battleship whimpered in surprise, but the Admiral didn’t stop the kiss until her arms hung limply at her sides and she was swaying on her feet.

Avers pulled back and smirked, seeing her completely dazed. Time to go in for the kill, he thought.

“Merry Christmas, gorgeous,” he murmured in her ear, before nuzzling a spot right behind her earlobe and then sucking on it hard. Kongo let out a soft cry and her knees buckled, forcing Avers to help her to a nearby chair, placing a kiss on the top of her head once she was situated. By the time Kongo came to her senses, he was gone.

Kongo – 3, Admiral – 2, he stated in his head as he made his way to his quarters.

~~~

On Christmas Day, Blaskewicz made his way to the destroyer dorms with an armload of presents and a Santa hat on his head. He’d started his shopping just after Halloween and had managed to score what he thought were great gifts for Torpedo Squadron 5. As he walked down the hall, he encountered Tatsuta, who was carrying a gift under one arm.

“Heading out?” Blaskewicz asked, and the light cruiser nodded.

“I’ve got a present to deliver.”

“Me, too,” Blaskewicz motioned to the bag he was holding. “Speaking of which…” he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope. “Merry Christmas.”

Tatsuta blinked in surprise. “For me?”

“Yep,” the Supply Officer confirmed. “I hope you like it…I really wasn’t sure what to get you, to be honest.”

Tatsuta set down the gift she was carrying and opened the envelope, pulling out a $50 gift card to a popular bath products store. She smiled and hugged Blaskewicz, kissing his cheek lightly.

“It’s perfect…thank you.” She glanced down at the other presents. “I’m guessing those are for my sister and the destroyers?”

Blaskewicz nodded. “Here’s hoping they like them.”

The light cruiser grinned. “Those girls adore you…I think you’re good.” She reached down and picked up her gift. “I better get going…thanks again for the present!”

Blaskewicz waved as she disappeared around the corner, then walked over to Tenryu’s door and knocked. Seconds later, the door opened and Tenryu looked out at him, surprised.

“Hey…what’s up?” she then noticed the Santa hat on his head and the bag he was carrying and got an ‘aww, how sweet!’ expression on her face.

“Yeah, um…Merry Christmas?” Blaskewicz stammered nervously. He still couldn’t help getting tongue-tied around the beautiful light cruiser.

“MERRY CHRISTMAS!” four little balls of energy forced the door open wider and then bowled into his legs. The Supply Officer laughed and knelt to hug them all.

“And Merry Christmas to you as well! Did Santa bring you everything you wanted?”

The next five minutes was a storm of four energetic voices trying to talk over each other as they told Blaskewicz about their presents, while Tenryu ushered all five of them inside.

“Did Santa bring you something as well, nanodesu?” Inazuma asked.

“Yes, he did,” Blaskewicz replied. “But I think he left a couple things at the wrong house because I found these four presents with your names on them.”

He handed the four presents out, and the destroyers opened them one at a time. Akatsuki was ecstatic over her copy of Emily Post’s Etiquette for Young Ladies. All four were excited when Inazuma opened the first season of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. The destroyers didn’t know what it was until Blaskewicz explained it was the American version of Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger.

Ikazuchi looked confused by her present, pulling out what appeared to be a stuffed barrel. She looked at Blaskewicz for an explanation.

“It’s a stuffed depth-charge,” the Supply Officer explained. “You can throw it at those pesky Goya monsters whenever they get under your bed and that’ll scare them off.”

Ikazuchi smiled widely and hugged Blaskewicz. “Thank you!” she squealed.

Hibiki also appeared confused when she opened her present and pulled out a large, incredibly soft, stuffed gray goose.

“Grey Goose is a brand of vodka in the United States,” Blaskewicz stated. “And since I couldn’t get you an actual bottle of vodka –”

“Why not?” Hibiki asked.

“Mainly because I’d be terrified of your mom-boat’s reaction if I did,” Blaskewicz replied, and the four destroyers giggled. Tenryu gave him a mock-glare, but it was obvious she too found it funny.

“As I was saying,” Blaskewicz continued. “I couldn’t get you an actual bottle of vodka, so I thought a mascot from one of the companies would be just as good.”

“Khorosho,” Hibiki muttered, hugging her new plushie and then hugging Blaskewicz in thanks, even bestowing a small kiss on his cheek.

“And this last present is yours,” Blaskewicz informed Tenryu, handing her the long, tall box he’d brought with him. The light cruiser blinked, surprised that she too was getting a present.

“Go on, open it,” Blaskewicz encouraged, eager to see if she liked the gift.

Tenryu unwrapped the box, revealing a very nice sword case. When she opened the sword case, she found an Imperial Japanese Navy officer’s dress saber.

“Wow…” she trailed off, stunned.

“Read the inscription on the inside lid,” the Supply Officer told her quietly.

Tenryu found the small gold plaque mounted on the lid and read what was inscribed.

Dress sword of
CAPT Ueda Mitsuharu
Eta Jima Class 45 (76th of 89 Cadets)
Commanding Officer, CL Tenryu (12 December 1942 – 19 December 1942)

Blaskewicz grew concerned when he saw tears well up in the light cruiser’s eyes.

“Aw, jeez,” he murmured, “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“No,” Tenryu’s voice cracked with emotion, “it’s ok.” She turned to him and whispered, “Where did you find this?”

“Online military auction…once I had it authenticated, I thought it’d be something you’d like.” Blaskewicz still wasn’t sure of Tenryu’s reaction.

“Like?” the light cruiser asked, “I love it! My last Captain’s personal sword? How could I not? Thank you so much!”

“So those are happy tears, then?” Blaskewicz confirmed.

Tenryu’s response was to smile seductively. “Allow me to put it another way,” she purred, and kissed him so hard his toes curled. When she pulled away, the Supply Officer gave her a goofy grin.

“So, would this be a good time to ask you to be my girlfriend?”

Tenryu’s response was to smile widely and kiss him again.

~~~

Avers approached the Kongo sisters' dorm and paused briefly before knocking on the door. To his surprise, Hiei answered the knock, and appeared just as surprised to see him.

“Merry Christmas, Admiral!” she smiled. “Is something wrong?”

“Not at all,” Avers shook his head. “Is Kongo here? I’d like to speak with her.”

“Of course,” Hiei opened the door and let Avers in.

“Heyyy, Teitoku-des!” Kongo bounced up to him and hugged him; Avers noted she again took care to press herself against him in all the right places.

“Kongo,” Avers greeted. “I just stopped by to bring you this.” He handed her a small flat package, causing the fast battleship to squeal at the sight of a present and hurriedly rip the paper open. She pulled open the rectangular box to reveal a rather old-looking set of Imperial Japanese Navy Vice Admiral shoulder insignia. Cocking her head cutely, she looked at Avers for an explanation. In reply, the Admiral merely handed her an envelope. Intrigued, Kongo opened the letter, and what she read stunned her into silence.

This letter authenticates this set of Imperial Japanese Navy shoulder insignia as having come from a uniform belonging to the estate of the late VADM Suzuki Yoshio, who died in action aboard his flagship, battleship Kongo, when it was sunk off Formosa on 21 November 1944.

The letter was signed by a representative of the authenticating agency, as well as the late Admiral’s widow and his eldest son. Kongo tore her eyes from the letter and gazed at Avers, who looked uncomfortable with the attention.

“I thought you’d like to own something that belonged to him.”

“Onee-sama…what’s wrong?” Hiei, Haruna, and Kirishima came over to their sister ship, concerned at how quiet she was being. Wordlessly, Kongo handed the present and the letter to Haruna, who read the letter and gasped at what she was holding.

For her part, once Kongo had handed her present off to her sister, she tackle-glomped Avers, making a very enthusiastic attempt to surgically attach her lips to her Admiral’s. Avers staggered backward and leaned against the doorway, giving her as good as he got before pulling away to murmur in her ear.

“Mine, gorgeous?”

Kongo immediately knew what he was talking about.

“YES!!!” she squealed, bouncing up and down in his arms. As her sisters crowded around to congratulate the new couple, Kongo smirked inwardly.

Mission accomplished…MY Teitoku-des! She thought to herself.

For his part Avers nuzzled his face into her silky hair. Kongo – 3, Admiral – 3, he thought. I can live with a draw.

Chapter Text

Halloween had come and gone. Christmas had come and gone. Thankfully, New Year’s Eve had been rather quiet at the naval base, and now January and a new year stretched before the occupants. However, with nothing to keep them occupied, shipgirls tended to get bored. And when shipgirls got bored, chaos usually followed. And said chaos was usually the product of one or two certain shipgirls getting bored. And usually, when those one or two shipgirls got bored and decided to cause chaos, they invariably dragged some innocent bystander along for the ride or convinced them to participate in the insanity.

Today was one such occasion.

“Come on,” Iku whined, “it’ll be fun, and it’ll give your fairies a chance for flight practice!”

“I dunno…” Akitsushima hedged, uncertain as to whether she should go along with what the submarine was proposing.

“Don’t worry,” her companion reiterated, “and besides, I’ll launch my own floatplane to support yours.”

Akitsushima sighed. She’d never been one to resist peer pressure. “Fine…”

Iku grinned victoriously.

~~~

The H8K flew down the dorm hallway, its crew searching for a target. One fairy suddenly smacked the bombardier and pointed out the window: three targets up ahead. The pilot was informed, and the final approach began. Using a technique she’d seen done in gaming videos on the internet, the pilot cut her engines and glided towards her targets. The three shipgirls looked up in astonishment just as the aircraft released its payload.

~~~

Hiyo was happy that Junyo was finally out of the hospital, where she’d been recovering from alcohol poisoning. However, Akashi’s orders had been that Junyo could not touch a drop of alcohol for the next month or else she’d be right back in the repair docks. It went without saying that no alcohol and a war going on made Junyo a little cranky.

Ok, scratch that, she wasn’t cranky, she was a total bitch with a very short temper.

The two carriers had met up with Ryujo and were heading out to the range for some target practice when Hiyo noticed some movement on the ceiling. She glanced up and then did a double-take as she saw the four-engine flying boat in a glide dive and grabbed Junyo’s arm.

“The fuck…?” her sister ship growled as she looked up, causing Ryujo to look up as well, just as the aircraft swooped overhead and dropped four water balloons on the three carriers. Only these balloons weren’t filled with water…they were filled with yellow, green, purple, and orange paint.

The pilot’s aim was dead-accurate; all three carriers were doused from head-to-toe in brightly colored paint. Hiyo also had to admire the pilot’s flying skills…she didn’t know too many pilots who could take a four-engine flying boat into a glide dive, drop its payload, and then restart its engines and successfully escape without crashing. Most impressive indeed.

“What. The. Hell.” Ryujo’s flat voice told Hiyo at least one of her two companions were royally pissed off at what just happened. A roar of anger then informed her of Junyo’s feelings on the matter. Both Junyo and Ryujo stormed off in the direction the H8K had gone, while Hiyo inspected the paint that was now liberally coating the walls and floor outside their room. The moment she touched some of the paint, she knew what it was.

“Junyo, Ryujo…wait!” she called, running after them. “It’s all right…the paint’s water-based! It’ll come off easily!”

~~~

Meanwhile, the pilot of Iku’s E14Y1 floatplane was also looking for – hopefully – multiple targets. It had been a shaky takeoff; having two bulging, paint-filled balloons strapped underneath did not help her piloting skills. Her observer tapped her on the shoulder and pointed at a shipgirl up ahead. The pilot nodded and accelerated for attack.

~~~

Zuikaku smiled as she stepped outside her dorm room. She couldn’t wait for duty to be over with today, for she and Shokaku-nee had a date that night. She was so absorbed in thoughts about her beautiful sister ship that she completely missed the very-out-of-place sound of an aircraft engine in the dorm hallway. However, she did manage to look up in time to see the seaplane release its two balloons before zooming away, showering her with bright red and royal blue paint.

“EHHHH?!?!” the fleet carrier screamed, enraged. Whirling around, she took off running after the offending aircraft. Someone would die today and judging by the plane type, she had a good idea who.

~~~

Avers came out of the line at the commissary, carrying his tray. After getting his drink, he stopped and waited for his girlfriend, who strolled out of the line carrying about five times the amount of food he’d gotten. As they made their way to a table Avers acknowledged Mancini, who was sitting nearby and chatting amiably with Ashigara. The heavy cruiser appeared to be completely oblivious to the fact the Training Officer was interested in her and seemed to have placed him firmly in what Avers had heard was called the ‘Friend Zone’.

Kongo smiled as Avers pulled out and held her chair for her; ever the gentleman, her Teitoku. She walked in front of him, taking extra care to press herself against him and drive him crazy when she noticed Avers looking around as though trying to place something.

“Are you okay, Teitoku-des?” she asked, and Avers shrugged.

“I don’t suppose you’re hearing aircraft engines, by any chance?”

Kongo listened and then nodded, surprised, as said engines appeared to be growing louder. Suddenly the glass partition over the main doors was shattered by bullets, and everyone in the commissary gaped as an H8K flying boat roared into the dining area, hotly pursued by no less than five Zeros and four Reppus, all firing madly. The H8K was putting up a hail of gunfire itself, and the pursuing fighters were forced to wave back and forth to avoid being shot down.

“HIT THE DECK!” Avers yelled, dropping to the floor and dragging Kongo down with him.

The aircraft made a circle through the dining area, the aerial battle continuing throughout. Various fleet girls followed Avers’ example and dove for cover as well, at the same time gazing up at the unexpected entertainment overhead.

“I’LL MURDER SOMEBODY!” the irate vow came from underneath the Admiral’s table. Avers’ mood was not made better by Mancini bursting out laughing a few tables over.

The H8K broke out of the endless circling maneuver and resumed a zigzag course…straight through the doors leading into the kitchen. Everyone watched as the fighters followed.

“Oh, no…” Avers moaned.

Screams, shouts, and the crashes of falling cookware and smashing crockery could be heard. After a few minutes of unseen chaos, the H8K burst out of the kitchen, considerably worse for wear; it was covered in spaghetti sauce, syrup, and God only knew what else, and had a steak knife embedded in the rear fuselage. The fighters had also finally managed to do some damage as well; one of the H8K’s engines was smoking and the observation blister on the left side was shattered. However, they, too had been taken to task by the kitchen staff, and as the group zoomed for the same hole they’d entered from, one of the Zeros’ engines spouted black smoke, coughed, choked, and died. The fairy pilot opened the canopy and hit the silk while her plane crashed into the floor of the commissary and burst into flames. This, of course, set off the sprinkler system for the entire building, drenching everyone in the room. Further indignant shrieks came from the kitchen, which Avers was almost certain now looked like a war zone. He glanced over at Mancini’s table; the Training Officer was curled in a fetal position, laughing so hard he was crying.

Avers dropped his head in despair, but suddenly found a yeast roll shoved into his mouth.

“Wafafuk?” He muttered, turning to his girlfriend for an explanation.

“Dess!” Kongo gave him a thumbs-up and kissed his cheek, smiling adoringly at him.

Avers sighed, munched on the roll, and huddled under the table as the sprinklers continued pouring, wrapping his arm around the beautiful fast battleship, who eagerly snuggled up to him.

At least I got a little bit of cuddle time out of this mess, he thought.

~~~

Nagato put down the phone and shook her head. She’d heard it, but she could scarcely believe it. As she attempted to explain to her sister and Oyodo and Niyodo, the door banged open and Avers stalked to his desk, having apparently stopped off at his quarters to change uniforms. The little side trip had also apparently given the Admiral’s anger time to fester, for he had a black look on his face.

“Admiral? Are you all right, sir?” Mutsu was the first to approach Avers.

The Admiral looked at her. “Iku die,” was all he said before flopping down in his beloved comfy chair.

Avers’ staff looked at each other, unsure as to how to proceed. The Admiral opened his desk, took out The List, and wrote a new rule at the bottom:

16) Aircraft are not allowed to fly indoors.

He then put the paper back in the drawer, shut it, and took a deep, cleansing breath before looking up at them. Before he could speak, however, the door to his office burst open again, and four paint-covered aircraft carriers dragged in a wildly struggling submarine and a hyperventilating seaplane carrier.

“Got ‘em!” Junyo growled.

“…Thanks,” Avers replied, unsure how to respond to the carrier’s statement, and then continued with what he’d been about to say before the carriers barged in.

“Nagato,” he spoke in a calm voice, “You’re going to handle disciplining Iku. I’m afraid if I do it, I’ll turn her over to Kongo, who would use her at gunnery practice. Mutsu,” he addressed his Adjutant as Iku’s eyes widened at the implications of what he’d just said, “please get with Akashi and see to the repair of the commissary. And have the kitchen personnel get with Captain Blaskewicz so that their stocks can be replenished; add on my most heartfelt apologies for putting extra work on them.”

Both battleships nodded. Avers then turned to a quivering Akitsushima. He could tell the seaplane tender was highly regretting her involvement in the lunchtime chaos.

“Are you sorry?” he asked her.

Akitsushima nodded.

“Are you going to do it again?”

Akitsushima shook her head so rapidly she appeared to be a bobblehead doll.

“If you help maintenance clean up the mess the paint balloons left, we’ll call it even, okay?” Avers offered.

Akitsushima nodded, then collapsed in relief. Mutsu helped the quivering shipgirl to the nearby sofa and offered her a bottle of water; even the four paint-covered carriers appeared to feel sorry for her.

“Admiral, the paint appears to be water-based, so it should clean up fairly easily,” Hiyo stated, and Avers nodded.

“Thank you for that information. You four,” he motioned to the carriers, “go get cleaned up and take the rest of the day off.”

The four carriers didn’t need to be told twice; they scurried from the room before the Admiral could change his mind.

~~~

Zuikaku wearily pushed open the door to her room, leaning back against it with a sigh once she shut it.

“What happened?!” Shokaku looked over at her sister ship and gasped.

Zuikaku explained the events of the previous few hours, and Shokaku shook her head.

“Go get cleaned up, Zuikaku-nee,” she advised. “And besides, those colors are all wrong for you.” She gave her sister an impish grin, causing Zuikaku to huff in frustration and flounce off to the bathroom. When she emerged twenty minutes later, still planning her outfit for her date, she noticed the room was lit by numerous candles, and a white sheet now covered the futon that she and Shokaku-nee slept on. When her eyes lit upon her sister, her mouth went dry in a heartbeat. Shokaku appeared to be wearing a knee-length silk kimono and little else. She smiled and approached her sister ship.

“You’ve had a rough day, Zuikaku-nee…instead of going out, I thought we could stay in and perhaps practice camouflage schemes?”

She gestured to the side of the futon, where Zuikaku saw several bottles of flavored body paint…all in the various shades that had been part of her final camouflage scheme. The look of lust she gave Shokaku was all the confirmation the older carrier needed.

~~~

Most of the fleet sat mesmerized by the movie playing on the large screen in the theater.

“Wow…” Tenryu breathed as she watched the action.

“We need to have a movie night,” Blaskewicz informed her. “There are so many action movies I think you’d love. Have you ever seen a Schwarzenegger movie?”

“A what-zen-what-er movie?” Tenryu turned and looked at him like he’d suddenly started speaking fluent Swedish.

“An Arnold Schwarzenegger movie,” her boyfriend replied. “You know, the guy who used to be Governor of California.”

“He was an actor?” Tenryu looked surprised. “Huh…was he any good?”

Blaskewicz scoffed. “One of the best! Commando, the Terminator series, True Lies…all of them great.” He looked uncertain. “Of course, the language in most of those probably isn’t appropriate for certain audiences…” he trailed off and looked past Tenryu to where DesDiv 6 was happily munching away on popcorn, secure in the knowledge that ice cream was in store once the movie was over.

“So, we’d have to either watch these movies after the girls are in bed, or get Tatsuta to babysit?”

Blaskewicz nodded.

Tenryu grinned. “But does the fact we have to watch them alone also mean we get to snuggle without inquisitive voices interrupting us?”

Blaskewicz nodded again. “Of course, it does, Ten.”

The light cruiser grinned back and laid her head on his shoulder, causing him to raise his arm and wrap it around her, enabling her to snuggle into his chest. She loved hearing him call her by the nickname he’d given her. She glanced briefly around the theater and saw she was being watched by another pair of eyes: Kiso. When the two made eye contact, the Kuma-class vessel merely nodded and resumed watching the film. Tenryu huffed and snuggled closer to Blaskewicz. Kiso’s nod signified something: it hadn’t been a nod between shipgirls…it had been a nod from one warrior to another. A rivalry – heretofore unknown – would soon be settled.

~~~

Avers sighed as he closed the door to his quarters. He hadn’t had such an exhausting day since…well, since the Summoning Chamber Incident. He set his cap on the small table in the hall and continued into the living room, unfastening his jacket as he went. He stopped when he saw the piping hot pizza on the coffee table.

That wasn’t there when I changed clothes earlier, he thought. How did…?

“Heyyy…”

Avers’ train of thought was interrupted by a familiar voice, and when he turned to look in the direction the voice had come from, said train of thought went off the rails and plunged straight down into a thousand-foot gorge.

“Ooofa,” He muttered, having temporarily lost the power of speech.

Kongo stood in the doorway to his bedroom, bracing a hand on either side of the doorframe. Her hair was undone from its normal design and loose and flowing about her shoulders, while the white dress shirt she wore had the collar and the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up several times. A pair of the most exquisite legs Avers had ever seen in his life extended from below the bottom of the shirt and ended in bare feet.

His girlfriend was a vision out of every straight man’s most erotic fantasies…and all Avers currently had the strength for was some serious cuddling.

Kongo walked over to Avers, took his arm, and led him over to the sofa. She pushed him down on it, plopped down beside him, then reached over and grabbed a slice of pizza. Avers bit back a groan as she swung her legs over his lap; the shirt had ridden up enough so that he could see Kongo was wearing only a pair of white cotton bikini panties underneath. The fast battleship grinned at his reaction and held the pizza slice to his mouth.

“Eat, Teitoku-des,” she ordered.

They took turns eating, and when the slice was finished, Kongo curled up against him and sighed contentedly.

“What brought this on?” Avers asked.

“I figured you needed it, Dess,” the fast battleship replied. “You looked seriously stressed-out at lunch today.”

“Gee, I can’t imagine why,” the Admiral quipped drily, and Kongo giggled.

“No family, Dess?” she asked after a brief period of silence.

Avers was taken off-guard by her sudden change in subject. “Pardon?”

The fast battleship waved her hand around the sparsely decorated living room. Aside from the basic furniture, one would never know it was an Admiral’s living quarters. “You don’t have any family?”

The Admiral shook his head. “My grandparents are dead…no aunts, uncles, or cousins…and my parents and I are not on good terms.”

“They didn’t want you to join the Navy, Dess?” Kongo gazed up at him.

Avers hadn’t planned on opening this can of worms, but if he was going to date someone, they deserved to know about his past…not to mention when Kongo looked at him with such pleading eyes, he could refuse her nothing. Not that he would ever admit that, but he figured she’d learn about his weakness in due time. He sighed.

“It’s a long story.”

Kongo snuggled in closer. “I have all night, Dess.”

Avers sighed. “I’m from a little town called Wolf Point, Montana. My parents own a hardware store in town, and my father is a member of the City Council. When I was six, my parents told me my job around the house was to take out the trash each evening. Nobody said a word about a kid doing this for his parents because it’s normal to give kids some responsibilities when they’re young.”

Kongo nodded as Avers continued.

“When I was eight, my jobs around the house expanded to washing dishes every night and mowing the grass every weekend. When I was ten, my parents’ birthday present to me was that I was now old enough to be a productive member of the household. If I didn’t get the daily chores done – washing dishes and garbage detail on the weekdays and those plus mowing the lawn on Saturdays – then I didn’t eat. My father added on that if I was going to continue living with them, then I would work for room and board.”

Kongo pulled back and looked at Avers. “That’s child abuse, Dess!” she gasped.

Avers shrugged. “I didn’t really look at it that way…they never laid a hand on me; probably because my father didn’t want to chance any bruises or marks being seen.” He smirked. “That and I guess he figured if I couldn’t work if I was hurt.”

“That still doesn’t make it right!” Kongo countered, and Avers nodded. “I know, sweetheart.” The fast battleship beamed at the term of endearment and brushed her lips over his before snuggling up to him again. “Continue, Teitoku-des.”

“When I was twelve my duties expanded even further: from that point on I worked in the hardware store after school and on Saturday afternoons. Saturday mornings I mowed the grass at home, then my father would come home at lunch, ensure it was done properly, and then take me back to the store with him until about six at night. So, between my chores, working at the store, and schoolwork you can guess how much time I had for a childhood or a high school social life,” he laughed.

Kongo hugged him in response. Avers patted her arm and tried to ignore how her scantily clad proximity was affecting certain parts of his body.

“When I graduated high school, my father was already talking about how I was going to continue working in the store and living at home. I had other plans. When I turned seventeen before starting my senior year of high school, I told him how much better it would be if I went to college and got a Business Degree…”

~~~

“Dad, can I talk to you for a few minutes?” Seventeen-year-old Matt Avers stood in the living room doorway while his father watched the ten o’clock news.

Garrett Avers merely grunted assent and his son walked into the room and sat down on the sofa.

“I want to go to college after high school and get my Business Degree,” Matt could see his father was about to outright refuse but paused when he heard the words ‘Business Degree’.

“Go on,” the elder Avers stated.

“With a Business Degree, I might be able to help you expand the store, or even open another location within a few years of my graduation. It would mean more money in the long run.”

“You’d be up to your eyeballs in debt to me,” his father warned. “If you think I’m gonna give you a free ride to go to school and party for four years, think again.”

“I can apply for scholarships,” Matt replied. “And you’ve seen my grades…I’ve got a good chance of getting one or two of them.”

Garrett nodded begrudgingly; Matt’s grades were excellent, he had to give him that much. He sighed.

“Fine…but don’t think you’re going to school across the country; Montana State’s good enough, you got that? And don’t think I’m not going to add up all the time you’re away at school and not working at the store…you’ll pay me back every minute of that time off you took to earn that degree. Remember, I sheltered, fed, and clothed you for six years before you started earning your keep, and you still have quite a bit to work off. While I think this is a waste of time, if it brings me more money in the long run and long as I don’t have to pay for any of it, it’s all right with me.”

Matt nodded, and Garrett motioned him upstairs.

“You can apply for the scholarships. Now go to bed.”

As Matt headed up the stairs, he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. Step One was complete.

~~~

“Did you get the scholarships, Dess?” Kongo asked.

Avers nodded. “Five of them…they covered my entire time in college. My parents didn’t have to pay a cent. They dropped me off at my assigned dorm at Montana State and didn’t even bother seeing if I settled in all right. But I didn’t care…I was free from them for the next four years.” He grinned. “As soon as their car vanished from sight, I walked straight over to the Navy ROTC building and signed up.”

Kongo giggled. “And your father was none the wiser, Dess?”

Avers nodded. “He didn’t even know what I was studying until I graduated.” He laughed. “I invited my parents to my graduation…and what a shitstorm that turned out to be…”

~~~

“Didn’t you ask if you could just have your diploma mailed to you?” Avers’ father complained. “You don’t need to go through the ceremonial crap.”

“Too late now, Dad,” Matt replied, glancing at his watch. “Listen, I need to go line up with the other graduates, so I’ll let you go find your seats.”

“Whatever,” his father growled. “Let’s get this over with so we can go home. Do you know how much money I’m losing by having to close the store so your mother and I can come down and watch this shindig? This better be worth it.”

Avers sighed, conscious of all the dirty looks his father was getting, not that said individual cared. “Dad, I can guarantee you it will be something to see…I’ll meet up with you two afterwards.”

Avers ran off and met up with the rest of his unit.

“Thanks for storing my dress whites for me, sir,” Avers told his Commanding Officer.

“Not a problem, Avers,” Captain Marcus Robertson replied. He’d been informed of Avers’ situation three months into the Midshipman’s freshman year and had been looking forward to this day for a long time. “Are your parents here?”

Avers nodded. “They have no idea what’s about to happen.”

Robertson laughed. “I can’t wait to meet your father…I’m sure it’ll be an interesting experience.”

“To say the least, sir,” Avers replied, putting the final touches on his uniform.

~~~

Garrett Avers groaned as he saw a bunch of Navy officers come out to thunderous applause.

“Are we at the right ceremony, or is that kid’s group after these people?”

“I have no idea,” Catherine Avers replied. “I guess we’ll have to wait and find out.” She shook her head. “He should’ve asked if he could get the diploma mailed to him.”

“That’s what I told him, but did he listen? Of course not,” Garrett growled. “That boy better enjoy this while it lasts; he’s got a shitload of debt to work off when he gets back home.”

“Ladies and gentlemen!” a Navy Captain was addressing the audience. “Thank you for attending today’s graduation ceremony. Allow me to present the Montana State University Navy Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Class of 2006!” He turned to the assembled Midshipmen. “I will now administer your Commissioning Oath to you. Please raise your right hand.”

The oath-swearing went off without a hitch, and Robertson then turned back to the audience.

“I will now call these fine young officers up one at a time to accept their diplomas.” He paused briefly. “Ensign Walter James Abbott!”

“Ensign Marion Jean Albert!”

“Ensign Jason Edward Andrewski!”

“Ensign William Lewis Appleton!”

“Ensign Roberta Shaleen Astrid!”

Garrett sighed as he watched the newly minted Ensigns come up and shake Robertson’s hand after saluting him.

“They’re only on the ‘A’s,” he complained to Catherine. “This is gonna take forever…”

It was then that the couple got the shock of their lives.

“Ensign Matthew Garrett Avers!”

~~~

Avers gave Robertson a parade-ground salute as he stepped up to accept his Bachelor of Arts in History. He grinned as he heard an enraged, “WHAT?!” from the audience, and held the grin for the remainder of the ceremony. When Robertson dismissed his class, he tossed his cap in the air with the rest of the class, knowing he’d just bought himself a further five years of freedom. After finding his cap, he met up with Robertson and they worked their way through the crowd to find Avers’ parents.

As he approached his parents, Avers grinned at them. His mother was looking at him with deep disapproval, while his father was turning a very nice shade of puce.

“You ungrateful little shit, you lied to me!” Garrett Avers roared. “You said you were going here to get a Business Degree, not to put on a uniform and play sailor!” He noticed Captain Robertson, who was standing nearby with a look of disgust on his face. “And what’s your problem? Who the hell are you?”

“Mr. and Mrs. Avers, I presume?” Robertson smiled thinly. “I’m Captain Marcus Robertson, Commanding Officer of the Navy ROTC program here at Montana State. You should be very proud of your son…he’s first in his class of Midshipmen.”

Garrett scoffed. “This boy was supposed to get a Business Degree and then come back home and work in my store. He’s got a debt to work off, and by God, he’s gonna do it!”

“What debt has he incurred?” Robertson asked.

“We had to feed him, clothe him, and give him shelter, didn’t we?” Garrett asked. “I tallied it up…every cent we’ve ever spent on him since we brought him home from the hospital is what he has to pay back.”

Robertson looked at Garrett like he had a screw loose. “You do know your son has committed to serving at least five years on active duty? He’s not going to be home working in your store for a long time.”

“He can teach here, can’t he?” Garrett asked. “He can come home and work on the weekends.”

Robertson chuckled. “I don’t think you understand, sir…the United States Navy doesn’t assign personnel to stations upon request of their parents. Depending on where Ensign Avers has chosen – and since he graduated at the top of his class, he has his pick of assignments – he might be on the other side of the world.”

Garrett Avers turned on his son like a viper. “Did you get a station you chose?”

Avers nodded. “As it just so happens, I got my first choice.”

“And that is?” Garrett snapped.

“U.S.S. Enterprise, CVN-65,” Avers grinned.

“And the Enterprise is currently preparing to depart for a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf,” Robertson added, “so you’ll probably want to say goodbye soon.”

“No need,” Garrett Avers replied, “we’re leaving now.” He stormed off but turned back to give one final shot at his son. “You know where to send half of your paycheck…I’ll expect it by the fifth of each month.”

“Yeah, I’ll get right on that,” Avers muttered, rolling his eyes.

Catherine Avers looked at her son disapprovingly. “I’ve always told you to do as your father says, no questions asked, and look what happens the second we leave you at school without any supervision.” She gestured at Avers’ uniform and shook her head. “Enjoy these years abroad, Matthew…you won’t have any time to travel once you get home.” With those parting words, she headed off after her husband.

“Guess I don’t need to bother writing!” Avers called to her, laughter evident in his voice. His mother, for her part, didn’t even react.

~~~

“And that was it,” Avers stated. “I listed Captain Robertson as my Next-Of-Kin in case something ever happened and headed off to Surface Warfare Training. Once I was finished with that, I headed for the Enterprise and never looked back.” He paused, remembering. “I didn’t hear from my parents again until right before my five years was up…”

~~~

The phone was ringing as Avers walked into his apartment in Boston. After his tour aboard the Enterprise, he was reassigned to California, and did further sea tours aboard the missile cruiser Antietam and the destroyer Arleigh Burke, along with shore tours in both London and Genoa. His current assignment was a Weapons Officer at the Boston Navy Yard, and he was saddened that it was coming to an end. He made a mental note to inform his CO the following morning that he wished to re-up.

“Avers,” he answered the phone.

“Finally! You know how much money I had to spend tracking you down, boy?” his father’s voice snarled through the line. “Don’t worry, though,” he informed Avers smugly, “I tacked it on to your debt, so I’ll get it back eventually.”

“What do you want?” Avers snapped; he was tired and not in the mood for family-related crap.

“I’ve been keeping track of how long you have left playing sailor,” Garrett Avers stated, “and it looks to me that your time is almost up…I think you’ve got what, three weeks remaining?” Avers could feel the smirk over the phone line. “Get packed up, boy…your mother and I will be there in three weeks to collect you. That debt of yours grows higher by the day…especially since you haven’t sent us one cent in five years! What did I tell you about your paycheck the day you graduated? And once again, you didn’t listen. You’ll learn one day, hopefully.”

“From you? I wouldn’t count on it,” Avers snarled.

“You’ve gotten quite a mouth on you since you’ve been living on your own,” Garrett stated. “That’ll change once you move back home. Again, three weeks left and then you’ll be back in Montana. Enjoy them while they last.”

The phone went dead. Avers shook his head and went to take a shower, already making plans in his head.

The following morning, he knocked on the door of his CO’s office.

“Come in, Lieutenant,” Captain Evan Lowe motioned the Weapons Officer inside. “Did you make your decision on whether or not you’re going to re-up?”

Avers nodded. “Let’s do the paperwork now, if we can, sir.”

“Excellent!” Lowe smiled. “I don’t mind telling you, Lieutenant, with all the glowing fit-reps you’ve gotten, O-4 is probably not too far away for you.”

“Hope so, sir,” Avers smiled.

“You know, another overseas posting would put you in a great position for deep selection,” Lowe hinted. “Would that be something you’d consider?”

“Always wanted to see Japan, sir,” Avers replied, not knowing he’d just changed his life forever.

~~~

“And the rest is history,” Avers finished. “The officer who rented my old apartment in Boston wrote me and told me that when he answered the door and told my Dad I’d re-upped and taken duty in Japan, my Dad lost it right there in the hallway.” He laughed, remembering. “He called the cops and my Dad got arrested for disturbing the peace.” He shrugged. “I imagine all the costs of that went into my debt as well, but I don’t care…I doubt I’ll ever go back there.”

Kongo looked at him curiously. “You don’t want to see your family once the war is over, Dess?”

Avers ran his hand over her cheek, and the fast battleship leaned into his touch. When she looked up and met his eyes, he smiled.

“My family’s here.”

Kongo’s response was to straddle his lap and kiss him deeply and Avers decided to think of nothing else but how great it felt to kiss her.

~~~

Two hours later Avers awoke from a nap. His neck cricked, painfully voicing its protest at being forced to sleep on the sofa instead of the comfy bed in the next room. He looked down to see Kongo curled against him, a contented smile on her face. His slight movement caused the beautiful warship to snuggle closer and sigh.

“My Teitoku-des,” she murmured sleepily. The Admiral smiled and kissed her hair in response. This brief token of affection awoke her.

“Heyyy…” she greeted him in a soft voice.

“Hey yourself,” Avers replied. “Hungry?” he offered her a slice of cold pizza. The battleship nodded and dug in. After they’d each eaten two slices, Kongo rose unsteadily to her feet, still partly asleep and half-drunk on the three bouts of beyond-incredible sex they’d had on the couch earlier.

“Bedtime, Dess,” she stated walking toward Avers’ bedroom. She paused in the doorway long enough to shrug off the shirt she’d been wearing and then send Avers a look full of promise over her shoulder.

The shirt removal was more than enough to have the Admiral jump up and practically run after her.

~~~

The following morning, Iku reported for clean-up duty. The submarine was not pleased at all, but she knew if she didn’t show up, she’d be in even more trouble. That might even mean having her computer privileges taken away, and she couldn’t deal without her collection of naughty selfies she’d swiped off Instagram. Not to mention her hacking skills had managed to score her some pics from her fellow shipgirls’ private files, which would prove useful for blackmail at some point in the future. Some people will do anything to keep their secrets secret, she giggled to herself.

The other members of the clean-up detail were already there, and Akitsushima was chatting with the Warrant Officer in charge. Iku shook her head at the seaplane carrier’s apparent cozying up to the boss and slumped against the wall.

“Sucks, doesn’t it?” a voice next to her stated.

Iku growled inwardly. Leave me alone…I don’t wanna talk to anyone…I just wanna get my punishment over with so I can go back to my room and ohmygodIthinkI’minlove!

The young woman standing beside her was something straight out of the lewdmarine’s dirtiest fantasies. Long silky black hair done up in a regulation style, flawless skin, pouty lips, perfect breasts, an ass to die for, and incredible legs, all wrapped up in the uniform of a Petty Officer 2nd Class.

“Huh?” for the first time she could remember, Iku had lost the ability to form coherent sentences.

“Cleaning detail,” the young woman muttered. “This is my third time. I mean, can I help it if my Lieutenant blatantly displays day in and day out that he doesn’t have a brain in his head? Jeez.” She extended her hand to Iku. “Aiya Komura.”

“I-Iku,” the submarine stammered.

Aiya reached into her uniform shirt and pulled out a business card. Iku tried not to drool and secretly yearned to be Aiya’s hand at that moment. The young woman saw Iku’s eyes watching her every move and smirked, letting the submarine know she’d been caught.

“Looks like we’re about to start working,” she stated. “Come to this address tonight around 1800, ok? You’re not restricted to base as part of your punishment, are you?”

Iku shook her head.

“Cool,” Aiya replied. “See you tonight, then.”

With that she strolled off, a seductive swing to her hips as she did so. Iku looked at the address on the card and tried very hard not to squee with glee.

~~~

Tenryu whistled as she headed down to gunnery practice. As she neared the docks, she noticed Kiso was approaching, going in the opposite direction. The two light cruisers passed without saying anything, but something else passed between them as well…an understanding. Tenryu put it out of her mind as she arrived at the gunnery range, but she resolved to do something about it soon.

If people thought it strange that Tenryu began wearing her combat gear 24/7 after that day, no one commented on it. Tenryu herself didn’t think it was strange, either; she was just staying prepared for the inevitable confrontation.

And it would happen soon.

~~~

That evening, Iku arrived at the address on the card she’d been given. She was pleasantly surprised to find it was a large house, set back from the road behind a private fence. She’d had to ring to be let in when she arrived; the gate simply opened when she announced who she was, as there was no one there to greet her.

She walked up to the house, fully conscious of the outfit she’d chosen. The panty-length red plaid mini-dress with the starched white collar and black tie – topped off with black knee-high stockings, shiny black Mary Jane shoes, and her hair in twin pigtails – made her look like a dirty schoolteacher. She hoped Aiya liked it, and that the vibe she’d gotten from the young woman earlier in the day was correct.

Iku knocked on the doorframe upon reaching the porch. The door slid open, but there was no one there to greet her. The submarine shrugged and stepped inside, the door sliding shut behind her.

“Oh, fuck me…” Aiya’s voice moaned in approval behind her. Iku turned and her inner lewdmarine went completely insane.

The young woman she’d met earlier looked positively delectable. Aiya’s shoes matched her own and her hair was also in twin pigtails, but the similarities ended there. Her new friend wore a black corset over a black fishnet top, the sleeves of which extended all the way down to form fingerless gloves on her hands. A pink plaid micro-skirt barely covered her ass, her legs bore white knee-high stockings, and Goth-style makeup adorned her face.

Iku whimpered and proceeded to completely ruin the skimpy underwear she’d worn.

“You like the place?” Aiya asked. “My stepfather gave it to me to use while I’m stationed here.”

“I-It’s yours?” Iku wondered, surprised that a Petty Officer would have such nice living quarters.

Aiya nodded. “My father’s a JMSDF Captain up in Maizuru. He made me join the JMSDF when I became too much of a party girl in school.” She shrugged. “I like dancing, drinking, and rough, kinky sex with hot girls…sue me.”

Iku’s brain temporarily short-circuited and Aiya giggled.

“Anyway, my parents divorced when I was twelve and my Mom married my stepfather…he adores me and spoils me rotten, much to my father’s displeasure.”

“What’s your stepfather do?” Iku wondered. Aiya shrugged.

“He’s some Vice President with Mitsubishi Shipbuilding in Kobe. I dunno much about it…I’ve never really asked him.”

Iku smiled softly. “I-I was built in that shipyard…” she trailed off, remembering glimpses of her past life.

Aiya grinned. “See? We’re connected already. I hope you didn’t have plans this weekend…” she trailed off, her voice heavy with promise.

“Not now!” Iku growled, seconds before the submarine attacked her prey.

~~~

On Monday, light cruiser Kiso arose with the dawn, taking special care to prepare her combat gear for the task ahead. Today was the day…she had waited long enough.

~~~

Imuya rose early like usual, sitting by the window in her room with the day’s first cup of tea. It had been a rough weekend, as Iku had disappeared. The only thing she’d told her roommates Goya and Hachi was that she’d been invited out by a friend and to not wait up for her. That had been on Friday evening and the submarine hadn’t been seen since. Imuya sighed and finished her cup of tea before dressing and going next door to Iku’s room.

Hachi answered Imuya’s soft knock.

“Any word?” Imuya asked.

“Nein,” Hachi replied, “nothing.”

Imuya sighed and sat down at one of the desks in the room. “This isn’t like her…yes, she’s prone to rash acts, but to disappear for going on three days?”

Suddenly the door creaked open and the submarine in question staggered in drunkenly, causing everyone to gape at her. Her outfit was wrinkled, one of her stockings was ripped, her hair looked like a bird’s nest, and she had bite marks all over her body. She looked thoroughly fucked and was wearing the biggest grin any of them had ever seen.

“Where have you been?!” Imuya demanded.

“What happened to you?!” Hachi gaped.

Iku giggled drunkenly. “Been with a friend…I’m gonna go to sleep now.”

The submarine collapsed face-down on her bunk. Seconds later, soft snores could be heard.

The three other submarines could only stare at each other in astonishment.

~~~

Tenryu was eating lunch in the commissary when she felt a gun barrel being pressed to her head.

“There can be only one,” Kiso intoned gravely. “Any last words?”

“Not really,” Tenryu replied, before ducking down and bringing up one of her 5.5-inch guns.

Kiso dodged to the side as the gun went off, blasting a large hole in the wall. She returned fire as soon as she hit the floor, turning the bench Tenryu had been sitting on into splinters. The two light cruisers scrambled to their feet, the brief respite allowing everyone else in the room to run out screaming at the top of their lungs.

“Not bad,” Tenryu grudgingly acknowledged her opponent. Kiso nodded in turn.

“I reciprocate,” she responded. “I’m guessing you learned your moves from the film we watched recently?”

“Of course,” Tenryu replied.

The pair smiled briefly at each other, then the battle was on.

~~~

Blaskewicz was making his way towards the commissary for lunch. From what he’d seen of the week’s menu, lunch that day was broccoli-cheese casserole, and he was looking forward to comparing the commissary’s version to that of his mother’s. Somehow, he didn’t think the former stood a chance.

His peaceful walk was interrupted by DesDiv 6 tearing up to him, Ikazuchi practically in tears.

“What? What happened?” he asked.

Inazuma babbled frantically and pointed in the direction of the commissary. Blaskewicz – whose attention had been grabbed the second Inazuma mentioned Tenryu’s name – looked in that direction and saw a piece of one wall crumble before his eyes. He cringed. And we just finished repairing the place after last time, too…

“Aw, jeez…” he muttered, and ran after DesDiv 6 as they raced back to the commissary.

~~~

Meanwhile, Avers and Kongo were also heading towards the same destination. Their progress was hampered by the fact Avers’ incredibly attractive companion kept stopping to kiss him, something the Admiral wasn’t too comfortable with due to being on duty, but at the same time who was he to refuse his girlfriend anything? And besides, he was the Admiral, so he kind of made the rules. It’s good having four stars, he thought as Kongo stopped them again.

A distant rumble of thunder was heard, and the couple glanced up at the clear sky.

“What?” Kongo tilted her head cutely.

“Probably Yubari and Akashi at it again,” Avers reassured her, but Kongo wasn’t so easily deterred.

“Or it could be that, Dess,” she pointed in the direction of the commissary.

Avers looked and saw a large crowd outside the building, which had ominous thuds and crashes coming from inside.

The Admiral groaned and took off running. As he arrived, he noticed money changing hands and Mancini taking bets, and then noticed Blaskewicz staring inside with a worried look on his face. He came to attention and saluted Avers as the Admiral came up beside him.

“Who started it this time?” Avers inwardly cursed himself at how resigned his voice sounded.

“Apparently Kiso started in on Tenryu for some reason,” the Supply Officer responded. “Nobody knows why.”

Avers growled in anger and stormed inside. As he walked into the dining area, he saw two light cruisers locked in what appeared to be life-or-death combat. As he was about to break the fight up, Tenryu’s sword shot out of its sheathe, the handle hitting Kiso dead-center in the forehead, stunning the light cruiser, who was unable to react to Tenryu grabbing the sword and slamming her opponent to the ground with the blade at her neck and a 5.5-inch gun pressed to her forehead.

“Bang,” Tenryu announced, “I win.”

Kiso scowled. “Using your sword like that was cheating,” she groused.

“And that’s why you still need training in the art of being a total badass,” Tenryu smirked. “Unless you’d care to go again and have your ass handed to you a second time?” She paused, then looked around, seeing the devastated dining area. “What the hell?”

Plaster was crumbling from the walls around the numerous shell holes left by the impact of 5.5-inch practice rounds; inert though said rounds were, they still packed quite a bit of kinetic energy. The cooking staff peeked out warily from the kitchen, which – thankfully – appeared to be intact. The same could not be said for several of the benches and tables, which were now little more than kindling littering the floor. And standing in the doorway, taking in the scene of destruction, was the Admiral, who appeared to be holding onto his temper by a fraying thread.

“We just finished fixing this place up from the last incident we had in here,” he spoke calmly, “and now you two go and have a gun duel that – from what I hear – was straight out of The Matrix or something.” He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I don’t care why it happened…I don’t care what the cause of this was…you two are going to help clean this up. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!” Avers screamed the last sentence, causing both Tenryu and Kiso to jump in surprise.

Avers watched as the two light cruisers nodded rapidly before he nodded and stormed back outside.

Tenryu and Kiso looked at each other nervously.

“I think we might’ve overdone it,” Tenryu muttered.

“Yeah, maybe,” Kiso replied.

The door banged open and another person ran in.

“What is the matter with you two?!” Tatsuta exclaimed, running over and getting between them. She checked them both over and when she was satisfied neither shipgirl had any major injuries, she rounded on Kiso.

“You’re in deep trouble,” she growled.

Kiso smirked. “So, punish me,” she goaded. Tenryu looked stunned when lust flared in Tatsuta’s eyes at Kiso’s comment.

“I will…later,” she promised, before turning to her sister and blushing. “Um, did I not tell you Kiso and I are dating?”

“This is the first I’m hearing of it,” Tenryu replied. She looked over at Kiso, who looked quite nervous, and grinned. “But she held her own in this battle just now, so she’s all right in my book. But just so you know,” she addressed the light cruiser, “you hurt my sister, you die, got it?”

Kiso nodded. “Fair enough.”

“All right, then…rock on; you’ve got my blessing,” Tenryu headed for the door. She was almost outside when she noticed the other two cruisers weren’t with her. Turning back her eyes widened.

“Jeez…get a room, you two! People eat in here!” she yelled loudly, causing her sister and Kiso to break apart, blushing furiously at being caught.

“Gotcha!” Tenryu laughed and ran outside.

~~~

Avers walked back to his office after a meal at Hosho’s restaurant. He’d managed to find out the cause of Tenryu and Kiso’s little feud, and had already planned out the next entry for The List:

17) The movie Equilibrium is hereby added to the list of banned films.

With that done, it was time to turn his mind to a more pressing matter. He didn’t know what Iku was up to, but the fact that the submarine had literally gotten down on her knees and begged to be assigned to the clean-up detail for the commissary was somewhat unsettling.

Chapter Text

One week before Valentine’s Day, Tenryu herded DesDiv 6 into the classroom that had been specified on the pamphlet. A class on night battles was being offered, and as her charges had shown interest in attending, the light cruiser figured there was no harm in tagging along and seeing what all was being covered. She’d been somewhat leery at first, but upon discovering that the instructor was Kinugasa and not Sendai – who, it was well-known was an expert in both kinds of night battles, not that Tenryu knew from first-hand experience, mind you – she relented and said yes to the proposed outing.

As the group entered the classroom, they noticed quite a few of the destroyers were there, along with the four Agano sisters, and even Aoba and Mogami, who appeared to be arguing over why they were attending.

“Should we go over and say hello, nanodesu?” Inazuma asked.

Tenryu was about to reply but was stopped by further bickering from the two heavy cruisers.

“Kumano got hit because she was trying to stop a torpedo from hitting one of the supertankers you were escorting!” Aoba snapped.

“Oh, don’t you start, Ms. ‘Mistook a Ne-class for Chokai’ again!” Mogami shot back.

“Let’s just find our seats,” Tenryu replied, ushering her girls over to a cluster of five desks together.

~~~

“Thanks for attending this class with me, Mutsuki-chan, Yudachi-chan!” Fubuki enthused.

“I’m happy I get to spend time with you, Fubuki-chan!” Mutsuki gave her friend a cheery smile.

“With all the patrol duties we’ve had lately, it’s been a while since we all got to do something together, poi,” Yudachi put in.

Further conversation was halted by Kinugasa walking into the classroom, her laptop in her hand.

“What a nice turnout!” she stated happily. “A little young, but that’s fine!”

She went over to the lectern and set her computer down, hooking it up to the projector system before turning it on, whereupon the screen showed the title page to a slideshow.

“All right, let’s get started!”

A single click of a button later, and a new slide appeared, showing a picture of two women…

“Oh my, nanodesu,” Inazuma reached over to cover Ikazuchi’s eyes.

“Bozhe moi,” Hibiki muttered, doing the same for Akatsuki while reaching for her flask with her other hand. She huffed in annoyance as Tenryu’s hands covered her eyes and Inazuma’s.

“Let’s go…now,” DesDiv 6’s mom-boat ordered, casting a dark look at Kinugasa.

~~~

“Thanks for attending Night Battles: Pleasing Your Partner!” Kinugasa grinned, finishing the class and shutting down the projector. She glanced around the room to see how she’d fared with her audience and saw varied reactions. Fubuki, Mutsuki, and Yudachi were doing impressions of very ripe tomatoes as they got up and left, and Mogami looked somewhat shell-shocked. Kagero and Kasumi were giving each other very suggestive grins and trying to hold in laughter, while Aoba, firmly engrossed in her ‘Intrepid Reporter-chan’ role, was shaking her hand and complaining of writer’s cramp.

~~~

“W-Well,” Fubuki laughed nervously as the three of them walked back to their dorm, “t-that was…”

“Poi…” Yudachi trailed off, still attempting to process everything she’d seen in class.

“Fubuki-chan…did you know that’s what some girls do with each other?” Mutsuki asked nervously.

“Ehh, not really, no…” Fubuki trailed off, embarrassed. “I mean, I knew a little bit, but a lot of what Kinugasa-san talked about today I’d never ever heard of before.”

“Poi…”

“Me neither,” Mutsuki murmured, then laughed. “When Kinugasa said this class would be an educational experience, she wasn’t lying, was she?”

“Nope!” Fubuki giggled, although it was obvious to both girls they were avoiding talking about what was really bothering them. Silence reigned – except for a couple more ‘poi’s – until Mutsuki sighed.

“Fubuki-chan…” she began nervously as the trio entered their dorm room, “with the things Kinugasa-san showed in class today, I started thinking.”

“Thinking about what, Mutsuki-chan?”

“About what it might be like…with you.” The kind destroyer looked at her best friend, tears brimming in her eyes as though she expected to be rejected. “I love you, Fubuki-chan…”

The destroyer in question smiled shyly. “I-I love you, too, Mutsuki-chan!”

“What about me?” the indignant voice beside them made them remember they weren’t exactly alone.

“We love you too, Yudachi-chan!” Mutsuki exclaimed. “Don’t we, Fubuki-chan?”

“Of course, we do!” the Special-Type destroyer enthused. “How could we not?”

“You-you’re just saying that-poi!” the white-haired destroyer whimpered, tears brimming in her eyes.

“No, we’re not! We really mean it!” Fubuki hastened to assure her.

“Yeah!” Mutsuki put in. “But if you don’t believe us…maybe we could prove it to you?”

“How?”

Mutsuki and Fubuki looked at each other, holding a silent conversation with their eyes. Something like that would change everything…did they really want to risk it?

Almost simultaneously, they nodded. Yes…it was worth it.

In response to Yudachi’s question, the two destroyers grabbed one of her hands and pulled her over to Mutsuki’s bed.

~~~

“All right, I guess that’s it for now…thanks for coming, ladies,” Mancini dismissed the Training Division group meeting. He let out a sigh, knowing it was now or never. “Oh,” he added as though just remembering something, “Nachi, Haguro, and Myoko, I need to speak with the three of you…could you please stay after for a few minutes?”

The three cruisers in question looked puzzled, but nodded as the other ships filed out, Ashigara looking somewhat miffed that she hadn’t been included with her sisters. Mancini thought about the possibility of her listening at the door, but Tone calling her to come with her and Chikuma put a rest to that notion. Mancini flashed Tone a grateful look as the door shut; the heavy cruiser, knowing about his plan already, gave him an encouraging thumbs-up. Once the office door shut, Mancini turned to the other Myoko-class ships and retook his seat behind his desk, pausing for a moment to gather his thoughts before smiling at them.

“I’m gonna let you know up front: this is about a personal matter,” he informed the three shipgirls as they looked at each other uncertainly. “The thing is, I really like your sister, and I wanna do something really nice for her on Valentine’s Day to let her know I’m interested in her. I need two things from you. First off, I’d like your permission to ask her out.”

At this statement, Nachi looked stunned, Myoko quirked an eyebrow, and Haguro looked like she wanted to squeal, ‘aww, how sweet!’.

“Why would you need our permission to ask her out?” Myoko asked, obviously not following Mancini’s train of thought.

“You guys are her family, and I wanna make sure you’re okay with this before I go ahead with it,” the Training Officer replied. “Ashigara’s not like the other women I’ve dated…and not just because she’s got the strength to turn me into the consistency of salsa if I ever do something stupid and hurt her,” he amended. Haguro giggled at this statement, Nachi looked hard-pressed not to laugh, and even Myoko cracked a small smile.

“I don’t have a problem with it,” Nachi stated, turning to Haguro and Myoko. “What about you two?”

Both cruisers shook their heads. “Ashigara needs someone, and each attempt she makes is getting more and more desperate,” Haguro stated. “A couple nights ago I think I actually heard her mention the words ‘restraint’ and ‘subdue’.”

“In certain circumstances that might prove interesting…” Myoko stated absently, then trailed off when she noticed everyone else in the room looking at her in surprise. “But if she meant it in the sense of planning to kidnap someone it’s not right!” she hastily amended, blushing heavily.

“Anyways,” Nachi stressed the word, “I’d rather her find someone naturally than see her go Fatal Attraction on some poor guy.” She turned back to Mancini. “What’s the second thing you need from us?”

“Well, she’s never mentioned stuff she likes or anything that interests her,” the Training Officer replied. “I need to know what would make this the best date possible, so who better to turn to than her sisters?”

The three heavy cruisers looked impressed. Nachi nodded in approval. “You’re thorough…I’ll give you that,” she admitted. “All right, here’s some things you should know…”

~~~

Meanwhile, 1st Carrier Division was getting a well-deserved rest. Kaga was quietly reading Zero by Masatake Okumiya, her head in Akagi’s lap, while that carrier was browsing the internet on her tablet. The silence was abruptly broken by an ecstatic squeal from Akagi.

“YOU CAN CHARGE OFF-BASE MEALS TO EXPENSE REPORTS!”

Kaga’s eyes shot up from her book to gaze up at her girlfriend.

“Look!” Akagi continued excitedly, showing Kaga the tablet’s screen. “Do you know what this means?!”

“All the food we can eat,” Kaga breathed. “And no hits to our wallets, or Tenryu’s boyfriend complaining about supplies.”

“Ramen, sushi, curry…” Akagi trailed off, a happy little smile on her face and stars in her eyes.

“You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling,” Kaga encouraged her girlfriend, cupping Akagi’s face with her right hand. “I know a lovely little French restaurant about a half hour away.”

A thin line of drool ran down Akagi’s jaw. Kaga smiled slightly; for the normally stoic fleet carrier that was the equivalent of a sinful grin. She decided to elaborate and leaned down to murmur seductively.

“Roast duck…” she kissed Akagi’s neck, causing the fleet carrier to inhale sharply. “French bread…” she sucked on Akagi’s earlobe, and her girlfriend whimpered. Kaga decided to go in for the kill.

“Champagne…” she whispered the last suggestion directly into Akagi’s ear. Akagi’s response was to moan loudly before setting her tablet aside and attacking her girlfriend.

~~~

Valentine’s Day arrived, and with it came presents, surprises, and romance. Fubuki, Mutsuki, and Yudachi got a picnic lunch from Hosho’s restaurant and spent the day on the cliffs overlooking the sea, happy just being together. Iku and Aiya went to the mainland, where they spent hours wandering through a large shopping mall and then another two hours on a shopping spree in an adult bookstore before adjourning to Aiya’s home for the weekend. Mutsu surprised Nagato with breakfast in bed, after which the two spent a day at a local anime convention. They very nearly didn’t go at all after Nagato saw Mutsu in her cosplay outfit, but Mutsu managed to get her sister ship out the door with a breathy promise of ‘later’ and a reminder that anticipation would make what she had planned for that evening even more amazing.

~~~

That evening Avers was putting the final touches on his own surprise when his doorbell rang. He smiled, lighting the last candle before going to the door and opening it. He promptly lost the power of speech when he found his beautiful girlfriend standing there in a red dress that was the color of ripe cherries and about as conservative as a porno movie.

For her part, Kongo was barely refraining from drooling; the sight of her beloved Teitoku in a tuxedo was rapidly making her want to forgo dinner and move straight to dessert. As soon as Avers closed the door, she made to pounce on him, but the Admiral caught her and pinned her against the wall, kissing her senseless. When he felt her go limp, Avers trailed kisses down one side of her neck and up the other before pulling back to look into her eyes, which were now glazed and told him Kongo was extremely aroused.

“Hello, gorgeous,” he murmured. “You look exquisite tonight. I have to say this dress definitely makes Number Three on my list of My Top Five Favorite Outfits to See on My Beautiful Girlfriend.”

Kongo giggled. “What are the others?”

“Number Four is that black dress you wore in the Christmas talent show,” Avers replied, “and the Number Five slot is currently vacant.”

“What about the Top Two, Dess?”

“Number Two is the outfit you greeted me in the first night you spent here,” was the response, which caused the fast battleship to blush as red as her dress.

“And Number One?” Kongo was almost afraid to ask the question and inhaled sharply when Avers leaned in and whispered in her ear.

“My Number One Favorite Outfit of yours is simply your beautiful smile.”

Kongo’s knees buckled, and she whimpered. Avers grinned and pulled back. “But more about that later,” the Admiral stated, and guided Kongo to the small dinette set just off his kitchen, where a candlelit dinner awaited. The fast battleship smiled widely upon seeing it and turned to Avers, her eyes shining happily.

“You’re such a romantic, Teitoku-des!”

Avers shrugged. “Not so much romantic as aiming to spoil you rotten.”

His girlfriend’s response was an ecstatic squeal before she tackle-glomped him. Dinner was eaten much later that night.

~~~

Akagi looked glum as Kaga led her, Tosa, Ibuki, and the four Yamato sisters along the busy streets of Kure. Kaga had mentioned the loophole in the expense accounts to Blaskewicz, who promptly assured her that was by no means what it meant; any meals eaten off-base would be the patron’s responsibility to pay for, not the fleet’s. So rather than be a few billion yen in debt, Kaga was forced to inform her girlfriend that the dream of eating until they were about to burst on the Navy’s dime was just that…a dream. The expression on Akagi’s face when she’d told her could’ve been compared with a child who’d just been forced to watch an Abyssal chow down on a basket of puppies.

Kaga had spent the rest of that evening alternating between comforting a morose Akagi and privately vowing to make it up to her. And just when she’d given up all hope in doing so, she’d come upon the perfect solution. And when she mentioned the idea to Yamato, the super battleship had eagerly asked if she and Musashi could tag along. The idea had then spread to include Shinano and Kii. Then Ibuki heard about it and invited herself along after asking a quite-surprised Tosa to be her date. Kaga’s half-sister was still trying to absorb the fact she’d been given a second chance to live the life she was meant for – albeit in a slightly different manner – but seemed to be pleased that the pretty light carrier was interested in her.

“So, where are we going?” Shinano asked as they continued walking.

“It’s a Valentine’s Day surprise,” Kaga stated, smirking at a now-curious Akagi. “We’re almost there.”

The group rounded a corner and Kaga motioned ahead of them. “Here’s the surprise.”

“Country Gourmet?” Ibuki looked confused. “No offense, Kaga, but what’s so special about this place?”

Kaga turned to Akagi and nuzzled her ear. The fleet carrier gasped and blushed at the sudden display of public affection.

“Read the sign next to the door,” she murmured.

Akagi did so, and her brain appeared to short-circuit. “A-All Y-You C-C-Can Eat…” she stuttered before turning to her girlfriend. “Please don’t joke with me about something like this, Kaga-san…I don’t think I could take it.”

“It’s no joke, darling,” Kaga smiled, quite pleased with her division mate’s reaction. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Akagi’s response was to squeal excitedly and tackle-glomp her fellow carrier.

“Um, as sweet as I, Yamato, find this display of affection,” Yamato addressed the two carriers, who were now making out on the ground, “could we go in and eat?”

Akagi seemed to remember there was food to be eaten, and she rose to her feet, pulling Kaga with her and stopping briefly to murmur something in her girlfriend’s ear that made Kaga blush redder than Akagi’s outfit. The fleet carrier then led her compatriots through the doors of the restaurant and into paradise.

~~~

Ashigara entered Hosho’s restaurant looking somewhat nervous. She’d been excited, yet apprehensive, when her sisters announced they’d set her up on a blind date for Valentine’s Day; blind dates never seemed to end well for her, and she figured this one would prove to be no exception. At the same time, however, she was grateful to have a date on Valentine’s Day, and not be stuck in her dorm room with a load of tearjerker movies and a bottomless pit of ice cream for company. She sighed and stepped up to the hostess’s station.

“Ah, Ashigara-san…you look lovely this evening!” Hosho greeted her newest customer, approving of the floor-length, shoulder-less, deep purple evening gown the heavy cruiser wore.

“Thank you, Hosho-san…I’m supposed to meet someone here,” Ashigara smiled, instantly put at ease by the older ship.

Hosho nodded. “Yes, of course…he hasn’t arrived yet, but I’ll take you to your table.”

The heavy cruiser was surprised when Hosho led her to one of the private rooms.

“He’s spared no expense…told me he had to have one of the private rooms because he didn’t want any distractions from his beautiful date tonight.”

Ashigara blushed, wondering who in the world would’ve gone to so much trouble just for a blind date. Hosho handed her a menu as she seated herself at the table with her back to the door.

“I’ll send your date back when he arrives…enjoy your evening.”

“Thanks,” Ashigara replied distractedly, scanning the menu as though it held the key to the secrets of life. After a couple minutes, she huffed in frustration and rose to her feet, going over to the large bay window and looking out at the moonlit sea. The view from the restaurant was so mesmerizing that she didn’t even pay attention when the door to the room opened and shut and was brought out of her thoughts only when someone cleared their throat. She turned to face her date and promptly forgot whatever it was she was going to say.

Not only was she surprised to see Mancini standing there, but her expectations of her date being dressed in a nice suit or possibly even a tuxedo were gone completely. A Japanese Navy full dress uniform, complete with tasseled shoulder epaulettes and fancy gold filigree braiding on the sleeves and collar, blew the vision of a tuxedo out of the water. A nice suit wasn’t even in the same universe.

“I’m gonna guess by your expression you’re surprised to see me here,” Mancini began, not even noticing his date’s mind had gone from entertaining the possibility of a good-night kiss at the end of the evening to grabbing him and screaming ‘permission to come aboard granted!’. “I hope you’re not too disappointed.”

“Are you crazy?” Ashigara wiped tears from her eyes. “This is probably the most romantic thing anyone’s ever done for me.”

“I have to admit I had help on it,” Mancini looked embarrassed. “Thank your sisters for the idea because I wasn’t really sure how to approach the idea of asking you to give me a chance.”

His dinner companion giggled as he came to stand in front of her. “I appreciate the honesty…this kinda looks like their handiwork.”

“I just didn’t want you to come to expect stuff like this all the time,” the Training Officer replied. “I’ll be honest with you…I have no sense of what women like or find romantic. I’m not that type of guy.”

Ashigara’s response of leaning in and kissing him made Mancini’s brain shut down briefly. “I’m a good teacher,” the beautiful heavy cruiser replied. “If I can get Kasumi and Kagero to pay attention and learn, I can help you.”

Mancini grinned. Maybe those Cosmo magazines are on to something after all, he thought as he led his date to their table.

~~~

Blaskewicz grinned as he watched his girlfriend. Tenryu was staring at the television screen like it held the secrets of life. She, Tatsuta, and DesDiv 6 had moved into a small house on base at the end of January, and since then had been busy making the place their own. As Tatsuta was out with Kiso, Blaskewicz had decided to show up with five pizzas and two gallons of ice cream from the commissary, and two movies: Despicable Me for the destroyers and Commando for himself and Tenryu once DesDiv 6 went beddy-bye.

DesDiv 6 loved their film and were now snuggled in their beds with bellies full of pizza and ice cream. Blaskewicz and Tenryu were currently watching as Colonel John Matrix invaded Arius’ private island base and proceeded to obliterate with extreme prejudice any and everything that stood between himself and his kidnapped daughter. Blaskewicz prepared to leave as the credits rolled but found himself unable to get to his feet due to his lap being straddled by a light cruiser who had apparently been…affected…by the film they’d just seen, for she was currently trying to examine his tonsils with her tongue. Blaskewicz had had his tonsils out when he was six, but he sure wasn’t going to tell his girlfriend that!

After a few moments, Tenryu sensed they both needed to breathe and pulled back, her eyes glazed with lust.

“Wow…” Blaskewicz trailed off, and Tenryu giggled, nuzzling his neck before leaning up to give his right earlobe a nip, causing Blaskewicz to squeak in surprise.

“Stay,” the light cruiser purred, and the Supply Officer bit back a groan at the implications.

“Are you sure?” he asked, wanting to make sure Tenryu knew the choice was hers.

Tenryu rose off his lap and took Blaskewicz’s hand in hers, pulling him into her bedroom. Twenty minutes later they were still making out quite heavily – Tenryu had heartily approved Blaskewicz’s decision to go slow and enjoy the evening – when a terrifying scream rent the night outside.

In the destroyers’ room, four sets of eyes shot open in terror.

“What the hell was that?” Tenryu glanced around as though she expected to find the answer somewhere in her bedroom.

“Sounded like someone being murdered,” Blaskewicz stated, “although I don’t think that’s what it was…I’ve heard that sound before, but I can’t remember exactly where.”

The scream sounded again, and this time produced an answering scream from the destroyers’ room.

In seconds, Tenryu was on her feet and out the door, heading down the hall in a t-shirt and a pair of black lace boy shorts. Blaskewicz followed right behind her; Tenryu smirked as she felt his eyes on her, admiring the view, and she put an extra swing in her hips as she walked down the hall.

When they got into the destroyers’ room, they found Ikazuchi, Inazuma, and Akatsuki huddling together, shuddering, while Hibiki stoically handed out cups. “It helps,” she stated.

Ikazuchi sipped her drink. “Thank you, Hibiki-chan,” she stated, grimacing at the taste of the drink. Before Tenryu could ask what Hibiki had given her sister, the silver-haired destroyer nodded.

“Da. Vodka helps.”

Tenryu rolled her eyes and sighed, noticing Joji, the girls’ nine-month-old harlequin Great Dane puppy, was also huddling with them. Blaskewicz had given him to them as a housewarming gift when they moved into the house, and the four destroyers had been ecstatic. They adored the dog and spoiled him rotten – easily done since Joji ate almost as much as they did – and he slept in their room every night.

“Everyone all right?” Tenryu asked. The scream sounded again in response, and the three destroyers holding cups shivered, Joji whimpered, and Hibiki took another draw from her flask.

“What is that?” Tenryu wondered and was surprised when she saw her boyfriend heading out of the room.

“On it!” Blaskewicz responded, having recalled where he’d heard it. The group heard him open the back door of the house and step outside.

“Get out of here!” he yelled at an unknown something, waving a flashlight around. Whatever it was apparently ran off, for they heard the Supply Officer step back into the house a moment later.

“What was it, nanodesu?” Inazuma asked as Blaskewicz reentered the room.

“A red fox,” Blaskewicz replied. “I scared him off.”

“Now that the screaming thing is gone,” Tenryu asked, “can we all go back to sleep?”

“Can we sleep with you?” Ikazuchi whimpered, looking up at her mom-boat with puppy eyes. Inazuma and Akatsuki joined her in this; Hibiki remained stoic, but it was obvious she thought Ikazuchi’s idea was a good one, too.

Blaskewicz could see Tenryu looked torn, so he made the call for her. “Sure…that did sound pretty scary, huh?” Ikazuchi nodded.

The group headed back to Tenryu’s room, where the destroyers piled in the center and the adults on the edges, with Ikazuchi and Inazuma beside Blaskewicz and Akatsuki and Hibiki beside their mom-boat. Joji jumped on the foot of the bed, though at only nine months he already took up quite a bit of room. As everyone got settled, Tenryu sent a guilty look to Blaskewicz.

I’m sorry about this, she mouthed. Blaskewicz waved her apology away.

Don’t worry about it…these girls are much more important than us getting some, he mouthed back, causing the light cruiser to blush profusely.

“Sleep well, girls,” Tenryu said fondly, attempting to change the subject and quiet down her raging hormones.

“Good night, Mama,” four sleepy voices responded, causing Tenryu to blush. Blaskewicz privately thought it was the cutest thing he’d ever seen or heard in his life.

“Good night, Daddy,” the same four voices said next, which caused Tenryu’s jaw to drop and Blaskewicz to blush.

“Aw, jeez…” he muttered, torn between thinking that was cute as well and bursting with pride. He was still vacillating between the two choices when he fell asleep.

~~~

Sunday morning, Tatsuta led her girlfriend into the house. They’d stayed the night at Kiso’s because she knew what her sister had planned once the destroyers went down for the night, and she wanted to give her some space. A quick check of the destroyers’ room revealed the beds unmade and unoccupied.

Strange, Tatsuta thought as she headed down the hallway to her sister’s room. The girls make their beds every morning before heading out for the day, so where did they…?

When she looked in Tenryu’s bedroom, her question was answered. Her sister ship lay in her bed with Akatsuki cuddling up to her. Ikazuchi and Inazuma lay cuddled up next to Blaskewicz, who appeared dead to the world. Hibiki lay sprawled out, taking up a good portion of the head of the bed, while Joji took up most of the bottom half of the bed. The Great Dane was awake, however, and noticed the two light cruisers looking in. He raised his head and wagged his tail, though that simple act was more like someone beating a baseball bat against the mattress, so it of course woke the destroyers up.

“Good morning, Tatsuta-san,” Akatsuki murmured sleepily, her voice causing Tenryu and Blaskewicz to awaken as well.

“Good morning, girls,” Tatsuta replied. “Why don’t you all go get dressed and make your beds while I talk to Tenryu?”

The destroyers and Joji bounded out of the room, while Blaskewicz rolled to a sitting position on the side of the bed before staggering off to the bathroom.

“Mornin’,” he muttered as he passed Tatsuta and Kiso. As soon as the bathroom door shut, Tatsuta turned to her sister.

“Ok, I’m guessing by the scene I saw when I looked in here just now that your plan for last night was preempted by some kind of minor crisis?”

Tenryu nodded and filled her sister in on the events of the previous night.

“In that case, Kiso and I are going to take the girls out to breakfast so you can follow through on that plan of yours.”

Tenryu blushed deeply, but Tatsuta grinned. “And we’re not going to take ‘no’ for an answer. Have fun!” She walked out of the room and then could be heard feeding Joji and ushering him outside to the small backyard to take care of business, while in the destroyers’ room Kiso could be heard encouraging them to hurry through their morning routines so they could be some of the first in line for pancakes at the commissary. Of course, the promise of food always got DesDiv 6 moving, and as Blaskewicz exited the bathroom he was surprised to see the four destroyers dressed and heading out the door.

“What’s going on?” he asked as Tatsuta breezed by.

“Kiso and I are taking the destroyers to breakfast so you and your girlfriend can sleep in. Have fun,” she stated as she left the house, closing the door behind her.

“…Fun…?” Blaskewicz echoed foggily, his brain unable to compute the information Tatsuta had given him due to not yet having had coffee. Deciding it was too early on a weekend morning to attempt to function, he headed back into the bedroom, intent on sleeping until the destroyers got back, noting Joji had made himself comfortable on the couch and was once again in puppy dreamland.

“Tatsuta and Kiso took the girls to breakfast, and the dog’s been fed, so we can sleep awhile longer,” he informed Tenryu as he shut the bedroom door. When he turned to face the bed, the sight of his girlfriend reclining on the bed in a skimpy black satin negligee and matching thong, giving him a sultry, come-hither look made his brain shut down.

“Meep…” he trailed off, unable to form words.

Tenryu grinned at his reaction. “Why don’t we pick up where we left off last night?”

All Blaskewicz could do was nod his head.

~~~

Monday morning, Avers walked into his office after an exhausting, but relaxing weekend. He bid the four shipgirls on his staff a good morning and then sat down at his desk to enjoy his morning Pepsi. No sooner had he done so, however, than there was a knock at the door.

“Enter,” Avers stated, and was surprised when a civilian entered.

“I’m looking for the Commanding Officer,” he stated.

“I’m Admiral Matt Avers, sir…how can I help you?”

“I’m Ken Watanabe, Admiral…I own a restaurant called Country Gourmet. I came here to bring you this.”

He handed Avers an envelope. The Admiral opened it to find a large stack of papers, detailing what amounted to supplies for the restaurant for two weeks.

“And what is this for?” Avers asked, having a sinking feeling that he probably already knew the answer.

“Eight of your girls came into my restaurant on Valentine’s Night and literally cleaned me out. By the time they left the only food in my building was the basket of after-dinner mints by the exit door!”

Avers did a facepalm. “I don’t suppose you got their names?”

Watanabe nodded. “I certainly did…they were like celebrities to the other patrons! The girls had people coming up to them and wanting pictures and autographs. Now, I know these girls are keeping us all safe by putting their lives on the line against these alien sea creatures, but Admiral, I have a business to run, and I can’t do that if these girls come and eat two weeks’ worth of food in just three hours!”

“Names, please?” Avers asked. Watanabe handed him a small page out of a notebook.

“I wrote them down for you.”

Avers groaned when he read the names:

Ibuki
Tosa
Akagi
Kaga
Yamato
Musashi
Shinano
Kii

“Great…” he muttered under his breath before standing and smiling at Watanabe.

“Watanabe-san, unfortunately this office is unable to give you any monetary compensation at this time. However,” Avers amended when he saw the restaurant owner about to protest, “I will pass this paperwork on to the head of the JMSDF, and then so on up the chain of command. Once I pass it on, it will be out of my hands, so I’m unable to tell you when you’ll hear back from anyone. All I can offer you today is a most-sincere apology that something like this will never happen again.”

Watanabe sighed. “I guess that’s better than nothing. Thank you for your time, Admiral.”

The restaurant owner was shown out by Mutsu, and once he was gone Avers leaned back in his chair and took a big swig of Pepsi.

“Never fails,” he muttered. “It’s Monday.” He opened his desk drawer and pulled out The List, writing down two new rules he’d come up with over the weekend, and then adding another derived from his conversation with Watanabe just now:

18) A class on night battles should be exactly that and not about…other things.

19) Off-base meals are not an official expense.

20) All kanmusu are hereby banned from any all-you-can-eat restaurants.

He replaced the list in his desk drawer and let out a huge sigh.

“Something wrong, Admiral?” Nagato asked. Avers shook his head.

“It’s only 0930 and we’ve already had the week’s first incident,” the Admiral sounded fairly amazed by this.

“Just keep telling yourself ‘It can only get better from here’, sir,” Oyodo encouraged before turning back to her radio set.

“One can only hope,” Avers muttered, settling down in his chair and nursing his drink. “One can only hope.”

Chapter Text

Akashi loved her job. Not so much running the repair docks, but the fact that she had access to all sorts of the latest technology to make ultra-cool things for her fellow shipgirls – ok, mainly herself – to play with. And the fact that she’d found a girlfriend who loved to tinker with mechanical things as much as she did didn’t hurt either; Yubari could be found in the repair docks whenever she wasn’t on duty as flagship of Torpedo Squadron 6. Together, the two shipgirls managed to make some of their greatest technical dreams a reality, and they tried to extend their talents to requests made by their fellow kanmusu.

“Good thing you’ve got some reserve buoyancy,” Akashi informed Yamato as they stood in her office going over some blueprints for an upgrade the super battleship wanted. “Some of the destroyers I meet with get upset when they learn they have to cough up a gun or torpedo mount to gain a bit more speed.”

“I have to say,” Yamato murmured, “I, Yamato, find the focus on weight of many of my comrades to be perplexing.”

“Yeah, well, most of us weren’t constructed as a giant middle finger to arms limitations,” the repair ship muttered.

Yamato left after Akashi assured her the upgrade would be no trouble at all, and the repair ship marked the plans with a note to begin it soon. As she was finishing up, the door to the repair shop opened and DesDiv 6 walked in.

“What can we do for you?” Yubari greeted the four destroyers. “Do you need another cooking pot?”

“No, we were wondering if you could create something for us, nanodesu,” Inazuma replied as Akatsuki gave Akashi a sheet of paper with Minions from the Despicable Me films on it.

“Um, girls, Yubari and I build things out of metal here…we don’t run a genetics lab,” the repair ship stated regretfully. “If they were robots it’d be different, but these are living creatures.”

The four destroyers looked disappointed at this, but then Hibiki placed another sheet of paper on the table. Akashi picked it up and raised her eyebrow when she saw what was on it.

“Seriously?” she asked.

“Da.”

“What are we talking about here?” Yubari inquired, and Akashi showed her the paper. A gleam of interest sparked in the light cruiser’s eyes.

“Yes…” she mused. “I can see this…sixty meters long, thirty-eight meters tall…we can do this!”

“We can?” Akashi asked blankly, looking over the specs. “This looks to be beyond our capabilities.”

“Gundam,” Yubari replied absently as she continued musing over the drawing. “A speed of 140 kilometers per hour…that’s not much considering how big this thing is…a drill on the tip of its tail, nice…fingertip missiles…ooh, I like that…the ability to fight underwater…”

“That’d make it useful for the next time Iku causes trouble,” Akashi joked.

“I know, right?” Yubari agreed. “And this right here,” she indicated something on the paper, “Remote control? Do you know how awesome that would be to make something of that size that could be operated by remote control?”

“Controller,” Hibiki gave Yubari another sheet of paper. The light cruiser grinned.

“Oh, we have to build this!” she exclaimed excitedly. “This controller is great! And look how the broadcasting antenna is hidden!”

“I dunno…” Akashi hedged. “The Admiral might have a few words to say about this.”

“Meh,” Yubari shrugged. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” She grinned. “And besides, he can’t say anything once it’s already built. Plus, this thing isn’t going to fight monsters or anything like that, so we can take a few shortcuts on some of the systems.”

“Gotta give it some protection…it could still pick up Abyssals and bite ‘em in half,” Akashi muttered only half-jokingly as she thought about it. She addressed DesDiv 6. “We’ll look over the drawings and let you know, ok?”

As the destroyers left, Yubari turned to Akashi with puppy eyes. “Can we please build this?” she begged, punctuating her request with a quivering lower lip. The repair ship sighed, knowing she was going to give in.

“The Admiral’s going to kill us…” she trailed off, and Yubari squealed excitedly.

~~~

Three weeks later, Avers was sitting in his office, going over some paperwork, when a sense of foreboding washed over him, causing him to pause and look up.

“Something wrong, Admiral?” Nagato noticed Avers’ pensive expression.

Avers shook his head. “Not that I can think of, but it’s been fairly quiet as of late, and I suddenly got this feeling of impending chaos or something.” He shrugged, laughing lightly as he got up and walked over to a nearby file cabinet. “Probably just me being paranoid – what’s that noise?” he looked around upon hearing a whistling noise that seemed to grow louder with each passing second.

As soon as he’d finished asking that question, Musashi crashed through the window bay behind his desk, forcing everyone in the room to take cover and Oyodo and Niyodo to shriek in surprise.

“What. The. Hell.” Avers muttered from his position on the floor. His emotionless tone told Nagato and Mutsu that their Admiral was none too pleased with what had just transpired.

A radio suddenly crackled to life. “Old Reliable to Big Eighteens…” Olympic’s voice called, “what’s your status, ‘Sash?”

The super-battleship in question staggered to her feet. “Big Eighteens to Old Reliable…I’m fine. Tell Mad Scientist we need to adjust the trajectory some because I landed in the Command Center.”

“Bloody hell,” Olympic muttered. “Right…anyone hurt, Big Eighteens?”

Musashi looked around the room and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when she didn’t see any blood.

“Negative, Old Reliable…” she trailed off when she saw Avers’ livid expression. “But Zordon appears to be somewhat annoyed.”

“Roger that, Big Eighteens,” Olympic replied, “good luck dealing with that…Old Reliable out.”

Musashi clicked off the radio and smiled nervously at Avers.

“Please excuse the intrusion, Admiral…I’ll just get out of your way.”

She headed for the door.

“Halt.” The word, spoken in a normal tone of voice, caused her to cease her escape attempt.

“Turn around.” Musashi did so nervously, only to find Avers looking at her with a calm expression.

“Explain,” the Admiral ordered.

“I…” Musashi trailed off, seemingly unsure how to put what she wanted to say into words, then sighed. “It might be better if I just showed you, Admiral.”

“Fair enough,” Avers replied, gesturing to the door. “Lead on.”

~~~

Akashi studied the device she and her cohorts had constructed. They’d originally planned to keep the project from the Admiral until such time as it could be deemed a success, but Musashi crashing through his office window automatically killed that idea. Now all they could hope for was that Avers allowed them to continue perfecting their plan once he saw what they were doing.

They didn’t count on certain shipgirls wandering in to see what was going on.

“Tell me again how this works, Dess?” Kongo looked at the device, her head tilted cutely as she contemplated it.

“It’s a catapult,” Akashi replied. “You sit in the bucket here,” she indicated the bucket, “we flip this lever here, these weights on this end get pulled down, and you’re flung into the air to land on your opponent and hopefully take said Abyssal out of the fight completely.”

“Hmm…a very interesting concept,” Kirishima studied the lever and weights. “Could we possibly see the device in action?”

“Well, we’d already tested it with Musashi before you got here, so we’ll have to wait until she returns to make another run-through,” Akashi stated, silently adding, and that’s if the Admiral doesn’t come with her and forbid us from doing anything else with this thing.

“Nah, nah, nah…no need to wait, Dess!” Kongo proclaimed cheerfully. “I’ll help you out!” Before anyone could say anything, the fast battleship climbed into the bucket and nodded to Kirishima to trip the lever.

“Onee-sama, please be careful!” Hiei begged.

“Haruna doesn’t think this machine looks safe…” Haruna eyed the catapult with a dubious expression.

The youngest of the Kongo-class, however, had no such qualms.

“Ready, onee-sama?” Kirishima called up to Kongo, who nodded and grinned, giving a thumbs-up to those on the ground. “Count one, two…THREE!”

She tripped the lever, causing the weights to crash down, the bucket to swing up sharply, and Kongo to go flying.

“WHEEEEEEEEE!!!!” the fast battleship squealed excitedly as she flew out of the abandoned aircraft hangar the catapult had been set up in.

~~~

Avers was having trouble processing what he was hearing as he followed Musashi back to the ‘testing area’ that had been set up at the abandoned airfield. They were nearly there when a muffled thunk sounded from a nearby hangar.

“What was that?” Avers asked, stopping briefly to glance around.

“I think it might have been the sound of the weights on the catapult dropping when the lever is tripped, but this Musashi can’t imagine what they would be launching…” Musashi mused aloud.

“TEIIII~TOOO~KUUU~!” a familiar voice squealed as it grew louder with each passing second.

Avers looked up and saw his girlfriend zooming towards him in a graceful dive as though she’d been shot out of a cannon. He of course did the first thing that came to his mind.

“AAAUUUGGGHH!”

Kongo tackled Avers and the two rolled over and over together until coming to a stop several feet away, the fast battleship ending up on top of her boyfriend, whereupon she began showering his face with happy kisses as though he’d just come back from a year-long deployment at sea. All Musashi could do was watch the spectacle and clamp a hand over her mouth in shock.

After a few moments, Kongo noticed Avers had yet to move and stopped kissing on him to look down in concern.

“Teitoku-des?” she asked, cocking her head cutely.

“Look, Ma…I’m roadkill…” the Admiral murmured faintly in response.

“Admiral! Are you all right?!” Musashi demanded frantically as she ran over to help.

“I’m fine, Musashi, thank you,” Avers replied. “And as soon as my bones knit, whoever built that catapult is a dead person.”

By this point, the shipgirls who had been inside the hangar had emerged to see who had screamed, and immediately ran over.

“Are you all right, onee-sama?!” Hiei demanded frantically. Kongo nodded and cuddled up to Avers, a happy little smile on her face.

Once the various shipgirls saw who Kongo had landed on, several backed away in fear. They might not have been the one to land on the Admiral, but they didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire, either.

“Oh, shit…” Akashi saw Avers lying on the ground and saw all her plans for future construction suddenly slipping away before her eyes. “Um, Admiral,” she began, “are you all right?”

There was a collective sigh of relief as Kongo helped Avers rise shakily to his feet.

“Ugh…” the Admiral groaned, stretching as he straightened up, “now I know how Wile E. Coyote feels after a cliff fall.” When he saw Kongo look down guiltily, he leaned over and murmured in her ear.

“I’m fine, sweetheart, just next time, save the rough stuff for somewhere a little more private, okay?”

Kongo’s response was to blush fire-engine red, squeal, and bounce up and down excitedly, extremely thankful that all was well and that her boyfriend didn’t hold what had happened against her.

~~~

“So why exactly did you expend the resources to build this thing?” Avers glanced up at the catapult from where he was braced against the wall of the hangar.

“Uh, duh?” Kasumi cut in. She was one of the destroyers who’d been helping move the massive structure into position. “We built it to launch the battleships at our enemies. Try to keep up, you shitty Admiral.” It was only then that she noticed her sister ships giving her looks that practically screamed ‘back off!’.

“Oh, forgive me!” Avers gasped, his voice heavy with sarcasm. “I just intercepted a flying tackle by my fast battleship girlfriend and was knocked unconscious for a few seconds, but I agree…that’s no excuse for not following your train of thought!” He turned to the others. “Whose insane idea was this, anyway?”

“It was mine, Admiral,” Akashi announced, “so Kasumi’s not to blame here.”

Avers turned his dark look on the repair ship. “You know, explosions and ominous sounds seem to be emanating more and more from your department as of late…this little affair with the catapult is by no means helping your case any.”

“Meh,” Akashi shrugged, “all I care is that you don’t destroy this thing…it took a lot of time to build it.”

Avers sighed. “Fine. Now,” he turned to Kongo, “help me back to my quarters…there are two Aleve and a Vicodin with my name on them.”

As the couple walked away Avers mentally wrote out the next item on The List:

21) Construction of catapults of any form to launch battleships is strictly forbidden.

~~~

The following Saturday, Mancini was in his office going over some paperwork. Ashigara had informed him at dinner the previous evening that she’d made plans with her sisters for that day, so he’d decided to come into the office on the weekend and get a start on the week ahead. He was just thinking about getting some lunch when the door opened, and his girlfriend walked in wearing her officer’s greatcoat.

“Yes, Lieutenant?” Mancini asked, addressing the heavy cruiser by her proper rank. “What can I do for you?”

Ashigara smirked, surprising Mancini when she locked the door behind her. “You’ve been working very hard lately, Captain,” she began, walking over to his desk seductively and sitting on the edge beside him.

“Gotta keep up with the training…it’s my job…” Mancini trailed off, uncertain how to handle this. He wanted to believe this was what he was thinking, but he also didn’t want to get his hopes up.

“I think you deserve some appreciation for your dedication to your job,” the heavy cruiser continued, undoing the belt on her coat and letting it fall open to reveal said coat was all she was wearing. “What do you think?”

Mancini’s brain failed briefly before his conscience reminded him that he should be polite and say something to his girlfriend.

“I really like the way you think,” he grinned, and leaned up to kiss her. Paperwork was now the absolute last thing on his mind.

~~~

“Why did you ask us to come down here, nanodesu?” Inazuma asked Akashi as the repair ship, DesDiv 6, Yubari, Tenryu, and Blaskewicz stood by the waterfront.

“I called you down here,” Akashi addressed DesDiv 6, “because your order is ready.”

“Order?” Akatsuki looked confused, but a small smile spread over Hibiki’s face.

“I see someone remembers,” Akashi smiled, producing the very-authentic-looking Dragon Dagger. “Here you go…enjoy!”

“Nice!” Blaskewicz enthused, looking over Hibiki’s shoulder. “You really captured all the details!” Tenryu, always one to appreciate nice-looking blades, agreed with him.

Akashi blushed. “Thanks…I appreciate it when someone notices the details of my work. But the real architect of this project was Yubari…she did most of the work; I just did this.”

“What else was there to do?” Blaskewicz asked.

Hibiki accepted the dagger from Akashi and proceeded to hand it to Blaskewicz.

“Play it,” she requested.

“Play it?” Blaskewicz looked at her blankly before realizing what the destroyer meant. “Oh, ok…gotcha.”

He raised the dagger’s blade to the sky. Might as well do this right…the girls will probably get a kick out of it, too, he thought.

“Time for Dragonzord power!” he announced, and brought the Dagger to his lips, pressing one of the buttons. An absolutely perfect rendition of the Dragonzord summoning tune sounded, and quite loudly at that.

“Wow…this is sweet!” he enthused.

His compliments were cut off by a loud rumbling, followed by the ground shaking. What happened after that made his jaw drop.

~~~

When the ground began to shake Avers didn’t even bother looking up from the screen of his laptop. He was sitting on his couch going over some emails from the JMSDF, with Kongo beside him doing some online shopping on her own tablet. The fast battleship was humming a cheery little tune, interrupting her boyfriend every so often by asking for his input on certain outfits, while they enjoyed a brief break from their original plans of a weekend-long sex marathon.

“What?” Kongo tilted her head cutely as the ground rumbled.

Avers sighed. “Akashi and Yubari are probably at it again…this ‘Mad Scientist’ competition between them has got to stop.”

Kongo set her tablet aside and rose to her feet, bouncing over to the sliding door leading out onto the small patio attached to Avers’ quarters. The Admiral looked up as she passed by, admiring her outfit of magenta hot pants and a skimpy black t-shirt with white lettering that read I’m Sexy & I Know It. Avers had bought the shirt for her as a joke, but after seeing how incredible Kongo looked in it had quickly named it one of the best purchases he’d ever made. The fast battleship wore it whenever she spent time at Avers’ quarters, which as of late was nearly every night. The Admiral allowed a small smile to come over his face as he realized that now he could scarcely picture his life without Kongo in it.

He was brought out of his musings by Kongo squealing excitedly.

“What did those two do now?” the Admiral inquired, opening another email.

“Doragon Shīzā!” Kongo exclaimed.

“Dragon Caesar?” Avers echoed blankly, before realizing what Kongo was referring to. He smiled nervously and shook his head. “No, there’s no way…they wouldn’t…”

A roar from the harbor caused him to jump to his feet like a jack-in-the-box and run to the patio doors.

~~~

“What the hell was that?” Mancini asked, looking around as the ground rumbled.

“It’s called…an orgasm…” Ashigara gasped, rolling her hips to get Mancini to resume what he’d been doing a second before.

The roar from the harbor caused them both to sit up on the couch. Ashigara made to get up, but Mancini refused to let her move.

“We could be under attack…” the heavy cruiser was cut off by Mancini kissing her senseless and then pulling back to look into her eyes.

“If Godzilla is actually attacking, I don’t wanna die without having made love to my gorgeous girlfriend.” He grinned. “And besides, talk about dying with a smile on your face.”

Ashigara giggled as Mancini leaned down to kiss her again.

~~~

“Wow…” Blaskewicz trailed off as he, Tenryu, and DesDiv 6 gazed in awe at the massive construct that had emerged from the water.

“Holy shit…” Tenryu breathed. “That is awesome.”

“Khorosho,” Hibiki murmured, the expression on her face saying she was quite pleased with what she was seeing: a full-scale, fully functional Dragon Caesar, AKA Dragonzord.

“ARE YOU TWO INSANE?!?!” Avers’ voice roared from behind them. The Admiral stormed over to the group, his glare centering on the two ‘Mad Scientists’ like the targeting computer on a fighter jet. “What in the world possessed you to build this?!”

Yubari shrugged. “We had the plans already, and we got bored, so…”

Avers had to process that bit of information. “Let me get this straight…the two of you built this because you were bored?”

“Actually, Yubari built that,” Akashi gestured at the Dragonzord. “I just built the controller.” She pointed to the Dragon Dagger that Blaskewicz was holding.

“I just played the tune…” the Supply Officer looked shell-shocked. Tenryu rubbed his shoulders consolingly.

“And I built it in my spare time, Admiral…I didn’t neglect my training or my patrol duties,” Yubari added.

“How long have you been working on this thing?” Avers inquired.

“Since we got the plans from the person that ordered it,” was the response.

“And how long ago was that?” Avers figured it had been way before he’d even been chosen to take command.

“Three weeks ago,” Yubari replied.

Avers inwardly congratulated himself for keeping his jaw off the ground. “THREE WEEKS ago?!”

Yubari nodded. “I figure if I’d been able to work on it full-time, I could’ve had it done in half that time, but priorities come first, y’know?”

The Admiral massaged the bridge of his nose in a vain attempt to stave off his burgeoning headache. “And whom, may I ask, ordered this from you?”

He was quite surprised when Hibiki’s hand went up. “What gave you the idea for this?” he asked.

“Wanted it,” the little destroyer stated.

Can’t argue with that, Avers thought. He sighed and muttered, “Power Ranger fans worldwide are going to go bat-shit when they find out about this thing.”

“Yeah,” Blaskewicz agreed. “This’ll be a huge hit at conventions!” His enthusiasm dampened when he turned to Avers, who was regarding him with a raised eyebrow. “Which we will only attend after the war is over and there are no more Abyssals to fight…um, yeah…”

“Nice save,” Avers informed him, rolling his eyes. He turned back to Akashi and Yubari. “I can’t do much about it now that it’s been built, but from now on, any projects like this have to be cleared through me first, okay?

“What if the Emperor ordered it, nanodesu?” Inazuma asked.

The question gave Avers pause. She’s got me there, the Admiral thought. He decided to amend the previous statement. “Okay, any further projects like this first have to be cleared through me unless the person requesting said project is higher than the Commanding Admiral. How’s that?”

Inazuma nodded, satisfied. Blaskewicz grinned and ruffled her hair affectionately, causing the little destroyer to blush.

“Now, if you’ll excuse us,” Avers announced, “my girlfriend and I will get back to our weekend.”

No sooner had he said that than Kongo was dragging him off. “Until Monday, ladies and gentlemen,” the Admiral called back to the group as Blaskewicz and the three older kanmusu snickered. As he and Kongo made their way back to his quarters Avers formulated yet another rule to add to The List:

22) Personal projects on a scale approaching the term ‘epically awesome’ must first be cleared by the Commanding Admiral unless the person requesting said project is higher than the Commanding Admiral.

He sighed as they neared his quarters. Just when I think things can’t get any crazier around here, these girls prove me wrong by leaps and bounds. He laughed lightly as another thought entered his head. God help me, but I truly love my job!

Chapter Text

Tone walked into the dorm room she shared with her sister ship, noticing Chikuma was tapping furiously at her tablet. When the heavy cruiser got close enough, she saw that Chikuma was targeting zombies with what appeared to be explosive coconuts fired from a pirate ship.

Awesome Level: EPIC, Tone thought, resolving to get whatever game this was ASAP.

“What are you doing, onee-sama?” she asked her sister.

“Playing Plants vs. Zombies 2,” Chikuma replied. “Just seeing how many Coconut Cannons I can fit onto this ship before I beat the level.”

“That’s cool,” Tone replied, before grabbing her wallet and heading out to buy the game herself.

Three days later, after little to no sleep, lots of dismembered corpses, explosions, lightning bolts, and peas everywhere, Tone knew she had to have that weapon.

~~~

“This circuit won’t work,” Akashi mused, looking over the schematic that she and Yubari were currently contemplating.

“Maybe if we rerouted it like…this?” Yubari replied, making the repair ship think she was going to motion to something on the blueprint, but instead the light cruiser trailed her fingers up her girlfriend’s neck, making Akashi shudder.

“Th-That could work,” the repair ship stuttered, “but we won’t know for sure until -”

“Until what?” Yubari murmured in her ear, punctuating her question with a kiss behind her ear and a nibble on her earlobe.

“You’re so not playing fair!” Akashi whined, and Yubari giggled. “I know.”

The repair ship growled under her breath and Yubari squeaked in surprise when she suddenly found herself pinned against the workbench they’d been standing in front of and her girlfriend pressing up against her in all the right places.

“I don’t play fair, either” Akashi purred, using one hand to palm one of Yubari’s breasts through her t-shirt while the other snaked into her coveralls and under her skirt. The light cruiser’s knees buckled as Akashi’s fingers danced across a certain sweet spot, causing her to whimper and Akashi to grin, knowing she’d won their little competition.

“Akashi! Yubari! I need your help!” Tone’s voice caused the two to hurriedly break apart. Akashi went to greet the heavy cruiser while Yubari composed herself.

“What can we do for you, Tone?” she asked, watching as Tone swept past her and over to the workbench, greeting Yubari with a nod. The light cruiser smiled slightly at the newcomer before meeting Akashi’s eyes briefly, the gleam in her eyes promising retribution later. The repair ship smirked and responded by raising her soaking wet fingers to her mouth and quickly licking them clean, thereby getting the satisfaction of seeing Yubari’s eyes darken and briefly glaze over in lust.

“I need you to make me a Coconut Cannon!” the heavy cruiser replied, and the other two shipgirls glanced at each other before mentally shrugging.

“Sure,” Akashi replied. “Coconuts are sturdier than potatoes, so -”

“Nononononono!” Tone interrupted, shaking her head. “Not that kind of Coconut Cannon! I’m talking about one like this!”

She tapped her tablet a few times and brought up the Wiki page for the weapon in question. The two ‘Mad Scientists’ looked it over for a few minutes, murmuring to each other, before Akashi looked up at Tone.

“Send this page to my tablet,” the repair ship informed the heavy cruiser. “We’ll look it over further and let you know.”

~~~

“Do you know why Kongo-san asked you to meet her here, Fubuki-chan?” Mutsuki asked one of her best-friends-turned-girlfriend.

“Not exactly,” Fubuki replied as she, Mutsuki, and Yudachi opened the door to the warehouse the fast battleship had called the destroyers to. “Maybe she wants to have us help her do some training -”

“Heyyy, Bucky!” Kongo’s happy voice called out as the three destroyers walked inside. They watched nervously as the fast battleship slid down a pile of 14-inch shells, landing lightly on the ground.

“K-Kongo-san…” Fubuki greeted her friend nervously, “wh-what’s all this?” She gestured to the mountains of shells in various calibers.

“Um, Kongo-san…I don’t know if you should be sliding down piles of explosives like that…” Mutsuki put in nervously.

“Yeah, they might explode, poi,” Yudachi stated.

“No problem, Dess!” Kongo soothed, grabbing a 5-inch shell and cracking it open, causing paint to spill out of the cavity. “They’re practice shells!”

“Ohhh…” the three destroyer breathed sighs of relief.

“We’re going paintballing, Dess!” Kongo enthused, thereby answering Fubuki’s earlier question. “Two teams hunting each other down…whoever remains standing at the end of the day wins!”

“Two teams, poi?” Yudachi asked, and Kongo gestured across the warehouse to where Hiei, Kirishima, and Haruna were loading up on practice shells.

“I’m here!” Shimakaze announced as Rensouhou-chan cheered. “What are we doing?”

“Heyyy, Zekamashi!” Kongo called out, waving her over. “You’re on Team 2!”

“Don’t call me ‘Zekamashi’!” the destroyer complained. “And what do you mean by ‘I’m on Team 2’?”

“Paintballing, Dess!” Kongo enthused. “You’re with Bucky, Mutsuki-chan and Yudachi-chan!”

“Oh…ok, cool,” the hyperactive destroyer replied, and turned to her guns. “Stock up,” she told Rensouhou-chan, who immediately set to work.

Fubuki, Mutsuki, and Yudachi looked at each other, then also set to work loading up shells; they didn’t want to be caught without ammo when the battle began.

~~~

“Like I was sayin’,” Aquitania stated to her fellow liner shipgirls as they walked back to their dorm from the commissary, “Mel Gibson is a fine specimen of a man, tae be sure, bu’ he don’ dae anythin’ fer me.” She grinned and blushed. “Now, that Sean Connery, on th’ other hand, well…”

Her five companions sighed happily.

“Johnny Depp,” Britannic murmured. “I wouldn’t mind Captain Jack Sparrow commanding me at all.”

More happy sighs…which were rudely interrupted by a destroyer racing up to them.

“Hi!” Shimakaze zoomed in circles around them.

“Did ye have sugar for breakfast or somethin’?” Mauretania asked, trying hard to not get dizzy from watching the hyperactive destroyer.

“Or do ye have ants in yer pants?” Lusitania put in.

“Nope!” Shimakaze replied. “Just trying to stay busy!”

“BUUURRRRNING LOOOVE! FIII-YAAAH!” a voice was heard in the distance, followed quickly by gunfire.

“What the…?” Olympic didn’t have time to finish her question before Shimakaze interrupted.

“Gotta go!” the destroyer zoomed away. As the liners watched her race off, the whoosh of incoming ordnance could be heard, getting louder by the second.

“Down, lassies!” Aquitania yelled, and the six girls hit the ground as shells exploded around them. Squeals erupted as they were covered in red paint.

“Ahhh, Zekamashi! You moved, Dess!” Kongo wailed as she ran past, sparing a brief second to shout apologies to the six liners.

“Ugh,” Titanic groaned as she sat up. “I didn’t really want a paint job today.”

“Aqui-san!” Fubuki gasped as she, Mutsuki, and Yudachi ran up. “I’m so sorry this happened!”

“Dinna worry, lassie,” Aquitania smiled tightly as she got to her feet. “Ye weren’t the ones who fired at us, so ye’re nae the ones we’re after. Hey, ‘Limpie!” she turned to Olympic, “go back tae our quarters an’ get those paintball guns we bought. We’ve go’ some retribution tae claim.”

Olympic nodded and motioned the other four liners to follow her. The three Japanese destroyers watched as the liners ran into a nearby dorm.

“Y-You all have paintball guns, Aqui-san?” Fubuki asked nervously, and the liner nodded.

“Aye, tha’ we do,” Aquitania replied. “An’ if ye don’t mind, we’re on yer team now.”

“I-I don’t know…” Fubuki hedged.

“Bucky, I know it dinna seems fair tae tha’ team o’ battlewagons, but one o’ them started this, and for a gel built in England, she seems tae have forgotten one cardinal rule,” Aquitania informed the three destroyers.

“What’s that, poi?” Yudachi asked as Olympic and the other liners returned carrying what appeared to be very-expensive-looking machine gun versions of paintball guns. Mauretania handed one of the fearsome-looking weapons to Aquitania, who strapped on the ammo rack, plugged a CO2 canister into her gun, and flashed a feral grin at the three destroyers.

“Ye dinna go around pickin’ fights…” Aquitania cocked her weapon, “with Scots.”

The three Japanese girls were suddenly very thankful that the liners were on their side.

~~~

Tone hurried towards her dorm, eagerly carrying her new Coconut Cannon. She’d tested it out at the repair docks just now and was quite happy with it. Akashi had even designed it so it could carry practice ammunition, or cannonball-sized paintballs. She’d loaded her new weapon full of those things, and after thanking Akashi and Yubari profusely, was now headed back to her dorm with her latest weapon.

“Good afternoon, Tone-san!” Fubuki greeted the heavy cruiser cheerfully as Tone passed her, Mutsuki, and Yudachi.

“Hey, Fubuki,” Tone responded, acknowledging the other two destroyers with a nod. “Are the three of you off to the gunnery range for some practice?”

“Ehhh, not exactly,” Fubuki replied. “Somehow we got roped into playing a game of paintball with Kongo-san, and –”

She was cut off when she heard the clanking of a battleship’s main guns rotating into position.

“Targets sighted,” Haruna announced. “Main guns, targets bearing three-five-seven!”

“Haruna! Let me get out of the way first!” Tone barked, having no desire to be caught in the crossfire. She growled in frustration when it became apparent that Haruna hadn’t heard her.

“Scatter, everyone!” Fubuki ordered, seconds before Haruna’s guns opened fire.

The destroyers dodged, but one wasn’t fast enough. “Pooooiiiii!” Yudachi squealed as she was doused in green paint.

“Yudachi-chan!” Fubuki and Mutsuki wailed as though their friend had been hit by an Abyssal.

“HARUNAAAAA!” Tone roared, having been splattered in green paint as well.

“Uh-oh…” Fubuki muttered, seeing the look of rage in Tone’s eyes.

“Poi…” Yudachi muttered, now somewhat glad she was out of action.

“Haruna reports Yudachi is out!” Haruna announced into a headset she was wearing.

Tone brought her Coconut Cannon to bear on the unsuspecting battleship. “Fubuki! Mutsuki! Fire on my mark!” she ordered.

“Hai!” the destroyers responded, raising their own guns.

“FIRE!” Tone yelled, and all three shipgirls blasted away. Mutsuki’s shot fell short, causing Haruna to jump back, surprised; as a result, Fubuki’s shots just barely missed her. Tone’s shots, however, scored two direct hits, smothering the battleship in bright orange paint.

“GAAHH!” Haruna exclaimed, slinging back her paint-soaked hair to glower at Tone. “Tone-san, what was that for?”

“You got me, I got you back,” the heavy cruiser replied.

Haruna sighed resignedly. “Haruna reports Haruna is out,” she muttered into her headset before stomping off.

~~~

Kirishima heard Haruna’s disappointed statement over her headset, and her heart went out to her older sister.

“I shall avenge you, onee-sama!” she promised, heading off to Haruna’s last reported position.

She paid no attention to Titanic sitting and reading under a nearby tree. As the fast battleship passed by and then rounded the corner of a nearby dorm, the liner pulled out a walkie-talkie.

“Edwardian Princess to Ship Beautiful,” she spoke into the receiver.

“This is Ship Beautiful…go ahead,” Aquitania’s voice replied.

“Kirishima is heading to Haruna’s last known position,” Titanic stated. After conferring, it had been decided among the liners that Aquitania would be the only one to engage the Kongo sisters in battle; the other five would provide reconnaissance reports.

“Och, is she, now?” was the response. “Well, let’s just see if I can’t intercept her…Ship Beautiful out.”

~~~

Ten minutes later, Tone, Mutsuki, and Fubuki were walking in front of the Headquarters building when they heard laughter.

“Ah, excellent!” Kirishima purred. “Once again, my calculations have proven correct! I plotted an intercept course to meet you, Tone-san, and I have intercepted you right where my calculations said I would! And what’s even better is that you have Fubuki-chan and Mutsuki-chan with you! Now,” she smiled, “I shall avenge my dear Haruna onee-sama and also simultaneously take out two more members of Team Two, and once that is done, I shall rendezvous with my sisters and we shall hunt down Shimakaze-chan together! Please stand still so I can perform the task I came here to do…it shall not take long.”

“Bring it!” Tone snarled, as Mutsuki and Fubuki looked at her in surprise.

~~~

Avers was reading some paperwork when he happened to overhear Kirishima’s speech to Tone. He didn’t pay it much mind until he heard Tone’s reply. That got him to look up and listen.

“Something wrong, Admiral?” Nagato looked over from where she was going over some recent radio traffic with Oyodo and Niyodo.

“Hang on, ladies…I think I’m about to scream or something,” Avers rose from his seat and turned towards the window behind his chair.

~~~

“Main guns load practice shells, targets bearing zero-one-three degrees,” Kirishima reported as her turrets swiveled around to aim. “All guns…FIRE!”

“FOLLOW ME!” Tone yelled, and she, Fubuki, and Mutsuki all dove to the left. Eight fourteen-inch practice shells crashed into the spot where they’d been standing only seconds before, missing the three of them entirely but making an absolute mess of the driveway leading to the Headquarters building.

Tone hit the ground and rolled to a kneeling position, immediately shouldering her Coconut Cannon and squeezing off two shots.

~~~

Avers gaped as he saw one of his heavy cruiser Training Officers and – predictably – one of his girlfriend’s sisters exchanging – of all things – paintball salvos, turning the area outside of his headquarters into what looked like a very large canvas belonging to an artist who’d suddenly gone berserk. He opened the window and stuck the upper portion of his body outside to give the two shipgirls hell.

~~~

“Hmm…retaliation! How exciting!” Kirishima squealed as she dived out of the way, causing the decorative fountain and the large patch of grass in front of the driveway to absorb the hits, turning them into a mass of bright orange paint. She too hit the ground and rolled, rising to her knees seconds later and firing off another broadside.

“INSIDE, NOW!” Tone yelled to her companions, and the trio made it inside mere nanoseconds before Kirishima’s broadside arrived.

~~~

“HAVE YOU TWO GONE BANANAS?! WHAT THE HELL’S GOING -” Avers’ sentence was abruptly cut off as eight fourteen-inch practice shells doused the front of his headquarters – and whatever part of him was sticking out the window – in sky blue paint.

“Oh, dear…” Kirishima saw Avers’ frozen form sticking out of an upstairs window and decided that it was best she depart the vicinity immediately.

~~~

Those in Avers’ office knew something was Very Wrong when several loud ‘splats’ sounded against the side of the building, the entire window suddenly turned blue, and several globs of paint splattered on the wall around the frame and on the floor. Avers pulled himself inside and whirled around, emitting a feral growl as he did so, revealing he was now completely blue from head to waist. He also looked Very Upset.

Oyodo and Niyodo clapped hands to their mouths. Nagato’s jaw nearly hit the floor. Mutsu promptly pulled out her cell phone and snapped a picture. The Admiral’s head snapped in her direction at the sound of the shutter going off; he couldn’t see a thing, but he could still hear.

“Whoever took that picture had better delete it right now or else they’re going to have their turrets replaced with sub-chaser weapons,” Avers snarled.

“Deleted, sir…my apologies,” Mutsu replied after a few seconds, although she had no intention of deleting the pic; that was going to be saved for a rainy day.

“Get me a towel so I can wipe my face off,” Avers ordered and then addressed his Chief-of-Staff. “Nagato, the three shipgirls Kirishima was firing on are somewhere in this building. Find them and bring them here ten minutes ago.”

Nagato was out the door as soon as the words ‘find them’ left Avers’ mouth. Mutsu handed the Admiral a wet towel from the bathroom attached to his office. Avers thanked her after wiping his face clean and sighed in relief as he managed to open his eyes. As he did so, Nagato returned to the office, Tone, Fubuki, and Mutsuki following behind her.

“Yikes…” Tone took one look at Avers and cringed. Mutsuki clapped both hands over her mouth and stared, wide-eyed, while Fubuki appeared torn between hyperventilating and bursting into hysterical tears.

“What is that thing?” Avers motioned to Tone’s Coconut Cannon.

“It’s my new Coconut Cannon, sir,” the heavy cruiser responded. “I got the idea from the game Plants vs. Zombies 2, took the plans to Yubari and Akashi, and they built it for me.”

Yet another thing I need to thank them for, Avers thought darkly. He still couldn’t believe the pair had built a full-scale, fully functional Dragonzord. He listened as Tone continued with her explanation.

“They designed it so I can fire practice ammunition from it, and I loaded it with cannonball-sized paintballs containing orange paint.”

Avers nodded. “Well, you can breathe a sigh of relief on one point: as I’m completely covered in blue paint, not orange, you are not at fault for my current state.” He smiled thinly. “If you were…” he paused briefly before continuing. “Well, we just won’t go there.” He turned to Nagato. “Chief-of-Staff, please note that I need to pay the repair yards a visit and remind the personnel there that building weapons and battle machines from video games and TV shows has got to stop.”

“Yes, Admiral,” Nagato replied as Avers turned back to the three now-visibly-relieved shipgirls. “You’re free to go…but that cannon stays with me.”

Tone looked like she wanted to protest, but then realized that any resistance would probably cause Avers to snap completely, so she meekly leaned the cannon against a wall, lovingly ran her hand over it one last time, and then led Fubuki and Mutsuki out of the room. As they were walking out Avers decided to help them since he’d just confiscated a primary weapon of theirs.

“Ladies,” he called to the trio, who stopped and turned back to face him, “when you leave this building, go out the back door…less chance of being caught.”

“Th-Thank you, Admiral!” Fubuki gasped. Tone and Mutsuki also added their thanks before departing. Once they were gone Avers turned to Mutsu, handing her a key he took out of his pocket.

“Mutsu, would you please go to my quarters and fetch a replacement uniform for me? I’ve got to clean up and I don’t have a uniform here.”

His Adjutant nodded and opened the office door, startling Aquitania, who appeared to have been just about to knock.

“Och, ye startled me, lassie!” the liner exclaimed before calling into Avers’ office. “Permission tae enter, sairrr?”

“Come on in, Aquitania,” Avers replied, and Mutsu stepped aside to both let the liner in and continue with her own errand.

Aquitania walked in and gaped at Avers.

“Och, come now, sairrr,” she scoffed. “The sun’s a-shinin’ outside and there’s no’ a rain cloud in sight…nae need tae be sae blue.”

Coughs, chokes, and snorts came from where Oyodo and Niyodo were sitting as the two light cruisers bent closer to their work. Avers glowered at them briefly before turning back to the red-haired liner.

“SO not in the mood for jokes right now,” he growled, before noticing Aquitania’s equipment.

“Going to war, are we?” he quipped, and the liner grinned.

“Aye…ma fellow liners and I got caught in the crossfire earlier, so we decided tae get in on the action. Ah got ‘Limpie and the others spyin’ fer me, lettin’ me know where the other team’s gels are at. Ye mind if ah hole up here? Good vantage point fer snipin’.”

“I –” Avers was briefly at a loss for words, then he remembered he didn’t even know who the instigator of this messy conflict was.

“Who started all this in the first place?” he asked Aquitania. “Do you have any idea who it was?”

“Aye,” the liner replied. “It was that British-built gel who got the idea tae play paintball with the combat gear. She’s head o’ Team One.”

Avers closed his eyes and he dropped his head to his chest momentarily.

“Of course, it’s Kongo,” he chuckled mirthlessly. “Who else would think up something insane like this?”

“So, I’ll just go next door in tae that unoccupied office and settle in, then?” Aquitania asked. “Camp out and wait for those battlewagons tae show themselves?”

Avers was at a loss for words at first, but then he finally decided to give in. What the hell, he thought. If you can’t beat ‘em…join ‘em, right?

“Fine,” he muttered, “just don’t drag the rest of the Headquarters Staff into this, got that?”

“Loud an’ clear, sairrr,” Aquitania replied, and headed next door. Avers went over to his desk and took out The List, writing down two new rules:

23) The construction of homemade cannons of ANY type is strictly prohibited.
24) A reminder: practice rounds are paint-filled to help check accuracy, not for base-wide paint wars.

~~~

Kongo and Hiei were hunting down Shimakaze when Kirishima ran up to them, looking quite distraught.

“Onee-sama,” Hiei greeted her sister, “what’s wrong?”

“Well,” Kirishima began nervously, unsure as to how what she had to say was going to affect her dear Kongo onee-sama, “earlier Haruna attempted to corner most of Team 2, and while she managed to take out Yudachi-san – as I’m sure you’ve already heard over the radio – Tone-san somehow got caught in the crossfire. She happened to be in possession of some sort of paintball cannon, which she used to eliminate Haruna onee-sama. She has since declared herself as part of Team 2, and when I attempted to corner her, Fubuki-san, and Mutsuki-san outside the Headquarters building just now, well…” she trailed off.

“What happened, Kirishima-chan?” Hiei looked quite concerned.

Kirishima sighed. No way to get out of this, she counseled herself. Best to just get it over and done with.

“I fired at them, and they dodged. Tone-san returned fire, and I dodged that. I then returned fire a second time and the three of them bolted for the main doors to the Headquarters building just as I fired. The shells missed them and instead splattered the Headquarters building with bright blue paint.”

Hiei cringed, but Kongo didn’t appear too concerned. “Don’t worry, Dess,” she soothed. “The paint is water-based…it’ll wash off.”

“Well, it wouldn’t have been so bad except for one thing,” Kirishima took a deep breath and dropped the bombshell. “The Admiral had stuck his upper body out of his office window to yell at the four of us just before the shells detonated. He was doused in paint.”

Kongo appeared to twitch. “Teitoku? Covered in paint, Dess?” she asked.

Kirishima nodded nervously. “I’m so sorry, onee-sama!” she wailed.

Kongo paid her no mind. “To Headquarters, Dess!” she announced, pointing into the air and marching off, her two sisters following determinedly behind her.

~~~

Aquitania was relaxing in her makeshift position, shifting back and forth in the swiveling desk chair, when she heard the voices she was hoping to hear. She turned to the window and grinned.

“They’re nae even payin’ attention,” she murmured, quite pleased with how circumstances were playing out, opening the window and taking aim.

~~~

“Shall we wait outside for you, onee-sama?” Hiei asked as the three Kongos approached the Headquarters building.

Kongo stopped and turned to her sister, a thoughtful expression on her face.

“No,” she finally shook her head, “we can afford to relax for a few moments.”

Suddenly paintballs burst all around them, five of these finding their mark on Hiei.

“HIIIEEEEIIII!!!” Hiei wailed. “I’m out, onee-sama!”

“Shit!” Kongo swore as she and Kirishima dived away to either side.

“How’d ye like tha’, Kongo?” Aquitania yelled out the open window.

“Heyyy, Aqui-san!” Kongo called out. “Congratulations on eliminating one of us!”

“Come on in and get me!” the liner responded. “Unless you don’t think the two o’ ye can take me?”

“Nah, nah, nah…we can wait until you come out!” Kongo grinned and flashed a thumbs-up at the building.

Inside, Aquitania grinned. She’d predicted a possible response such as this and had figured out what she thought was the perfect way to stir the pot.

“Verra well, then,” came the reply. “Oh, and just so ye know, I’ve taken th’ Admiral hostage, so if ye change yer mind about comin’ in after me, I’ll be waitin’.”

Hiei and Kirishima gasped in horror, turning to Kongo, who had gone very still and was now sporting an emotionless expression.

“Teitoku-des? Hostage?” she asked, as though struggling to compute such a concept.

“Oh, dear…” Kirishima trailed off, fearing for the reaction that was coming. Hiei whimpered in agreement.

~~~

Avers was pacing in his office, still waiting for Mutsu to return with his replacement uniform, when he and the shipgirls with him heard a samurai battle cry followed by the building shaking as the front doors were kicked in. Seconds later, Aquitania burst into his office.

“Sorry about nae knockin’, sairrr,” she reported, “but I may have told a wee lie tae get yer gelfriend to attack.”

“What did you tell her to make her so mad?” Avers was almost afraid to ask.

“I told her tha’ I’d taken ye hostage,” the liner replied, causing Avers’ jaw to drop.

“You told her what?” Avers gaped, sure he’d misheard her.

“I told her tha’ ye’re m’ hostage,” Aquitania reiterated, “an’ it sounds as though she’s plannin’ on rescuin’ ye.”

“Or violently killing the next living thing she sees,” Avers muttered, a tiny part of him afraid of his girlfriend.

“Dinna worry, sairrr…I’ll ambush ‘em,” Aquitania grinned, and walked out the door to hide in the hallway.

“Yeah, good luck with that,” Avers replied to the closed door. He glanced at the three shipgirls remaining in the office. Oyodo and Niyodo were idly listening to their headsets, while at the same time eagerly watching the door to see what would happen next. Nagato was hunched over some paperwork, shaking her head as though she couldn’t believe the disorderly chaos her Admiral’s office had descended into.

The eyes of everyone in the room snapped to the door as the elevator dinged down the hall.

~~~

“What’s your plan for our rescue, onee-sama?” Kirishima looked at Kongo eagerly, certain her older sister was about to reveal a completely ingenious plan that she would absolutely adore.

To her surprise, Kongo merely shrugged.

“Burst in, take down Aqui-san, and rescue my Teitoku-des,” she replied, readying her paintball gun.

“Th-That’s all?” Kirishima was quite disappointed.

“Simple plans are sometimes the best ones, Dess!” Kongo smiled at her sister, and Kirishima’s heart swelled with pride. Her onee-sama was so smart!

The elevator dinged, signaling it had arrived on the second floor.

“Here we go!” Kongo prepared to charge out of the elevator, but Kirishima stopped her.

“Allow me to go first, onee-sama…I would hate for something to happen to you.”

“Arigato, Kirishima-des!” Kongo hugged her sister impulsively. “I’m so lucky to have a sister like you!”

The duo readied themselves and then Kongo pressed the ‘Door Open’ button. They stepped out to an empty hallway.

“What?” Kongo tilted her head, unsure what to make of this. “I thought Aqui-san would be waiting to ambush us.”

“Ye’d be right abou’ that, lassie!” Aquitania’s voice called out.

Shots came from a nearby office door that had seemingly been left ajar. To Kongo’s horror, several neon pink splotches appeared on Kirishima’s front, and the fast battleship collapsed against the wall.

“Fo-Forgive me, onee-sama,” Kirishima whispered. “Kirishima reports Kirishima is out.”

“I shall avenge you, Kirishima-des,” Kongo replied, but was prevented from saying anything more when she caught the door to the room Aquitania was holed up in opening completely. The liner in question dove into the hallway, and Kongo instinctively rolled to the side, firing as she did so. She grinned as she saw paintballs splatter on the carpet where she’d been standing seconds ago.

“I canna believe this,” Aquitania muttered in disgust, causing Kongo to look over at her. Several splotches of red paint dotted the liner’s front.

“YES!” Kongo squealed, as Aquitania stepped aside to let her pass to Avers’ office. As Kongo walked by, she turned to her opponent and patted her on the shoulder.

“You fought well…you’re a worthy opponent indeed.”

“Rematch sometime, aye?” Aquitania smiled tiredly, and Kongo nodded eagerly.

“Of course, Dess!” she smiled. “But now I must go see my Teitoku-des!” she giggled. “We need to celebrate my victory!” The gleam in the fast battleship’s eye told Aquitania just how Kongo intended to ‘celebrate’ her victory with Avers. She went over to Avers’ office door and knocked.

“Enter!” Avers’ voice responded.

Kongo opened the door to reveal her Teitoku-des standing in the middle of the room, still partly covered in bright blue paint…and holding the same weapon that Tone-san had been wielding earlier in the day.

“T-Teitoku-des?” Kongo looked at him nervously.

“Say hello to my little friend!” Avers grinned – doing a perfect imitation of Tony Montana – and opened fire. An instant later, Kongo was covered in orange paint and Fubuki’s Team Two had won the day.

~~~

Mutsu sighed as she rode the elevator back up to Avers’ office. She was looking forward to the day’s end, as Nagato-nee was looking quite stressed. The battleship giggled to herself, for she knew just the thing to help her sister ship de-stress. As the elevator doors opened, she hoisted the uniform she was carrying and stepped off the elevator…

…and into a war zone. Her jaw dropped as she saw a paint-splattered Kirishima and Aquitania sitting in the hallway talking, even as a paint-soaked Kongo was pouting in the hallway in front of Avers’ door. The Admiral, still covered in blue paint, was standing in the doorway looking quite pleased with himself. He saw Mutsu approaching and smiled.

“Ah, good…my spare uniform! Mutsu, be a dear and put it in the bathroom, would you please? I’ll keep it here in case I need a quick uniform change in the future. For now, though…I’m going to take an early evening.”

“Of-Of course, Admiral,” Mutsu was still trying to wrap her head around the paint-splattered hallway. “Have a nice evening.”

“I hope so…oh,” Avers added, “please call the Janitorial Department and get them to send a cleaning detail up here to take care of this mess.”

“Of course, sir,” Mutsu responded.

“Thank you,” Avers replied before turning to his still-pouting girlfriend. “Now, sweetheart,” he addressed Kongo, “if you’re amenable, why don’t we go back to my quarters and wash the paint off each other?”

In a split second, Kongo went from pouting to walking backwards and pulling Avers down the hall with a look of lust on her face. The Admiral bid his Adjutant good night as his girlfriend literally dragged him into the elevator. Mutsu giggled as she watched them go and then turned toward the office. Perhaps when she told Nagato-nee that she wanted to help her de-stress, they could have an early evening as well.

Chapter Text

Avers idly scanned over the latest batch of paperwork. He wasn’t really concentrating on it, as he currently had an important guest in his office. He sensed someone next to him and glanced over.

“What’s up?” he asked his guest.

“Saiun,” Hoppo stated as she showed him the carrier reconnaissance plane.

“That’s right,” Avers nodded as he made a show of inspecting the aircraft. The little Abyssal had been left at his office by Hosho, who had a meeting with some restaurant suppliers. Hoppo’s regular babysitter had fallen ill and, having no one else to watch her, Hosho had come to his office to ask a favor. Hoppo had had a birthday a few weeks back and now had – among numerous other presents - eight new planes to play with.

Hoppo – apparently satisfied that the Admiral had inspected her aircraft – went back over to play with Mutsu some more. Avers smiled and rose to his feet, going over to the large map of the Pacific Ocean that hung on one of the walls in his office and studied it, as if looking at it hard enough would tell him where the enemy would strike next.

A tug on his pant leg signaled to him that Hoppo wanted to be picked up. Avers obliged, bending down and hoisting the little Abyssal into his arms, pointedly ignoring the subtle ‘click’ of the shutter on Mutsu’s camera phone as she snapped a picture of the scene.

“Ocean,” Hoppo pointed at the map.

“Yes, that’s the Pacific Ocean,” Avers confirmed to her.

“Home,” the little Abyssal pointed to Japan.

Avers nodded. “Right again…that’s home.”

“Birth,” Hoppo pointed to Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench.

Avers glanced over at Nagato and Mutsu, who were watching with interest. “Is that where you were born?” he asked. Hoppo nodded and pointed to the same spot on the map a second time. “Creator,” she stated.

“The being that created you is there? In Challenger Deep?” Avers repeated the information, attempting to confirm it. Hoppo nodded and gave Avers a small smile as though she was saying, you’re comprehending what I’m telling you…good human!

“Is this where all Abyssals come from?” Avers didn’t like asking the little Abyssal for information she might not even know, but if it meant he had a ghost of a chance to learn something here, then he was all for it.

Hoppo shook her head in response to his question and pointed to Challenger Deep again. “Pacific Abyssal Mother.” She then leaned over to a map of the world and pointed to the Laurentian Abyssal in the Atlantic Ocean. “Atlantic Abyssal Mother.”

Avers glanced back at Nagato and Mutsu, who were both gaping at Hoppo. Even Oyodo and Niyodo had stopped their work to listen.

“So, the Abyssal Mothers make all the other Abyssals?” Nagato asked, and Hoppo nodded.

“Abyssal Mothers control Abyssals,” she stated, pointing to her head. “Link.”

“My God…two beings that have telepathic links to every smaller being they create,” Avers murmured. “Incredible.”

“Hive mind,” Hoppo stated. “Kill the base, destroy the hive.”

Avers looked at the little Abyssal. “So, if we kill the Abyssal Mothers, we have a chance of stopping them completely?”

Hoppo didn’t say anything, but merely gave Avers a look that said, worth a shot, right? It was then that the Admiral had a quite-sobering thought.

“If what you’re telling me is in fact true…that if we kill the Abyssal Mother and wipe out all Abyssals in the Pacific…won’t that affect you, too?” He was all for winning the war but paying that price would be enormous if that were the case. He was visibly relieved when Hoppo shook her head.

“Too young for hive mind,” she stated, pointing at herself. “Maturity of eight years is needed for the link.”

“So, you’ll be fine if we do this, then,” Avers stated, and Hoppo nodded. Avers set her down, satisfied anything he might plan would not end up harming an ally. “Go play with Mutsu for now, ok?” Hoppo nodded and ran over to the couch, where Avers’ Adjutant listened intently as the little Abyssal began telling a story with her aircraft.

Avers turned back to the map, his eyes fixed firmly on Challenger Deep. “Nagato,” he called softly, and almost immediately the battleship was beside him.

“Yes, Admiral?” she kept her voice low so as not to be overheard.

“I have a plan to do this, but it’s a major operation…the biggest we’ve ever carried out.” He turned to look at her. “We’re calling all cars here, Lieutenant Commander,” he addressed her by her rank, and Nagato knew he was being deadly serious.

She nodded. “Understood, sir.”

“I’ll let you work out who’s going with what group, subject to my final approval, but there are a couple particulars I need to make sure of myself.” He walked over to the coatrack and grabbed his cover. “I’ll be back later…I need to see a couple people that can help me with these matters.”

~~~

“You want us to build a what?” Akashi asked. Yubari looked at Avers in confusion.

“A MOAB,” Avers replied. “That means ‘Mother of All Bombs’. Basically, it’s a conventional weapon packing enough H-6 explosive equivalent to eleven tons of TNT.”

The two shipgirls looked dazed at the idea. “Is that even possible?” Yubari wondered.

“The Americans built several,” Avers confirmed, “but of course there’s no way to get one over here. If anyone can build one from scratch, it’s my two ‘Mad Scientists’.”

The repair ship and light cruiser blushed at the nickname their Admiral had given them but Avers wasn’t finished with his ‘order’.

“There’s more…I need you to also build a protective covering for it that is capable of withstanding the water pressure at a depth of 40,000 feet.”

As Yubari’s jaw dropped, Akashi did some quick math. “That’s 17,789.3 psi!” The repair ship stammered. It was now her girlfriend’s and Avers’ turn to pick their jaws up off the floor.

“You did that in your head?!” Yubari gaped.

“Where were you when I was taking math classes in NROTC?” Avers muttered. Both shipgirls giggled. He shook his head, determined to stay on-topic. “I also need between four and six drone motors capable of operating at that depth that can handle carrying that bomb. Can you do it?”

Akashi nodded. “Shouldn’t be too hard…how long do I have to complete this project?”

Avers did some quick math of his own. “Five days.”

“EHHHHHH?!?!” Yubari exclaimed, but Akashi appeared unperturbed by this extremely short deadline.

“Change the patrol schedule around so that Yubari doesn’t have duty…I need an extra set of hands here.”

“Done.” Avers felt that was a minor price to pay for what he was asking. “If you two somehow manage to pull this off, I won’t care if you build Ultimate Daizyujin in your spare time, and then test its weapons in war games with the JGSDF.”

Yubari looked quite interested in that prospect, while Akashi thought about the half-built Jūkishin Kingu Burakion that was in one of the more-secluded warehouses in the repair docks and decided to remain silent.

“Ladies,” Avers let them in on the real reason he wanted the project done. “If we get this weapon built and delivered to its target, we could deal a massive blow to the Abyssals…that’s how important this project is.”

The two shipgirls looked at each other before turning to Avers with determined looks on their faces.

“You can count on us, sir,” Akashi stated firmly.

Avers was about to reply when his cell phone rang.

“Avers,” he answered.

“Sir, this is Professor Tanabe,” the voice of his Lead Summoning Technician replied. “We’ve just had a major breakthrough here…would you please come to the summoning chamber immediately?”

“On my way,” Avers stated, ending the call and returning his attention to Yubari and Akashi. “Let me know if you run into any problems, and I’ll do what I can to help.”

“Understood, sir,” Yubari replied. Akashi waved distractedly, already hunched over a set of blueprint papers with a drafting pencil in hand.

Satisfied the pair were hard at work Avers headed for the summoning chamber, wondering what had happened now.

~~~

When Avers walked into the summoning chamber, he found a nervous-looking Professor Tanabe trying to placate a pair of shipgirls who had apparently just risen from the pool. While a shipgirl being frightened or disoriented was by no means unheard of, what was unexpected was that the two shipgirls were berating the Professor in rapid-fire Italian. Three other shipgirls hung back, but when Avers entered the room, the smallest of those three bounced over to him with a wide smile on her face.

“Italian Navy destroyer, third Maestrale-class destroyer, Libeccio. Nice to meet you, Admiral!” She greeted Avers in Italian.

The other two shipgirls, seeing the youngest of the trio using the Italian word for ‘admiral’, also came over.

“I am the first of the Zara-class heavy cruisers, Zara! “Tenacity” is my motto. Pleased to meet you, Admiral!” one of the two, a blonde, introduced herself, extending her hand to Avers, who shook it.

The last of the trio, a redhead, blushed and murmured embarrassedly, “Good morning...I’m Pola, third ship of the Zara-class heavy cruisers.”

Avers struggled to recall the Italian he’d learned during his time he’d been stationed in Genoa.

“Pleased to meet you, ladies,” he replied. “Might we converse in English, though? My Italian is not very good.”

“Sure!” Libeccio replied. She looked around excitedly. “Are there any other ships here?”

“About ninety percent of the Imperial Japanese fleet,” Avers informed her. “You’ve arrived in Japan in the year 2017.”

“So we gathered,” a new voice joined in the conversation. Avers noticed the two shipgirls who’d been arguing with Professor Tanabe had approached. The brunette had been the one who’d spoken, and she now extended her hand. “I’m Littorio, Admiral…first ship of the Littorio-class battleships. Nice to meet you.” She indicated a black-haired version of herself. “This is my younger sister, Roma.”

“Glad to meet you, ladies,” Avers introduced himself and explained the situation before adding, “and finally, let me congratulate you on being the first Italian shipgirls to come back.”

“Place us where you need us, Admiral,” Littorio seemed to have taken the lead of the Italian shipgirls. “We’re ready to serve.”

Avers nodded. “We’ve got a major battle coming up soon…we definitely need all the help we can get.” He paused. “I hope you don’t have a problem operating with shipgirls from other nations?” The Italian shipgirls shook their heads. “Even if it might mean operating with Royal Navy shipgirls?” Avers clarified.

“The war’s been over for us since 1943,” Littorio replied.

“It has?” Libeccio interrupted, “Who won?”

The question caused Littorio to pause; it was then the battleship realized that of the five Regia Marina girls, she was the only one to have survived the war.

“Not us,” she informed the little destroyer, who pouted. Zara and Pola didn’t look too pleased by the news, either.

“You don’t appear upset,” Pola addressed Roma, who looked embarrassed.

“I was sunk en route to surrender,” she replied, and the destroyer and two cruisers looked aghast.

“En route to surrender?! Have the British no sense of decency?!” Zara snarled, but Roma shook her head.

“The British actually tried to protect us as we made to surrender…it was our erstwhile German allies who sank me,” As Libeccio and the two cruisers gasped in shock, she added, “They didn’t want the Allies to have our fleet, so they used guided bombs to sink me and damage my sister.”

Littorio rubbed her head. “That day was not fun,” she muttered before turning to her three companions. “But remember this: it was not the German Navy that did it…don’t bear any ill will against them if you ever meet shipgirls from there because they had nothing to do with my injury or Roma’s demise.”

This statement seemed to satisfy the trio, for they nodded in acceptance.

“Admiral!” the moment was broken by Professor Tanabe’s excited shout. “I believe I’ve figured out how to summon shipgirls from other countries!”

“How so?” Avers excused himself from the Italian group and walked over to where the Professor was standing by his computer.

“I was in here running some tests and I had some music going,” Tanabe replied. “One song started up and suddenly the girls started appearing in the pool. By the time that song was over we had five of them.”

“What song was playing when the Italian girls came through?” Avers inquired.

“Largo al Factotum, as sung by Placido Domingo,” Tanabe replied. “My music tastes vary,” he responded to Avers’ surprised glance.

An idea suddenly came to Avers. “Do you have an internet connection in here?” When Tanabe nodded, he asked, “Can you rig whatever music is playing on the computer to project from the speakers pointed at the pool?”

“That shouldn’t be a problem…can I ask why, sir?” Tanabe inquired, as he set about doing what Avers asked.

“I’ve got an idea I want to try,” the Admiral replied. “If it works, we’ve got more help coming.”

~~~

Ten minutes later, Tanabe had set up the system the way Avers wanted. The Admiral went over to the computer, brought up YouTube, and typed something in. When the results were brought up, he browsed through them and found what he wanted.

“Switch on the summoning speakers,” he ordered Tanabe.

As the Professor did so, a musical fanfare sounded throughout the room.

“Now we’ll see if my theory’s correct,” Avers announced to the others in the summoning chamber as singing started.

Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, Über alles in der Welt.
Wenn es stets zu Schutz unde Trutze, Brüderlich zusammenhält.
Von der Mass bis an die Memel, Von der Etsch bis an den Belt.
Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, Über alles in der Welt.
Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, Über alles in der Welt.

As the song rose to a crescendo, the summoning pool shimmered slightly.

“It’s working, Admiral! Something’s happening!” Tanabe called out.

“Keep the song playing!” Avers ordered.

Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Treue, Deutscher Wein und deutscher sang.
Sollen in der Welt behalten, Ihren alten schönen Klang.
Uns zu edler Tat begeistern, Unser ganzes Leben lang.
Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Treue, Deutscher wein und deutscher sang.
Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Treue, Deutscher wein und deutscher sang.

As the song rose to a crescendo a second time, an auburn-haired girl wearing a grey dress with black stockings broke the surface of the pool right by the edge, nearly colliding with Avers, who caught her. The girl blushed, then went even redder when she glanced at his uniform; she apparently recognized Avers’ rank, for she climbed out of the pool, came to rigid attention, and saluted.

“Heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, reporting for duty, Admiral!” she introduced herself.

Before Avers could even reply, the girl did a perfect about-face and saluted the portal, singing along as the German national anthem continued playing.

Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit, für das deutsche Vaterland!
Danach lasst uns alle streben, Brüderlich mit Herz und Hand!

The pool shimmered again and produced another shipgirl, a well-endowed blonde who – upon climbing out of the pool – was immediately glomped by Prinz Eugen, with the heavy cruiser dissolving into joyous sobs.

Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit, Sind des Glückes Unterpfand.
Blüh' im Glanze dieses Glückes, Blühe, deutsches Vaterland.

As the song rose to a crescendo a third time, two small shipgirls burst out of the pool, dragging a much taller one with them.

Blüh' im Glanze dieses Glückes, Blühe, deutsches Vaterland!

“Where are we?” one of the smaller shipgirls wondered, looking around at the strange room.

The other small shipgirl apparently spotted Avers before her two companions, for she let out an adorable ‘eep’, came to attention and saluted.

“Welcome back, ladies,” Avers returned the girl’s salute. “I’m guessing you asked where you were?” he indicated the previous question posed by one of the smaller shipgirls, who nodded.

“You’re in Japan. The year is 2017, and the world needs your help.”

“Japan?” one of the taller shipgirls gasped.

“Two thousand seventeen?!” Prinz Eugen asked incredulously, still clinging to the larger blonde.

“The world needs us?” the shipgirl who had come through with the two smaller ones clarified. When Avers nodded – he didn’t speak German, so he guessed she was echoing his question – she saluted. “Then I am ready to finally serve! Aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin, reporting for duty, Admiral!”

The well-endowed blonde saluted as best she could with Prinz Eugen still glomped to her. “Battleship Bismarck, Admiral! I also am willing to serve!”

The two destroyers with Graf Zeppelin joined in.

“Destroyer Z-1 Leberecht Maass!” stated one. “Destroyer Z-3 Max Schultz!” stated the other. “We will do our best to achieve victory!” they chorused.

“Let us switch to English out of respect for our Admiral,” Bismarck ordered the other four, who nodded in agreement. “Seventy-six years since I was sunk…” the battleship murmured to herself as she continued speaking. “I’m guessing the Allies won the war?”

Avers nodded. “One of your submarines, U-511, is also here, but she has chosen to take on the designation she received when she was given to Japan as a gift by Adolf Hitler. Her name is RO-500. I’ll let her update you on the historical events that have happened since you all were sunk.” He paused and then added, “Perhaps Prinz Eugen and Graf Zeppelin could elaborate on what happened during the war, as they survived it?” When both shipgirls nodded, he turned to a phone on the wall and activated the base-wide intercom.

“Submarine RO-500 and battleship Mutsu, please report to the summoning chamber…submarine RO-500 and battleship Mutsu to the summoning chamber, please…thank you.”

Avers turned back to the German shipgirls. “I’ll warn you now, ladies…the war has been over for seventy-one years. Most of the shipgirls on this base have long-since let go of their hostilities for the Allies, and I would ask that you do the same. You will more than likely end up fighting alongside Allied shipgirls in the coming days, and we have no time for reopening old wounds. Understood?”

“The Royal Navy’s ships were more-than-worthy opponents during the war,” Bismarck stated. “I would be honored to fight alongside such fierce warriors.”

Avers inwardly breathed a sigh of relief that there would be no animosity from the German point of view and motioned them over to where the five Italian shipgirls were standing.

“We’re going to try summoning some more shipgirls from other nations, so please wait here until we’re finished.” He then headed over to Professor Tanabe.

“Let’s try this again with a different song, shall we?” he typed in another song title and hit ‘play’ when it came up.

Rule Britannia began playing, and almost immediately the pool began shimmering, and as the music rose to a crescendo as the chorus started, three shipgirls broke the surface. Two repeats of the chorus later brought another shipgirl, and a fourth appeared as the song neared its end. Avers surveyed the five girls.

“Welcome back, ladies,” he greeted. Jaws dropped when the British shipgirls laid eyes upon his uniform.

“So, it really happened, then,” one of the shipgirls stated despondently, looking to be near tears. “An American in a Japanese uniform…Herr Hitler and the Axis won the war!”

“They did no such thing!” Another shipgirl, this one – oddly enough – sitting in an odd-looking chair (Avers was suddenly reminded of Professor X from X-Men) that mounted her rigging, while she herself wore a small crown and carried what appeared to be her mainmast disguised as a scepter – replied. “It took until 1945 but we beat them!”

“An’ jus’ ‘ow the bloody hell were we s’posed to know that, mate?” Another shipgirl - wearing the Royal Navy version of Graf Zeppelin’s uniform - shot back in a Cockney accent. “Me an’ Prinny here, we was sunk off Malaysia at the end of ’41!”

“And I went down fighting in the Java Sea in mid-1942,” a fourth shipgirl, the last of the group to emerge, put in. “I don’t mind telling you those Japanese are skilled fighters!”

“Their pilots ain’t ‘alf bad, either!” the Cockney shipgirl replied. “Twin-engine land-based bombers were what sent us to see Old Hob! We never got a chance to sight any of their bloody warships! Could’ve ‘ad air cover with us, but no…that bloomin’ idijt Churchill sends us off without a carrier after the one we was s’posed to go with grounded ‘erself! Heaven forbid we wait ‘til another’s available, oh, no…”

“I’ll thank you to not disparage one of our country’s greatest leaders in my presence,” the last shipgirl spoke up frostily. “It was Churchill who chose me to go out when the Atlantic convoy lanes were threatened by…” she trailed off, having spotted the German shipgirls watching the British group with some trepidation, and zeroed in on one particular shipgirl. A look of pure rage came over her face.

“Aw, crap,” Avers muttered, immediately knowing what was coming.

“BISMARCK!!!” the British shipgirl howled, her fingers twitching as though looking for her combat rig.

“Oh, bugger…” the despondent shipgirl muttered. “First, I’m forced to talk about my sinking and then I’m reminded of my first time out…not a very good day for me.”

“She’s Bismarck?” the Cockney shipgirl asked no one in particular. “Cor blimey, would ya look at the set of jubblies on that one!”

“And you are?” the German battleship inquired, blushing slightly at the Cockney shipgirl’s comment. “At least grant me the courtesy of knowing your name so that I might determine why you’re so hostile towards me.”

“’Why I’m so hostile?!’” the British shipgirl quipped. “You seriously can’t figure it out?”

Bismarck smiled demurely. “You’re a member of the Royal Navy, correct? Well, in my defense, there were quite a lot of you back in my day, as I’m sure you recall.”

“Do you recall the Denmark Strait?” the British shipgirl snarled. “And that lucky hit you scored?”

A look of recognition came over Bismarck’s face, and she had the courtesy to look guilty. “Ah…Hood,” she greeted. “I’m glad you answered the call to serve. I look forward to operating with you.” She smiled, a glint of humor in her eyes. “But in my defense, it wasn’t a ‘lucky shot’…Korvettenkapitän Schneider’s men were simply that good, and your Prime Minister and 1st Sea Lord refused to allow you to be pulled off the line for modernization that might very well have saved you in our little encounter.” She shrugged. “As the French say, c’est la vie.” She grinned. “And correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you have a little mix-up with the French fleet as well? I imagine Dunkerque and Strasbourg, when they’re summoned, will want to discuss that matter with you…and I’m sure Bretagne has some strong feelings on the issue as well.” She tacked on the last part as an afterthought.

The German battleship’s hopes of getting under her nemesis’ skin was hugely successful; a vein on Hood’s forehead throbbed as Prinz Eugen grinned, Graf Zeppelin looked back and forth as though she had no idea what either shipgirl was talking about, and Z-1 and Z-3 gazed at Bismarck in awe as they watched the battleship verbally take down her famed opponent.

“That will be quite enough, Hood!” The shipgirl sitting in the chair barked. “You are the pride of the Royal Navy, now act like it! We have answered the call to serve again and I for one am not going to allow old grudges to hinder our path to victory!”

Hood clamped her mouth shut and glowered at the German shipgirls as the other shipgirl turned to Avers.

“My apologies, Admiral,” she stated. “H.M.S. Warspite, reporting for duty yet again." She gestured down to her chair with a demure blush. "This is the result of my last refit...concrete ballast and the permanent loss of a propeller does nothing for one's speed. But it was a wartime necessity."

"You'll get some experience and get another refit," Avers replied. "I'm sure the engineering personnel can fix whatever was jury-rigged back then."

Warspite smiled in thanks. "As you’ve probably gathered," she continued, "this is H.M.S. Prince of Wales,” she indicated the despondent shipgirl, “H.M.S Repulse,” she indicated the shipgirl with the Cockney accent, “and H.M.S. Exeter,” she motioned to the shipgirl who’d come through the portal last.

Avers was about to reply when he happened to glance over at the Italian shipgirls and found Zara and Pola looking at Warspite with expressions of abject terror on their faces.

“It’s her!” Zara gasped. “It’s the Gray Ghost!”

“She’s come back for us!” Pola wailed.

“I’m sorry, what are you two on about?” Warspite looked completely lost, forcing Avers to interject.

“Do the names Zara and Pola ring any bells?” He asked quietly. “Or perhaps the phrase ‘Cape Matapan, 1941’?”

“Oh…right,” the famed British battleship blushed. “Yes, they would have good reason to fear me, wouldn’t they?” She looked in the direction of the two Italian cruisers and called, “Don’t worry, you two! We’re allies now…you have nothing to fear from me!”

The tactic didn’t really work, for the two Italian shipgirls whimpered and clung to each other, quivering. Warspite shook her head and sighed, looking over at Avers. “I tried,” she stated.

At that moment, RO-500 and Mutsu walked into the summoning chamber.

“You sent for us, Admiral?” Mutsu asked. Avers nodded.

“Yuu,” he addressed RO-500, “we’ve managed to summon some German shipgirls. If you would, please show them around and inform them as to what’s gone on since the war ended.” He glanced over and noted Zara and Pola still paralyzed with fear. “And why don’t you take the Italian shipgirls as well?”

“Sure!” Yuu bounced over to the German shipgirls and began chattering excitedly, quite happy to have other shipgirls with German origins around. As they left, Mutsu turned to Avers.

“Do you want me to show this group around, sir?” She asked, indicating the Royal Navy group.

Avers shook his head. “Not yet…we’re going to attempt another summons.” He turned to Professor Tanabe. “Ready to try again?”

The scientist nodded. “Whenever you are, Admiral…what nation are you going after this time?”

Avers typed in another song title and made his selection. Seconds later, Mutsu, Repulse, and Prince of Wales all jumped when the opening fanfare of Anchors Aweigh boomed through the speakers. At first not much happened, but as the first verse ended, the pool started to shimmer.

“Something’s happening!” Professor Tanabe stated to Avers.

Ya think? Avers thought sarcastically. As the second verse ended, a shipgirl finally surfaced. Her pale blonde hair was topped with a white sailor’s cap that bore Native American designs around the brim, and she wore a Native American shawl with an identical pattern over her shoulders, under which she sported a sailor outfit. Red stockings topped with three white bands completed her outfit. Startled cerulean eyes gazed at Avers, almost as though she were unable to believe the sight of an American wearing her enemy’s uniform.

“Where am I?” she asked. Avers was about to reply when the last portion of Anchors Aweigh began playing, and as it ended, a second shipgirl popped up, nearly colliding with the first. Avers had no trouble discerning the second shipgirl was a battleship; she was dressed like a World War II pin-up girl, and as such had her most impressive ‘attributes’ practically on full display.

“Hiya,” she smirked at Avers as she climbed out of the pool. “I’m gonna guess there’s a good reason you’re wearing that uniform.”

Avers nodded and explained the year and the situation. The battleship merely nodded, accepting that she was getting to fight for freedom once more, and extended her hand.

“U.S.S. Iowa, BB-61, reporting for duty, Admiral,” she stated. Avers took her hand and shook it.

“Welcome back…I’m glad we finally managed to summon some American shipgirls.”

Iowa looked surprised. “You mean the two of us are the first Americans? You’ve had nothing but Japanese shipgirls so far?”

Avers motioned to the group of British shipgirls. “We just summoned them…they’re the first group of Royal Navy shipgirls, and a group of German and Italian shipgirls were summoned right before you were.”

“We’re the first Royal Navy shipgirls?” Warspite interjected, looking surprised.

“First Royal Navy shipgirls, yes,” Avers replied. “First girls from the United Kingdom, no.” When the British shipgirls looked confused, he smiled. “Six girls representing British passenger liners – including R.M.S. Titanic - inadvertently got summoned a few months back.”

While the British shipgirls absorbed this info Avers turned his attention to the other newly summoned American shipgirl, who appeared to be in a state of shellshock.

“Seventy-two years since I got sunk…” she trailed off. “And you say we’re currently in Japan, and that Japan and the U.S. have been allies ever since the war ended?”

Avers nodded. “You said you were sunk?” He asked the girl. “When was that?”

“1945,” was the response. “I was headed to the Philippines when a submarine got me.” She came to attention and saluted. “Heavy cruiser U.S.S. Indianapolis, CA-35, reporting for duty.”

Avers smiled and returned the salute. “Welcome back, Indy…we’re glad to have you.”

The heavy cruiser gave her admiral a shy smile, but it quickly vanished when she said, “You said we’re in Japan, so I’m guessing this base is full of Japanese shipgirls.” When Avers nodded, the cruiser asked, “Is she one of them?”

Avers immediately knew the ‘she’ Indy was referring to. He sighed, somewhat uncertain about answering the question. “Are you asking just in passing or so that you can plan retribution?”

“In passing,” Indy replied, although Avers could see she wasn’t sure herself. He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

“In that case, yes, submarine I-58 is here,” Avers replied.

Indy seemed to deflate slightly. “I-58…” she murmured. “After all these years, I finally have a name to put to my end.”

“Remember, I told you that name in good faith,” Avers cautioned. “I don’t want to hear of dissention in the ranks because of what happened back in July 1945, is that understood?”

Indy nodded and Avers turned to Mutsu, who ushered the two Americans over to where the British shipgirls were standing. Avers headed over to the computer, typed in another song title and pressed ‘play’ when he found the version he wanted. As The Star-Spangled Banner began playing, both Iowa and Indy came to attention, and Avers followed them purely out of instinct.

As the song rose to a crescendo, the pool shimmered and a single shipgirl emerged. She was dressed in a female sailor outfit, complete with while thigh-highs, over which she wore a Navy officer’s greatcoat with Lieutenant’s insignia on the cuffs, and a female junior officer’s cover on her head. She glanced around, completely disoriented.

“Where am I?” she asked. “The last thing I remember is the hearing National Anthem, seeing Japanese planes, then a brilliant flash, an excruciating pain, and then here I am. I never even got a chance to fight.” She paused briefly before commenting on Avers’ uniform, “And it looks like we lost in the end.”

“No, no…the United States won the Pacific War,” Avers confirmed for her. “It took until August 1945 and cost thousands of lives, but we did win.” He gestured to his uniform. “There’s a long story behind this but suffice to say the world needs your services once more.”

The girl nodded, apparently satisfied that Avers would explain his attire sometime later. She’d heard all she needed to hear; the world needed her once again, and she was more than willing to answer said call. She came to attention and saluted.

“U.S.S. Arizona, BB-39, reporting for duty, sir!”

“Ari…you’re back!” Indianapolis squealed and launched herself at the battleship. For her part, Arizona smiled and returned the heavy cruiser’s embrace.

“Hey, Indy,” she laughed. “I missed you, too.” She glanced over at Iowa, having seen her American flag-styled attire out of the corner of her eye, and did a double-take.

“Good night!” she exclaimed. “What kind of ship are you, sailor?”

Iowa grinned. “U.S.S. Iowa, BB-61.”

Arizona’s jaw dropped. “Holy crap…” she trailed off, before shaking her head and grinning. “Just goes to show you what American shipbuilding can turn out when there’s a war on.” She walked over and shook Iowa’s hand. “Thank you for being there when I couldn’t.”

Iowa was speechless. To the wartime battleships, the prewar vessels that had been present at Pearl Harbor were legends of their type, and to have the most famous one of them all shake the hand of a wartime battleship and thank them for winning the war was tantamount to a baseball fanatic getting to do a meet-and-greet with Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig. Unable to speak, she simply smiled and nodded.

Arizona laughed at the larger battleship’s star-struck expression. “There’s no need to look at me like I’m some Hollywood legend…I’m a battleship, same as you.”

“Mutsu,” Avers addressed his Adjutant, “if you’d take these three over to where the British shipgirls are and bring them up to date on the current situation, I’ll finish up with Professor Tanabe.” The Japanese battleship nodded and greeted the three Americans amiably. Iowa responded in kind, knowing Japan and America had been staunch allies for several decades. Indy and Arizona gave guarded looks to Avers’ adjutant, but Mutsu’s warm personality quickly won the heavy cruiser over. Arizona, however, wasn’t so sure, and remained polite but distant until the group joined the British shipgirls. While Indy and Iowa were welcomed by the British girls, Mutsu took Arizona aside.

“You know, we’re kinda in the same boat when it comes to our war service,” she told the American battleship.

“How so?” Arizona appeared surprised that Mutsu was speaking to her.

“I served for eighteen months before being sunk, but I never fired a shot at enemy vessels,” Mutsu replied. “I was too slow to operate with the carriers, and therefore spent most of my time at anchor in the Hashirajima fleet anchorage with the rest of the battleships.” She sighed. “I went out only twice, and both times were as part of a distant cover force that saw no action whatsoever.” She sighed. “I really don’t know why we sortied to begin with…we just wasted fuel we didn’t have.”

“At least you saw action,” Arizona groused. “I got hit with a bomb and blew up in port.”

“Our fates are the same, but the circumstances are different,” Mutsu replied. “In June 1943 one of my crewmen set off an explosive charge in the magazine of my Number Three turret in revenge for being implicated on theft charges.” As Arizona gaped at her in horror, Mutsu added, “It sank me and killed over a thousand of my crew, including both my CO and XO.”

“Jeez…” Arizona murmured. “Guess we are in the same boat.” She paused, then asked, “You’ve seen action in this war, right?”

Mutsu nodded. “Definitely…and I can guarantee you will, too.”

~~~

While Mutsu and Arizona were burying the hatchet, Avers typed in the last song he wanted to attempt to summon with that day: the theme from the 1976 film Midway. Within thirty seconds, it was obvious that the song was generating results, as the pool began shimmering. As the two-minute mark approached and the song rose to a crescendo, a shipgirl broke the surface, along with another smaller shipgirl clinging tightly to her waist.

Avers started to approach as they climbed out of the pool, but the larger shipgirl took one look at his uniform and tensed for battle, while the smaller one clinging to her waist shrieked in terror. As the three-minute mark approached and the pool began shimmering again, he decided to wait until the song was over to greet the new girls. As he made that decision, the music rose to its finale and two more shipgirls popped up.

“E!” the first shipgirl shrieked, and tackle-glomped the blonde-haired of the two shipgirls that had risen from the depths of the pool.

The girl named E grinned and hugged the other girl back. “Hey, sis…long time no see,” she murmured thickly. The other shipgirl that had come through with E joined the hug, which went on until Avers approached. The blonde noticed Avers approaching and nodded in greeting.

“American?” she asked, and when Avers nodded she replied, “I’ll get the story on why you’re wearing that particular uniform later. For now,” she came to attention and saluted. “U.S.S. Enterprise, CV-6, reporting for duty, sir!”

Avers refrained from doing a happy dance upon hearing that name. He smiled and returned the salute.

“Welcome back, Enterprise…I’m guessing these are your sisters?”

“U.S.S. Yorktown, CV-5,” the shipgirl who’d first came through introduced herself. “And the limpet clinging to my hull is destroyer U.S.S. Hammann, DD-412.”

Avers nodded at the pair; it didn’t look like Yorktown planned to let go of her sister anytime soon, and it appeared the same went for Hammann – who was on the same level of the adorable scale as Hoppo and DesDiv 6 – clinging to Yorktown.

“U.S.S. Hornet, CV-8,” the third shipgirl stated. She wore the standard barely-there shipgirl skirt that bore the same camouflage pattern she’d worn on the Doolittle Raid in April 1942. Avers was surprised to note that all three Yorktowns were carrying Navy version M1 Garand rifles slung over their shoulders; Hornet even had a satchel fastened around her waist that contained sixteen B-25s.

After tearful reunions between the American shipgirls Avers led Mutsu and her group out of the building containing the summoning chamber, leaving Professor Tanabe to continue his work on the computer. As he stepped outside Avers shook his head as he heard the opening notes of the Gunkan March being playing, followed immediately thereafter by the sound of possible summons.

“Wait here,” the Admiral instructed Mutsu’s group, before running back inside. As he ran into the summoning chamber, he could see he was already too late; three more Japanese shipgirls had emerged from the depths. He ran over to the keyboard and hit the ‘Stop’ button for the music, halting the march halfway through.

“That’s enough for now, Professor…your machine has earned its gold star for today. Excellent work.” He turned to the newest trio and spoke over Tanabe’s effusive thanks. “Welcome back, ladies…what are your names?” God, with as many times as I’ve said this today, he thought, I’m starting to sound like a broken record.

“Aircraft carrier Kasagi!” the tall willowy redhead beamed. “I’m ready to finally take my place in the fleet with my sisters!”

“Destroyer Kamikaze,” one of the two smaller girls with long wine-colored hair replied. “This is my sister ship, Harukaze,” she indicated an identically dressed girl of the same height with shoulder-length brown hair and reddish eyes.

Avers was about to reply to their greeting when Repulse ran back into the room.

“Oi, Admiral! Ya better get outside quick! Those three Yank flattops are havin’ a bloomin’ Mexican standoff with a couple o’ Jap carriers!”

“Oh, great,” Avers groaned, but before he could even think to move, Kasagi broke into a run and blew past him in a second.

“Out of the way, please, British sailor!” she commanded. “I have to go help my fellow carriers!” She brushed past Repulse, who bristled at the perceived slight to her seniority.

“Oi! Where the fuck do you get off, eh?” Repulse yelled after her, apparently completely fine with using vocabulary that topped the list of ‘No-No Words Whilst in the Presence of an Admiral’. “I’m a bloody battle cruiser, thank you very much!” She stalked after Kasagi while muttering darkly under her breath.

“Ruddy flattops think they own the sea lanes just because they can sink ships without ever havin’ laid eyes on ‘em! Well, who’s there with you when the enemy planes come a’ callin’, eh?” She asked no one in particular. “Y’ever think about that, mate? Oh, us capital ships are all obsolete and unwanted until you need our ack-ack guns, then it’s ‘oh, we can work together…please escort us’! Bloody hypocritical if you ask me!”

Avers decided to ignore Repulse’s opinionated outburst and headed outside without a word, Repulse, Kamikaze, and Harukaze following behind him.

~~~

As Avers was meeting the last of the day’s summons, the British and American shipgirls milled around outside. Conversation was easygoing until two shipgirls walking past greeted Mutsu.

“Good afternoon, Mutsu-san!” Akagi greeted the battleship cheerfully as she and Kaga approached the group. Mutsu looked around nervously, knowing that there were a certain four shipgirls who might have a few words for the 1st Carrier Division, and she really didn’t want to be a part of that conversation if she could possibly help it.

“H-Hey there,” she smiled and waved back, deliberately leaving off Akagi’s name.

“Wow…quite a lot of new shipgirls today!” Akagi noted. “Nice to meet you all, and welcome back! I’m Akagi of the 1st Carrier Division, and this is my girlfriend and division mate, Kaga.”

The British shipgirls, none of whom had faced the Japanese duo in combat, greeted them politely. One could’ve heard a pin drop on the American side. While Iowa, Indianapolis and Hammann didn’t really have any beef with the two carriers, their four companions did. For her part, Arizona gazed at Kaga, a stony expression on her face, while the Yorktowns gazed at their old foes with an equal amount of respect and distrust.

“We meet again,” Enterprise stated.

“We’ve met before?” Kaga raised a delicate eyebrow.

“Only once,” Yorktown replied. “Well,” she amended, “our planes met once before…just north of a tiny atoll in the Pacific in June 1942.” She motioned to herself and her sisters. “Yorktown, Enterprise, and Hornet.”

“Oh…” Akagi trailed off, now looking distinctly nervous at facing the three carriers that sank both her and her girlfriend.

“Oh, sod this,” Repulse muttered, tired of the tension between the two carrier groups. She turned and ran back inside, unnoticed by any of the Americans, while her fellow Royal Navy shipgirls wondered what she was up to. Before any of them could voice an idea to the others, Arizona spoke up.

“I’ve met your planes before, too,” the battleship stated. “I met them on December 7, 1941.” She introduced herself, and to the surprise of the Americans, Akagi’s eyes filled with tears. Before anyone could do anything, the Japanese carrier ran over and embraced Arizona, sobbing heavily.

No one – especially Arizona, who looked completely lost with the emotionally distraught Japanese carrier clinging to her – appeared to have any idea what to do. Of all the possible reactions the American shipgirls pictured their former Japanese enemies having when the two groups finally met face-to-face, this certainly wasn’t it.

“Um…” Enterprise trailed off before shaking her head. “Yeah, I’ve got nothing.”

“Me neither,” Hornet added.

“Same,” Yorktown put in.

For her part, Arizona appeared to be trying to comfort her former enemy, having brought her arms up to lightly pat Akagi on the back.

“There, there…” she murmured awkwardly before looking over at Kaga, whose expression said she would have been perfectly happy if the ground had decided right then to swallow her whole.

“She’s your girlfriend…do something!” Arizona mouthed.

Kaga huffed and reluctantly approached her former enemy.

“Akagi-san -” Whatever Kaga was going to say was cut off as Kasagi burst out of the building.

“Stop!” The Japanese carrier exclaimed, coming to stand between the Japanese and the Americans. “If we are drawing sides to resume the war, allow me to say I shall finally get my chance to fight for the Emperor!”

“What the hell?” Yorktown voiced the question everyone had been thinking. “Who are you, exactly?”

“Fleet aircraft carrier Kasagi, fourth ship of the Unryu-class!” Kasagi replied.

“Well, that’s nice,” Yorktown replied. “And when were you commissioned, right at the end of the war?”

Kasagi blushed attractively. “Well, no…not exactly. I was only eighty-four percent complete when we surrendered.”

“Seriously?” Yorktown raised an eyebrow. “You weren’t even finished?”

Kasagi giggled nervously as the American carrier looked incredulously at her.

At this point Avers came outside to find most of the shipgirls standing around, with Yorktown looking at Kasagi like she was crazy and Enterprise, Hornet, and Kaga looking uncomfortable while Akagi clung to Arizona in the middle of what appeared to be a severe emotional breakdown.

“What happened?” the Admiral gaped. “I was gone all of five minutes!”

“Sometimes five minutes is all it takes for something to go wrong,” Enterprise stated, resulting in cringes from her sisters and a fresh bout of tears from Akagi.

“Um, E, that might not have been the best thing you could’ve said right then -” Hornet’s warning was cut off by her sister overriding her with, “I know, I know!” as she did a facepalm.

“Kasagi-san,” Kaga addressed the new carrier, “please step aside so I may speak to Akagi-san.”

Kasagi turned, saw who was speaking to her, and emitted a squee so high-pitched Avers was certain only dogs could hear it.

“Oh wow…you’re Kaga! You were a legend back when I was being built!” She grabbed Kaga’s hand and shook it fiercely. “It’s a huge honor to meet you, really a huge honor!” She paused a moment before asking, “Do you know my older cousin, Hiryu? Is she here, too?”

Kaga apparently recognized this as a way out of this situation and nodded, giving Kasagi a thin smile.

“Yes, she is…why don’t you go find her?”

“Yay!” Kasagi was about to run off but Avers stopped her.

“First, why don’t we get you set up for training and get you assigned to a dorm, hmm?” he flashed a brief glower at Kaga, then decided it was pointless when the carrier in question wasn’t even paying attention.

“Um, hey…” Arizona trailed off, by now thoroughly uncomfortable with the entire situation, “not to offend you or anything, but can I ask what brought on the nervous breakdown?”

“I-It’s not a nervous breakdown,” Akagi pulled back and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief Kaga offered her. “I-It’s more my wanting to apologize for the circumstances of December 7th.” When Arizona looked confused, she continued. “The Japanese Navy never intended for the attack on Pearl Harbor to be a surprise.” At the Americans’ look of consternation, she continued. “Japan had a formal declaration of war transmitted to Washington that was to have been handed to the U.S. Government a full thirty minutes before the attack was to even begin. The Japanese Embassy in Washington had difficulty in decoding and translating the final part of the thirteen-part message and was unable to finish before the attack commenced.”

“Wait…” Enterprise broke in. “So, you’re saying if those pencil-pushing idiots in Washington had only worked faster…” she trailed off, realizing.

“Then Hawaii would’ve been able to meet our air strikes with all force possible, yes,” Kaga finished. She came to attention and bowed to the American ships. “Akagi-san and I have decided…when this war is over and the Abyssals have been defeated, we would like to visit Pearl Harbor and pay our respects to the dead.” She paused and then finished with, “And we are prepared to commit seppuku there in an effort to atone for our actions that morning.”

“More death is not the answer in wanting to right a wrong!” Avers stepped in. This was the first he’d even heard of 1st Carrier Division’s plan and he wanted to put a stop to it right away. “Our two countries have met in friendship many times since 1945…participants on both sides have met in Pearl Harbor as friends and have put their animosities behind them. There is absolutely no reason the shipgirls of both countries cannot do the same. There is a war on that threatens the very existence of the people on this earth, and I’m asking you right now to put your differences aside and your greatest qualities – American patriotism and fighting will and the Japanese samurai spirit – together because if you do, I don’t think there would be anything the Abyssals could do to stop us.”

Enterprise didn’t say anything, she merely approached Kaga and extended her hand.

“The Admiral’s right,” she replied. “We slogged our guts out against each other in the past, and if we can go toe-to-toe with each other, imagine what we could do if we joined forces. What do you think?”

Kaga raised an eyebrow, then to Avers’ surprise a small smile came over her face and she took Enterprise’s hand.

“On behalf of Kidō Kanmusu Butai, I accept,” she stated. “It will be an honor to serve alongside you, Enterprise-san.”

The American echoed the sentiment, but seconds later was tackle-glomped by an emotional Akagi.

“GLACK!” Enterprise grunted as Akagi’s body slammed into hers and the Japanese carrier squeezed her tight in her arms. “Ok…ok,” she soothed, patting Akagi’s arms. “Gee, you’re a friendly one, aren’t you?” she joked.

“Sorry,” Akagi pulled away, laughing shakily.

A low grumble was heard from Enterprise’s stomach. “I’m starving,” the carrier announced. “Where’s the chow hall on this base?”

Akagi’s eyes glazed over at the mention of food. “Come on!” she exclaimed. “Kaga-san and I will show you!”

As the large group of shipgirls moved off Avers lagged behind for a moment and breathed a sigh of relief, closing his eyes and tilting his face up to the sky to catch the late afternoon sun, smiling as he did so. It appeared that the new shipgirls were going to put their animosities aside and work together to defeat their common enemy, and any possible crisis in the way of leftover grudges from World War II had been laid to rest.

“Maybe it’ll be smooth sailing from here on out,” Avers mused optimistically.

“WHAT THE BLOODY HELL D’YOU MEAN BY ‘THEY ABOLISHED THE RUM RATION’?!” Repulse roared.

“Or not,” Avers muttered, and began power walking to join up with the group.

Chapter Text

Three days later found Avers standing in front of his map again, his gaze fixed on Challenger Deep. Akashi and Yubari had truly outdone themselves; they had successfully built a prototype of what Avers had asked and were now in the field-testing phase. As for the rest of the fleet, gunnery drills and defense classes had been ramped up; all other training had been halted until further notice in order for the shipgirls to concentrate solely on combat techniques.

However, it hadn’t all been work; it was now an ongoing battle to keep rum away from the five Royal Navy shipgirls, including Hood and Warspite, who – judging by Repulse’s irate reaction – were not pleased by the fact that the Royal Navy no longer gave a daily ration of rum to its ratings. In addition to this, other meetings between former foes had taken place, with some interesting results.

~~~

Goya emerged from the water after attack practice and walked along the pier, wiping her face with a towel as she did so. She noticed the same shipgirl sitting nearby, looking out to sea with a pensive expression on her face. Said shipgirl had been there every day for the past two days, and the submarine figured she was one of the newer summons.

“Great view, huh?” she asked as she wrapped her towel around her body and approached the girl.

“Huh? Oh…yeah,” the girl smiled nervously.

“Lemme guess: you’re one of the new summons?” Goya asked, and the girl nodded.

“It feels weird being human…like I have parts I don’t know what to do with,” she complained. “And then there’s the flashbacks I keep having to my time in the war…” she trailed off helplessly.

“I understand the ‘being human’ part,” Goya replied. “I felt the same way when I was first summoned. As for the flashbacks to the war…” she shrugged. “I was completed fairly late, so I only served about a year before we surrendered. I only attacked a ship with conventional torpedoes one time.” She scoffed. “Some submarine I am, huh?”

“Did you sink your target?” the girl asked, and Goya nodded.

“Believe it or not, my target was unescorted…strange for what my crew thought was a battleship.”

“It wasn’t a battleship?” the girl asked, and Goya shook her head.

“Nah…turned out it was a heavy cruiser, but it’s still strange to see a major warship unescorted like that, no?”

The girl nodded, although by this time she looked troubled. “Where’d you sink this ship, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Goya shook her head. “No, I don’t mind talking about it, but I understand if you’re feeling uncomfortable…she was one of your fleet-mates, I imagine.”

“Never mind that,” the girl replied. “I need to know where you sank her.”

“I can’t recall exactly where,” Goya replied, “but I do remember it was in the Philippine Sea. Like that narrows it down, huh?” she attempted to joke, and was pleased to see a small smile appear on her companion’s face.

“Yeah,” the girl agreed. “When did you sink her?”

“Late July 1945,” Goya replied, pulling out her waterproof iPhone 6 and pulling up the Wikipedia entry for her target. “If you knew her personally, I’m sorry.” She handed the phone to the girl who took it, glanced at the screen, and nearly dropped the phone, literally recoiling in shock.

“Like I said, if you knew her personally, I’m sorry -” Goya repeated, but she was interrupted by her companion breaking down into agonizing wails.

“How could they?!” she gasped through her tears. “Captain McVay asked for a destroyer escort, and they refused him! And then more than half were lost to shark attacks! And that fucking bastard King…a court-martial?! If he wasn’t dead already, I’d put him in the ground myself!”

Goya was starting to get nervous herself…this girl must’ve been a good friend of Indianapolis to have such an emotional reaction to the Wikipedia article. Her thoughts were interrupted once more by the girl completely falling apart, dropping to her knees and wailing.

“Captain McVay killed himself?!” she screamed at the heavens.

“Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have shown you that article…” Goya trailed off nervously, desperately trying to figure out what she could say or do to comfort her companion.

The girl suddenly stopped crying and wiped her eyes. “No…” she murmured to herself, “there’s no use crying. The best thing I can do to preserve their memory is help destroy these creatures.”

“Captain McVay was exonerated in 2000,” Goya informed the girl, who nodded.

“It came thirty-two years too late, but his name was cleared…I’m glad of that. And I wish I could thank the captain of the submarine, too…he testified it wouldn’t have made a difference about zigzagging. Even he knew Captain McVay wasn’t to blame.” The girl reached into the small backpack she carried with her, pulled out a U.S. Navy baseball cap, and put it on, gazing out to sea.

“I’ll do you proud once again, Captain,” she whispered, and saluted.

When she turned back to face Goya, the submarine’s heart nearly stopped when she saw the face of the baseball cap:

U.S.S. Indianapolis, CA-35.

“What’s wrong?” the girl asked, tilting her head in concern as she saw Goya’s expression. “Are you ok? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

All Goya could do was to remove the towel from around her body, revealing the white logo on the front of her swimsuit.

イ-58

Indy stared at the designation in shock. Goya also remained silent, as she didn’t know what to say, either. Finally, the silence became too much for the Japanese submarine.

“Look, I think I’m just gonna go - ”

“No,” Indy cut her off. “I was sunk in wartime and we’re now on the same side, fighting against a common enemy, right?”

Goya nodded dazedly, still uncertain about where Indy was going with this.

“So we’re good,” the heavy cruiser responded. “Now,” she added. “I think I need some ice cream…know where there’s a good place to get some?”

Goya nodded. “Mamiya’s Café is a popular spot…her parfaits and ice cream are really good.”

“Let’s go,” Indy replied. “I have no idea where that place is, and I hate eating alone. Come on.” Goya was stunned when the heavy cruiser took her arm and started walking towards the land-end of the pier.

“B-But I’m the submarine that sank you,” she stammered, trying very hard to ignore the tingle she felt from the American’s touch.

“And I’m the heavy cruiser that brought the materials for the two nuclear bombs my country dropped on yours,” Indy replied. “Are we gonna play semantics here, I-58?”

Goya blushed. “My friends call me Goya, dechi.”

Indy grinned. “All right, then. Come on, Goya…let’s go pig out on ice cream.”

~~~

Yorktown watched as Hammann interacted with DesDiv 6. The five destroyers had already become fast friends, although she was still trying to work out what made Nagato have a nosebleed and collapse into an unconscious quivering mess when she saw the five destroyers plus Hosho’s adopted daughter crowded together for a picture that Hosho insisted upon taking. Why Mutsu found Nagato’s reaction to be hilarious was a mystery as well.

“They’re adorable, huh?” a voice jarred her from her thoughts.

“Huh?” Yorktown turned and smiled when she saw the girl she’d met her second night on base. She and her sisters had gone out with the girls from 1st Carrier Division, with Yorktown leaving Hammann with Iowa, who hadn’t minded babysitting. Akagi and Kaga had introduced the American ships to alcohol, and both Yorktown and Hornet had indulged quite a bit. (Enterprise, ever the serious one of the trio, had elected to be the shipgirl who stayed sober and made sure everyone else got home safely.)

On one trip up to the bar for a refill, Yorktown had met one of the Japanese shipgirls and had struck up a semi-drunken conversation. Although neither shipgirl had given the other a name, one thing had eventually led to another, and Yorktown found herself waking up alone the following morning, hungover but at the same time able to remember the previous night with a wide smile. All her first lover had left behind was a note stating she had patrol duty and was forced to leave. The note was signed ‘Imuya’.

“DesDiv 6,” Imuya replied, her voice bringing Yorktown back to the present. “They’re easily the most adorable destroyers in the fleet. And Hoppo is spoiled by everyone who interacts with her. Looks like the destroyer you were summoned with will be added to that group.”

Yorktown smiled. “Yeah, it looks like it.” She leaned in and murmured, “Thanks for the note yesterday morning…I understand why you had to leave.”

Imuya grinned back, enjoying the shiver that went up her spine as the carrier murmured in her ear. “Not that I wanted to, mind you. Sorry, but I never did get your name.”

Yorktown pulled back and giggled. “U.S.S. Yorktown…nice to meet you.”

Imuya paled upon hearing that name, not knowing how she was going to explain this one. She’d spent the most amazing night of her life – the very first one-night stand she’d ever had, now that she thought of it – with the very same carrier she’d sunk all those years ago.

And if she’s Yorktown, the submarine thought frantically, then that must mean that adorable little destroyer is…oh, crap!

“Everything ok?” Yorktown asked, noting with concern at how quickly the color had drained from her companion’s face. To her surprise, Imuya’s eyes filled with tears and it appeared as though the submarine was going to start bawling at any second.

“Hey, please don’t think I’m mad about you leaving! Trust me, it’s nothing to cry about!” the carrier attempted to soothe the Japanese shipgirl.

“I-It’s n-not t-that!” Imuya whimpered. “Y-You’re gonna hate me when I tell you!” She dissolved into tears.

Yorktown sat beside the distraught girl, not really knowing what to do for her other than to rub her back and tell her everything would be all right.

“Just tell me…I mean, it can’t be that bad, we haven’t known each other for very long.” Her comment, intended to lighten the mood, only served to produce a fresh round of tears from her companion.

“Crap…E always was better at comforting people than me and Hornet ever were,” she muttered to herself, then noticed Imuya had produced her wallet and was handing her an ID card.

“What’s this?” she asked, taking the card.

“I-It’s my official ID,” Imuya whispered. “Look at the name on it.”

Yorktown took it and turned the card over, reading the information. What she read made her heart stop:

IMPERIAL JAPANESE SHIPGIRL FLEET
OFFICIAL MILITARY IDENTIFICATION

NAME: I-168 (IMUYA)
TYPE: KD6A FLEET SUBMARINE
RANK: ENSIGN

A pitiful whimper from the card’s owner brought her out of her shock.

“Y-You’re…” she trailed off. Imuya nodded and sniffled.

“A-And we…” she trailed off again. Imuya let out a sob and nodded again.

“Huh…” the carrier muttered. “This is kinda like one of those Harley Quinn romance novels that one of the teacher ships recommended to me and Hornet. Where a guy falls for a woman who had something to do with his wife’s death or some shit.”

That made Imuya pause. “Which teacher ship are you talking about?”

“I forget her name, but she had silver hair, wore a fancy uniform, and was way too petite to have such nice, large…” Yorktown made a gesture in the vicinity of her chest to emphasize said individual had been significantly…gifted.

“Oh…Kashima,” Imuya immediately knew who the carrier was referring to.

“Yeah, that’s her name,” Yorktown confirmed.

Imuya sighed. “I-I’m sorry. If you don’t want to have anything to do with me, I understand completely.”

Yorktown handed the submarine her ID card. “The war’s been over for over seventy years now, right?”

Imuya nodded, and the fleet carrier grinned, taking Imuya’s right hand in both of hers.

“Kinda seems like a long time to hold a grudge, don’tcha think?”

A hopeful smile came over Imuya’s face and she met Yorktown’s eyes. The carrier smiled back, causing Imuya to launch herself at the American ship and kiss the living daylights out of her.

“Yorkie? Whatcha doing?” An inquisitive little voice caused the two shipgirls to immediately break apart.

“Hammann,” Yorktown addressed the adorable little destroyer that was watching them, “I’d like you to meet someone.”

Hammann turned to Imuya. “You’re the submarine that sank me and Yorkie, aren’tcha?”

Imuya nodded, looking at Hammann nervously.

“How’d you guess, kiddo?” Yorktown wanted to know.

“DesDiv 6 told me,” Hammann replied, and both Yorktown and Imuya groaned.

“What?” Hammann asked before turning to Imuya. “I’m okay with it…and besides, if Yorkie likes you, then you can’t be all that bad.”

Hammann’s innocent statement seemed to lift a huge weight off the Japanese submarine’s shoulders, and she smiled widely.

“Thank you.”

“Yorkie,” Hammann turned to her mom-carrier, “DesDiv 6 is going to get ice cream with Tenryu…can I go, too?”

“Sure,” Yorktown replied. “Have fun and be safe…have Tenryu call me when you’re ready to come home, okay?”

Hammann nodded and raced back to her friends, leaving Yorktown and Imuya alone.

“Alone again,” Yorktown laughed nervously. “I’d invite you back to the dorm to talk more, but I’m rooming with my sisters –”

“I’m the highest-ranking submarine, so I’m the only one in my room –” Imuya interrupted the carrier’s explanation, only to be interrupted herself.

“Let’s go,” Yorktown rose to her feet and extended her hand. Grinning, Imuya allowed the carrier to pull her to her feet and they walked off to the dorms together.

~~~

“Yorktown-san appeared to be getting along quite well with Imuya-san, nanodesu,” Inazuma noted as the five destroyers and Tenryu made their way to Mamiya’s Café.

“I think so too,” Hammann replied. “I’m glad she was able to make a friend so that she won’t be lonely when I hang out with you guys.”

Listening to their conversation, Tenryu was secretly glad she was leading the little group; she was barely able to keep a straight face. She glanced down to see a similar expression on Hibiki’s face; despite being the youngest of the four Akatsuki sisters, many times it seemed as though Hibiki was the most mature.

“Don’t say a word,” the light cruiser murmured out of the corner of her mouth.

“Khorosho,” the little destroyer agreed.

The journey to Mamiya’s Café was suddenly halted when a shipgirl came out of nowhere and tackle-glomped both Ikazuchi and Inazuma. The two destroyers squeaked in surprise, causing Tenryu to whirl around; when she saw her charges being hugged tightly by an unknown person, she pulled out her sword and dropped into a defensive stance.

“Let them go and you won’t bleed,” she growled.

The order apparently did not register with the unknown shipgirl, for she continued to hug the two destroyers and murmur ‘thank you’ over and over.

“I don’t think she means us any harm, nanodesu,” Inazuma informed Tenryu. “You can put your sword away.”

Tenryu sheathed her sword again, having come to that conclusion herself. “Who are you?” she asked. “And why are you hugging two of my girls to death?”

The unknown shipgirl pulled back and wiped her eyes. “I’m H.M.S. Exeter,” she stated. “I wanted to thank them for saving my boys in the Java Sea.”

Ikazuchi blushed. “It was the human thing to do,” she stated. “Commander Kudo refused to let them suffer.”

“His actions saved many lives,” Exeter stated. “It was a rare act of humanity in the midst of a horrible war.”

The heavy cruiser rose to her feet and pulled Ikazuchi and Inazuma up as well, giving the little destroyers a final thankful smile before turning away. The four destroyers looked at each other, seeming to come to a collective decision before Ikazuchi called to Exeter.

“Exeter-san! We were headed to Mamiya-san’s café for ice cream…would you care to join us?”

The heavy cruiser stopped and turned back, giving them a surprised smile.

“You know what? Ice cream sounds great.”

~~~

A knock at the door roused the Admiral from his thoughts.

“Yes?” he answered, looking away from the map.

“Excuse the interruption, Admiral,” Mutsu entered the room, “but I wanted to inform you that Commander U.S. Naval Forces Japan will be here to speak with you momentarily.”

Avers raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Wonder what he wants…haven’t even spoken to him since right before I took command here.”

No sooner had the Admiral stated this than there was another knock and Nagato entered.

“Commander U.S. Naval Forces Japan, Admiral,” she announced, stepping aside to let Denhurst enter.

“Admiral Avers,” Denhurst greeted, walking in and sitting down without being invited, not sparing a single word for Nagato or any other shipgirl in the room and completely ignoring Avers’ invitation to shake hands.

“Vice Admiral Denhurst,” Avers replied, noting Denhurst’s new three-star shoulder boards. “Congratulations on your promotion.”

“Thank you, Admiral,” Denhurst smiled. “It was long overdue, in my opinion.”

Avers chose not to voice his opinion on that and changed the subject.

“What can the Rengō Kanmusutai do for U.S. Naval Forces Japan today?”

“You’re planning a major operation that might very well see complete victory against the Abyssals in the Pacific,” Denhurst stated. “The United States Navy wants in on it.”

Avers barely managed to maintain his composure. The only way he could’ve known about this is if there was a leak somewhere…but where? He resolved to flush out the leak as soon as possible and returned his attention to his former CO.

“And where did you hear that from?” he asked, keeping a conversational tone to his voice.

“I have my sources,” an extremely smug expression came over Denhurst’s face, and Avers inwardly wished he could remove it with a sledgehammer. “Also, I was recently made aware that you managed to summon seven U.S. Navy units. As Commander U.S. Naval Forces Japan, I’m officially asking that those units be turned over to my authority so that America can finally get into the war against the Abyssals.”

“Out of the question,” Avers immediately responded. “First off, those ‘units’ you’re referring to are human beings…I’ll thank you to grant them the courtesy of addressing them as such. Secondly, those shipgirls are in the middle of training…I’m not going to simply uproot them because the United States government wants things a certain way. Thirdly, don’t even bother saying this is a Presidential Order; if the President wants this done, let him call me from the White House and inform me himself.”

“The President has nothing to do with this!” Denhurst growled and Avers took great pleasure in noting how the Vice Admiral gritted his teeth when saying that.

“Fourthly,” Avers continued as though Denhurst hadn’t interrupted him, “what few American shipgirls we did summon are not enough to constitute a proper task force. One destroyer cannot protect three carriers, two battleships, and a heavy cruiser by herself, no matter how ambitious she is or how awesome she perceives herself to be. Therefore, the American shipgirls will have to operate with at least some Japanese ships until we can summon more American escort vessels, and since I’m not about to loan some of my shipgirls out to foreign commands they’ll have to remain here.”

“Listen, Admiral -” Denhurst began, but Avers cut him off.

“Vice Admiral Denhurst, if the only reason you came here was to try and get the American shipgirls under your command, then I’m sorry to say you wasted a trip. Yes, we are planning a major operation in the near future, but I’m not going to say anything more than that. As to your forces helping us in the upcoming operation, the United States will be represented by those six shipgirls. As much as I’d like to have surface ships out there as well, no offense to them or the abilities of their crews but they would merely serve as cannon fodder for the Abyssals. Therefore, the answer to the question of whether or not I want to include any is a resounding ‘no’.”

Denhurst glowered at Avers and rose to his feet. “I’d hoped you’d see reason, Admiral, but apparently not. Don’t bother seeing me out.” He headed for the door, but turned to face Avers before leaving, flashing him a malicious grin. “This isn’t over, Admiral…not by a long shot.” He left without waiting for a reply.

“Of course not,” Avers muttered sarcastically, watching the door close behind Denhurst. He glanced around the room to see the four shipgirls on his staff concentrating on their duties. “I’d like to apologize for Vice Admiral Denhurst’s behavior towards you, ladies…apparently those three stars he has on his shoulders have sapped him of his ability to conduct himself like a proper officer and gentleman.”

The four shipgirls murmured thanks as Avers picked up the phone and dialed JMSDF Headquarters in Tokyo. When his call was answered, it was promptly put through to Admiral Fuchida.

“Admiral…I trust the kanmusu program is going well?” the JMSDF Admiral sounded pleased to hear from Avers.

“Very well, sir…we’ve been summoning new shipgirls seemingly left and right,” Avers replied. “A couple days ago we finally managed to get some shipgirls from other countries.”

“Excellent!” Fuchida enthused. “I wasn’t aware of this; my office only keeps track of the Japanese shipgirls. How many foreign shipgirls have you gotten?”

“I’ll be sending you two more Japanese shipgirl files probably today or tomorrow,” Avers stated, “as we just managed to summon a few more shipgirls yesterday. As for foreign shipgirls, as of today we’ve got twenty-nine: eleven British, seven American, six Italian, and five German.”

“Outstanding!” came the excited reply. “How are the Allied shipgirls getting along with their former adversaries?”

“Surprisingly well, believe it or not,” Avers replied. “We haven’t had any Pacific War rematches break out, if that’s what you’re asking.”

A chuckle was heard over the line as Avers decided to come to the point of his call. “Sir, I just had a meeting with Commander U.S. Naval Forces Japan…he demanded that I turn over the seven American shipgirls to him and the authority of the U.S. Navy. I refused, as the girls haven’t had the proper training, nor does U.S. Naval Forces Japan have the resources to keep them supplied, much less give them said proper training. I’d like to try and get in touch with the U.S. Navy’s Chief of Naval Operations and explain the situation to him.”

“Understood, Admiral…you have my permission to call Washington,” Fuchida replied, “and I agree with your decision to keep the American shipgirls.”

Avers quickly explained about the possible information leak in his command, whereupon Fuchida gave him permission to deal with the problem himself, rather than bring JMSDF investigators in on it. His business completed Avers thanked Fuchida and hung up before turning to Oyodo and Niyodo.

“I’ve got a project for you,” he informed the light cruiser duo. “I need you to establish contact with Washington, D.C…I need to speak to the Chief of Naval Operations there.”

“We’ll try our best to make it happen, sir,” Oyodo replied and set to work as Avers turned to Nagato.

“Page Aoba here immediately…I have an idea.”

When the heavy cruiser arrived – looking quite nervous to be suddenly called before the Commanding Admiral – Avers greeted her and invited her to have a seat.

“I’m sure the rumors going around the base have said there’s going to be an operation starting soon,” he began, and Aoba nodded in confirmation. “I’ll let you know now that those rumors are correct. That information was not supposed to leave this base, but lo and behold I just received a visit from Commander U.S. Naval Forces Japan, who blithely informed me he knows about said operation and wants his people in on it.”

Aoba listened silently as Avers continued speaking.

“I have no idea who leaked this information to U.S. Naval Forces Japan, but that does mean we have a leak somewhere on this base.” He smiled. “That is where you come in…I’m going to have Mutsu set you up in an office across the hall and I want you to use your Intrepid Reporter-chan skills to hunt down this leak for me.”

“I’ll do my best, sir,” Aoba stated, as she followed Mutsu out of the office.

“We have Washington, D.C. on the line for you, sir,” Oyodo announced.

“You two are the Scottys of the communications world,” Avers complimented the light cruiser and her sister as he picked up his desk phone. “Excellent work.”

Oyodo blushed heavily as she turned back to her radio set, and her sister was wearing a matching blush; as both were Trekkies, Avers comparing them to Scotty was one of the highest compliments they could ever receive.

“Admiral Avers?” the voice of the U.S. Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Tom Walinsky, filtered over the line. “This is a big surprise…how in the world did you manage to get through?”

“My two Communications Specialists are miracle workers,” Avers replied, missing Oyodo and Niyodo blushing at his praise.

“I’ll say they are…what can I do for you?”

Avers explained the situation with Denhurst and Walinsky muttered darkly under his breath.

“That dumb SOB doesn’t have the sense God gave a goat. You gave him perfectly valid reasons why you wouldn’t transfer the American shipgirls and it was like they didn’t even register in his head.” The admiral sighed. “As soon as we open a travel lane between America and Japan, he’ll be headed back home for retirement…hell, the only reason he got to pin on a third star in the first place is because he’s a family friend of some Senator; she and her idiot cohorts pushed the promotion through Congress.”

“I figured it had to be political,” Avers mused. “He wasn’t pleased I refused to cater to his whims and told me this issue wasn’t over by a long shot. And I told him if it was a Presidential Order to have the President call me himself and ask me.”

Walinsky laughed. “Nicely done! Speaking of the American shipgirls, could you tell me which ones you managed to summon?”

Avers grinned. “Destroyer Hammann, heavy cruiser Indianapolis, aircraft carriers Yorktown, Enterprise, and Hornet, and battleships Arizona and Iowa.”

“My God…” Walinsky trailed off, “those are some of the most famous names in U.S. Naval history.”

“And every one of them wants to help defeat the Abyssals so they can go home,” Avers replied. “Some have already made plans…Arizona wants to go to Pearl Harbor, and Indianapolis wants to attend her crew’s annual reunion.”

“We’ll make sure both of those things happen,” Walinsky confirmed. “How are they getting along with their former foes?”

“Quite well, actually,” Avers replied. “There’s some friendly competition between the carriers, but no bad blood, if that’s what you mean.” He left out the part about catching Imuya and Yorktown making out like teenagers against one of the dorms when he left his office late one evening, as well as how close Goya and Indy seemed to be getting. “About the only grudges I’ve seen from any of them is Indianapolis’ strong feelings towards how Fleet Admiral King made Captain McVay into a scapegoat at the end of the war.”

“That’s a relief there’s no hard feelings,” Walinsky commented. “Since I have you on the line, would you like me to try and get a message to your family, let them know you’re doing all right?”

“No, nothing to my family,” Avers replied, knowing his parents wouldn’t care anyways. “But since you’re closer to Europe than I am, could you possibly get messages to Britain, Germany, and Italy and tell them we’ve got some of their shipgirls as well?”

“You’ve got some from those countries, too?” Walinsky asked. “One second, Admiral…the naval attachés from those countries are here at the Pentagon for a conference, and I imagine they’d like very much to hear more about their shipgirls.”

A few minutes passed and Avers heard the speaker phone click on. “Admiral, you’re on speaker phone. I’ve got Britain’s Rear Admiral Sir Roger Chatfield, here, along with Rear Admiral Ernst Oels from Germany and Rear Admiral Piero Fiermonte from the Italian Navy. Gentlemen, we’re speaking to Admiral Matthew Avers, head of the Combined Shipgirl Fleet over in Japan, and he’s got some news for you.”

The three Admirals greeted Avers.

“You said you had news for us, Admiral?” Chatfield inquired.

“Yes, sir…we’ve managed to summon shipgirls from each of your countries. I wanted you to know that Britain, Germany, and Italy are now in the fight against the Abyssals.”

Shouts of “Good show!”, “Wunderbar!” and “Eccelente!” were heard over the speaker.

“Admiral Avers, what shipgirls have been summoned for Italy?” Fiermonte’s voice sounded quite eager.

“Admiral, we have six Italian shipgirls as of today: destroyer Libeccio, heavy cruisers Zara and Pola, battleships Littorio and Roma, and aircraft carrier Aquila.”

“Aquila?” Fiermonte sounded quite surprised. “But sadly, she was never completed…how could she have been summoned?”

“I have no idea,” Avers replied, “but she’s here and quite eager to do her part. Trust me, she’s not the only ‘never completed’ shipgirl to have been summoned; the Japanese have four of them, and Germany has one, too.”

“Germany has a shipgirl that was never completed?” Oels spoke up eagerly. “What ship is she?”

“Aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin,” Avers replied. “She’s making up for lost time, too…she’s one of our best students.”

“Germany has a carrier? Most excellent!” Oels exclaimed. “What other ships of ours have you managed to summon?”

“Destroyers Z-1 Leberecht Maass and Z-3 Max Schultz, heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen…” Avers paused briefly for effect, grinning to himself at Oels’ eagerness for information, “and battleship Bismarck.”

“The Bismarck?!” Oels gasped, while at the same time Chatfield could be heard murmuring the battleship’s name as well. “Amazing…I can’t wait to meet these girls!” He was silent for a moment before murmuring softly, “A relative of mine was an officer on the Bismarck…I have one of his uniforms.”

“What ships did the Royal Navy get?” Chatfield broke in. “Do we have any carriers?”

“No carriers, Admiral…sorry,” Avers apologized. “The Royal Navy got mostly battleships and battlecruisers. You have heavy cruiser Exeter, battlecruiser Repulse, battleship Prince of Wales -”

“The Prince of Wales?” Chatfield interrupted. “I will definitely inform His Majesty of that…he’ll be most pleased, I’m sure.”

“You’ve got two more,” Avers added. “Battleship Warspite –”

“The Warspite? Well done!” Chatfield stated. “Announcing her name will certainly be a morale booster!”

“I think the last ship we got of yours will do that even better,” Avers replied.

“Oh? How’s that?”

“Does the name ‘Hood’ ring any bells?” Avers asked, grinning even though he knew the Admirals couldn’t see him.

There was a brief silence, followed by pandemonium.

“THE HOOD’S BACK?!”

“Saint Mary…the pride of Britain!”

“I wonder her reaction was to seeing Bismarck!”

Oels’ question made Avers grin even wider.

“She had a few choice words, I’ll admit,” he replied. “But yes, those are the ships that have been summoned, in addition to six civilian shipgirls.”

“Civilian shipgirls? What do you mean by that?” Chatfield inquired.

“I don’t know if the Cunard Line has an office in the UK, but if so, someone should get a message to them at some point and inform them I’ve got three of their more famous ships helping out around my base: Lusitania, Mauretania, and Aquitania.”

“My God…passenger liner enthusiasts worldwide are going to go insane when they hear some liners have returned in shipgirl form,” Chatfield commented. “Not as bad as if Titanic had been one of the ones summoned…” he trailed off, chuckling as he imagined the scene. “Can you imagine the media circus we’d have if that occurred?” The British admiral realized Avers was keeping silent and realized what this meant. “Admiral, surely you don’t mean…?”

“You’re going to see that media frenzy firsthand,” Avers finally spoke up. “And it’s all three of them…Titanic and both her sisters.” He laughed. “Just send a message to the Belfast Titanic Society with a composite picture of all three of the ships and the words, ‘They Live’ on it…I think the group would get the picture.”

“You’re devious,” Chatfield laughed. “I might just do that.”

Oyodo made a signal to Avers that she was about to lose the connection and the Admiral nodded.

“Gentlemen, I believe I’m about to lose the connection…send up some prayers for our upcoming mission…we need all the help we can get. All the best from Japan.”

“Give ‘em hell, Admiral!” Walinsky called out, seconds before the connection was broken. Avers sighed and hung up the receiver.

“We intend to,” he murmured softly.

He was drawn from his thoughts by a knock at the door.

“Found your leak, Admiral,” Aoba breezed into the room and slapped several sheets of paper down onto Avers’ desk.

“Already? That was quick,” Avers was stunned.

Aoba grinned. “I’m just awesome like that,” the heavy cruiser laughed. When the Admiral and Nagato and Mutsu looked at her skeptically, she sighed and relented. “Fine…it honestly wasn’t that hard; he left a digital fingerprint trail a mile wide.”

Avers picked up the papers and glanced at their contents but couldn’t make heads or tails at what was on them. “You’re going to have to explain this…it looks like a bunch of emails.”

Aoba nodded. “To someone who doesn’t know computers extensively, yes, that’s all it is. But to someone like me, who’s a bit of a nerd and knows the ins and outs of getting information where it’s hidden so that it seems like nobody would be able to find it…” she grinned, “it’s as plain as the nose on your face. He was piggybacking his emails on top of his boss’s. When the boss hit ‘send’ his emails – meaning the boss’s – went to whomever they were supposed to go to, but at the same time it sent the other person’s emails to whomever they were supposed to go to, namely a D.M. Kellerman at U.S. Naval Forces Japan HQ.”

“Who’s the unwitting mailman?” Avers asked.

Aoba took a red pen and circled something on the page. “Does this name look familiar?” she asked, handing the paper to Avers.

The Admiral took the paper and read the name. “I’ll be damned…” he murmured.

~~~

Thirty minutes later Avers was awaiting the arrival of the leak. Aoba had been thanked profusely for her service, and the ‘boss’ had been informed he’d been a pawn in the situation – to which he’d reacted with quite a bit of righteous indignation, and promptly informed Avers that the Admiral could do whatever he wanted with said subordinate – and was now in the process of beefing up his computer protection.

A knock at the door caused Avers to rise to his feet. “Enter!” he called.

JMSDF Lieutenant Hiro Taneda walked in, shutting the door behind him. His summer white uniform was rumpled and did not fit his rotund form well, while his beady eyes leered at Nagato and Mutsu behind thick-frame military issue eyeglasses.

“You wanted to see me, sir?” he asked Avers, breathing through his mouth.

“Yes, I did,” Avers replied, pushing a copy of the papers Aoba had given him earlier across his desk to the Lieutenant. “Look at those and explain,” he ordered, pulling out a small notebook and writing something down before tearing it off and placing it in his pocket.

Taneda glanced at the papers and his eyes widened briefly.

“Oh, no…” he whined. “You found me out!” He grinned at Avers and giggled like a naughty schoolboy who’d been caught peeping into the girls’ locker room.

“You think this is funny?!” Avers snarled, and Taneda shrugged.

“I just can’t believe I got caught, is all…I need to cover my tracks better in the future, huh?” he giggled again before turning to Mutsu and making a kissing motion at her. He giggled again when the battleship recoiled in disgust and missed the near-murderous look on Nagato’s face.

“Enough of this…come with me, Lieutenant,” Avers growled, and rose from his seat, heading for the door, slipping Nagato the piece of paper from his pocket as he left.

He led Taneda down to the basement of the Headquarters building, showing him into what Avers guessed was a large storage area.

“Am I on cleaning detail or something, sir?” Taneda giggled.

“Not by a long shot,” Avers replied. “We’re just waiting for someone.”

“You wished to see me, Admiral?” Ooi appeared in the doorway, looking none too pleased at having been suddenly called away from her precious Kitakami-san.

“Ah, Ooi…thank you for being so prompt,” Avers greeted her. “This is JMSDF Lieutenant Hiro Taneda, whom I just now found out has been the source of an information leak from this HQ to U.S. Naval Forces Japan. I believe he’s also a fan of Kitakami-san’s,” he added, as Ooi glowered at Taneda for being a snitch.

“Yeah, Kitakami’s one of those torpedo cruisers,” Taneda responded. “She’s got one cute little ass that I just love to try and grab every time I catch her alone. I’ll be the first to admit I wouldn’t mind having her polish a torpedo of mine!” he giggled, not realizing he was digging his own grave.

“That’s nice, Lieutenant,” Avers informed him. “I’m sure you’ll be quite interested to know that Ooi here is Kitakami’s girlfriend…and I believe she has some rather strong feelings about people touching what’s hers.” He turned to Ooi, who was visibly vibrating in anger, her thunderous expression locked on Taneda like a snake that had just spotted prey nearby. “I’ll let you and the Lieutenant talk for a bit.”

Before leaving the room, he leaned in and murmured so that only the torpedo cruiser could hear him. “Just don’t kill him…that’s all I ask.”

Avers walked out of the room and slowly closed the door. The last thing he saw before it shut completely was the look of pure terror on Taneda’s face as Ooi approached him, cracking her knuckles as she did so.

~~~

Thirty minutes later Avers was back in his office, looking quite pleased at how things had turned out. The JMSDF MPs had come from the mainland and carted Taneda off, somewhat disturbed by the screams and desperate pleas for mercy that were coming from inside the room when they first arrived. No sooner had he taken his seat behind his desk than there was another knock at the door.

“Enter!” he called, and everyone was surprised when Yubari entered. The light cruiser’s coveralls were torn, her hair was messed up, and her skin was streaked with black gunpowder smudges, but she had a wide grin on her face.

“What happened to you?” Avers asked, concerned about possible injuries to one of his shipgirls.

Yubari ignored his question. “We’re ready,” she stated.

Avers turned to Nagato. “Call the submarines,” he requested. “I’ll brief them first.”

~~~

At 1700 hours that evening, the parade ground was filled with every shipgirl on base. Those near the stage noticed that the eight submarines – a further summoning attempt the previous day had yielded Italian aircraft carrier Aquila, submarine I-26, and destroyer Minazuki – were looking quite nervous, but seemed prepared to do their part.

“Chūi!” Nagato ordered as Avers walked onstage, and everyone leapt to their feet.

“Thank you, ladies…please be seated,” Avers replied, turning on the large projector screen that had been set up.

“I’ve asked you all here this evening to inform you of a major operation that will take place tomorrow. This operation will require every shipgirl on this base, so if you’re on the Retired or Reserve List, as of right now, you’re back on active duty until this is over.”

At that statement, Hosho, Mamiya, and Irako glanced at each other, stunned.

“The submarine girls have the most vital role to play in tomorrow’s action,” Avers continued. “Your target tomorrow is here,” he brought up the map of the Philippine Sea and circled an area on the map with a laser pointer, “an area known as Challenger Deep. Its maximum depth is just under 11,000 meters. Now obviously,” he added as murmurs of awe rippled across the parade ground, “no submarine here can dive that deep, but they will go as deep as they can on this mission. Which is to protect this,” he changed the slide to show a large case with four drone motors on top and four more attached to one end. “Inside this specially built case is what the Americans call a MOAB, which is an acronym for ‘Mother of All Bombs’.”

Akashi clearing her throat made him pause. “What is it?” he asked.

“Actually, Admiral, it’s not a MOAB at all,” the repair ship replied. “We build a GFOAB, if you will.”

“Explain,” Avers replied, starting to get worried.

“We did some research and found out that a MOAB wasn’t the most powerful bomb ever built, so if the MOAB is the ‘Mother of All Bombs’, then we built the ‘Grandfather of All Bombs.”

“How so?” Avers was even more worried now.

Yubari grinned. “There’s enough H-6 explosive in there to equal twice the detonating power of the ‘Father of All Bombs’ we found on Wikipedia.”

Could be worse, Avers inwardly cautioned himself. They could’ve found the Tsar Bomba.

“So, this has the H-6 explosive equivalent of…” he trailed off, waiting for one of the two ‘Mad Scientists’ to finish his sentence.

“166,000 pounds of TNT,” Akashi finished, causing impressed murmurs to ripple through the audience.

“Thank you,” Avers replied, and continued his briefing. “While the rest of you fight the Abyssals on the surface, the submarines will escort this bomb as deep as they can; each submarine will go down to her maximum depth before breaking off. Once the bomb reaches the depth of 750 feet, which is the maximum depth of our deepest-diving submarine, RO-500, the drone motors will transport it the rest of the way to the bottom. The water pressure at that depth is incredible, which is why the device is encased in this covering that is designed to stand up to such pressure. The bomb’s target is a single individual, known only as the Pacific Abyssal Mother. She is the creator of all the Abyssals in the Pacific and controls them with a hive-mind. I believe if we destroy the controller, we destroy the hive, and we deal a major blow to the Abyssals.”

Ripples of excitement permeated the crowd of shipgirls and other various personnel as they realized there very well might be a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

“We’ve divided you all up into thirteen separate groups,” Avers announced, “and here is the Order of Battle for tomorrow.” He changed slides again to reveal a large list of groups:

Carrier Group One                             Carrier Group Two
CVs Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu              CVs Shokaku, Zuikaku, Taiho
BBs Kongo, Hiei                                    BBs Kirishima, Haruna
CAs Tone, Chikuma                              CAs Myoko, Haguro
TCs Kitakami, Ooi                                 CLs Agano, Noshiro
DDs Fubuki, Yudachi, Shimakaze          DDs Asagumo, Urakaze, Tanikaze
       Akizuki, Teruzuki, Hatsuzuki                 Isokaze, Hamakaze, Arashi
                                                                    Hagikaze, Maikaze, Akigumo

Carrier Group Three                          Carrier Group Four
CVs Yorktown, Enterprise, Hornet         CVs Aquila, Graf Zeppelin
BB Iowa                                                BBs Italia, Roma, Bismarck
BCs Repulse, Hood                               CAs Zara, Pola, Prinz Eugen
CAs Indianapolis, Mogami, Mikuma       DDs Libeccio, Z-1 Leberecht Maass, Z-3 Max Schultz, Oyashio
CLs Nagara, Abukuma                                  Kuroshio, Yukikaze, Tokitsukaze, Amatsukaze
DDs Hammann, Hatsukaze, Shiranuhi
       Kagero, Kasumi, Arare

Carrier Group Five                             Carrier Group Six
CVs Unryu, Amagi, Katsuragi                CVs Junyo, Hiyo
CAs Atago, Takao, Maya, Chokai           CVL Ryujo
CLs Yahagi, Sakawa                              CAs Nachi, Ashigara
DDs Yugumo, Makigumo, Kazagumo     CLs Tenryu, Tatsuta, Kiso
       Hayashimo, Asashimo, Okinami     DDs Akatsuki, Hibiki, Ikazuchi, Inazuma
                                                                    Wakaba, Nenohi, Hatsuharu, Hatsushimo

Carrier Group Seven                                      Carrier Group Eight
CVLs Chitose, Chiyoda, Mizuho                         CVLs Zuiho, Shoho, Ryuho
BBs Nagato, Mutsu, Yamato, Musashi               CAs Furutaka, Kako, Aoba, Kinugasa
CLs Sendai, Isuzu                                             CLs Yura, Yubari
DDs Hatsuyuki, Shirayuki, Miyuki, Murakumo    DDs Mikazuki, Nagatsuki, Michishio, Yamagumo
       Shikinami, Ayanami, Isonami, Naganami            Nowaki, Murasame, Harusame, Samidare   
       Takanami, Kiyoshimo

Surface Group One                                        Surface Group Two
BBs Fuso, Yamashiro, Ise, Hyuga                      BBs Warspite, Prince of Wales, Arizona
CAs Suzuya, Kumano                                        CA Exeter
CLs Natori, Kinu                                                CLs Jintsu, Naka, Kuma, Tama
DDs Umikaze, Kawakaze, Suzukaze, Shigure    DDs Oboro, Ushio, Sazanami, Akebono
       Shiratsuyu, Asashio, Arashio, Oshio

                                    Special Attack Group
                                    SSs Maruyu, RO-500, I-8, I-19
                                          I-26, I-58, I-168, I-401

Support Group One                           Support Group Two
BBs Tosa, Kii                                        CVL Hosho
CVs Shinano, Kasagi                             CVS Akitsushima
CVL Ibuki                                              LPD Akitsu Maru
CLs Katori, Kashima                              CLs Oyodo, Niyodo
DDs Mutsuki, Fumizuki, Kisaragi           DDs Kamikaze, Harukaze, Uzuki
       Kikuzuki, Yayoi, Mochizuki                    Satsuki, Minazuki
AO Hayasui                                           AKSs Mamiya, Irako
RS Akashi

Every shipgirl was on the list. Avers could tell the four shipgirls on his staff seemed uncertain about being included to go out in the field, but now was not the time to worry about nerves. He switched off the projector and turned to face the audience, his eyes taking in each one of them.

“As of right now, everyone here is released from duty until tomorrow morning. Take tonight and spend it with your friends and loved ones. Eat your favorite foods…play your favorite video games…do whatever you want within legal means.” He paused a moment and grew even more serious. “If you have things you want to say to someone, say them. Because we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Please stand and direct your attention to the flagpole in front of the Headquarters building. I felt this was appropriate.”

At a command shouted from the base of the flagpole, buglers began playing Umi Yukaba. As the call played, two enlisted men raised a third flag on the halyards below the Japanese Navy Flag and Avers’ personal flag. When the wind caught it and it was revealed, a gasp went through the crowd at the sight of the famous ‘Z’ flag.

“This flag will remain flying until the operation ends,” Avers informed the group. “I’ll close with these words: No matter what is yet to come in my military career, I will always consider my command of this unit to be the greatest honor I have ever received. Words cannot express how deeply proud I am of all of you.” He let that sink in briefly before finishing with, “And finally, to paraphrase three great admirals, ‘The fate of the world rests on the outcome of this battle. Let every person do their utmost.’ Yoake no suihei-sen ni shōri o emasu! (Gain victory in the dawn horizon!)” He ordered before turning to face in the direction of the Imperial Palace. “Tenno heika, Banzai!”

“BANZAI!” Every shipgirl immediately echoed the cry, repeating it when Avers said it twice more. By the third repetition Avers could see tears on the cheeks of many a shipgirl. As the last echoes of the cry died away, loudspeakers throughout the base blared with the sounds of the Gunkan March to end the mission briefing.

~~~

Iku stared up at the ceiling, panting as the sweat cooled on her skin. She’d spent two hours with her fellow submarines, going over the variables of their part of tomorrow’s mission, and now she was spending the rest of the night with her girlfriend. Aiya had attacked her the second the front door had shut, and it was only now, two hours later, that each allowed the other a chance to catch their breath.

She was surprised when she felt Aiya snuggle up next to her and lay her head on her shoulder; usually the pair preferred their own space in bed once the evening’s more pleasurable activities had come to an end.

“Whassa matter?” Iku murmured sleepily.

“Nothing,” Aiya replied, throwing her left arm over Iku’s waist. Silence reigned briefly before the NCO replied, “Don’t do anything stupid tomorrow, okay? You and all the other submarines come back alive.” She raised her head to meet Iku’s eyes, and the submarine was surprised to see the normally playful gleam had vanished; the sex-kitten persona Aiya usually portrayed was gone, replaced by the look of a young woman who was deeply scared of losing someone she cared for very much.

All Iku could do was nod her head. “I promise,” she murmured, placing a gentle kiss on her girlfriend’s lips. Aiya smiled weakly in response and simply snuggled closer.

And if the two of them happened to fall asleep wrapped in each other’s arms for the first time, well…that was just a bonus.

~~~

Tenryu arched her back, riding out her orgasm before collapsing on top of Blaskewicz as they completed round four of the night. DesDiv 6 had been put to bed hours ago, and as Tatsuta and Kiso had gone off for some alone time of their own, the Supply Officer and the mom-boat saw no reason why they couldn’t do the same. As Blaskewicz held the limp light cruiser and placed a tender kiss to her sweat-soaked hair, he sent up a silent prayer that all seven shipgirls (he now included Tatsuta and Kiso in the familial equation) would come home safely.

“I love you, Ten…” he murmured softly. Tenryu ‘hmm’ed in response and snuggled closer.

“Love you, too…” she whispered sleepily.

Blaskewicz wrapped his arms around her and drifted off himself, having made his decision. He knew what he wanted to do now; it was just a matter of how tomorrow turned out.

~~~

Avers hovered in that twilight zone between sleep and consciousness, slowly running his fingers through Kongo’s silky hair. The fast battleship was sprawled partially on top of him, panting and still apparently recovering from their latest sex-capade. The couple had only a thin sheet draped over them, as their bodies were still too warm for the rest of the blankets, and the scent of sex hung thickly in the air.

Kongo tilted her head up to gaze at her Teitoku. She was amazed that no girl had snatched him up before now, during his years in the American Navy before they’d met. It’s their loss, Dess, she giggled to herself, because there’s no way I’m ever letting him go. For all his sheltered upbringing, her Teitoku was an amazing lover in every aspect. He seemed to know exactly what she wanted, whether it was slow and passionate or hard and blush-inducing nasty. I’ve created a monster in that respect, she thought, allowing a pleased smile to drift over her face, because he doesn’t seem to have a problem with either of those, or with anything in between, for that matter!

It was at that moment that a sobering thought came over her, and she raised her head to look at Avers before rubbing her head against his chest like a cat wanting attention.

“Hmm? Whassa matter?” the Admiral murmured sleepily.

“Can shipgirls get pregnant, Dess?” Kongo asked right out of the blue.

Avers, by no means having expected such a question at that moment, was immediately wide-awake upon hearing it.

“I have no idea,” he replied, before a thought occurred to him, and he widened his eyes briefly before looking at his beautiful girlfriend. “You’re not saying you’re…?” He trailed off, letting the open-ended question hang. “Are you?”

“No!” Kongo giggled at her Teitoku’s comical reaction. She grinned deviously at him. “Besides, it’s not possible for me to get pregnant from what we just did. Stern work, Dess!” She cheered.

“Yes, well…” Avers looked away and cleared his throat awkwardly, causing Kongo to burst out giggling. The fast battleship brought her hand up to cup his cheek, causing him to meet her eyes.

“No need to feel embarrassed, Teitoku-des,” she murmured tenderly. “It was very pleasurable for me, and I look forward to doing that with you again.” Her gaze suddenly turned downright sultry and she pressed herself against Avers in all the right places. “Probably before this evening is out, Dess.”

Avers groaned and kissed her deeply, about all he currently had the energy for, before laying back down on the pillows and resuming stroking her hair as Kongo laid her head back on his chest.

“I know if I were to ever have children, I’d want them to be with you,” he stated, causing his girlfriend to raise her head and give him a blindingly beautiful smile.

“The same, Dess,” she murmured, resuming her position and kissing his chest in response. “Perhaps we should discuss this further once this mission is over?”

Avers nodded. “It does merit a longer discussion, I agree.”

Kongo grinned. “But for now…” she trailed off before suddenly straddling Avers and then easily flipping them over so she was on her back beneath him, and then locking her powerful legs around the Admiral’s waist. “Round five, Dess!” she purred.

Avers’ reaction was to moan in approval and lose himself in her once again.

~~~

Throughout the base that night, personnel prepared for the following day. Most couples spent the night lost in each other, ensuring their significant others of their feelings. Ashigara and Mancini…Akagi and Kaga…Soryu and Hiryu…Shokaku and Zuikaku…Kitakami and Ooi…Akashi and Yubari…Fubuki, Mutsuki, and Yudachi…Yorktown and Imuya…the list went on and on. And if you didn’t have someone to cuddle with in that way, you spent it in the company of friends. No one, it seemed, wanted to be alone that night, for there was no telling what tomorrow would bring.

Chapter Text

The following morning Avers called a brief meeting with a single shipgirl from each of the thirteen groups.

“I’ve called you here because I’ve designated you all the flagships of your respective groups.” He went around the room saying their names. “Akagi, Taiho, Enterprise, Bismarck, Atago, Ryujo, Nagato, Yubari, Hyuga, Warspite, Imuya, Kashima, and Hosho. Guide the girls under you and look out for them…provide support to other groups if you can. Let’s end this today, all right?”

“HAI!” the group saluted their admiral, who then followed them down to the docks to watch the fleet depart.

The sortie area was crowded with shipgirls, most of them chattering excitedly about the upcoming mission. A buzzer sounded that stopped all chatter; time for the sorties to begin. As Carrier Group One made their way to the platform, a few final hurried goodbyes were said.

~~~

“Be safe out there, Fubuki-chan, Yudachi-chan!” Mutsuki hugged her girlfriends.

“We will, Mutsuki-chan!” Fubuki promised. “Remember, I swore I would never leave you.”

Mutsuki nodded and with a final hug and kiss on the cheek to each of them, stepped away.

~~~

Avers embraced Kongo one last time. He knew the fast battleship would be fine out there, but he still worried for her.

“I wish I could go with you and fight alongside you,” he murmured.

“You lead us from here, Teitoku-des,” Kongo giggled, nuzzling his neck. “We will make you proud of us today.”

Avers pulled back and nodded. “I know you will.” Kongo appeared to be about to step away when he pulled her close again and gazed into her eyes, trailing his fingertips down her left cheek.

“Fight hard, be safe, and come back to me. I love you.” he murmured, causing Kongo’s eyes to widen in surprise as a huge smile spread across her face.

“I love you, too, Teitoku-des!” She squealed before throwing her arms around Avers and kissing him until he couldn’t breathe. The kiss was over way too soon for Avers’ liking; Kongo broke away and sashayed over to her place in the sortie queue, giving him a happy little wave as he gazed at her.

~~~

“Carrier Group Two…sortie!” Taiho ordered.

“Let’s show 1st Carrier Division we’re not to be looked down on, Shokaku-nee!” Zuikaku stated, as she leapt on her sortie pad.

~~~

“Carrier Group Three…sortie!” Enterprise announced.

“C’mon, Yanks…let’s go on an adventure, aye?” Repulse grinned, messing with her American companions before calling to the groups still waiting on the docks. “Warspite, do me a favor an’ keep an eye on Prinny, will ya? Gotta keep Force Z afloat, y’know!”

“Y-You just mind yourself, Repulse!” Prince of Wales stammered as she and the rest of Surface Group Two waited their turn to sortie. “W-Watch out for torpedoes, all right? You don’t have as much armor as I do!”

“Right, ‘cause I was the one who had a bloomin’ fish blow a hole straight through me bow back in ’41!” the battlecruiser shot back seconds before she departed.

“Cheeky!” Prince of Wales muttered indignantly as several shipgirls around her giggled.

~~~

“The day has finally come, Aquila! The day when the carriers of Germany and Italy will finally show what they can do!” Graf Zeppelin enthused. The German carrier practically had tears in her eyes at the prospect of finally seeing combat.

"I’m with you, Graf!” The Italian carrier responded.

~~~

“Be careful out there, all right?” Mancini hugged Ashigara. “I’m probably supposed to say something mushy here, but I can’t think of anything.”

Ashigara smiled. “Of course, I’ll be careful…I have to come back and make sure you continue running the Training Program right.”

Mancini decided to surprise her. “Gotcha…so the fact that I’m in love with you makes no never mind to you?”

The revelation of his feelings earned him a blinding smile from his girlfriend. “No, that has quite a bit to do with it, actually,” she murmured. “Along with the fact that I love you, too.”

Mancini leaned in and kissed her deeply. “I’ll see you when you get back…now get out there and kick ass and take names.”

Ashigara nodded and went over to join her sister on the sortie pad.

~~~

“You girls look out for each other today, okay?” Blaskewicz told DesDiv 6. The four destroyers nodded.

“We have to come back safely,” Akatsuki replied. “We still have to finish the rest of the Power Rangers episodes.”

“At least Tommy-san didn’t die like Burai-san did, nanodesu,” Inazuma put in. “He just lost his powers.”

“You’ll watch over Joji-san while we’re gone, won’t you?” Ikazuchi implored Blaskewicz, who nodded and patted the Great Dane, whom he’d brought to see the girls off.

“Khorosho,” Hibiki muttered, giving Joji a final pat before hugging Blaskewicz and then heading over to the sortie pad.

“Look out for all of them, all right?” Blaskewicz asked of Tatsuta and Kiso who nodded and then headed over to join the rest of Carrier Group Six, allowing Tenryu and Blaskewicz to say their final farewell in private.

“What should we do for dinner tonight?” Blaskewicz asked conversationally. “I mean, I know the girls will want ice cream, but do you think we should go to Mamiya’s Café or to the commissary?”

“Eddie…” Tenryu murmured, trying very hard not to tear up. Blaskewicz smiled and placed his hand on her cheek, smiling when the light cruiser leaned into his touch.

“Ten, I’m not going to say farewell here…I know for a fact you, your sister, Kiso, and all four of the kids are gonna come through this fine. You’re gonna go out there, kick the Abyssals into next year, and be back here before I can even blink.” He reached up and surprised Tenryu by pulling up her eye patch, so he could gaze into both of her eyes. “I love you, and I’ll be waiting for you.”

Tenryu barely waited for him to finish before kissing the living daylights out of him and then breaking off to give Joji a final pat before taking her place on the sortie pad. Blaskewicz watched her go with a smile. She hadn’t said much, but he could tell a lot by her actions alone.

~~~

Yubari stood near the rest of Carrier Group Eight, waiting for her group’s turn to sortie. To take her mind off the upcoming battle, she glanced around the dock for something to temporarily grab her attention, stopping when she saw one of the office doors slightly ajar. This grabbed her attention because every office door in the sortie area was built to close automatically. With that in mind, she headed over to investigate. When she stopped in front of the door, it suddenly sprang open and someone pulled her inside.

Her squawk of surprise was cut off when the door closed, and she found herself pressed against it, her arms suddenly full of a certain repair ship girlfriend of hers. Akashi didn’t bother kissing her, merely just held onto her for dear life. The light cruiser sensed Akashi needed to be held at that moment and brought her arms up to wrap around her in response.

“We’ll make it out fine, Akashi-san…don’t worry,” she murmured, lightly kissing the top of her girlfriend’s head.

The repair ship pulled back to gaze into Yubari’s eyes. “You’d better come back safely…do that for me and I’ll do the same for you.”

“Deal,” Yubari grinned.

Akashi’s response was to suddenly stick her fingers in Yubari’s mouth. The light cruiser was surprised at her girlfriend’s action, but then moaned loudly when her taste buds told her where said fingers had been just moments before. She whimpered in frustration when Akashi pulled them away, causing the repair ship to grin.

“Watch your ass out there today, ‘k, babe?” Akashi punctuated her request with a playful smack to Yubari’s stern, causing the light cruiser to emit a squeak of surprise. “I’ve got plans for us this evening.” The look in Akashi’s eyes left no doubt that Yubari would probably enjoy those plans very much. After kissing Yubari senseless, Akashi slipped out of the room, leaving behind a dazed light cruiser who was determined more than ever to return home safely so that she could find out exactly what those plans of Akashi’s were.

~~~

Ten minutes later Avers watched as the eight submarines of the Special Attack Group departed. He glanced back at the shipgirls still on the docks; there were only thirty-three remaining. He glanced up at the control room above the sortie pads and nodded. The buzzer sounded again; time for Support Group One to depart.

“Wait!” Akashi yelled, and ran over to a large case she’d brought with her. Opening it, she took out an archery set, part of a carrier’s combat rig. This set, however, was larger than any Avers had ever seen; the bow was almost as tall as Shinano and the quiver was literally filled to the brim with arrows. She hefted both items up and handed them to a stunned Shinano.

“You would’ve been a support carrier,” she stated. “You had your own air group, plus enough reserve aircraft to replenish the other carriers.”

Shinano nodded and Akashi grinned. “Well, now you’ve got more aircraft than you’ll ever need…that’s enough for five hundred aircraft there.”

“F-Five hundred aircraft?” Shinano stuttered.

Akashi nodded. “I have a feeling we might need ‘em today.” She grinned. “C’mon…let’s go kick some Abyssal ass.” She turned to Avers. “Keep my repair docks safe, Admiral…I’ve got quite a few projects to finish when I get back.”

The grin on the repair ship’s face and the gleam in her eye as she spoke did nothing to calm Avers’ nerves. However, he merely smiled and nodded.

“Good luck today.”

“Support Group One, sortie!” Kashima ordered, taking her place on the sortie pad.

“Lead the way, Sensei Kashima-san!” Kasagi encouraged. “I can’t wait to show off what I’ve learned, and then soon I’ll be able to join my sisters!”

Avers watched Support Group One head down to the water. Only eighteen shipgirls left now, he thought. He noticed Hosho hugging Hoppo and telling her to be good. The little Abyssal appeared to be somewhat worried, but not about her mother leaving her, more about why her mother was upset. For his part, Avers was feeling guilty about sending Support Group Two out at all; a retired light carrier, a seaplane carrier, an amphibious support ship that really didn’t need to be serving in an aircraft carrier role, two light cruisers whose exclusive duties were to man the radios at HQ, five small destroyers (two of these newly summoned), and two supply ships were not exactly a formidable combat force.

A door opened and the six liner shipgirls walked in. Mauretania, Aquitania, and Britannic were all dressed in World War I nurse uniforms (Britannic even wore a combat kit complete with two of her signature gantry-style davits), while Olympic wore a dazzle-painted dress and was carrying a six-inch gun. To his surprise, Lusitania was carrying one as well.

“We’re ready fer’ action, sairrr,” Aquitania announced. “Where d’ ye want us?”

It immediately clicked in Avers’ mind as to what Aquitania was asking, and he shook his head.

“You girls are civilian ships…I can’t possibly ask you to fight these creatures.”

“Ah served in two World Wars, sairrr,” Aquitania stated. “Fourteen years military service in total. Transportin’ soldiers over tae fight, takin’ wounded soldiers home, and then transportin’ the unhurt men home when it was all said an’ done…now, I may nae be able tae go out and help send those ruddy things back tae whatever level o’ hell they came from, but there’s nae law sayin’ I can’t help out back on th’ home front. Come on, Mary, Britty!” She beckoned to the other shipgirls dressed in hospital ship gear. “Those repair docks aren’t gonna man themselves, and they’re bound tae be crowded this evenin’! Let’s go!”

Before Avers could say a word, the three girls headed out, with Britannic murmuring, “My name is ‘Britannic’, not ‘Britty’!” as she left.

Avers turned to Olympic, who spoke up before he could.

“Sir, these girls,” she indicated Hosho’s group, “are going to patrol about five miles out to sea, meaning if something gets by them, there won’t be anything stopping them from destroying this place.”

“True, but…” Avers trailed off, leaving unspoken the fact that if Olympic were to meet an Abyssal force of pretty much any strength it would mean certain death for the liner.

“Sir,” Olympic cut off any protest he might’ve had. “I served five years of military service and even sank a submarine…let me serve one last time.”

“I was sunk by a submarine before I could e’en serve as an armed merchant cruiser, which is, I believe, what th’ Admiralty had planned fer me,” Lusitania put in. “Please, sairrr…I want tae be able tae say I served a’ least once. An’ besides,” she blushed, “I need tae face m’ fear o’ enemy submarines; wha’ better way tae do it, right?”

The Admiral sighed. God help me if I come to regret this, he thought.

“If you two sight ANY Abyssals, you fire a couple covering shots and make like shepherds, got it?”

“’Make like shepherds’, sir?” Olympic looked confused.

“Yes…get the flock out of there,” Avers replied.

There was a smattering of giggles at the Admiral’s reply. The two liners smiled broadly, hugged Avers and Titanic, and eagerly jumped on their sortie pads.

“Her Majesty’s Ship Olympic…departing!”

“Her Majesty’s Ship Lusitania…departing!” they announced, heading out before anyone could utter a word.

After watching them go, Hosho turned to the girls of Support Group Two.

“Well, I guess this is it,” she smiled nervously. “Let’s go out there, do our best, and protect each other as best we can, all right?”

“Perhaps I can be of assistance in that regard, Hosho-san?” a new voice cut in.

Everyone turned to the door and saw Professor Tanabe leading in a new shipgirl who was already sporting a combat rig. The newcomer was around Hosho’s age and was wearing a traditional Japanese kimono, with her hair done up in a traditional Japanese style. The ‘Z’ flag was prominently displayed on the skirt portion of her kimono, while the symbol of the Shimazu samurai clan was displayed directly over her heart. Avers noticed that Hosho was gaping at the newcomer, while both Kamikaze and Harukaze were averting their eyes, acting as though they were not worthy of looking at her.

Hosho finally found her voice. “Y-You are certainly most welcome, Mikasa-san!”

Japan’s greatest battleship nodded and turned to Avers, coming to attention and saluting.

“Battleship Mikasa, reporting for duty, Admiral!”

“Welcome back, Mikasa,” Avers replied, returning her salute.

“I saw the ‘Z’ flag flying on my way over here,” the battleship stated. “Is there a battle underway?”

Avers filled her in on the Abyssals and what was currently going on.

“I see,” a determined expression came over the battleship’s features. “Lead on, Hosho-san,” she invited the light carrier, who shook her head, wide-eyed.

“N-No, Mikasa-san…I believe I should turn my flagship duties over to you -”

“Nonsense,” Mikasa replied. “I’ve been back all of twenty minutes, and you’ve been back for…how long, exactly?”

“Going on three years,” Hosho replied in a weak voice, realizing she was losing the argument.

“Exactly,” the battleship stated. “Therefore, while I am deeply honored by your offer to turn command over to me, I feel I must defer to you in this matter, as I do not have the necessary combat experience in this form.”

Hosho sighed and nodded before giving Hoppo one last hug and handing her over to Avers.

“Admiral,” she murmured softly so that only Avers could hear. “If something should happen to me…” she trailed off, not wanting to voice the thought.

“I’ll raise her as my own,” Avers found himself speaking the words even though he could scarcely believe he was saying them. The little voice in his head had moved past the level of ‘panic attack’ and was now on ‘complete meltdown’.

“’Toku,” Hoppo muttered, hugging Avers’ leg.

Hosho wiped tears from her eyes and turned to the rest of her group. “Support Group Two, sortie!” she announced, and made her way onto the sortie pad.

As the last group departed Avers turned to Titanic, who – like Lusitania had been - was now wearing a black skirt with a dark gray shirt.

“Admiral,” Titanic spoke, “I’d like to volunteer my services to man the radio.”

Avers smiled and knew he couldn’t leave the most famous liner of them all out of the operation.

“I hereby appoint you to the rank of Able Seaman in Her Majesty’s Navy, subject to Her Majesty’s approval, of course.” As the shipgirl beamed at him, he finished with, “Now let’s go back to my office and get you on said radio so we can hear what’s happening.”

~~~

Three hours later, Carrier Group One noticed the skies getting darker.

“Those clouds are looking threatening, poi,” Yudachi stated worriedly.

Shimakaze, out in front as a vanguard unit, suddenly spotted several Abyssal destroyers making a beeline for her, and she wheeled around and zoomed back to the others at top speed.

“Enemy destroyers sighted!” she reported.

“1st and 2nd Carrier Divisions, commence launching aircraft!” Akagi ordered. “All surface ships, prepare for combat!”

“Hai!” the other shipgirls stated.

“Ahh…I’m getting expatriated!” Kongo squealed excitedly, causing the three Akizuki sisters to look at her strangely.

“Onee-sama, that doesn’t make any sense,” Hiei admonished her sister ship, who appeared to not hear her.

“Tone-san,” Akagi turned to the heavy cruiser, “please inform the other fleets as well as Headquarters that Carrier Group One is engaging the enemy.”

~~~

“Message from Carrier Group One: they are engaging the enemy!” Kirishima announced to the rest of Carrier Group Two.

“Let’s show them what Carrier Division Five can really do, Shokaku-nee!” Zuikaku flexed her bow eagerly.

“You seem to forget,” Taiho commented idly, “that we three once carried the mantle of 1st Carrier Division together as well.” She smiled slightly. “Let’s see who can do it better: the three of us, or the two of them.”

“Hai!” Zuikaku cheered. “I like the way you think!”

~~~

Carrier Group Three watched as a swarm of Abyssal aircraft appeared from over the horizon. Calmly, Yorktown, Enterprise, and Hornet raised their M1 Garand rifles and fired three shots each. Almost immediately, nearly fifty F4F Wildcat fighters appeared and commenced circling over the fleet.

“Cor, that’s a neat trick, now ain’t it?” Repulse commented, her fifteen-inch guns rotating skywards as the Abyssal aircraft drew nearer. “But I’ve got one of me own…watch this!”

Her fifteen-inch guns belched fire even as the Abyssal aircraft engaged the Wildcats overhead. Several Abyssal aircraft flew straight into the flak her shells produced and were instantly vaporized.

“That’s right, ya ruddy demons!” the battlecruiser howled gleefully. “Repulse is back! Let’s see what you’ve got!”

In response, two 500-pound bombs bracketed the battlecruiser, throwing up huge columns of water and thoroughly drenching her.

“Oi!” the shipgirl in question snarled. “I’ll take me own bath, thank you very much!”

~~~

The girls of Carrier Group Six listened to the sounds of combat over their radios with growing concern; it appeared they were getting closer to the battle by the second.

“Listen up, everybody!” Ryujo announced. “Stick together, keep one eye on the sky for sneaky aircraft, and whatever you do, please don’t get sunk, okay?”

As she looked around the group, she saw determined nods in reply and grinned. “Now let’s go kick some ass!”

“Ei, ei, ohhhh!” DesDiv 6 responded enthusiastically.

~~~

The Special Attack Group continued their dive. They were right over Challenger Deep and were currently descending to the drop point for their cargo. Hachi – having been appointed Imuya’s second-in-command – was watching the group’s depth, for Imuya would have to break off soon as she had the shallowest maximum depth of all the submarines.

When their depth hit 230 feet, Hachi signaled Imuya to break off. The submarine shook her head and continued descending. At 240 feet, Hachi signaled again, only to receive the same answer in reply. Finally, at 250 feet, twenty feet beyond her maximum depth, Imuya signaled she was breaking off, causing the rest to breathe a sigh of relief; if their leader got herself sunk, Yorktown-san’s wrath would know no bounds.

As the depth continued to increase, Hachi, Iku, Nimu, Goya, and Shioi knew they would soon have to break off themselves. When the depth hit 330 feet, Hachi glanced at her fellow submarines and all gave a collective nod; if Imuya could stay longer, then so could they.

~~~

“Enemy aircraft, bearing zero-one-three degrees!” Ayanami called out to the rest of Carrier Group Seven.

“Shall we, imouto-chan?” Yamato asked, her 18.1-inch guns rotating skywards to point at the enemy.

“Hai, onee-sama, let’s,” Musashi replied. Before flagship Nagato could ask what they were planning, both super-battleships acted.

“Enemy planes spotted!” Yamato announced.

“Loading Type 3 shells! Maximum angle of elevation!” Musashi confirmed.

“ALL GUNS! BLOW THEM AWAY!” the pair chorused.

Every other sound was eradicated as eighteen 18.1-inch guns erupted at once. The oncoming aircraft never even had a chance; the entire formation was obliterated as the Type 3 shells detonated in mid-air.

Those girls who had never seen a Yamato-class battleship in action before – Mizuho, Isuzu, and all the destroyers save for Naganami and Kiyoshimo – gaped in awe at the spectacle.

“Holy crap…” Ayanami breathed.

“Wow…” Mizuho seconded.

Musashi turned and smirked when she noticed Nagato looking miffed, and somewhat jealous.

“You can have the next bunch,” she informed the flagship, who huffed and resumed watching the sky, ignoring her giggling sister ship.

~~~

Maruyu and Yuu continued their descent, now passing 475 feet. Hachi and the others had broken off once they had hit 350 feet, so it was just the two of them now, and soon Maruyu would also have to break off.

When their depth hit 492 feet, Yuu signalled for her companion to break off, but the Army supply submarine refused, waiting until they passed 512 feet before clasping Yuu on the shoulder and heading back to the surface. Yuu placed a determined expression on her face and continued the mission alone. Failure was not an option.

~~~

As Support Group One neared the battle, anticipation grew by the second. Finally, it was time.

“Carriers, please commence launching!” Kashima announced.

Kasagi and Ibuki squealed with excitement at the prospect of combat, causing the six destroyers to giggle. Shinano set up an arrow in her bow, noticing Kii giving her an encouraging smile out of the corner of her eye, and returned the gesture as she pulled back on the string.

Here goes nothing, she thought.

~~~

The Abyssal submarine slipped silently through the water towards the enemy naval base, having watched as group after group of shipgirls departed for places unknown. At the rate the enemy is leaving, their base will be deserted…a perfect chance for me to go in and wreak havoc! She thought to herself. Suddenly, her sonar equipment detected yet another group departing from the channel leading to her target. Even worse, she spotted a flash of green through a cloud: the enemy had an aircraft screen! Hide!

She listened intently as the group passed overhead to see if it was worthy of pursuing and attacking; the only reason she didn’t attack one of the earlier groups was that there was enough firepower in each one to make certain any attempt would end very quickly, and definitely not in her favor, either. The more she listened, however, the more disappointed she grew. None of the ships appeared to be worth her time; they weren’t making enough noise on the sonar to be important targets…hardly worth the effort when she had an opportunity for something much more momentous. She let the group pass unmolested.

Best to conserve firepower for what’s ahead, she thought, laughing cruelly as she continued onward.

~~~

Yuu glanced at her depth gauge: she was currently approaching 800 feet. Her maximum depth was 750 feet, and she’d already gone further past her maximum depth than any of the other submarines. It was time to break off. She patted the bomb casing and transmitted the code to Headquarters that she was breaking off and the package was now on its own, then headed back to the surface. It was all the luck of the draw now.

~~~

“Admiral, the Special Attack Group has signaled their last element has broken off and the package is now on its own,” Titanic reported. “Its current depth is 803 feet.”

“Yuu’s more than fifty feet over her maximum depth,” Avers murmured, amazed. “Each one stayed over twenty feet deeper than they were designed to go, just to give that package protection as long as they possibly could.”

“They’re all dedicated to seeing this war end,” Mancini stated from where he was sitting on the couch. He’d never put too much stock in religion before, but he was currently running between his fingers the beads of the rosary his grandmother had given him before he’d flown off to Japan. Having finished his statement, he lapsed back into silence, his eyes remaining closed but his mind speaking loud and clear, and his thoughts on Ashigara’s safety.

Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee.
Our Father, who Art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name…

~~~

For three more hours, those in Avers’ office listened to reports coming in from the fleet. Countless Abyssals had been sunk, but thankfully none of the shipgirls had been lost. Damage, however, was beginning to mount, and Avers found himself continuously thanking God that Akashi had had the foresight to construct a huge aircraft quiver for Shinano; those five hundred aircraft the big carrier had been sent out with had certainly come in handy today.

Finally Avers heard the notification they’d all been waiting for.

“Package approaching the bottom, sir!” Titanic announced.

“Switch on the night-vision cameras,” Avers ordered, and Blaskewicz pressed a button.

A green screen lit up, showing the approaching bottom, and the group settled in to wait the last few minutes.

~~~

The Ne-class light cruiser noticed the object that had fallen from the enemy’s world far above, and she had been tracking it for quite a while now. She swam over to it and grabbed it. The Great Mother was always interested in the little tidbits that sometimes floated down from the world above, and she looked with favor on whoever brought her the most interesting ones. Hopefully this time would be no exception.

~~~

Back in Avers’ office, everyone started when the camera screen jarred.

“The hell was that?” Mancini wondered.

“Rotate the camera around to see if you can see anything,” Avers ordered Blaskewicz. “The last thing we need is to be hung up on some shipwreck down there.”

“Not a whole helluva lot we can do about it if we are,” Mancini muttered.

Avers wanted to glower at his Training Officer, but he also knew Mancini was right. If the package was indeed hung up on a shipwreck, the entire operation was a bust and all he’d accomplished today was getting most of his fleet banged up during a large-scale naval battle.

The camera rotated around until it stopped on the sight of an Abyssal light cruiser, hurriedly propelling it along.

“Another Abyssal found it,” Mancini moaned. “We’re fucked…”

“Perhaps not,” Avers stated. “It can’t hurt to see where she takes it before we set it off.”

~~~

The battle was intensifying by the hour. The Abyssals had wrought damage galore, but no one had yet been sunk.

“Come on, you ruddy bastards!” Repulse roared, keeping up a steady stream of fire at both Abyssal aircraft and surface targets. She was mainly being targeted by aircraft; after two destroyers and a Re-class heavy cruiser had been decimated by the battlecruiser, the Abyssal surface ships seemed to steer clear of her, apparently thinking she loved the pain that being damaged brought. Repulse had taken two bomb hits and a torpedo thus far, but despite her damage showed no sign of slowing down whatsoever.

The Abyssals had, up to now, given Hood the same treatment; the Pride of England’s marksmanship was quite good, and her fifteen-inch guns had wreaked havoc on a trio of light cruisers who’d apparently thought if they went three-on-one with the famous shipgirl that she’d be overwhelmed.

What they hadn’t counted on was Indianapolis, Kagero, and Arare joining the fight. Several Long Lances and a withering barrage of gunfire later, and it was all over.

“HELL YEAH!” Kagero screamed. “Three in the box!”

“Ready to go!” Arare yelled.

“We be fast…” Indianapolis joined in.

“AND THEY BE SLOW!” All three chorused before high-fives were awarded all around.

“Oi!” Repulse yelled. “Don’t mean to break up the celebration, but how d’you propose to dispatch that one?”

The happy mood died out abruptly when they saw a super-dreadnought – easily the largest Abyssal ship in the vicinity - heading right for them. The enemy vessel flashed them a hideous, evil grin before blasting a full broadside at Hood.

Hood saw the guns roaring as if in a dream sequence, and she was transported back to an early morning in late May 1941, over seventy years earlier, when she heard the sound of incoming German gunfire. Like then, she knew this was going to be bad, and braced herself for the inevitable.

“NOOOOO!!!” an enraged roar came from over to her right.

Suddenly she was knocked out of the way and Bismarck was standing in her place. The Abyssal shells rained down on and around the German battleship, landing three solid hits and at least five very close near-misses, but the battleship’s excellent armor protection saved her from any damage other than some serious cosmetics. Hood knew without a doubt had she herself taken those hits it would’ve been May 1941 all over again.

She gazed up at Bismarck, stunned. The German battleship, her officer’s peaked cap crumpled and blackened, streaks of gunpowder on her face and her long blonde hair looking more like a hornet’s nest than its usual long flowing waves of pure corn silk, smiled grimly and offered her hand, pulling the British battlecruiser back to her feet.

“Why did you…?” Hood trailed off, unable to finish her question.

Bismarck ignored her question and turned to face the Abyssal super-dreadnought.

“Sorry to put a crimp in your plans, meine Dame,” she addressed her opponent, “but no one sinks H.M.S. Hood except me, and since I already accomplished that feat some time ago, I’m afraid you’re quite out of luck! AXIS FORCE!” she yelled to Carrier Group Four, “LET’S FINISH HER!”

Gunfire erupted from every shipgirl in Carrier Group Four, and the super-dreadnought screamed in rage as she was plastered with numerous fifteen-, eight-, and five-inch shell hits.

“Oi! Is this party by invitation only, or can anyone join in?” Repulse yelled, not waiting for an answer before she targeted the enemy ship and let fly with her own broadside. Hood quickly gathered her thoughts and added her guns to the mix as well.

“Rock on!” Iowa yelled, letting loose with her own guns.

“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!” Amatsukaze screamed as she and Tokitsukaze let loose with a salvo of Long Lancers.

“THIS IS WAR!” Kasumi yelled, putting her own torpedoes into play.

“PRAY FOR BLOOD!” Hammann yelled, firing her own torpedoes and adding a blast from her five-inch guns.

Hornet was laughing her ass off at Yorktown’s shocked expression at hearing cute little Hammann using such violent language but managed to tap her sister on the shoulder and get her to direct her aircraft to join up with the other four carriers from the two groups and attack the enemy ship, which was quickly overwhelmed by the combined attack. Aircraft streaked down from above, gunfire from the surface smashed her superstructure, and finally torpedoes caught her from below, ripping her guts out. Seconds later, she vanished in a massive explosion that caught the attention of nearly everyone else around, Abyssal and shipgirl alike.

The destruction of what appeared to be the Abyssal flagship caused quite a few enemy ships to rally around a smaller battleship, which raised its arm and pointed off to the south before heading in that direction, the other ships hurrying after her.

“That’s right! Run, ya cowardly ponces!” Repulse yelled after them, laughing raucously as the others cheered wildly and embraced friends. For this moment, anyway, it didn’t matter what country you were from or what side you’d fought on…British, German, Italian, American, or Japanese, they were all victorious.

~~~

Olympic steamed along peacefully. Initially, she and Lusitania had operated together, chatting amiably about various topics, even touching on the Wikipedia photos showing Olympic’s maiden arrival in New York in June 1911 with Lusitania departing in the background. The former rivals had laughed upon recalling the rival between their two companies and how the Managing Directors would be spinning in their graves at seeing them operating together.

~~~

The Abyssal submarine cursed as she heard approaching propellers. Just when I was about to make my turn into the channel, something happens! Angered, she popped her periscope up for a look and promptly began salivating. A huge four-stacked armed merchant cruiser was headed her way, seemingly oblivious to her presence.

Now this is a target I can’t afford to pass up! The submarine thought, licking her chops in anticipation as she waited for her new target to steam into firing position.

~~~

Lusitania had separated from Olympic to do a broad sweep of the area but was still in visual range of her. She noticed Olympic waving to something off in the distance and saw that Hosho’s group was now on the return leg of its patrol vector. It was then she saw what appeared to be a metal tube bobbing up and down in the water about 700 yards off Olympic’s starboard bow.

A chill went up her spine as she realized what it was: a submarine periscope…and it was targeting her friend! The Scottish-built liner saw red, and immediately went to full speed, her ‘Atlantic greyhound’ traits being brought out in full as she raced to save Olympic’s life.

~~~

The Abyssal submarine chuckled to herself as she continued to observe her completely oblivious target. This score will make The Creator very pleased, she thought to herself. Only a few more seconds and I’ll fire…

Without warning, everything went to shit.

~~~

Olympic smiled and waved at Support Group Two as they approached but grew concerned when she saw Niyodo pointing off to her right. The liner glanced in that direction and suddenly saw the submarine periscope. She froze, realizing that the enemy submarine had her dead to rights, ‘dead’ being the operative word in this case. At this range, zigzagging was fruitless; all she could really do was cringe and wait for the torpedo impact.

Or so she thought.

A loud roar of anger came from astern, and suddenly Lusitania zoomed by, going as fast as her boilers would carry her, as though she were trying for one last run at the coveted Blue Riband. She plowed through the water, right to the submarine’s position, and bent over as she passed by, grabbing onto the Abyssal and bringing it along with her, and then straightened up and flung the submarine high into the air. As Olympic and the shipgirls of Support Group Two watched, their jaws hanging open, Lusitania brought her six-inch gun to bear as the Abyssal submarine reached the pinnacle of its arch into the sky and began descending towards the water again.

“NO’ THIS TIME, YE BASTARD!” the great Cunarder snarled. “GIVE M’ REGARDS TAE SCHWEIGER IN HELL!”

She fired three quick shots from the gun, all of which slammed into the submarine, which screamed in pain. The third shot apparently scored a direct hit on a torpedo compartment or another vital area, for the Abyssal submarine suddenly blew apart in a violent explosion, leaving only bits and pieces to rain down on the water. Lusitania stood there, panting and glowering at the spot where the submarine had been, before she suddenly found herself embraced in a very tight hug from Olympic, who was in the middle of an emotional breakdown as she realized how close she’d come to having had a sinking of her own.

“Thank you! You saved my life!” the liner sobbed.

“Aye, tha’ was the plan,” Lusitania quipped, noticing Support Group Two approaching.

“That…That was…” Hosho trailed off, stunned at what had just happened.

“Ah think ah just got over m’ fear o’ submarines,” Lusitania joked, causing Olympic to emit a watery chuckle and several of the others to giggle.

“I’d say so, yes,” Hosho agreed.

“Lusitania-san, I am battleship Mikasa,” another shipgirl spoke up. “Allow me to say how very impressed I am by your recent actions. I’m inclined to believe you have a bit of the samurai in you.”

“Nae, lass…nae samurai blood, I’m afraid,” Lusitania grinned. “I’m a full-blooded Scots.”

“Interesting,” Mikasa mused. “When we get home, I think I need to read up on the history of these Scots…they sound like an interesting people.”

Lusitania burst out laughing. “Ye could say tha’, aye,” she nodded.

“Come on,” Hosho invited the two liners, “after that display I believe we would greatly benefit from your escort.”

“It’d be a pleasure, lass,” Lusitania grinned. “Come on, ‘Limpie!” she addressed her companion, “Tha’ fun’s nae’ over yet! Off we go, then!”

~~~

The group in Avers’ office watched as the package was brought into a large chamber that appeared to be built into one of the caverns at the bottom of Challenger Deep. Everyone in the office had stopped what they were doing to watch the camera, even Hoppo, who was now standing beside Avers, watching the feed on his laptop. The Admiral turned and hoisted the little Abyssal onto his lap.

“Do you recognize any of this, by any chance?” Avers asked, and to his surprise Hoppo nodded.

“Royal Chambers,” the little Abyssal stated, pointing at the camera.

“My God,” Mancini breathed, “that cruiser’s bringin’ it right to our target, looks like.”

“Let’s hope you’re right,” Avers murmured.

~~~

The Ne-class cruiser paused once she was inside the Royal Chambers and bowed, waiting for acknowledgement.

“Approach, youngling,” the Great One’s voice rumbled through the chamber. “What do you have for me?”

“An object from the world above, Mistress,” the cruiser replied nervously, handing it to her superior.

~~~

A being came into view on the camera. It had long purplish-black hair, alabaster skin, and solid red eyes that gleamed evilly. A wide mouth opened in a hideous grin, and everyone in Avers’ office suppressed a shudder at the horrifying sight. Only Hoppo seemed unaffected.

“Pacific Abyssal Mother,” she stated, pointing at the camera feed.

“That’s her?” Avers asked in confirmation. “I press this button, that bomb detonates, she dies, a new crater is instantly formed at the bottom of Challenger Deep, and all the Abyssals in the Pacific are dealt a massive blow?”

Hoppo nodded.

“Um, Admiral…” Mancini trailed off nervously. Avers noticed the Abyssal Mother was looking directly into the camera, and he grinned and waved cheerily, despite knowing his opponent couldn’t see him.

“Surprise!” he laughed and pressed the ‘Enter’ key on his laptop, which sent the detonation signal to the bomb’s computer.

~~~

The Abyssal Mother looked over the object her Youngling had brought. It was a strange item indeed, and certainly warranted further inspection. She decided to add it to her collection and inspect it after her children won the massive fight that was currently going on above.

It was then that she noticed the little clear nodule on the top. Whatever was inside was moving around, almost as if the thing inside the clear nodule was an eye that was looking directly at her.

How very interesting…

This was her last thought before the world vanished in a blinding flash.

~~~

The explosion of eighty-three tons of TNT tore through the Abyssal Royal Chambers. The Pacific Abyssal Mother was instantly vaporized, and the underwater shock wave crushed every Abyssal within a three-mile radius. As Avers predicted, a new crater was formed at the bottom of Challenger Deep, this one marking the spot of the turning point in the Pacific Abyssal War.

~~~

On the ocean’s surface, agonizing screams erupted as every Abyssal in sight frantically clutched their heads before collapsing into the water. Any Abyssal aircraft flying overhead suddenly spouted black smoke and crashed into the sea.

Over by Carrier Group One, Fubuki and Yudachi nervously approached the motionless hulk of an Abyssal torpedo cruiser they’d been slugging it out with not moments before.

“Fubuki-chan, what happened-poi?” Yudachi asked, unsure of what to make of the situation.

“I-I’m not sure, Yudachi-chan,” the Special-Type destroyer replied.

Before anyone could say anything, Shimakaze raced up and brazenly kicked the Abyssal before racing away to a safe distance.

“I think it’s dead,” she stated.

“One way to find out for sure, Dess!” Kongo stated cheerily, aiming her fourteen-inch guns at the hulk. “BURNING LOOOVE! FI-YAH!!!”

Several shells scored direct hits on the Abyssal, but it didn’t so much as twitch in response.

“Yep, it’s dead!” Kongo confirmed cheerily. “Nice going, ‘Dachi, Bucky, Zekamashi!” she flashed them a thumbs-up.

“Um, w-we didn’t really do anything, Kongo-san,” Fubuki stated nervously.

“Don’t call me ‘Zekamashi’!” Shimakaze reiterated for seemingly the umpteenth time, pouting.

“Akagi-san?” Kaga turned to her girlfriend, a questioning expression on her face, as though expecting her to have the answers as to what had just happened.

“I…” Akagi trailed off, uncertain herself. She turned to Tone. “Tone-san, please contact Headquarters and inform them as to what has occurred. Perhaps the Admiral has some insight.”

~~~

Avers gazed at the camera signal, which had changed to static the instant he pressed the ‘Enter’ key.

“Did it work?” Mancini asked.

Avers shrugged. “We won’t know until we hear something from the shipgirls.” He turned to Titanic. “Do me a favor and try and contact one of the carrier groups -” he broke off as Titanic held up a finger as she wrote down a message that was apparently just coming in. As she wrote, the smile on her face grew wider with each word. When she was finished, she turned to Avers excitedly.

“Message from Carrier Group One, Admiral!” she announced. “They report that every Abyssal they were fighting suddenly screamed in agony, clutched their heads, and then collapsed and died. Any aircraft in the air immediately crashed as well!”

The gazes of everyone in the room snapped to Avers, who looked dazed.

“Admiral…?” Blaskewicz trailed off, his voice apparently causing Avers to snap back to reality.

“Sorry,” the Admiral murmured softly, before clearing his throat. “Thank you, Titanic,” he addressed the liner, before going over to the communications panel and pressing the button to activate the base-wide PA system. “Communications will now send the following message to all commands: ‘Return to base immediately’,” He grinned widely and finished with, “‘Mission Accomplished…well done.’.”

Wild cheers erupted throughout the naval base.

Chapter Text

Reactions to the news of the victory varied.

~~~

In the middle of the ecstatic chaos that was the one of the supply offices, the Lieutenant in charge noticed one of the NCOs heading for the door.

“Petty Officer Komura!” he barked. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Aiya ignored him and walked outside. The Lieutenant followed her and was surprised when his errant NCO stopped about twenty paces from the door and faced north, a huge grin on her face and happy tears in her eyes.

“Gain victory in the dawn horizon!” She screamed, raising her arms in the air. “Tenno heika, Banzai!”

~~~

Support Group Two greeted the news to return to base with a huge sigh of relief.

“Did we win?” Akitsushima breathed, not wanting to get her hopes up.

“It would seem so,” Hosho replied, already thinking ahead to getting home and spoiling Hoppo rotten in celebration.

“I’m so proud I could take part in another historical victory for Japan,” Mikasa stated. “I remember the celebrations after Tsushima many years ago…we realized we had shown the world what we could do, and we impressed many.”

“Could you tell us about Gensui Togo, Mikasa-san?” Kamikaze asked. Mikasa looked around to see all five of the destroyers giving her puppy eyes, and even the other ships looked interested in hearing the reminiscences of the flagship of the ‘Nelson of the East’. She smiled.

“Certainly! Why don’t I start at the beginning? Gensui Togo – well, he was only Vice Admiral Togo at the time - assumed command of the Combined Fleet in late December 1903…”

Storytime continued as the group headed back to the naval base.

~~~

As more and more groups returned home, the group in Avers’ office headed down to the docks to greet the returning heroes. It seemed everyone else on the base had the same idea, for the docks were packed with people cheering wildly as the shipgirls came out of the sortie shed.

Mauretania, Aquitania, and Britannic were on hand to help the wounded girls to the repair docks, but thankfully it looked as though the most seriously damaged shipgirls – Repulse was one of these – would require no more than two days in the baths before being able to return to service.

Avers stepped inside an office to use a phone and inform Admiral Fuchida of the day’s events.

“Admiral Avers? What do you have to report?” Fuchida sounded concerned. “Are you under attack down there? It sounds pretty chaotic on your end.”

“Sorry, sir…we’re celebrating.” Avers relayed the events of the past five days to the JMSDF Chief, who gasped when he heard the results of the day’s operation.

“So, they’re finished?” He murmured dazedly. “Every Abyssal in the Pacific, Indian, and Adriatic Oceans is dead?”

“Either that or their communications network is so screwed up it will be a good while before they’re a credible threat again,” Avers replied.

“W-We can reestablish trans-Pacific communications…” Fuchida whispered. “Trade routes…flight paths…U.S. Naval Forces Japan’s people can finally be rotated out…Admiral, do you realize what you’ve accomplished today?”

“I myself accomplished nothing, sir…it was all the work of those under my command,” Avers deferred praise from himself. “I’ll leave it to you to inform His Majesty of this.”

“Anything you want from the JMSDF, Admiral,” Fuchida’s voice sounded choked-up with emotion. “Name it and it’s yours if I have the power to make it happen.”

“Promotions for everyone under my command, for starters,” Avers replied. “For the shipgirls their rank is honorary, but it would still mean a lot to them. I’ve got at least ten personnel who deserve two-rank promotions.”

“Done,” Fuchida replied. “If you feel anyone deserves a medal for anything, fax the paperwork over to me and I’ll personally push it through. Oh, and allow me to offer condolences on the losses suffered by the United States Navy today.”

“Losses suffered by the United States Navy?” Avers was confused. “Sir, to my knowledge none of the shipgirls have been sunk.”

“Not shipgirls, human personnel,” Fuchida replied. “Your oh-so-brilliant Vice Admiral Denhurst ordered three destroyers and four frigates out to fight the Abyssals earlier this morning. He apparently justified it as American support for your operation.”

“Dear God…” Avers trailed off, horrified. “Admiral, I swear this is the first I’ve heard of it…Denhurst mentioned nothing whatsoever about sending his people out in support of the shipgirls. If I’d known about it, I would’ve done everything in my power to try and stop him.” He sighed. “How bad was it?”

“Only two of the frigates survived,” Fuchida replied. “They apparently got caught by an Abyssal submarine group, which used them for target practice.” He sighed and Avers braced himself for more bad news. “Vice Admiral Denhurst was aboard the flagship, U.S.S. Winston S. Churchill, which was one of the ships sunk. He was not among the survivors rescued.”

Avers closed his eyes for a moment in sadness, silently saying a brief prayer for those lost. “Understood, sir…please offer the condolences of the Rengō Kanmusutai to U.S. Naval Forces Japan.”

“I will do that, Admiral…I must now inform the Palace of the great victory won today. I’m sure you’ll be hearing something from that end quite soon.”

Avers said his goodbyes and then sat back in the chair, lost in thought. He was jarred from his memories of serving under Denhurst by Mancini and Blaskewicz bursting into the office.

“The girls are back, sir,” Mancini stated, referring to Kongo, Tenryu, and Ashigara. “We thought you’d want to be there.”

“Yes, of course…thank you,” Avers rose to his feet and motioned for the two of them to step inside the office and close the door. “Before we go out there, I have a couple things I need to tell you.”

“What’s up, sir?” Mancini inquired.

Avers gave them a brief run-down of the American battle earlier that day.

“Jesus…” Mancini trailed off.

“Denhurst?” Blaskewicz inquired.

Avers smiled sadly, knowing what the Supply Officer was asking, and shook his head. “No,” he replied. “But the time to mourn is later…let’s go greet our girls.” The trio was almost out the door when Avers remembered he wanted to tell them something else.

“Oh, one more thing,” he added, causing Blaskewicz and Mancini to stop and turn to face him. He held out his hand to Blaskewicz, who shook it, and then repeated the gesture with Mancini. “Congratulations on a hard-earned victory today…Rear Admirals.”

“Huh?” came Mancini’s eloquent response.

“R-Rear Admiral?!” Blaskewicz’s brain appeared to be unable to process the notion of having attained flag rank.

“Everyone in my command is getting a promotion for today,” Avers replied. “Certain deserving individuals will be getting two-rank promotions. There will also probably be quite a few medals handed out as well. However, I wanted you two to know that the promotions include you. Again, congratulations.”

He walked out of the office, his two stunned subordinates trailing behind him. By the time they got outside to the docks area, though, both Blaskewicz and Mancini had recovered from the shock and were sporting grins a mile wide.

~~~

The cheers were deafening as the Special Attack Group emerged from the sortie shed. The eight submarines had been the ones to deliver the bomb that ended the war and were now being greeted like they were on par with legendary rock stars or other celebrities.

Iku had no sooner stepped out of the sortie shed than she was hit by a blur in a Petty Officer’s uniform. Normally she and Aiya had kept their relationship out of the public eye, but it appeared that secrecy was currently the absolute last thing on her girlfriend’s mind, for she was clinging to the lewdmarine like a spider monkey and trying to remove Iku’s tonsils with her tongue. It was only when Aiya needed to breathe did the beautiful young woman finally pull back and smile widely at her girlfriend.

“Is it really over?” she asked. Iku nodded.

“They’re dead all right.”

Aiya squealed and hugged Iku tightly. Iku returned the embrace and leaned over to murmur in Aiya’s ear.

“Why don’t we ditch this celebration, Beautiful Silk, and go make one of our own back at your place?”

Aiya blushed attractively at hearing Iku use the definition of her name as a term of endearment and nodded happily before resuming trying to remove Iku’s tonsils with her tongue. And as usual, Iku had no problems whatsoever about giving as good as she got!

~~~

“FUBUKI-CHAN! YUDACHI-CHAN!” the ecstatic cry immediately drew the attention of the two destroyers in question before they were bowled over by a very emotional Mutsuki. The trio embraced, clinging to each other for dear life and laughing excitedly, extremely happy that they were all okay.

~~~

Shokaku, Zuikaku, and Taiho made their way out of the sortie shed. Although none of them had been damaged, the three fleet carriers were exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to fall into bed and sleep for a week. However, it looked as though sleep would not be forthcoming soon, for the ships of 1st and 2nd Carrier Divisions were blocking their way. Taiho raised an eyebrow and Zuikaku tensed for yet another heated confrontation, when, to their surprise, Kaga extended her hand to Taiho.

"You fought very well out there today," she stated, and for the first time it appeared the stoic carrier was not having to force her words out when complimenting the 5th Carrier Division. "On behalf of my division mate and 2nd Carrier Division, allow me to state that Kido Butai," she indicated herself, Akagi, Soryu, and Hiryu, "would be honored to operate with the Mobile Force," she indicated Shokaku, Zuikaku, and Taiho, "at any time."

For the first time Zuikaku didn't have a smart comeback. What Kaga said was true: she, Shokaku-nee, and Taiho-san all comprised the Mobile Force; the other four carriers had been sunk long before that unit even came into being. Let them have the honor of the name Kido Butai, a little voice inside her said. The three of you can hold the prestige of the Mobile Force.

Taiho nodded and smiled, accepting Kaga's offered handshake. "I believe I speak for my division mates when I say the Mobile Force would be honored to operate with Kido Butai at any time as well."

"Of course," Kaga looked over at Zuikaku and allowed a small smile to appear on her face, "that doesn't mean some friendly competition would go amiss on occasion."

"Any time, Kaga-san," Zuikaku put in.

The two carrier groups smiled at each other. For the first time in a long time, they were not trying to one-up each other; today their status mattered not. Whether they were part of Nagumo's quartet or Ozawa's trio, they were all victors here today.

~~~

“Bismarck,” Hood’s voice shook the German battleship from her thoughts as she watched the happy reunions all around her.

“Yes, Hood?” she turned to face her former adversary, who looked uncomfortable.

“Listen, I want to thank you for what you did for me today,” the famous battlecruiser began, holding up her hand when Bismarck attempted to say something, “but I have to tell you I’m sorry…I don’t have romantic feelings for you.”

“Huh?” Bismarck looked at Hood like she had a screw loose.

“I know we want to protect those we love…I get that,” Hood continued, “and like I said, I can’t thank you enough for what you did, but I just don’t see you in that way…I’m sorry.” She sighed. “There’s someone out there for you, believe me…it’s just not me.” She smiled awkwardly and then hurried away, leaving Bismarck confused now more than ever.

“Everything all right?” Prinz Eugen walked up beside her former squadron mate.

“What the hell was she talking about?” Bismarck relayed what Hood had said to the heavy cruiser, who appeared just as confused before the duo came to the obvious conclusion.

“Crazy Britisher,” they chorused, nodding to each other.

“Now that that’s cleared up,” Prinz Eugen began, “there’s still the little matter of your special someone being somewhere out there.” She then added, “Or perhaps not so far away.”

“I have no idea what you mean,” Bismarck rolled her eyes. Great…now Prinz is going to start talking in riddles, too?!

“I mean this,” Prinz Eugen replied, grabbing the battleship’s collar and bringing her lips down to hers, kissing her passionately. “Hi,” she murmured seductively against Bismarck’s lips once the kiss was over. “I’d like to apply for the position of ‘Your Special Someone’.”

Bismarck’s mind flashed back through all that the pair had been through together…training together in the Baltic…the victory in the Denmark Strait…and then the emotional parting only a short time later. Then their return…learning they were needed once again…and the emotional conversation they’d had the previous night, Prinz breaking down and telling Bismarck of how she’d been the largest German warship to survive the war and how much Bismarck’s loss had affected her. She’d then used the internet to show Bismarck what the world viewed as service under the swastika, and Bismarck’s response had been to immediately rip the Reichsadler from every piece of her clothing it adorned. They’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms – actually, more like they’d cried themselves to sleep in each other’s arms, letting out all their emotions from the previous war – and only that morning had agreed to table any personal discussions until they returned home.

Now they’d returned home, and her fellow shipgirl was making clear what – and whom – she wanted.

And what’s stopping us from having this, exactly? A little voice in the battleship’s head asked her. Nothing now…not a war, not a demagogue little Corporal hell-bent on genocide…nothing!

Bismarck’s response both to the little voice in her head and Prinz Eugen’s ‘application’ was to smirk and pull the heavy cruiser in for another kiss.

~~~

Avers smiled as he watched Yubari and Akashi reunite, followed quickly thereafter by Yorktown and Imuya, who got quite emotional when Hammann hugged her as well. He smiled at Indianapolis’ surprise when she reunited with Goya, whose emotions got the better of her and lead her to unexpectedly kiss her former target. The submarine quickly recovered and looked beyond embarrassed, only to have Indy smile shyly and hug Goya, letting her know it was all right and that she returned her feelings, resulting in a brilliant smile from the Japanese submarine.

He witnessed Mancini and Ashigara’s reunion, the heavy cruiser jumping into Mancini’s arms and laughing excitedly as the Training Officer swung her around in a circle before setting her down on her feet and kissing her passionately.

The Admiral glanced around in anticipation of his own reunion, but he heard her before he saw her.

“TEIIII~TOOO~KUUU~!”

He turned and saw his beautiful fast battleship running towards him at full speed. She was the most beautiful sight Avers had ever seen, and he sent fervent thanks upstairs that there didn’t appear to be a scratch on her.

Avers caught Kongo as she leapt on him, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, showering his face with kisses.

“I won victory for you with my BURNING LOVE! Teitoku-des!” she squealed.

For his part Avers held her tightly, finally managing to capture her lips with his own. Kongo whimpered in pleasure and returned the kiss before melting against him and purring contentedly.

“I am so proud of you, sweetheart,” Avers murmured in her ear. “You and the rest of the girls won a huge victory today.”

“Yes!” Kongo laughed, kissing him again.

“Let’s go celebrate,” Avers stated, and Kongo squealed excitedly; once he’d set her back on her feet, she started to drag him off in the direction of his quarters, but a shriek from Ikazuchi stopped everyone in their tracks.

~~~

Blaskewicz had been waiting patiently for his girls to come out of the sortie shed, but his furry, four-legged companion wasn’t so inclined. Joji was looking frantically back and forth, his tail wagging excitedly as he searched for his family. He apparently picked up their scent, for before Blaskewicz knew what was happening, the Great Dane yanked his leash from the Supply Officer’s hand and bolted into the sortie shed.

“Aw, jeez…” Blaskewicz moaned, figuring he would now have to chase down the dog before going to greet the girls.

However, excited cries of “Joji-san!” were soon heard, and Blaskewicz’s vision blurred with tears of relief when he saw the four adorable forms of DesDiv 6 emerge from the sortie shed none the worse for wear; Tatsuta, Kiso, and his beloved Tenryu following right behind them. He raised his hand and waved it to show them where he was, and DesDiv 6 immediately spotted him.

“DADDY!” they shrieked and made a beeline for him.

“OOF!” Blaskewicz had the wind knocked out of him as all four tackle-glomped him at once, chattering excitedly about their mission that day. When the three light cruisers neared Blaskewicz and the destroyers, Tatsuta and Kiso smiled at them and continued walking, obviously intent on having their own private celebration back in Kiso’s quarters.

As Joji started nudging the destroyers, apparently thinking he wasn’t getting enough attention, the adorable quartet’s attention soon became focused on their puppy again, allowing Blaskewicz and their mom-boat to finally pay attention to each other.

“Ten –” Blaskewicz barely got his girlfriend’s nickname out before Tenryu whipped off her eyepatch and glomped onto him like a leech, kissing him so hard he could barely breathe. When they finally separated due to the need for air, and Blaskewicz gazed into Tenryu’s golden eyes and saw the depth of the light cruiser’s feelings for him, he knew there’d never be a better time to do what he wanted than right then. With that in mind, he gathered up his courage and spoke.

“Ten, I love you so much,” he murmured, and Tenryu smiled beautifully at him, thinking he was merely telling her his feelings, not leading up to something.

Therefore, her eyes nearly popped out of her head when Blaskewicz dropped to one knee in front of her. Ikazuchi turned just as the Supply Officer did so, saw what was going on, and let out an ecstatic shriek which stopped everyone in their tracks; even Kiso who turned, saw what was going on, and nudged Tatsuta to look. Tenryu’s sister ship turned, saw what was happening, and clamped her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide in astonishment.

Tenryu, for her part, was having a very hard time not hyperventilating. Of all the things she thought Blaskewicz would do, this was nowhere near the top of the list. She then realized her boyfriend was speaking again and figured she’d better pay attention.

“Ten, I love you so much,” Blaskewicz stated. “You’ve brought more joy and happiness into my life than I ever thought possible, and I want to spend the rest of my life trying to make you as happy as you’ve made me. Will you marry me?”

Tenryu wiped away the tears that had spilled down her cheeks and gave him the only answer she could think of.

“Yes!” she choked out, causing cheers and applause to resound throughout the dockyard, and for Ikazuchi, Inazuma, and Akatsuki to scream in delight as Blaskewicz placed a beautiful ring on his new fiancée’s left ring finger and then stood up and kissed her.

“Khorosho,” Hibiki muttered, the small smile on her face telling everyone that she was as ecstatic as her sister ships.

“Eddie,” Tenryu pulled away after a few moments, “what about the girls? What’s going to happen to them when we get married?” She looked worried. “I dunno if they can continue living with us after the wedding.”

“They can if we adopt them as our children,” Blaskewicz grinned, looking down at DesDiv 6, who were gazing up at him with hope shining in their eyes. “I mean, you girls already call us ‘Mama’ and ‘Daddy’…why don’t we see if we can make it official?”

His fiancée’s response was to choke back a sob and kiss him deeply while hugging him for dear life, and the hugs the newly engaged couple received from the four destroyers were just as enthusiastic.

~~~

Three days later found Avers a bundle of nerves. It had been a mad dash to put together the ceremony that was to be held on the parade ground that day, and when combined with who was scheduled to be there and what was to take place at said ceremony, it was a wonder the Admiral hadn’t suffered some sort of emotional collapse due to stress.

He smiled, remembering his beautiful girlfriend’s solution to help him relax, then inwardly cursed as his body responded to said memories and he was forced to think of something else to keep embarrassing things from happening. He ran his hands over his new formal dress uniform coat, straightening the pleat before heading into the living room.

Kongo rose to her feet as he walked out and Avers smiled at the sight of her in Imperial Japanese Navy dress whites, the living room lights causing the gold on her new Captain’s shoulder boards to shimmer.

“Well? How do I look?” he asked, turning in a complete circle for her appraisal, and then rolling his eyes good-naturedly when he saw the blatant lust on her face.

“Let me guess: this is your new Number One Favorite Outfit on me?”

Kongo bit her lip and nodded, a strangled whimper the only sound coming out of her mouth. Avers smiled, walked over to her, and kissed her softly.

“Save those dirty thoughts for later tonight, okay, gorgeous?” he asked, and the fast battleship blushed and nodded.

The couple walked over to the parade ground, leaving Avers’ quarters in plenty of time; even so, the Admiral attracted quite a bit of attention in his formal dress uniform complete with cocked hat. As they arrived, they were joined by Mancini and Ashigara and the Blaskewicz crew. Salutes were exchanged all around and Avers made a point to greet each person. Both Mancini and Blaskewicz were in formal dress uniforms like Avers’ which proudly sported their new Rear Admiral’s insignia, while the others were all in dress whites like Kongo: three Commanders (Tatsuta, Tenryu, and Kiso), two Lieutenant Commanders (Ashigara and Hibiki), two Lieutenants (Ikazuchi and Inazuma), and one Lieutenant Junior Grade (Akatsuki).

A ceremony had been held the previous day wherein all personnel had received their promised promotions (all eight submarines, as well as Bismarck, Yubari, and Akashi, had received two-rank promotions), and several personnel had received medals. Two notable instances had been Bismarck receiving Germany’s Gold Cross of Honor for Outstanding Deeds for her actions in protecting Hood, and Lusitania proudly receiving the Distinguished Service Order – presented by Avers on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen - for her actions in saving Olympic.

As they separated to go to their places Avers noticed the non-Japanese shipgirls were wearing their own dress uniforms. The German shipgirls wore Kriegsmarine uniforms without the swastika, the British shipgirls Royal Navy uniforms, the Americans summer dress whites (proudly displaying any awards they had been presented with during their time in service), and the Italians modern-day Italian Navy whites modified to look like those of the Regia Marina.

Avers left Kongo with the rest of the shipgirls and headed up to the stage, where Nagato and Mutsu were waiting for him. He returned the salutes he gave them as he stepped behind the curtain.

“Are we on time?”

Nagato nodded. “Right on schedule, Admiral.” She paused before asking, “Sir, who’s coming here so that everything must be absolutely perfect?”

Avers smiled enigmatically. “You two will find out when the rest of the fleet does. Suffice to say this will be a huge surprise to all of you.”

As the two battleships left to join the rest of the shipgirls on the parade ground in order to get everyone in the proper places Avers stepped through the curtain onto the stage. He glanced off to the side and noticed the large Rolls Royce limousine drawing up behind the parade ground, and knew it was time.

A man in a dark suit poked his head out and nodded to Avers, and the Admiral turned to the assembled shipgirls.

"Chūi!" he commanded, and everyone present snapped to attention. As everyone was at the position of attention, no one was able to see the flags on the flagpole in front of the Headquarters building hurriedly being lowered and a special flag being hoisted in their place.

The Admiral gave one last look to make sure everything was perfect before performing a perfect about-face and facing the stage. The dark-suited man came out from behind the curtain, came to attention, and spoke into a microphone he had clipped to his lapel.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the fleet and honored guests, His Imperial Majesty the Emperor!”

Oh, to be able to turn around and look right now! Avers thought gleefully, imagining the shock rippling through the assembled shipgirls.

"Keirei!" he ordered, and everyone present saluted as the white-haired Emperor of Japan walked through the curtain and smiled at seeing the honors being rendered to him. He bowed to the assembled shipgirls.

“Thank you, ladies…you may be at ease,” Akihito spoke in a calm, but firm voice. “It is Our great honor to address you here today…for your actions of three days ago, you are all heroes of Japan and of the world, and We cannot thank you enough for causing the enemy a serious setback in this long and hard-fought struggle. In previous days, you all were honored with promotions and awards, and now it is your Commander’s turn.”

Several aides came out from behind the curtain with items in their hands and placed them on a small table that had been set up on the stage. The same person who had announced the Emperor walked out onstage and stood beside the table. At the Emperor’s nod, he opened a large scroll and began reading in Japanese:

“By the grace of Heaven, Emperor of Japan, seated on the throne occupied by the same dynasty from time immemorial, We confer the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun upon Kaigun Teitoku Matthew Garrett Avers, a citizen of the United States of America and Commander of the Rengō Kanmusutai, and invest him with the insignia of the same class of the Order of the Double Rays of the Rising Sun, in expression of the good will We entertain towards him. In witness whereof, We have hereunto set Our hand and cause the Great Seal of State to be affixed at the Imperial Palace, Tokyo, this Thirtieth Day of the Fifth Month of the Twenty-Eighth year of Heisei, corresponding to the 2,672nd year from the ascension to the throne of Emperor Jimmu.”

Avers barely breathed as the sash signifying the award was draped around him. As soon as this was done, he bowed deeply in thanks for the award. No sooner had he straightened up than the same person was speaking again:

“By the grace of Heaven, Emperor of Japan, seated on the throne occupied by the same dynasty from time immemorial, We confer the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum upon Kaigun Teitoku Matthew Garrett Avers, a citizen of the United States of America and Commander of the Rengō Kanmusutai, and invest him with the insignia of the same class of the Order of the Chrysanthemum, in expression of the good will We entertain towards him. In witness whereof, We have hereunto set Our hand and cause the Great Seal of State to be affixed at the Imperial Palace, Tokyo, this Thirtieth Day of the Fifth Month of the Twenty-Eighth year of Heisei, corresponding to the 2,672nd year from the ascension to the throne of Emperor Jimmu.”

Avers stood stunned as the medal was affixed to the front of his uniform. The medal being pinned on him hadn’t been awarded to someone outside the Imperial Family since before World War II. As he instinctively bowed deeply in thanks for the award, he was jarred out of his thoughts by the voice of the Emperor.

“And finally, in recognition of your victory against the Abyssal forces, which has resulted in the reestablishment of contact with the United States and the Western World, We hereby confer upon Kaigun Teitoku Matthew Garrett Avers the rank and title of Kaigun Gensui, and hereby present him with the Gensui Badge and the Marshal’s Sword.”

Avers’ heart nearly stopped. For the first time since 1944, the Emperor had conferred the title of Marshal on someone, and he was – other than Britain’s King George V – the only non-Japanese person to ever receive it.

Akihito personally affixed the Gensui Badge to Avers’ uniform, while the aide hooked the formal sword to Avers’ belt. Once this was done Avers bowed deeply a third time and stood at rigid attention while Akihito once again thanked the assembled shipgirls for all they’d accomplished and then departed. Once the Emperor had disappeared behind the curtain Avers performed another perfect about-face and prepared to dismiss the formation. Before he could do this, however, he was surprised by Nagato speaking in a loud voice.

“Kaigun Gensui, BANZAI!” the battleship yelled, setting off a huge cheer from the assembled fleet. Although he hated being the center of attention Avers found he didn’t have the heart to cut their enthusiasm short, and instead decided for the first time in his life to bask in some well-deserved glory.

~~~

The celebration continued well into the night but Avers and Kongo managed to slip away around 2030. As they laid in bed, recovering from round six of the night – Avers had to admit he was quite pleased with himself on this – the Admiral found his mind turning to matters other than making the love of his life scream herself hoarse in ecstasy. The personnel under his command had fought so hard for so long, and they deserved to have a day where they had no responsibilities and could just enjoy life for once.

But how? He asked himself, possibilities running through his mind. What could we all do that would allow us to –

The answer came to him in an instant, and he allowed himself a brief smile, resolving to speak to Admiral Fuchida about it the following day. No sooner had he decided this than he felt Kongo’s hand wandering beneath the blankets and looked down to see the fast battleship gazing at him, a mischievous grin on her face and a sex-drunk haze in her eyes. Her hair was plastered to her forehead from sweat, and her neck and shoulders were marred with several large hickeys.

She was the most beautiful vision Avers had ever seen in his life, and a plan began forming in his mind. She’ll never see this coming, he thought to himself.

“Dess?” Kongo purred, her hand finding its target under the blankets.

Avers had been about to inform his beautiful girlfriend that he was not a machine and needed some recovery time, but Kongo’s talented hand was proving that to be a falsehood. Before she could say or do anything else Avers turned the tables and rolled on top of her.

“My turn,” the Admiral murmured, causing Kongo to squeal in response.

~~~

Three days later, a small group left the naval base and headed to the mainland, where they boarded a Shikansen train to Kawaguchi in Saitama prefecture, whereupon they made their way to their destination: Yakurinzi Temple Cemetery.

While Blaskewicz had told DesDiv 6 they could wear nice civilian clothes, they had all chosen to wear their dress white uniforms, as did Blaskewicz, Tenryu, and the last member of their party, Exeter. They made their way through the cemetery before stopping at a specific headstone. As one, they came to attention and saluted the grave of Commander Shunsaku Kudo, before allowing Ikazuchi, Inazuma, and Exeter to have a moment alone. After the heavy cruiser laid flowers, murmured thanks for what Kudo had done during the war, and saluted the headstone again, she and Inazuma stepped back so Ikazuchi could be alone with her former Commanding Officer.

Blaskewicz had done some research on the five senior officers who had been aboard Ikazuchi and Inazuma when they’d performed the rescue operation but had only managed to find the location of Kudo’s grave. Ikazuchi’s Torpedo Officer, Lieutenant Commander Asano Ichiro, had also survived the war, as had her Navigator, JMSDF Vice Admiral Tanigawa Kiyosumi, but their statuses were unknown. It was the same for the status of her Gunnery Officer at the time, Lieutenant Tagami Shunzo, and Chief Engineer Commander Hayashi Seizo. They hoped to eventually discover the fates of all four individuals, but for now that information would remain unknown. The same applied to Inazuma’s senior officers; while Captain Takeuchi Hajime, Torpedo Officer Lieutenant Commander Kimura Hiroshi, Gunnery Officer Lieutenant Kikuchi Masaaki, Navigator Lieutenant Commander Taketomi Kunio, and Chief Engineer Lieutenant Uchida Seinobu all presumably survived the war, the location of their graves was unknown.

After a moment, Ikazuchi stood back up and saluted the gravestone before turning away and walking back over to her sisters, who hugged her. She then approached Tenryu and Blaskewicz, who hugged her as well. As the group left the cemetery, Blaskewicz smiled slightly to himself, realizing that the outing, while a somber one, had allowed himself, his beautiful fiancée, and DesDiv 6 to grow even closer, not as a fighting unit, but as something even greater…

A family.

Chapter Text

By mid-August Avers had managed to get approval for his plan. He was glad the JMSDF had finally given him clearance, as the following month both Mancini and Blaskewicz had made plans to return to the United States briefly to see their families. Ashigara was going with Mancini, and Tenryu and DesDiv 6 were going with Blaskewicz.

There were several new faces around the naval base; simply because the Abyssals had been dealt a serious blow and humanity now possessed a distinct advantage did not mean new shipgirl summons would be halted. No new Japanese shipgirls had been summoned, but the other nations had gained several new faces. The United States had gained the heavy cruiser Chicago (CA-29), destroyer William D. Porter, and the famous ships of Taffy Three: destroyers Heermann, Hoel, and Johnston, destroyer-escort Samuel B. Roberts, and escort carrier White Plains. The escort carrier was on the same scale of adorable as DesDiv 6, while ‘Willie D. and Taffy Three’ were proving to be quite the mischief-makers, inadvertently causing chaos wherever they went.

Britain had gained three vessels. Probably the most notable summon was battle cruiser Renown, who was the complete opposite of her sister ship; where Repulse had a Cockney accent, used slang, loved her rum, and had a vocabulary that would at times make even the most veteran sailor blush like a schoolgirl, Renown spoke like a young woman straight out of a Victorian novel, used proper grammar, despised alcohol in all forms, and hadn’t spoken a single swear word since she’d been summoned. She’d made it her personal mission to reform her uncouth sister ship, but to say it was slow going was an understatement; Avers had seen continents drift faster. On the other hand, Akatsuki – her quest to become a true lady never-ending - practically worshipped the British battle cruiser, following her around like a puppy. When Tenryu had tried to apologize, thinking Akatsuki was annoying Renown, the battle cruiser had waved her off, saying she was flattered by the hero worship and was glad to help the little destroyer in any way she could.

The other latest British arrivals were light cruisers Ajax and Achilles, both of whom tackle-glomped Exeter the second they laid eyes on her and hadn’t been parted from her since. It really didn’t help matters when the next shipgirl to be summoned happened to be their old River Plate adversary, Admiral Graf Spee, with the other two Panzerschiffen following their sister ship out of the pool immediately thereafter. Deutschland had assumed a ‘responsible older sister’ role when it came to the two ‘Admirals’, who were quickly being compared to Fred and George Weasley, as they loved pranks and were incredibly talented at them. Scheer was the doer while Spee – whose analytical mind was particularly devastating when it came to prank ideas and the feasibility of pulling them off – was the thinker.

Another comparison people made was that Scheer was Iku in heavy cruiser form; she partied hard – her alcohol tolerance level easily rivaled Junyo’s – and the lustful thoughts swirling through her mind – which she frequently shared with anyone within earshot, sometimes just to see their reaction - would’ve caused a priest to make the sign of the cross and try to douse her in holy water. And she had a talent for writing as well; in the six weeks since she’d been summoned, she’d already written the first novel in a continuing erotica series entitled Tales from Lady Reinhard’s Boudoir, which she’d sent off to Penthouse magazine in the United States. The first title in the series, The Virgin Countess, was set to be published in time for Christmas.

The rest of the naval base had first become aware of Scheer’s literary talents when Ashigara caught her writing during class one day when she should’ve been paying attention. The heavy cruiser had read one paragraph, blushed redder than a ship’s hull below the waterline, and handed the notebook back. No one knew exactly what she’d read, but Mancini had taken sick leave the following day (a Friday) and had come back to work on Monday looking beyond exhausted but with a mile-wide grin on his face.

It was also obvious who had been the inspiration for the title The Virgin Countess: the eponymous ‘Lady Reinhard’’s own sister, Spee. Spee preferred to spend most of her time with her nose buried in a book, whether it was a book on tactics written by von Clausewitz or one of Agatha Christie’s novels about the adventures of Hercule Poirot. But she never failed to wholeheartedly support her sister ship in whatever she did, and Deutschland, being the responsible older sister that she was, encouraged this to continue. Then came the day when Spee found the manuscript for Scheer’s novel and – being the bibliophile she was – sat down and read it. Deutschland came back from gunnery practice to find the prankster duo apparently acting out a scene from the novel – quite enthusiastically, from what everyone had heard – and nearly had a stroke. It was obvious she was still struggling to understand her sister ships’ relationship, but it was plain for all to see that the prankster duo was now a couple.

Italy’s new summons weren’t warships at all, but to Akagi and every other shipgirl who loved to eat, they were a pair sent directly from heaven: liners Rex and Conte di Savoia. It all started when the two Italian liners walked into the commissary – where it happened to be Spaghetti Day – the day after they’d been summoned. About fifteen minutes later Avers had walked in with Kongo to grab lunch only to be greeted by the sight of the culinary staff sitting at one of the tables, and indignant bursts of rapid-fire Italian coming from the kitchen…along with some of the most delicious scents Avers had ever smelled in his life. Thirty minutes later and the Admiral was eating the best spaghetti he’d ever had, Akagi – after having tasted their version of the dish – was prostrate in reverence before the two liners as though she was having a religious experience, and Hosho and Irako had two new partners in their restaurant. Said restaurant was now more popular than ever; after dinner there one night, Mancini had stated their Italian food was the closest he’d ever come to his grandmother’s own cooking, which – according to the Italian liners – was the highest compliment they could ever hope to receive.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about, sir?” Mancini’s question brought Avers out of his thoughts.

Avers smiled. “Just recalling the first time any of us ever tasted Rex and Conte di Savoia’s cooking.”

His two companions grinned. “Talk about great memories,” Blaskewicz murmured.

“Amen to that,” Mancini agreed. “You know I’ve had to double my workout now after eating there because the food is so incredible?”

“Be interesting to hear their thoughts on Olive Garden if and when they ever go to the States,” Avers laughed.

“Are you kidding me?” Mancini asked. “If they ever start their own restaurant in America, I’ve got a hundred bucks that says Olive Garden goes out of business within five years, tops.”

“Changing the subject, sir, why are we meeting here?” Blaskewicz asked.

“The U.S. Navy wanted to speak with the three of us about something. Exactly what, I have no idea, but they specifically requested all three of us be present.”

Seconds later, there was a knock on the door. Nagato walked over and answered it, admitting a U.S. Navy Captain into the room.

“Fleet Admiral Avers, I’m Captain Martin Browning, U.S. Navy Bureau of Personnel,” the man introduced himself, shaking Avers’ proffered hand, then greeting and shaking hands with Blaskewicz and Mancini as well.

“What can we do for you, Captain?” Avers asked. Browning came to attention.

“Sirs, I have been authorized, on behalf of the United States Navy, to offer the three of you the opportunity to return to service with our fleet. We believe your experiences here will be beneficial to the United States in the future, and we want you to train other officers to develop leadership skills like those the three of you have demonstrated for the past thirteen months.”

The three Americans sat stunned at what Browning was saying.

“Captain -” Avers began but Browning plowed ahead with what he was saying.

“All three of you will be compensated for returning to service with the U.S. Navy: if you choose to return to service under our flag, you will all receive promotions.”

Avers inwardly cringed when he pictured himself wearing six-star shoulder boards, but the vision was quickly dispelled by Browning’s next words.

“Louis Mancini, you will return to service in the U.S. Navy at the rank of Senior Chief Petty Officer; Edward Blaskewicz, you will return at the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and sir,” he turned to Avers, “you will return to service at the rank of Captain.”

“Where would we be stationed?” Avers asked.

“At Norfolk Navy Yard, sir,” Browning replied. “We’re currently in the process of setting up a large training center for accommodating naval personnel, as well as any shipgirls the U.S. Navy manages to summon.”

“I’m saying ‘no’ right now,” Avers replied. “Not only would I be reduced in rank by quite a bit, but I’ve got family here.”

“But surely you have family back in America…” Browning attempted to protest but Avers cut him off.

“I have no family left in America…every member of my family is here. It grows every time we summon new shipgirls.”

“Sir,” Browning began, “the shipgirls -”

“Are like family to me,” Avers replied. “I’m not going to abandon them simply because the U.S. Navy has decided it wants me back.”

“I’m saying ‘no’, too,” Blaskewicz put in. “While I have a large family back in the States, my fiancée is here and I’m not going to uproot her.”

“Your fiancée, sir?” Browning looked surprised.

“One of the light cruisers,” the Supply Officer added. “She’s got four of the most adorable destroyers I’ve ever seen under her charge, and as soon as she and I say ‘I do’ we’re going to go about adopting them as our daughters. I’m staying right here.”

“It’s gonna be three for three,” Mancini stated. “I’m dating one of the shipgirls, too, and I’m not about to leave her.”

“What if Congress authorized bringing you all in at the ranks you’re wearing now?” Avers bit his lip to keep from laughing as he practically pictured a lightbulb over Browning’s head.

“While they might okay it for these two,” he indicated Mancini and Blaskewicz, “they’d never okay it for me. And on the miniscule chance that it somehow got approved, I’d never accept it.”

“Why’s that, sir?” It was obvious that Browning’s frustration at not getting a positive answer was growing.

“There’s absolutely no way in hell I’m even close to being on par with Leahy, King, Nimitz, Halsey, and Spruance,” Avers stated. “If I were to accept that rank it would be a dishonor to their legacies.”

“With all due respect, sir, Admiral Spruance was only a four-star,” Browning corrected Avers.

“He should’ve gotten that fifth star,” Avers snapped. “Not my fault people were too damn stupid and political to see the forest for the trees.”

Browning sighed, obviously realizing his errand had been a major bust. “I’ll inform the CNO that the three of you have declined the Navy’s offer. Thank you for your time, sirs.”

The American officer hurried out of the office without waiting for Avers and company to rise to their feet. Avers watched Browning go and sighed.

“I think the three of us just shot our wad with the United States Navy,” he stated, then grinned at them. “On the plus side, I just remembered Conte’s Chicken Alfredo is the Special of the Day at Hosho’s restaurant…my treat, gentlemen.”

“You don’t have to ask me twice!” Mancini got to his feet eagerly. The three officers grinned and headed off for lunch.

~~~

Three days later Avers was surprised by a visit from Admiral Fuchida.

“Admiral Fuchida,” Avers rose to greet the JMSDF Chief, “to what do we owe the pleasure?”

“Just a quick visit to inform you that the Rengō Kanmusutai is no longer a part of the JMSDF,” Fuchida announced, causing Avers and the four shipgirls on his staff to start in surprise.

“Instead,” the Admiral stated, “it is now part of the World Kanmusu Fleet, of which you have been named Commander. Congratulations.”

“Come again?” Avers didn’t know what to say.

“The major nations of the world have decided to come together to form a coalition that will place all the shipgirls into one organization. You will have an Admiral from each nation who commands his country’s shipgirls, but you will command the Admirals. Right now, only Japan, the United States, Britain, Italy, and Germany are in the coalition, but at least thirteen other countries are all setting up infrastructures so that they’ll be able to hit the ground running when shipgirls from their countries are summoned.”

When it appeared Avers didn’t seem too pleased about no longer being the Admiral in charge at the naval base, Fuchida smiled and added, “You will, of course, retain personal command of the Rengō Kanmusutai…I don’t think anyone would want to break up a winning team.”

Avers inwardly breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. “I’d like to name my own XO if that’s all right.”

“Certainly,” Fuchida replied. “Since the United States currently has the most shipgirls – those who are warships, that is,” he amended, “it’s been decided that the United States Admiral will be your second-in-command.” He produced a list from his uniform jacket pocket. “Here’s a list of possible candidates that were emailed to me this morning.”

“The XO position should be a four-star slot,” Avers commented, and Fuchida nodded again.

“I don’t think your Congress would have a problem with doing that.”

“You’d be surprised,” the Admiral replied. “If those fools would do something as stupid as continuing to fund sanctuary cities, not voting in Kate’s Law, and passing Obamacare, then I wouldn’t put it past them to try and block something as simple as this.”

He scanned the list of names Fuchida had provided and was pleased to note there was one name that stood out above all the rest:

VADM Marcus Robertson

Avers circled the name and handed the list back to Fuchida. “There’s my choice,” he stated.

“I’ll send your pick to Washington,” the JMSDF Chief confirmed, bidding Avers a good day before departing.

Avers watched him go, figuring it would be at least six months before he heard any more about the matter. As it turned out, he couldn’t have been more wrong, for not five days passed before Nagato was announcing that his former ROTC instructor was waiting to see him.

“Send him in,” Avers replied, quite surprised at how fast results had been produced. He rose to his feet and smiled widely as Marcus Robertson walked in, the new four-star shoulder boards on his summer whites gleaming in the lights of the office.

“Welcome to Japan, Admiral,” he greeted, extending his hand for his former CO.

Robertson returned his broad grin, grabbing his hand and shaking it.

“Thank you, sir,” he replied.

“None of that right now,” Avers replied. “Take our ranks off the table for the moment.”

“Sure,” Robertson replied. “If that’s the case, then…” he trailed off, using the handshake he was currently involved in to pull Avers in for a hug. “God, I’m proud of you,” he murmured. “Janice is, too…she sends her best, by the way.”

“Give her mine the next time you talk to her,” Avers replied, referring to Robertson’s wife. “Were you surprised to get this assignment?”

“More than I could ever say,” his new XO informed him. “I was figuring I’d put in another eighteen months or so and then I’d be on the beach. Then lo and behold four days ago I’m summoned to Washington, where I’m told of my new assignment and then I get a fourth star pinned on me, which is something I certainly never expected to happen. I thought I was extremely lucky when I got my third. Congratulations on making O-5, by the way,” he added, and when Avers looked at him questioningly he elaborated. “When you were named Commander of the Shipgirl Program and transferred to the JMSDF, the U.S. Navy promoted you to full Commander. At least, that’s what it said on the last promotion list I saw with your name on it.”

Avers sighed. “Thanks, but I’ll probably never wear an American uniform again…they wanted me back, but I’m not going to leave the life I’ve made for myself here; there’s just too much at stake.” He glanced at the clock on his desk and grinned. His XO had arrived just in time for lunch, and he knew just where he wanted to take him. “Come on,” he rose to his feet. “We can talk while we eat…my treat.”

~~~

“My word,” Robertson sat back in his seat, “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat at Olive Garden again…their food isn’t even in the same ballpark as the meal I just had.”

“Helps to have two shipgirls from Italy doing the cooking, huh?” Avers grinned, taking a sip of Pepsi.

“Cruisers?” Robertson inquired.

“Liners,” Avers replied. “Ever heard of the passenger ships Rex and Conte di Savoia?”

Robertson nodded. “Italian superliners from the 1930s, weren’t they?”

Avers nodded and told his XO of the Italian Line duo’s first time cooking.

“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to stay here six months if we eat like this all the time,” Robertson laughed. “I’m going to weigh 500 pounds by the time I go back to the States.”

“The trick is to only come here once a week,” Avers replied. “It gives you something to really look forward to.”

During the meal, the two had worked out a plan for Avers’ new command. Robertson would stay in Japan for six months and get acclimated to his new position before going back to the States sometime in March of the following year and assume his regular posting in Norfolk. All the non-Japanese shipgirls would be going with him when he returned to America.

“So how many shipgirls will I be taking back with me?” Robertson asked.

“As it stands right now, forty-four,” Avers replied. “Although,” he amended with a grin, “I might try and keep two of them on here.”

“Let me guess which two,” Robertson laughed, before scanning the list of shipgirls that would be going back with him when he returned.

“There’s a lot of illustrious names on this list…” he cut himself off when two names caught his eye.

“Are you serious? Lusitania and Titanic both?”

Avers relayed the story of how the six British liners had been summoned, and Robertson laughed.

“Those four sound like they’re quite a handful!”

“They’ve quieted down over the last six months or so,” Avers spoke up in defense of the Kongo sisters.

“And is there a specific reason for that?” Robertson grinned, seeing Avers refusing to meet his eyes.

“The name-ship of the class, Kongo, and I have been together since last Christmas,” Avers confirmed.

“I’m glad to hear you’ve found someone,” his XO smiled. “And you’re in love with her, too…I can tell. I had the same look in my eyes after I met Janice.”

Avers laughed. “Kongo drives me crazy at times, but I couldn’t imagine my life without her now. That’s why I said ‘no’ to returning to service with the USN…she’d have to come with me to Norfolk, as she would probably refuse to be parted from me. And she also refuses to be parted from her three sisters, which means they would probably have to come with us.” He shrugged. “Easier for me to stay in Japan than it would be to uproot four fast battleships and take them all the way to the East Coast.”

“I noticed there are two Japanese submarines on the list as well,” Robertson stated. “Any particular reason why they’re going to America?”

“Two reasons, actually,” Avers replied. “The official reason is because as of right now Japan is the only country that has summoned a submarine, so Japanese submarines are the only submarines available to us.”

“And unofficially?” Robertson asked.

Avers sighed, then grinned. “Unofficially, I picked those two submarines because they’re both dating American shipgirls and I simply don’t want to deal with the fallout of separating those couples.”

Robertson laughed. “I can understand that.”

“Come on…back to work,” Avers announced as he rose to his feet. As the two Admirals approached the door to their private room, however, screams erupted from the main dining area. Avers, concerned, pulled open the door and stepped out into the hall; he could only say one thing to the scene that greeted him.

“What the hell?!”

~~~

She’d been swimming for months, her sense of direction – like everything else – skewed by recent events in the Marianas Area. She’d been saved only because she’d turned off her link to the hive mind and slept in that fateful morning; if she hadn’t…well, best not to think about that. She’d awoken to find herself alone, in more ways than one. Attempting to activate her link to the Creator had produced nothing but silence, so venturing in close to the Australian coast had resulted in her finding out what had happened…why no one was answering.

No one was answering because they were no longer there. They were all dead…killed due to their hive mind links to the Creator, who was herself destroyed by a massive bomb blast.

The hive mind was designed to help us better coordinate in battle with the shipgirls…and in our darkest hour it became the source of our undoing, the Seaport Princess thought. And now I am the only one left in this ocean.

Then suddenly it came to her.

No…there is another!

It had been that innate sense of wanting another one of her kind around her that had brought her here. She’d had to swim the entire way; once the Creator died, so had any equipment and weapons she’d built for her children, so the only way the Seaport Princess had to get around had been her aquatic skills.

It had been a roundabout voyage, having to stop and rest on the various tiny unnamed islets that dotted the Pacific Ocean. It also didn’t help that with her navigation aids gone she really had no idea where she was. But now…now she was hauling her exhausted form onto the sand of the very island the – former? – enemy inhabited. After a four-hour rest among the tall grasses on the edge of the beach on the western side of the island, she began picking her way across the island to where she sensed the other of her kind.

She didn’t bother concealing herself any longer once she found where the other Abyssal was – incidentally, inside a building that had the most delicious scents emanating from it – and simply went up to the main doors, threw them open, and staggered inside.

As she entered, the delicious scents hit her full-force, and her stomach gurgled and rumbled so violently she nearly doubled over. But she was desperate to find the other of her kind, and so pressed onward, staggering now from both exhaustion and hunger. The fact that some of the restaurant’s employees were now taking notice of her – at least, she thought they were, judging by the screams of several people – was of little concern to her at this point, and she figured any minute now an alarm would be sounded.

Let them do their worst, she thought despondently. I am unarmed and no longer able to fight. I only wish to lay eyes on my fellow survivor, and then death may take me. It will be a blessing.

A woman appeared at the back of the building, and next to her, clinging to her hand and skirt was…

The other!

“Darwin-Hime?” she heard the other of her kind utter her name, surprise evident in her voice.

With the last ounce of strength she possessed, the Seaport Princess reached out a hand.

“Hop-po…”

Her knees finally gave out, and she collapsed to the floor. As darkness took her, she heard sounds of chaos around her, along with another voice saying quite loudly,

“What the hell?!”

~~~

Avers gazed at the collapsed form of an Abyssal lying on the floor of the restaurant. Of all the things he expected to see when he opened the doors, this certainly was not one of them. Chaos caused by Sparkly Magical Shipgirl Bullshit? Yes. An Abyssal that somehow survived the mass extinction caused by the destruction of their leader? Not on your life.

The silence was broken by the owner of the restaurant.

“The poor dear…she’s exhausted!” Hosho ran over to the Abyssal and knelt beside her, placing the girl’s head in her lap. Hoppo knelt as well, grabbing onto one of the unconscious girl’s massively deformed hands and pulling; Avers was surprised to see that the hands were merely coverings that came off easily, revealing perfectly normal human hands underneath.

“Bring me some water! Hurry, please!” Hosho ordered one of the servers, who ran off quickly, returning with a large pitcher of ice water and a glass. Hosho poured some of the water into the glass and then sprinkled some more on her hand, running her fingers over the Abyssal’s face. The effect was instantaneous; scarlet eyes shot open and the girl struggled to sit up. Hosho gently took hold of her shoulders and forced her to stay down while Hoppo took hold of her hand.

“It’s okay…you’re safe,” the light carrier soothed. At the sound of her voice and upon hearing the word ‘safe’, all fight seemed to leave the enemy being, and she relaxed once again, weakly accepting the glass of water from Hosho’s hand and draining it in seconds.

SAFE?! A little voice inside Avers’ head shrieked. Since when did this naval base become a haven for displaced enemies?! Initially, the Admiral was inclined to agree, but when he got a closer look at the new Abyssal, he found himself changing his mind. The girl in Hosho’s lap looked to be not a day over seventeen and had a large circular scar in the middle of her forehead. Inwardly, he heaved a great sigh; by the maternal look in Hosho’s eyes Avers could see that Hoppo was probably going to gain an older sister out of this scenario.

“Darwin-Hime…your horn!” Hoppo motioned to the scar on the girl’s forehead. “What happened to it?”

“It broke off that fateful morning,” the girl looked down, saddened. “It was something that made me who I am, and now it’s gone.” Avers privately thought that once the scar vanished, the girl was beautiful enough that she could make a killing as a supermodel as long as she didn’t reveal her past.

“How’d this happen?” he asked, addressing the girl directly for the first time. “You can tell us,” he added when the older Abyssal appeared hesitant to answer. The individual in question sighed and finally spoke.

“I slept in the morning of the battle,” she stated softly, her voice having a musical lilt to it. “When I went to sleep the night before, I’d switched off my link to the hive-mind, which apparently saved my life. When I woke up and switched it back on, all I heard was silence.”

“So, no one else thought to do what you did?” Avers asked. “I’m asking because I need to know if anyone else is going to show up here out of the blue.”

The girl lowered her gaze and shook her head. “As far as I know, we are the only two,” she stated sadly. “I initially thought I was the last, but then I sensed there was one here. I left my post at Darwin and headed here.”

“It still shouldn’t have taken you nearly three months to get from northwestern Australia to here,” Robertson entered the conversation for the first time. “How do you explain how long it took you to get here?”

“When the Creator was destroyed, anything mechanical she created immediately ceased to function,” the girl replied. “This includes propulsion abilities. I had to journey here manually.”

“You mean you swam here?” Robertson gaped, and the girl nodded tiredly.

“The poor thing…no wonder she’s exhausted!” Hosho exclaimed. Avers was highly inclined to agree.

“I had to rest on various islands along the way,” the girl replied. “Hence why it took me so long to get here.” She kept her gaze on the ground, figuring that once Avers had heard her explanation he would either exile her from the naval base, turn her over to a higher authority, or have her executed.

Upon hearing her explanation Avers knew the Abyssal was now in the same situation as Hoppo: virtually helpless and no threat to anyone. He sighed and looked at Hosho. “You’ve adopted her, haven’t you?”

Before the light carrier could answer, there was a tug on his pants leg and Avers looked down to see Hoppo giving him puppy eyes full blast. Nagato would be on the floor in convulsions with blood pouring from her nose right about now, the Admiral thought, and knew what his decision was going to be.

“What’s your name?” he asked the girl.

The Abyssal met his eyes for the first time, a glimmer of hope in them. “I was the Seaport Princess,” she replied, “but I’m also known as Darwin-Hime.”

Avers turned to Robertson. “See what I mean? Never a dull moment around here.” He turned back to Hosho and sighed. “This big family seems to expand by the day, doesn’t it?” he asked, before squatting down and placing his hand on Darwin’s shoulder.

“Welcome to the naval base, Darwin,” he greeted. “You’re safe here.”

The hugs he got from both Abyssals told him he’d made the right decision.

~~~

That evening Avers stood on the stage on the parade ground and gazed out at the assembled shipgirls. He’d called an informal meeting – albeit with mandatory attendance – to inform them of the latest goings-on. Once Nagato nodded to him that everyone was in attendance, he raised his hands for silence.

“Thank you all for coming,” he greeted. “I apologize for making this meeting mandatory, but I wanted to make sure everyone heard about it. I have planned an exercise for the day after tomorrow. It will start at 0600 and last until probably around midnight. This will involve not only you shipgirls, but anyone else you might want to include, so get a list of names together if you have non-shipgirl personnel you wish to invite.”

Avers withheld a grin when he saw the curious looks he was getting and continued speaking.

“This exercise will be a test of your endurance, ladies…a test to see how much fun you can have before dropping from exhaustion. Iku, please don’t say anything,” he added, when he saw the lewdmarine get a naughty grin on her face and open her mouth as though she wanted to add something. His catching her caused several destroyers to giggle and Aiya to wrap her arms around Iku from behind and kiss her hair.

“Ladies, I am ordering you to have as much fun as you possibly can on this exercise,” he stated, the grinned and dropped the bomb on them. “After all, it’s not every day we have total run of Tokyo Disneyland.”

Bedlam ensued following his announcement. Avers grinned as he saw DesDiv 6 bouncing up and down, Akatsuki tugging excitedly on Tenryu’s hand and Ikazuchi and Inazuma excitedly asking Blaskewicz if he’d heard. Avers raised his hand for silence again.

“Now, I understand if spending a day at Disneyland isn’t exactly your thing, so if you choose not to attend and just go off on your own, that’s fine, too. Just please, for the love of all that is holy, keep it within legal means, okay? Those of you who wish to attend the park, give Nagato your name so that she can make a list of who all’s going, and we’ll meet at the main docks at 0530 the day after tomorrow. That is all.”

~~~

Avers stepped off the stage and found Kongo waiting with her sisters.

“We’re going to Tokyo Disneyland, Dess!” she exclaimed, throwing herself into her Teitoku’s arms and laughing excitedly.

“I take it by your excitement that all four of you have decided to go?” Avers looked at the four fast battleships.

“Yes!” Kongo giggled. “I want to go on all the rollercoasters and sit on the front row!” She paused for a moment, thinking. “Are you going, too, Teitoku-des?”

Avers nodded. “I have to…I’m the leader of this little expedition, remember?” He grinned embarrassedly. “And besides, I never got to go to Disneyland as a kid, so I figured I should make up for it now.”

The ecstatic squeal and hug from his girlfriend let him know how much she approved of the plan.

~~~

The following day was probably the busiest day the Walmart in nearby Kure had had since its opening. Crowds of shipgirls flooded the store, buying up supplies for the trip. Blaskewicz was ready to tear his hair out when they made a wrong turn and DesDiv 6 spotted the toy department. Thankfully, Tenryu managed to corral the girls back to the task at hand without much fuss, reminding them what was in store the following day and that they all had to be prepared for it.

Avers had also come to the mainland to shop for supplies; he and the Kongo sisters were also stocking up for the following day but had quickly found all the items on their respective lists and were now simply browsing. Well, Hiei, Kirishima, and Haruna were browsing in the women’s clothing department while he sat on a nearby bench, minding the baskets, and Kongo sat next to him, cuddling.

“Deep thoughts, Dess?” she asked, noticing Avers had a far-off look on his face.

“Hmm?” the Admiral was jarred from his thoughts by her question. “Oh, no,” he replied, noting she was watching him. “Just remembering how I would go to Walmart sometimes in high school and just sit on a bench in the store and people-watch.” He smiled. “I would always ask my mother if she needed anything, and it would always be on Saturdays, too…that way when I finally got home a couple hours later, and they asked me why it took me so long to get two or three items I could always blame it on no parking and long lines.”

He sighed, and then said what he’d been gathering up the courage to say. “I’ve decided to go see my parents,” he stated, and Kongo sat up, looking at him in surprise as he continued. “I know I’ve said in the past that I had no interest in ever going back there, but I need to close out that part of my life in order to move forward.”

“I understand, Dess,” Kongo murmured softly, looking sad that her Teitoku would be leaving her for at least two weeks.

“Hey,” Avers tilted her chin up so that she met his eyes. “You didn’t think I was going alone, did you?” When Kongo looked uncertain, he smiled. “If she can clear her schedule, I’d like it very much if my beautiful girlfriend came with me, so she could see where I grew up.”

“Go to America?” Kongo’s eyes widened, and she smiled happily when Avers nodded. “YES!” she threw herself into her Admiral’s arms and hugged him tightly.

The tender moment between Admiral and fast battleship was interrupted when Iku and Aiya stumbled out of a nearby dressing room – from the same cubicle, incidentally – giggling and looking very pleased with themselves. They looked quite disheveled, as though their clothes had been put back on in a hurry, both had fresh bite marks on their necks, and the unmistakable scent of sex wafted out of the dressing room behind them. The pair stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Avers sitting on the bench. Kongo gave them a knowing grin while Avers looked like he wanted to scream.

“Um, hi…” Aiya trailed off, knowing her career might very well be on the line.

“I don’t want to know why you two were in the same cubicle,” Avers informed them.

“Saving space?” Iku grinned, causing Aiya to suppress a smile. Avers glowered at her, then whipped his gaze to Kongo when he heard her stifle a giggle. He sighed loudly and turned back to the other two.

“Kindly don’t interrupt me,” Avers spoke in a clipped tone. “As I was saying, I don’t want to know why you two were in the same cubicle, although judging by your appearance I have a good idea as to what you were doing in there.”

Both lewdmarine and NCO bit their lips to keep from collapsing into giggles.

Avers sighed. “You two are fortunate I’m feeling generous right now…I’m going to pretend I saw you come out of separate cubicles and that you were merely in there trying on clothes, not having wild monkey sex in public. Now get out of here.”

Iku seemed to realize they should take advantage of Avers’ benevolence; she grabbed Aiya’s hand and dragged her off with them both calling their thanks back to the Admiral as they left. Avers watched them go, and then leaned back on the bench with an exhausted sigh. He turned to look at Kongo and found her giving him a look that said she had an idea and wanted to do something he more than likely would not approve of…and the fact that she’d spared the time to give him that look meant that she wanted him to somehow be part of said idea, whether he was willing or not.

“What?” he asked suspiciously.

“Dess!” Kongo grinned mischievously and nodded to the dressing rooms.

It immediately clicked in Avers’ mind what his girlfriend was thinking.

“No…absolutely not!” Avers categorically refused to even consider the idea, no matter what the little devil on his shoulder – who, he was disturbed to realize, sounded quite a lot like Mancini – was saying.

Kongo’s response was to lean in and murmur a beyond-filthy suggestion in his ear, punctuating it with a little giggle. There was only one response Avers could give when faced with such a tempting offer.

“Have your sisters watch our basket and meet me by the restrooms at the back of the store.”

~~~

Mancini pushed his and Ashigara’s cart along the aisle, watching the pleasant view of his girlfriend bent over looking at the various sunscreens. The heavy cruiser glanced back and caught him watching her.

“Enjoying the view?” she asked, smirking.

“Immensely,” Mancini grinned, causing Ashigara to roll her eyes and shake her head in mock-exasperation.

“Pervert,” she giggled, placing a bottle of sunscreen in the cart.

“One of my many redeeming qualities,” Mancini joked, wrapping his arms around Ashigara’s waist and giving her a kiss.

“This was fun,” Ashigara smiled at him.

“Tomorrow’s gonna be fun, too,” Mancini added, and his girlfriend nodded in agreement.

“Did you ever go to Disneyland as a child?” she asked, and the Training Officer shook his head.

“Nah, Dad was always too busy with the Navy. The closest the Mancini kids ever got to Disneyland was going to Coney Island one summer.” He sighed. “I know for a fact I’ll always make time for any kids I might have.”

“I think you’ll make a great father,” his girlfriend smiled, snuggling into his chest.

“WHEEEEE!!!”

The romantic moment was ruined by an ecstatic squeal. When the couple went to the end of the aisle and looked around for the source of the sound, they found that the American destroyers and White Plains had discovered the toy department. Taffy Three, Willie D., and White had commandeered sets of roller blades and were now enjoying them to the fullest, Heermann and Hoel with ropes around their waists, pulling White Plains, who was giggling wildly. The entire group was being chased by a raging Iowa and a mortified Arizona, whose demands that the group stop what they were doing going completely unheard and unheeded in the chaos.

“Thanks!” Willie D. called to Johnston, who’d reached out and pulled her away from an imminent collision with a bouncy-ball display. The group whizzed past the German and Italian shipgirls; Scheer and Spee were cheering them on, Prinz was laughing so hard she could barely stand up, Deutschland looked horribly embarrassed, and Bismarck was giving the German and Italian destroyers a look that said they had best forget any ideas about joining in the fun.

By this time a manager had caught up to the group and was berating Iowa in Japanese, while the American battleship fired right back in English, stating quite plainly that she had no idea what he was saying – not that he understood her, either – and that she didn’t speak or understand ‘moon-moon’. Arizona, meanwhile, had managed to corral the six mischievous little murder-balls and was now in full-on lecture mode as she marched them back the way they’d come. She gave them over to Iowa while she attempted to communicate with the still-irate manager. Iowa, seeing Nachi, Haguro, and Myoko passing by, waved them over to get a translator, and therefore completely missed Sammy B. trying to sneak off.

“Sammy, where are you goi-WHOOOAAA!!!” Willie D. lost her balance and began rolling again.

“WILLIE!” the other members of Taffy Three yelled, catching Iowa’s attention; the battleship swore a blue streak and tore off after the accident-prone destroyer.

Too late, as it turned out, for Willie D. was once again headed right for the same bouncy-ball display…and this time there was no Johnston nearby to save her.

“EEEEEK!!!” the little destroyer squealed, covering her eyes after seeing what lay ahead.

“Ooh, this ain’t gonna be good…” Mancini warned Ashigara, who shook her head in agreement.

~~~

Avers and Kongo strolled out of the restroom, the Admiral with a dazed look on his face and Kongo walking funny but looking beyond pleased with herself.

“More later, Teitoku-des,” she purred, nuzzling Avers and nipping his neck.

The Admiral was jarred out of his stupor by a shriek in another part of the store, followed by a resounding crash and then a scream of frustration followed by a burst of angry, rapid-fire Japanese.

“Somehow, I just know that’s a result of something one of our people did,” he murmured.

As if to answer his question, the store-wide intercom crackled to life.

“Mic check! One! Two!” an all-too-familiar voice announced. “Kongo onee-sama, would you and the Teitoku please report to the front of the store? Also, all kanmusu have five minutes to gather what they still need and then make their way to the front to check out…we need to leave as soon as possible. Arigato!”

Avers face-palmed and groaned as Kongo collapsed against him in giggles.

~~~

Avers returned to his office later that afternoon to find Robertson looking at his computer screen and chuckling, Oyodo and Niyodo wiping tears of mirth from their eyes, Mutsu lying on the couch laughing so hard she was gasping for air, and Nagato staring at the screen as though she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Avers walked over to his desk and looked at the screen, only to be greeted by the sight of Willie D. shrieking and plowing into the bouncy-ball display, followed by the sounds of the manager’s meltdown.

“I hate YouTube,” Avers muttered darkly, causing a fresh round of giggles from the two light cruisers, Robertson’s chuckles to progress to full-on guffaws, and Mutsu to convulse in laughter until she accidentally rolled off the couch and onto the floor. When Kirishima’s voice was heard over the intercom, Oyodo and Niyodo started laughing so hard they sounded like a pair of braying donkeys, Robertson had tears in his eyes, Mutsu began beating her fists on the rug, and even Nagato cracked a smile.

“Laugh it up,” Avers growled, opening a drawer and drawing out The List for the first time in months.

25) Unless it is a national emergency, all kanmusu are hereby permanently banned from Walmart.

~~~

The following morning Avers and – as it turned out – most of the fleet made their way onto ferries to the mainland, where they boarded five specially-chartered Shikansen trains for Tokyo Disneyland. Only a few kanmusu had decided to stay behind; Avers chose not to dwell on the fact that both Yubari and Akashi were among them, and merely sent up a most-fervent prayer that no chaos would be caused while he was away. Admiral Robertson, who was in command while the rest of the fleet was at Disneyland, promised to keep them in line, but that by no means allayed Avers’ fears.

As they got closer to the park itself Avers noticed that Mancini seemed to get more and more nervous, so after they got through the main gates, he pulled the Supply Officer aside.

“What’s up?” He asked Mancini. “You’re about as jittery as a guy who’s a couple hours away from a date with the electric chair.”

“I’ve got a surprise planned for Ashigara,” Mancini replied, “but I need some help in pulling it off.” He explained what he needed and Avers agreed to help him. Once the Admiral agreed to help, Mancini appeared to calm down considerably, and the pair rejoined their respective girlfriends. Avers briefly watched Mancini head off with Ashigara and the other Myoko-class ships before turning to follow the Kongo sisters.

Hopefully that’s the only bump in the road today, he thought, then idly wondered if he hadn’t just jinxed himself.

~~~

“Disneyland!” DesDiv 6 – including Hibiki, who had apparently abandoned her normal stoic persona in favor of succumbing to the lures of the Most Magical Place on Earth – cheered and ran off ahead of Blaskewicz and Tenryu. The light cruiser glanced around, noting that her sister ship and her girlfriend had lagged behind, only to find Tatsuta and Kiso staring longingly at Splash Mountain. She smirked and nudged Blaskewicz, motioning for him to look back as well. The Supply Officer did so and grinned at the sight.

“If you two wanna go do your own thing, that’s fine,” he called back to the two light cruisers.

“Really?” Tatsuta looked at him, surprised.

“Sure,” Blaskewicz replied. “Go on and run wild…Ten and I’ll keep an eye on the kids.”

Tatsuta looked at Kiso, who grinned and shrugged as if to say, ‘I have no problem with that!’ The two light cruisers then proceeded to remove the light summer dresses they had been wearing, revealing bikini tops and board shorts. They stuffed their dresses in the backpacks they were both carrying before heading towards the ride.

“Good thinking on their part,” Blaskewicz commented. “Splash Mountain would’ve probably turned those dresses they were wearing into see-through wraps.”

Tenryu nodded but couldn’t shake the feeling there was another reason behind the duo’s sudden change in clothing.

~~~

Tatsuta and Kiso walked over to the storage lockers near Splash Mountain and paid for two lockers. Before putting their backpacks away, they pulled out the telescoping surfboards Akashi had made for them, unfolded them, and locked them in place. After storing their backpacks, the duo clanked their surfboards together and nodded to each other.

“Let’s rock,” Tatsuta grinned.

Kiso smirked. “Hell yeah, babe.”

After a brief kiss, the pair headed into the queue.

~~~

Iku and Aiya were walking down the main thoroughfare when Aiya nudged the lewdmarine.

“Be right back, babe…gotta use the restroom.”

As Iku watched her jog off towards the bathrooms, the little wheels in her mind began turning, and an idea formed. With a naughty grin on her face, she headed over to the bathroom herself and then strolled inside behind her girlfriend.

While no one thought anything of two females going into the ladies’ room together, the moans that came from the same restroom not five minutes later were a definite cause for concern. The two occupants of the restroom subsequently slipped into the crowd outside after exiting separately and loudly proclaiming it was quite awkward performing one’s ablutions while having to listen to two other women having what sounded like a very good time. By the time two female park security team members got there, they found only empty stalls, and Iku and Aiya were now well away from the scene, Iku with a shit-eating grin on her face and Aiya - while sporting a similar grin – vowing to get even before the day was out.

~~~

Colonel Hiroshi Iida, JGSDF, smiled proudly as he watched the brigade of tanks advance across the proving grounds. The success of this exercise would – he hoped – go a long way towards his upcoming promotion to Major General. He picked up the radio receiver to give the lead armored units permission to open fire on the nearest targets…

…only to duck as the shriek of incoming ordnance roared over his head. Seconds later, explosions obliterated several targets on the firing line. Enraged, Iida pressed the ‘talk’ button on the receiver.

“WHO THE HELL TOLD THE REAR ELEMENTS TO OPEN FIRE FIRST?!?!” he screamed.

“It wasn’t us, sir!” came the voice of Major Takasu, the senior officer overseeing the rearmost elements. “It came from behind our forces!”

“Find out who the hell is operating to the rear of us!” Iida snapped to one of the junior officers standing nearby. “This area is supposed to be completely secure, and we’re the only group scheduled to be here! Let me know who’s responsible so I can have his nuts for a necklace!”

A very loud roar boomed over the proving ground, freezing everyone in their tracks.

“The hell…?” Iida muttered, looking around and trying to find the source of the noise.

The roar sounded again…closer this time.

“Gojira!” a Corporal standing outside lost it completely and made a run for it, only to be clotheslined and knocked out by a nearby Sergeant Major, who rolled his eyes at the junior NCO’s behavior and yelled, “STAND FAST!” to everyone else.

The roar sounded a third time, now just over the horizon, followed by another blast of firepower. More ordnance shrieked overhead and obliterated some more targets on the firing line. Seconds later, the head of what appeared to be a huge robotic dinosaur rose over the horizon. It was truly massive, and appeared to be carrying another robot, this one just as massive, on its back.

The only thing the JGSDF personnel could do was stand there and gape at what was coming.

~~~

“Aw, HELL yeah!” Akashi cheered as she saw the results of the second weapons test. “Come GIT some!”

She looked over at Yubari and grinned as the light cruiser giggled and gave her a thumbs-up from her own seat nearby.

~~~

Colonel Iida was speechless…he couldn’t even begin to fathom how to write up the report for this one; his CO, General Onoda, much less the JGSDF General Staff, would probably say the stress of command had finally gotten to him and recommend him for an early retirement. Unless…

“TAKE PICTURES!” he screamed to those around him. “Those of you with camera phones, start taking photographs of whatever the hell that thing is!”

“Ultimate Daizyujin!” Iida’s Personnel Officer, Major Taneda, breathed in awe.

“What are you babbling about?” Iida snapped, watching as the huge contraption rumbled through the proving ground.

“It’s from a TV show I used to watch as a kid,” Taneda replied. “Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger.”

“I thought I recognized that thing from somewhere!” Sergeant Major Hosomi, the Brigade NCO, put in. “My grandchildren watch that show all the time.” He chuckled. “They’d go nuts at the chance to see it for real.”

By this time, the massive construct had made a complete circle of the proving ground and was now rumbling off, back the way it had come. A few minutes later, it was out of sight. Everyone was still frozen in place when Lieutenant General Takezo Onoda, Iida’s direct CO, strode into the command bunker five minutes later.

“Impressive indeed, Colonel!” Onoda stated. “Your men completely annihilated the targets we’d set up for you! And in record time, no less!”

“But sir…we didn’t do that!” Iida protested. “Look…we’ve got proof it wasn’t us!”

Major Taneda gave Onoda his cell phone and played a video he’d taken of the massive robot moving across the proving ground. Onoda watched the video and laughed.

“Come now, Colonel…don’t be modest! You expect me to believe that something from a show my grandchildren watch suddenly sprang out the television and decided to play war on this parade ground? Nonsense!” he laughed. “But I’ll say this: it was a very creative attempt. As I’m sure you know, creativity and the ability to think on one’s feet are very good things for a prospective General to have. Again, well done!”

“I -” Iida began, then looked out at the proving ground briefly before catching Taneda’s eye. The Major shrugged helplessly as if to say, we tried to tell them. What the hell, Iida thought to himself. Not my fault they don’t believe me…at least they don’t think I’m crazy.

~~~

Tatsuta and Kiso were quivering with excitement as they finally reached the front of the queue for Splash Mountain. As the last few patrons in front of them climbed into the plastic log, the two light cruisers shouldered past the attendant closing the gate and stood on the water.

“Um, you can’t -!” the attendant tried to protest, but the two shipgirls merely brandished their surfboards and flashed him threatening smiles.

“We can’t what?” Tatsuta asked sweetly, thrusting her bikini-clad top out suggestively.

“Never mind…” the young man seemed to forget what he’d been about to say and wandered off, a vacant smile on his face, causing the two cruisers to giggle.

They followed the log as it went up Splash Mountain, holding onto the conveyor system. Once at the top, they waited for the log to float out of sight, then dropped their surfboards and began paddling through the flat section, commenting on the landscape and characters throughout. When they reached the first drop, they hopped on their surfboards and grinned at each other.

“Ready, babe?” Tatsuta asked, the gleam of anticipation prevalent in her eyes.

“Fuck yes…let’s do it!” Kiso enthused.

They kicked off, speeding down and then through the indoor section, blowing past the various musical numbers, and then finally headed down the last drop, whooping wildly as they picked up speed, and both shipgirls made sure to throw up victory signs for the camera.

Eventually, they reached the end of the line. Tatsuta hopped out of the water first, then pulled Kiso up as she reached the end as well. No sooner had Kiso gotten her feet on dry land than Tatsuta threw herself at her girlfriend, fusing her mouth to Kiso’s while she reached down and grabbed her ass. Kiso responded instantly, wrapping one arm around Tatsuta’s neck and pressing their lips together even harder, even as she wrapped one leg around her girlfriend’s waist and ground her crotch into Tatsuta’s pelvic bone, causing Tatsuta to groan loudly into Kiso’s mouth.

“God, that was fucking awesome!” Tatsuta breathed once they were forced to break apart for air.

“I know, right?” Kiso agreed and then smirked. “The surfing wasn’t too bad, either.”

“You’re such a bad girl,” Tatsuta giggled, then flashed Kiso a sultry grin. “I love that about you.”

“I think the attendant agrees with you,” Kiso giggled, motioning to the control booth, where the attendant seemed to be catatonic after their erotic display. Tatsuta took one look and joined her in laughing delightedly.

She then turned back to kiss Kiso again, but the light cruiser pulled back and shook her head. “Save it for later, babe. For now, though…Round Two?” she gestured back to the waterway.

Tatsuta grinned. “Oh, hell yeah,” she confirmed, and the duo hoisted their surfboards and headed off.

~~~

Around noon, Mancini decided to put his plan into action. He called Avers, who – along with Kongo – met him and Ashigara at the cable car ride.

“Remember,” he reminded Avers, “When I call you on your cell, have the operator stop the ride, okay?”

“Yes, I think I can remember,” Avers quipped, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I didn’t earn the Gensui badge by being stupid.” He held out his hand to Mancini. “Good luck.”

The Training Officer grinned and shook Avers’ hand. “Thanks,” he stated before running off to join Ashigara in the queue.

“Dess?” Kongo looked at Avers questioningly, her head tilted cutely.

“You’ll see,” Avers replied before walking over to the ride operator and showing him the ten thousand yen note Mancini had slipped him before heading off to join Ashigara. The teenager’s eyes locked on the money and widened considerably.

“This is yours if you stop the ride when I tell you to,” Avers stated, and the teen nodded eagerly.

“You got it, man!”

Avers watched as Mancini got into one of the cable cars and helped Ashigara in as well before the ride attendant gave the all-clear. By some miracle, the couple had been the only people in line at that time, so stopping the ride would not create too big of a problem. When the cable car reached the halfway point, Avers’ cell phone rang, and he signaled the operator, who immediately hit the kill switch, causing the ride to immediately stop.

~~~

Mancini watched as Ashigara took in the fantastic view around them with an excited smile before pressing the ‘call send’ button on his cell phone. Seconds later, the cable car halted with a slight jerk, causing Ashigara to look around in surprise.

“What’s the matter? Why did the ride stop?”

“Dunno,” Mancini played dumb as he glanced around, then turned to his girlfriend and grinned. “But as long as we’re up here…” he trailed off suggestively, waggling his eyebrows.

Ashigara immediately caught on and burst out laughing. “You pervert!” she smacked his shoulder playfully. “I am not having sex with you in a cable car!”

Mancini got a mock-offended look on his face. “That never even entered my mind,” he replied, although Ashigara could easily tell he was lying through his teeth. “I was really thinking of something a lot more serious.”

His girlfriend looked at him strangely. “What are you talking about?”

The Training Officer sighed, gathering his courage. “It’s like this,” he began. “Ash, I love you with all my heart, and I know we haven’t been together all that long, but I honestly can’t picture my life without you in it, and if you’re amenable, I’d like to make that permanent.” He slid off the cable car’s seat onto one knee, and Ashigara’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small jewelry box, flipping it open to reveal a beautiful diamond solitaire. “Will you marry me?”

Mancini quickly found that proposing to one’s girlfriend was a sure way to get said girlfriend to reverse her position on having sex in public places.

~~~

Avers rolled his eyes when he saw the cable car containing Ashigara and his training officer start to sway back and forth slightly, and he had a feeling it wasn’t because of a strong wind.

“Dess?” Kongo came up beside him, then looked up and saw the cable car moving.

“Ahhh!” She nodded, smiling in understanding. “They wanted you to help them secure a unique place to express their BURNING LOVE!”

Avers was about to inform the fast battleship of what had occurred when he noticed a Mickey Mouse mascot running through the park. Normally the employee dressed as the famous character would be walking around and offering to take pictures with people, but right now he was running like a bat out of hell. A sense of foreboding washed over the Admiral and he braced himself for yet another round of insanity.

He was not disappointed in the least.

“Come back here, you rat bastard!” Tenryu roared, hot on Mickey’s tail and brandishing a toy lightsaber. “I’ve seen your cartoons! I’m not gonna let you do that to my girls!”

“Tenryuuuuuuuu!” Akatsuki, Ikazuchi, and Inazuma wailed in embarrassment as they ran after their mom-boat.

“Ten, honey…stop! It’s okay! He’s harmless!” Blaskewicz followed behind the three destroyers, lugging everyone’s prizes and souvenirs. Hibiki was last in line; she was walking at a much-slower pace while taking small sips from her ever-present flask and appeared to be quite content to let the family crisis pass her by. She might be the youngest of the group, Avers thought to himself, but sometimes she seems more mature than all the others combined. As Blaskewicz hurried past the cable car ride, he saw Kongo leaning against the wall from a severe attack of the giggles and his CO wanting to pretend he didn’t know any of them.

“Aw, jeez…” he muttered, and continued on.

~~~

Ooi sighed happily. The relationship between herself and Kitakami-san was stronger than ever; they’d come through the major battle without a scratch and had celebrated long into the night, and now they were on a date at Tokyo Disneyland and having a great time. They were currently waiting in line to have their pictures taken with Aladdin and Princess Jasmine; not something Ooi personally cared to do, but if Kitakami-san wanted to do it, that’s all that mattered. As they waited in the queue, they saw DesDiv 18 leaving and Ooi happened to overhear part of the conversation.

“The guy playing Aladdin was cute!” Kagero giggled, and Kasumi nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, he wasn’t too bad, but he was a little too touchy-feely for my taste,” Arare put in.

“Shiranuhi was uncomfortable in his presence,” Shiranuhi murmured.

Ooi privately thanked the destroyers for the advance information as they reached the front of the line. Princess Jasmine greeted them, while Aladdin seemed to take quite a bit of interest in Kitakami, smiling conceitedly and complimenting her. The torpedo cruiser in question blushed awkwardly but didn’t say anything. As the photographer posed them for the picture, Aladdin put his arm around Kitakami – it was per the photographer’s instructions, so Ooi forced herself to allow it – and then had the audacity to lean down and murmur in the cruiser’s ear.

“Hey, I get off-shift in a couple of hours…wanna meet up somewhere in the park?”

A red haze descended over Ooi’s vision, while at the same time Aladdin looked over at her and his flirtatious expression immediately changed into one of pure terror.

~~~

Mancini and Ashigara wandered aimlessly through the park, Ashigara alternating between gazing lovingly at the beautiful ring that now adorned her left hand and gazing even more lovingly at her new fiancé. They weren’t making much progress due to Ashigara’s apparent need to stop and passionately kiss Mancini every fifty feet or so, not that the Training Officer minded in the least! The couple were headed towards the area where characters posed for photographs, as Ashigara wanted to get her picture taken with the various Disney princesses.

A sudden commotion over by the section for Aladdin and Princess Jasmine caught their attention.

“Wonder what’s going on over there?” Mancini asked, and Ashigara shrugged and shook her head, unable to see anything due to the growing crowd of people.

“HOW DARE YOU PROPOSITION MY BELOVED KITAKAMI-SAN!” a voice roared.

“Uh-oh…” Ashigara and Mancini chorused, and took off towards the crowd. They managed to shoulder their way to the front of the crowd, and their jaws dropped as they took in the sight before them.

Ooi lay on the ground, having twisted Aladdin into a human pretzel using a move known as the Anaconda Vise, the signature submission move used by her favorite wrestler, CM Punk. Kitakami stood off to the side watching the scene as though this sort of thing was an everyday occurrence. Princess Jasmine looked traumatized, while the photographer seemed to be having a small stroke.

“WHERE IS YOUR GENIE NOW?!” Ooi screamed as she increased the pressure on her helpless victim while he screamed in pain. “LET HIM COME TO TRY AND SAVE YOU! HE WILL COWER BEFORE THE MIGHT OF MY 61-CENTIMETER QUAD TORPEDOES AND BE DESTROYED!!!”

“Damn…violent, much?” Mancini muttered, having absolutely no idea how to handle the situation.

~~~

Avers sat with the Kongo sisters at one of the park’s many restaurants. He was picking at a large plate of chicken nuggets while watching an unofficial burger-eating competition between Akagi, Yamato, and Shinano. Haruna was also watching the burger competition, while Hiei and Kirishima pored over a map of the park, contemplating where the group should head after lunch. Kongo was snuggled against him, contentedly sipping tea and occasionally swiping a chicken nugget from his plate.

It was just about the most peaceful moment the Admiral had had since the fleet had assembled at the docks that morning, so of course said moment had to be interrupted. Avers cringed as his cell phone buzzed in his pocket.

“Oh, crap…what now?” the Admiral muttered before pulling it out. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it wasn’t a phone call alerting him to more chaos, but merely a Facebook alert.

Gino Mancini is currently live.

What the heck…let’s see what he’s doing, Avers thought, and hit the link to Mancini’s live feed.

He immediately wished he hadn’t; the screen showed one of his torpedo cruisers applying a very painful submission maneuver to what appeared to be one of the Disney characters and calling loudly for the appearance of a genie. He pointedly ignored the fit of giggles Kongo had apparently been stricken by and concentrated on the happenings onscreen.

“Hey, everybody…Gino Mancini here live at Tokyo Disneyland,” Mancini was saying. “As you all can see, it’s proving to be quite an eventful day. Fleet Admiral Avers, sir, if you’re watching this, I dunno what else to say, except ‘I’m sorry’.”

The giggles of all four Kongo sisters – the other three had been waved over to watch by their sister ship – turned to outright cackles when Avers’ name was mentioned, followed by Mancini’s very nervous-sounding apology. And then Karma decided to pour gasoline on the already-raging bonfire; a park employee in a blue mascot outfit appeared from one of the back rooms.

“Why?” Avers asked plaintively, looking up at the ceiling, causing a fresh round of hysteria from his four attractive companions.

“Oh, no…” Ashigara’s voice was heard off-screen.

“AH, GENIE-SAN!” Ooi yelled upon seeing the blue character. “HAVE YOU COME TO SAVE YOUR MASTER?! YOU WILL HAVE TO GET THROUGH ME FIRST! COME, FEEL THE WRATH OF A TORPEDO CRUISER!”

She released Aladdin from his pretzel-like state; the poor employee immediately began frantically crawling away, sobbing piteously, as Ooi leapt to her feet and stalked towards the Genie.

“Aw, crap…” Mancini was heard muttering before the video feed cut out.

Avers lay his phone in his lap and began lightly banging his head on the table as another round of giggles began around him.

~~~

By the time early evening rolled around, Iku was feeling quite pleased with herself. Aiya hadn’t had an opportunity all day to get her back for earlier, and it seemed as if the lewdmarine was going to win the little extra-friendly competition they had going. As they got on a boat in the Tunnel of Love behind Nagato and Mutsu and set off, Aiya turned to her and grinned.

“You’ve been waiting all day for me to get you back, and I haven’t even tried once today.” She giggled. “But I knew we’d be riding this ride this evening, so all I had to do was wait. And now,” she gestured around them, “I’ve got you right where I want you…on a twenty-minute ride with nowhere to go.”

Iku returned her girlfriend’s grin, even as she felt the bikini bottoms she was wearing grow damp with anticipation. “And just how do you plan on getting me back?”

Aiya’s grin turned downright filthy as she opened the large purse she’d decided to carry that day and tilted it so Iku could see inside. “Take a look, babe.”

The second Iku looked inside, her grin mirrored Aiya’s.

~~~

“I’m glad you agreed to come with me today, Nagato-nee,” Mutsu purred as she snuggled up to her sister ship. Nagato, meanwhile, looked as though she was very uncomfortable with her surroundings; she sat rigidly in the boat, staring straight ahead with her hands clasped in her lap.

“I-I enjoyed spending time with you, Mutsu,” she murmured. “It’s not often we get to spend time with each other outside of our duties.”

Mutsu giggled. “What about the weekend you discovered I was part of that calendar shoot? Or how about the time we went to that anime convention?” she smiled and leaned in, murmuring in Nagato’s ear, “I seem to remember having quite the enjoyable time with you on both occasions.” She punctuated that statement with a playful nip on the battleship’s earlobe, and smiled widely when Nagato emitted a soft whimper and gave in.

“AHN!!!”

The sharp cry from behind them broke them out of what was proving to be a very fun few minutes.

“What was that?” Nagato looked around but was soon distracted by Mutsu licking her neck.

“I don’t know and to be honest I don’t really care,” the battleship murmured, raking her tongue across Nagato’s jugular, sending a bolt of energy right down to her core. “You’re a much-more fascinating subject to me right now.”

“UGH…IT’S SO BIG!!!”

“You like that, bitch?” another new voice joined the first one.

“Mutsu…” Nagato moaned, torn between her sense of propriety and a white-hot flare of lust at the erotic commentary.

“OH, GOD…FUCK ME!!!” Iku’s voice screamed.

“My, my…she took the words right out of my mouth,” Mutsu giggled, nuzzling Nagato’s cheek before finding that one sweet spot behind the battleship’s ear and tickling it with her tongue.

She was pleasantly surprised when Nagato suddenly took control, pressing her sister ship back into the seat cushions and covering her body with her own, and for the rest of the ride everything else – including the ecstatic screams from behind them – faded into the background.

~~~

“FUCKING POUND ME WITH THAT THING!!!”

In the boat behind Iku and Aiya, Akagi and Kaga sat transfixed at the live porno show that appeared to be going on in the boat ahead of them. Akagi was blushing redder than the sash on her outfit, while Kaga’s expression – as per usual – was a blank mask.

“A-Are you all right, Kaga-san?” Akagi was concerned for her girlfriend, as Kaga hadn’t moved a muscle since the first cry had come from the boat in front of them.

“You like this, don’t you?” Both parties appeared to be very much into what they were doing.

“COME ON…THAT’S IT…YES!!!” The cries from the boat ahead were becoming more and more enthusiastic, causing Akagi’s blush to deepen even further.

“I-I regret that we’re being forced to listen to this,” Akagi murmured embarrassedly, “but I also have to admit I’m very aroused by it as well.”

“Akagi-san…” Kaga trailed off.

“Tell me right now: do…I…win?” The question in the boat up ahead appeared to be phrased so that each of the last three words seemed like a question; whatever was happening, it also seemed to be the catalyst for Iku losing her mind completely.

“YOU WIN! YOU WIN!” she screamed.

“Good girl!” Aiya’s voice purred. “Now here’s your reward…”

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT! AHHHHH!!!” The ear-splitting shriek of ecstasy from the boat ahead caused Kaga to turn to Akagi; the fleet carrier was surprised to see a wild look in her girlfriend’s eyes.

“No more talking, Akagi-san…time for action now,” Kaga stated, and leapt on her girlfriend.

~~~

By the time the nightly fireworks display rolled around, Avers’ stress level had decreased somewhat. After Ooi’s confrontation with Aladdin & Friends, there had only been a couple minor incidents to further mar the day. Titanic had had a small argument with the proprietor of a scientific souvenir store when he informed her that the intricately detailed, eight-foot model of her ship form was for store display purposes only and not for sale. The liner had not been pleased to hear she could not purchase the model but settled for the business card of the company who had made the model in the hopes that she could possibly have an identical piece built for her own quarters.

The other incident involved Repulse going on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and using a toy lightsaber to challenge the pirate actors to ‘put their buccaneer skills to the test against the might of the Royal Navy’. The audience had watched in awe as the British battle cruiser went toe-to-toe with the pirate captain, the battle ending when Repulse used the man’s momentum against him, causing the pirate captain to tumble overboard into the water with a resounding splash, whereupon Repulse raised her lightsaber and roared in victory as the audience – her sister Renown included – cheered wildly.

And the entire event had – despite being on YouTube for less than four hours - thus far accumulated more than 3,500 views.

After viewing that footage Avers didn’t know whether to drink himself silly or burst into tears. One thing he did know was that taking the shipgirls to Disneyland was proving to be one of the worst decisions he’d ever made in his life; it seemed as though it was akin to flashing a neon sign at the heavens that read, ‘CHAOS STRIKE HERE!’

Thankfully, Kongo had decided to take her Teitoku on a nice, relaxing ride on the Tunnel of Love, during which she used her talents to make sure all of Avers’ troubles magically melted away. As they got off the ride Avers could’ve seen Ooi taking on Walt Disney himself in a hardcore street fight and not batted an eye. Kongo had merely smiled knowingly, surreptitiously wiped the corners of her mouth off, and went to pay for a copy of the photo of them that had been taken during the ride. She certainly wanted a keepsake of that memory.

Now the couple was standing close together in front of Cinderella’s Castle, waiting for the fireworks to start.

“Did you have fun today?” Avers murmured in her ear as a group of male Petty Officers walked past behind him, talking excitedly about a live girl-girl pornographic show on the Tunnel of Love and how they wished they could’ve heard it live and in person. Avers briefly considered calling them over for more information, then chuckled inwardly and mentally shook his head. Surely, I misheard them…yes, that’s it…it’s gotten so bad that I’m apparently looking for chaos now.

Kongo turned to look at him and smiled widely. “Yes!” she laughed. “I’m so glad we came here, Teitoku-des! Thank you for bringing us!”

“You’re welcome,” Avers replied. “I thought we all needed a break from our duties.” Some of us appear to have taken advantage of this more than others, he thought darkly.

Further thoughts were halted by the start of the fireworks display, and the Admiral alternated between glancing up at the impressive display of pyrotechnics and the childish excitement on his beautiful girlfriend’s face. It was at that moment that he decided to put a plan of his own into action.

“Kongo, my angel,” he murmured, switching to Japanese temporarily.

“Hai, Teitoku-des?” the fast battleship murmured back, still concentrating on the fireworks display.

“I will always want you,” he stated, and Kongo smiled and reached down, squeezing his hand in between both of hers.

“I will always need you,” he continued, gazing at her. Kongo turned to him and kissed him lightly before resuming watching the night sky.

“And there will never be a day when I do not love you with everything that I am,” Avers finished, reaching into his pocket for the item that he’d carried around since before the final battle with the Abyssals.

Kongo turned to ask her Teitoku why he’d suddenly decided to say such romantic words, but the question died in her throat when she found him on one knee beside her, presenting her with a box containing a beautiful ring. Around them, other shipgirls had noticed what was going on, and were nudging those close to them excitedly and pointing over to where Kongo was standing. Hiei, Kirishima, and Haruna were among them; Hiei was literally vibrating in place with excitement.

“Will you marry me, my love?” Avers took Kongo’s hand in his and gazed into the fast battleship’s eyes.

“YES!!!” Kongo shrieked, and tackle-glomped her new fiancé. Hiei let out a squee that was so high-pitched, Avers was surprised it didn’t crack the lenses in Kirishima’s glasses, and the shipgirls around them erupted into cheers and applause.

Avers smiled to himself as Kongo showered him with giggles and kisses, and various shipgirls crowded around to convey their congratulations to the newly engaged couple. Today might have been filled with chaos and a shit-ton of stress, he thought, but I don’t think it could possibly have ended any better.

~~~

Avers sat in his office the following Monday and looked back on the weekend with a smile. Only four light cruisers, a submarine, and one human NCO permanently banned from the park after this past weekend…compared to what I was expecting, I’d say the trip was a resounding success!

He was jarred from his thoughts by Nagato coming and handing him a large, thick manila envelope.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Pictures from the previous weekend, sir…Tokyo Disneyland sent them over.”

Avers thanked her as he opened the envelope and flipped through the pictures. He smiled at the pictures of DesDiv 6 hugging the various characters from Winnie the Pooh, setting them aside for Mutsu to show Nagato, as he knew she got a kick out of her sister ship’s reaction to incredibly cute things.

Next came the photos from various ride cameras. He did a face-palm when he saw the first ten photos were of Tatsuta and Kiso surfing down the chutes of Splash Mountain; he made a mental note to speak to the two light cruisers about that later that day.

Last in the package came the photos from the Tunnel of Love. Many were sweet, showing various shipgirls cuddling and holding hands. He studiously ignored the photo taken of himself and Kongo – actually, more like the photo taken of himself with Kongo’s head in his lap – and flipped to another picture. He was quite surprised to see a pic of his normally staid Chief-of-Staff lying on top of his Fleet Adjutant, the two of them kissing passionately, and he called Nagato over and handed her the photo.

“I don’t know if you have a copy of this already, but if you don’t, I thought you might like one.”

Nagato looked at the photo and blushed heavily.

“What are you talking about, sir?” Mutsu came over to them and looked at the photo in Nagato’s hands.

“Oh, goodness,” the battleship flushed prettily, “that was a fun ride, wasn’t it, Nagato-nee?” she giggled as Nagato sputtered awkwardly.

“A-Admiral -” she began and Avers waved off her attempted explanation.

“I don’t need to hear anything,” he informed her. “Not that it’s any of your business, but if I were to lecture you about proper behavior on this ride, I’d be the biggest hypocrite in the world.”

The two battleships gaped at him and what he was inferring by that comment. Avers flipped to the next picture as though nothing was wrong…and then groaned when he saw it was a picture of Akagi and Kaga making out heavily, with Kaga’s hand down the front of Akagi’s shorts.

“Yeah, like I wanted to see that,” he muttered, putting the picture through his paper shredder, figuring that neither of the fleet carriers would want a copy of it.

He glanced at the last picture in the packet, then did a double take. And then a triple-take. And then he simply gaped at it, scarcely believing what he was seeing.

“Oh, dear God…” he moaned. “That’s what that group of NCOs meant when I overheard them talking about a live porn show on the Tunnel of Love?!”

“What are you talking about, Admiral?” Nagato looked up from the paperwork she was scanning and Avers wordlessly handed her the photo. His Chief-of-Staff took one look at the photo and began sputtering wildly at the sight of Iku on her back, arms clawing at Aiya’s shoulders and her feet locked in the small of the other girl’s back as her lover used a sex toy on her while Aiya’s face was buried in her neck. The picture had been snapped at what appeared to be the exact moment Iku climaxed, for the lewdmarine’s back was arched, her eyes were clamped shut, and her mouth was open in a silent scream of ecstasy. Neither appeared to be wearing a stitch of clothing.

“Nagato-nee…what’s wrong?” Mutsu took the photo from her sister ship, looked at it, and blushed tomato red.

“Oh, my…” she giggled. “That certainly goes with what we were hearing behind us, doesn’t it?” She asked Nagato, who continued to sputter incoherently.

“You heard this?” Avers asked his Adjutant incredulously.

Mutsu nodded. “We figured that as loud as those two were being, they must have been having a very good time.” She glanced at the picture again. “And judging by this picture I’d say we were one hundred percent correct.” She burst out giggling as she handed the picture back to Avers.

“Get Iku and Petty Officer Komura in here ASAP,” Avers growled.

~~~

When the duo in question arrived Avers handed them the picture. Aiya took it, and the Admiral was surprised to see a gold ring glinting on her left hand.

“Nice ring,” he commented.

“Thank you, sir…she put it there,” Aiya grinned. When Avers turned to Iku, the lewdmarine blushed and held up her own left hand which featured an identical ring.

“Congratulations,” Avers stated. “When did this happen?”

“Saturday night,” Iku replied. “We were heading to catch the ferry back to the naval base when we got the idea and just figured ‘what the hell?’, so we found an officiate in a red-light district in Kure and went ahead and did it.”

Aiya glanced down at the picture Avers had handed her and burst out laughing.

“Oh shit,” she gasped, “there’s one for the family album, babe!” She turned the picture so Iku could see it, and the submarine grinned widely.

“Definitely,” she laughed, but the couple stopped when they saw Avers didn’t share their humor.

“Sorry, sir,” Aiya muttered, fully expecting for them both to receive a royal ass-chewing.

Avers sighed, knowing that, after his and Kongo’s own little voyage on the same ride, he couldn’t rip them a new one.

“Take this picture and kindly make sure no one else sees it, and don’t let anything like this come to my attention ever again, understood?”

“You’re not gonna yell at us?” Iku looked surprised, while Avers was surprised she had the audacity to ask such a question.

“Do you want me to yell at you for this?” he asked, and both young women rapidly shook their heads.

“Nah…we’re good,” Aiya replied, and Iku seconded the statement.

“In that case, you’re dismissed,” Avers waved them out of the office, and the newly married couple departed after thanking him one last time. The Admiral watched them go before reaching into his desk and pulling out The List, adding yet another rule to the paper:

26) A visit to Tokyo Disneyland or any other theme park is not a valid excuse for fleet-wide insanity.

“Um, Admiral…” Mutsu trailed off nervously, her voice breaking into Avers’ thoughts. The Admiral glanced at the battleship to see her looking at something on her phone.

“What’s up?”

Mutsu smiled apologetically. “You need to check the news, sir…apologies in advance for possibly ruining your day.”

A sense of foreboding washed over Avers as he brought up Japan’s national news webpage.

POWER RANGERS EXIST, JGSDF COLONEL CONFIRMS!

ULTRAZORD SPOTTED IN JOINT EXERCISE WITH MILITARY FORCES!

Avers temporarily lost the power of speech as he recalled a conversation he’d had in the not-too-distant past:

“If you two somehow manage to pull this off, I won’t care if you build Ultimate Daizyujin in your spare time, and then test its weapons in war games with the JGSDF.”

He whirled towards the window, opened it, and stuck his head out.

“AKASHI!!! YUBARI!!!”

~~~

Iku exhaled in relief as she and Aiya slid into a booth in Hosho’s restaurant.

“Jeez, we sure dodged a bullet there,” she laughed softly.

“I know, right?” Aiya nodded, pulling the picture out of her purse so they could admire it yet again.

“One of the best times we’ve ever had,” Iku giggled.

“Hell yeah,” her wife grinned, then froze as she sensed someone beside her. When she saw who it was, she knew there was trouble.

“Babe? What’s wrong – oh, shit,” Iku muttered upon seeing Darwin standing beside their table, gazing at the picture with an expression on her face that said she was filing away information for later.

“Um, hi…” Aiya trailed off laughing awkwardly as she hurriedly put the picture back in her purse.

“Order, please,” Darwin pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil, noting that the two customers seemed to exhale in relief when she didn’t ask about what was taking place in the picture. Humans were strange creatures indeed…living with them was certainly an experience.

~~~

“Mother, is it customary for humans to mate in public places?”

Hosho barely refrained from choking on her lasagna at Darwin’s completely out-of-the-blue question, and turned to look at her eldest daughter, who was gazing at her with an inquisitive look on her face as though what she’d asked was a completely normal dinner conversation topic. The light carrier sighed inwardly; it looked like she was going to have to give her children The Talk a lot sooner than she’d originally thought. At least Hoppo seemed to be completely occupied with her chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese; this was one conversation she was way too young for.

Chapter Text

Two weeks after the fleet’s trip to Disneyland, Avers turned command over to Admiral Robertson and headed for Atsugi Air Base, where he, Kongo, Blaskewicz, Tenryu, DesDiv 6, Mancini, and Ashigara boarded a massive Airbus 380 for the trans-Pacific flight to the United States. The aircraft flew nonstop from Kure across the Pacific, then across the United States to Washington, D.C., where Avers met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the entire group was received at the White House by the President and First Lady.

The entire visit was shrouded in secrecy; no formal reception was held, and no speeches were made, and after a two-hour visit in the Oval Office, the Airbus took the entire group to New York, where they parted ways with Mancini and Ashigara. Avers and Kongo also stayed in New York; Avers had set aside the last three days of their two weeks in the United States to deal with going home and seeing his parents, while the rest of the time would be spent spoiling his gorgeous fiancée with a shopping spree in both New York and Los Angeles. The Blaskewicz family, meanwhile, flew on to his home in the Midwest.

~~~

Ashigara watched her fiancé as the elevator descended to the ground floor. They were staying in a suite at the Waldorf-Astoria, and Mancini had found out that his family was holding a formal dress retirement party for his father in one of the hotel’s ballrooms that evening. The couple had decided to show up as surprise guests, and throughout the day Mancini had grown more and more nervous.

“Relax,” she giggled. “Your family’s probably going to be overjoyed to see you.”

“Some of them, yeah,” Mancini confirmed. “My father, probably not as much.” He shook his head. “I don’t know if he’s even heard I’m not part of the U.S. Navy anymore.”

“Then he’ll get more than one surprise tonight,” the heavy cruiser smiled, reaching up to brush a stray piece of lint off one of Mancini’s shoulder epaulettes. That done, she leaned up and kissed him. “Sore wa daijōbudeshou (It’ll be okay),” she murmured, nuzzling the Training Officer’s cheek, and the tension seemed to leave Mancini almost instantly. He wrapped his arms around her in response, both being careful not to wrinkle the other’s dress uniform.

“Thanks, babe,” Mancini murmured as the elevator came to a stop on the ground floor. They separated as the doors opened, and Mancini straightened his dress tunic. “Let’s do this,” he stated, offering her his arm.

“Let’s,” Ashigara confirmed, and they started off across the lobby. As they reached the ballroom entrance, they saw a majordomo taking people’s names and then announcing them to the rest of the room as they entered. Mancini gave the man his and Ashigara’s names and organization, then escorted her into the ballroom. The majordomo stepped up to the microphone and spoke.

“Rear Admiral Louis Mancini, Training Officer for the World Kanmusu Fleet, and his fiancée, Lieutenant Commander Ashigara!”

Looks of surprise permeated the room as the couple was announced. They made their way to the front of the room to greet his parents.

“Hiya, Pop!” Mancini grinned, and Ashigara smiled in greeting.

The elder Mancini’s expression was unreadable; his middle child making a surprise appearance at his retirement party apparently didn’t faze him in the least.

“So…you’re a Rear Admiral now,” Angelo Mancini greeted his son.

“Yep…hitched my wagon to a rising star and here I am,” Mancini replied. “Bet you never thought I’d be an officer, much less an Admiral, huh?”

His father ignored the question and turned to Ashigara. “And you’re his fiancée?”

Ashigara nodded. “It’s a pleasure to meet you…Gino talks so much about his family, so it’s nice to finally have faces to put to names.”

“How’d you two meet?” was the next question from Mancini’s father.

“She’s one of the shipgirls,” Mancini stated. “I spoke in front of the class of destroyers she was teaching one day, and we became friends.”

“You’re a teacher?” Mancini’s mother, Francesca, asked. When Ashigara nodded, she smiled. “I teach junior high English myself.”

“That’s about the age her girls are,” Mancini confirmed, and his mother leaned in to Ashigara to speak to her privately. “It’s not easy at times, is it?” she asked.

Ashigara recalled some of the ‘adventures’ she had when dealing with Kasumi and Kagero and shook her head. “Not by far,” she laughed, glad to find a fellow educator to commiserate with.

The elder Mancini was about to ask another question when the group was joined by Mancini’s grandfather.

“Hey, Gramps!” Mancini greeted his grandfather, who returned the greeting with a nod, and introduced Ashigara. “Honey,” Mancini turned to his fiancée, “you remember me telling you about my grandfather, right?”

The heavy cruiser nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”

Giuseppe Mancini nodded and turned to his son. “I am old,” he stated in a heavy Italian accent. “Old and unwanted. But my son, I must speak. Your son,” he indicated Mancini, “my grandson, is a man to be proud of. He did not follow in your exact footsteps, but he has done very well for himself, with a fine career and a beautiful young woman. You must let go of this notion that unless he follows you exactly, he is nothing. You break your house through pride.” He made a waving motion with his hand. “There…I will speak no more of this.”

“Okay, Pop…” Mancini’s father patted Giuseppe on his arm. “You’re right.” He turned to Mancini and extended his hand. “You’ve done well for yourself.” As Mancini accepted the handshake, his father clasped his arm and smiled genuinely. “I’m proud of you, Gino.”

“Thanks, Pop,” Mancini briefly hugged his father. “It means a lot to me.”

“Bravo, bravo,” Giuseppe stated, patting his son on the arm.

“If only your sister would get a good head on her shoulders, too,” Angelo muttered, shaking his head.

“Why, what’d Marcie do?” Mancini asked, referring to his younger sister Marcella.

Francesca shook her head. “She’s dating this guy who’s…well…let’s just say he’s not exactly the most well-coordinated person there is,” she stated delicately.

“Not well-coordinated?” Angelo looked at his wife in surprise. “He’s clumsier than that Kelso kid on that sitcom the kids used to watch!”

“Oh, I like him already…I gotta meet this guy!” Mancini enthused, and Ashigara rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

“He’s over there with Marcie,” Angelo replied. “Go surprise them,” he encouraged.

Mancini nodded, then grew serious. “Listen, Pop…” he trailed off, and his father nodded, patting him on the arm in understanding.

“We’ll talk later,” the elder Rear Admiral Mancini promised. “How long are you here for?”

“We got two weeks’ leave before we have to head back,” Mancini answered.

“And as of today, I’m retired,” his father added. “Your mother’s always said she wanted to travel, so I think a visit to Japan’s definitely going to be on our list.”

“Bring Gramps,” Mancini advised. “He was in the Italian Navy during World War II, wasn’t he?”

The elder Mancini nodded. “I think he was on a cruiser or something.” He turned to the buffet, where Giuseppe was sneaking some items onto his plate that his doctor had said were a no-no. “Pop, what was the name of your ship again? The one you fought on during the war?”

“Italia,” Giuseppe stated absently, still concentrating on the food. “La bella corrazzate Italia. (The beautiful battleship Italia.)”

Mancini grinned. “Definitely bring Gramps to Japan...his old ship is one of the shipgirls that’s been summoned, and I bet she’d be overjoyed to see one of her former crewmembers.”

His father nodded and turned to Giuseppe as Mancini and Ashigara headed off to speak to Mancini’s sister.

“Hey, Pop...how’d you like to go to Japan?”

As Mancini and Ashigara approached his sister and her boyfriend, the Training Officer felt like he could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He’d finally gained his father’s approval, and he didn’t think anything could top that.

That was, of course, before Ashigara murmured into his ear what she had planned when they returned to their suite upstairs.

Yeah, life was good.

~~~

As they disembarked from the massive Airbus at the airport in Des Moines, Blaskewicz wasn’t surprised that his family wasn’t there to greet him; he hadn’t even mentioned he was coming home, a fact that – when he relayed it to Tenryu – his fiancée had been less than pleased about. As the rented Suburban XL approached the Blaskewicz farm in Farley, he noticed Tenryu was looking more nervous with each passing minute.

“Relax, Ten,” he laughed. “You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“I’m meeting your parents for the first time, Eddie,” the light cruiser growled. “I’ve got plenty to worry about. What if they don’t like me?”

“Impossible,” Blaskewicz grinned. “Not to mention you’re giving them four beyond-adorable granddaughters…they’ll probably love you more than they love me.”

“What’s that, nanodesu?” Inazuma pointed through the windshield at something blocking the road. Blaskewicz turned to look and knew right then he was close to home.

“Aw, jeez,” he groaned, bringing the car to a complete stop.

Blocking the road was a truly massive Holstein dairy cow, lying right in his lane, sleepily chewing her cud. Standing guard beside her, blocking the other lane, was an even larger bull, who was apparently asleep standing up. As the car came to a stop in front of them, the two animals turned their heads towards the vehicle and watched it for a few moments, then resumed their lazy routine.

“What in the world…?” Tenryu stared at the truly odd sight.

“That’s Old Man Abelseth’s prize cow and bull,” Blaskewicz explained. “Elsie’s the cow and the bull’s Elmer. Those two have won 1st Prize in their livestock categories at the County Fair every year since I was a freshman in high school. No matter how much Old Man Abelseth reinforces the fence to their pen, Elsie breaks out on a regular basis and comes out to the road, lays down, and chews her cud. Elmer always follows her and stands guard.” He smiled, remembering. “One morning they came here right when the school buses were running, and Old Man Abelseth had gone to Des Moines for a checkup at the VA. He’s the only one they listen to, so nobody could move them. Elsie didn’t get up and wander off until about 11AM.”

“Why didn’t they just use a cattle prod?” Tenryu asked.

Blaskewicz scoffed. “The last person that tried that, Elmer turned the guy’s truck over in a ditch, and when Old Man Abelseth heard about it, he went after the guy with his shotgun.” He shrugged at Tenryu’s look of disbelief. “They’re both really protective of Elsie.”

The sound of an engine caused the group to glance out the windshield. A pickup truck that appeared to be from the early sixties rumbled to a stop, and an elderly man who looked to be on the wrong side of eighty leapt out with the agility of a man a quarter of his age. He stormed over to the two animals and berated them in a mixture of English and Swedish, motioning to the nearby pasture with his arms. Begrudgingly, Elsie rose to her feet and lumbered away. Elmer looked at both the Blaskewicz group and his irate owner before snorting disdainfully and following his mate. The elderly man got back in his pickup and followed the two animals into the pasture, making sure they didn’t attempt to double-back.

With the road cleared, the group continued, and not fifteen minutes later the Suburban was turning into the drive leading to the Blaskewicz farmhouse. As they came to a stop near the porch, Blaskewicz could see his fiancée was nervous and three of the four destroyers were bouncing in their seats with excitement. Hibiki – true to form – merely took in the scene with the same straight-faced expression she always did.

“Your family owns a lot of cars,” Tenryu stated, motioning to the plethora of vehicles.

Blaskewicz groaned. “Aw, crap…I forgot today’s Sunday. The whole family’s here for the weekly dinner.”

“The whole family?!” Tenryu looked like she was going to bolt at any second. Hibiki leaned forward and offered her a small flask.

The light cruiser glowered at Blaskewicz as he snorted back laughter, then shook her head. “No, I need to be completely sober for this…and you’re too young to have that,” she cautioned her charge.

The little destroyer sighed and put the flask back in her pocket as the group exited the Suburban. Blaskewicz led them onto the porch and didn’t even bother knocking or ringing the doorbell; he merely turned the doorknob and entered the house.

“Sunday dinners are always at the picnic tables in the backyard, so we’ll go through the kitchen and surprise everyone,” he stated.

“Great…” Tenryu trailed off, her hand instinctively reaching over her shoulder for the sword that wasn’t there. She’d taken it off for the long car ride and had forgotten to put it back on when they arrived. She felt like a little girl without her teddy bear or security blanket. DesDiv 6 seemed to sense their mom-boat’s nervousness and crowded around her in support, each of them telling her the meeting would turn out all right; Inazuma added a cute ‘nanodesu’ to hers, while Akatsuki admonished the group that being frightened of the unknown was not the mark of a ‘true lady’.

“You’ll be fine, Ten,” Blaskewicz squeezed Tenryu’s hand and kissed her softly.

The light cruiser sighed and nodded. “You’re right,” she stated. “Let’s do this.”

Blaskewicz grinned and led them through the swinging door and into a large kitchen that had obviously seen many happy family meals taken in it. The smell of homemade fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and apple pie permeated the room, and everyone’s stomach growled noisily. The back door of the house was open, and the noise through the screen door told the group that everyone else was out in the backyard. Blaskewicz opened the screen door and led them out onto the expansive back porch.

All conversation in the yard trickled to a halt when the rest of the family saw who was standing on the back porch. A large, heavily bearded man stood up from the head of the table.

“Hey, Dad,” Blaskewicz grinned before turning to a woman who looked ready to scream with happiness. “Hi, Mom,” he greeted, “I’m home.”

The yard exploded into joyous reunion as Laura Blaskewicz bolted up from her seat and ran to greet her son.

“Eddie!” the older woman latched onto Blaskewicz’s neck and hugged him for dear life. “What a wonderful surprise! Oh, I’m so happy to see you!”

“Aw, Mom…” Blaskewicz hugged his mother, then realized she apparently didn’t plan on letting him go anytime soon. “Um, Mom, I kinda need to breathe…”

“Laura, let the boy breathe,” John Blaskewicz laughingly admonished his wife, who released Eddie and allowed him to pull his son into a hug. “Welcome home, son,” he greeted.

“Thanks, Dad,” Blaskewicz stated, reciprocating his father’s embrace.

“Eddie, who are your friends?” Laura asked, smiling at Tenryu and DesDiv 6.

Blaskewicz went over to Tenryu and took her hand. “Mom, Dad…everyone,” he addressed the whole family. “I’d like you to meet Tenryu…my fiancée.”

Laura Blaskewicz let out a scream of excitement. “Your fiancée?!” She latched onto Tenryu, who looked quite nervous. “Oh, thank you, Lord! With Eddie trapped over in Japan, I’d about given up hope that he’d meet a nice girl anytime soon!” She pulled back and smiled at Tenryu. “How’d you meet my son, dear?”

Tenryu started laughing nervously. “Um…” she trailed off.

“Holy crap…World of Warships!” Blaskewicz’s younger brother Jason gaped at the group standing on the porch. “They’re all shipgirls!”

“What are you talking about?” John turned to his youngest son.

“Remember how Eddie wrote in an email that he’d transferred over to the program that’s over the shipgirls that were trying to take back the Pacific Ocean from those evil Abyssals?” Jason asked. When his parents nodded, he replied, “All five of those girls are shipgirls! I recognize them because the ships on World of Warships have an image of their shipgirl persona beside them. Every one of them are heroes!”

“Heroes?” John turned back to Eddie, a questioning expression on his face.

Blaskewicz nodded. “I haven’t had time to write about what’s been going on…a lot has happened in the last three months.”

“Obviously,” John joked, glancing at the ring on Tenryu’s finger.

“Well, there was a huge battle recently, and our forces won.” Blaskewicz grinned. “We used a special attack force and struck at the Abyssal creator herself.”

“You guys smoke her?” Blaskewicz’s oldest brother Andrew, a former Army Ranger, called out.

Blaskewicz nodded. “Rammed a MOAB right down her throat. When she died, that apparently took out a good chunk of the people under her…the Pacific Ocean’s ours again.”

The entire yard cheered.

“Anyways,” Blaskewicz continued, “when she and the girls got back from the fight that day, I didn’t want to wait any longer, and as soon as we reunited, I proposed.”

“You sent these sweet girls into combat?!” Laura appeared horrified at the thought.

“We’re destroyers, nanodesu,” Inazuma stated. “We must defend our homeland.”

“And plus, a real lady does not shirk her duties,” Akatsuki piped up. “It isn’t eleph – er, elegant,” she caught herself.

“These girls form our Destroyer Division Six,” Blaskewicz stated. “Akatsuki, Hibiki, Ikazuchi, and Inazuma,” he indicated each girl as he said their name. “Tenryu is a light cruiser and their squadron flagship, or,” he grinned, “as some people like to call those ships, their –”

“Eddie!” Tenryu cut him off, blushing deeply. Akatsuki, Ikazuchi, and Inazuma giggled.

“Their what, dear?” Laura turned to Tenryu, whose blush deepened.

“Their ‘mom-boat’,” she muttered softly, and Laura smiled.

“Nothing to be embarrassed about, dear!” she gently admonished the light cruiser. “You appear to have done a fine job with them!”

“Th-Thanks…” Tenryu smiled nervously.

“We’re getting married in Japan,” Blaskewicz stated, “and I’ve already cleared it so we have an Airbus 380 that will transport the entire family over there free of charge.”

“You must be in good with your Admiral,” Andrew called out. Blaskewicz grinned.

“I got promoted big-time when I transferred to the Kanmusu Program, and again after the last battle. I’m not in good with an Admiral…I am an Admiral.”

As the rest of the family exclaimed excitedly over these revelations, Laura and John looked down at DesDiv 6.

“And how do you feel about your flagship getting married?” she asked, smiling at the four adorable girls.

“We can’t wait, nanodesu!” Inazuma smiled. “We’ll be an official family then!”

Laura and John looked to Blaskewicz for clarification. The Supply Officer grinned.

“As soon as Tenryu and I marry, we’re formally adopting these four.”

Laura and John gasped in surprise, and pleased smiles spread over their faces. DesDiv 6, guessing by their smiles that the elder Blaskewiczes were happy with this revelation, decided to pounce.

“Grandma!” Ikazuchi and Inazuma glomped onto Laura’s legs.

“Grandpa!” Akatsuki launched herself at John.

The elder Blaskewiczes happily embraced their new grandchildren-to-be. Blaskewicz went over and placed his hand on Tenryu’s shoulder; the light cruiser appeared ready to collapse in relief that meeting her prospective in-laws had been a resounding success.

“See? Told you they’d love you,” he teased, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.

“Shut up,” Tenryu muttered half-heartedly, leaning against her fiancé with a pleased smile on her face.

“Khorosho,” Hibiki watched the whole spectacle with a small smile.

~~~

Over the next two weeks, the Blaskewicz family got to know the five shipgirls that were soon to join their ranks. Everyone loved DesDiv 6 immediately – how could they not? – while the women of the family quickly counted Tenryu as one of their own.

As for the destroyers, they embraced life on a farm wholeheartedly. They loved getting out of bed at the crack of dawn to be with their grandparents; Ikazuchi and Inazuma followed John around all day, asking countless questions about the different animals, while Akatsuki helped Laura in the kitchen. Hibiki went off on her own adventures, and one day showed up for lunch with a surprise in tow.

“Who’s this?” Blaskewicz asked as Hibiki walked into the kitchen, dragging someone with her.

The individual in question was a very skinny boy about the girls’ age. He had shaggy brown hair, glasses, and looked very, very lost. He seemed to be quite content to let Hibiki guide him to a seat at the kitchen table.

“I found him sitting under a tree, reading,” the snowy-haired destroyer stated, as if it was perfectly normal to bring home random children.

“Can we keep him?” Akatsuki looked at Blaskewicz and Tenryu with puppy-eyes.

“He’s not a pet, kiddo,” Tenryu lightly admonished the destroyer. “I think his parents might miss him.”

“My Dad wouldn’t miss me at all,” the boy muttered, never looking up from his book.

“What’s your name?” Blaskewicz asked.

“Gavin Zeller,” the boy murmured.

“His father’s Ricky Zeller…he runs the slaughterhouse on the outskirts of town,” Laura stated from her position by the stove. “He graduated with Fred,” she mentioned Blaskewicz’s second-oldest brother.

“Oh, yeah…I remember him,” Blaskewicz nodded.

“Remember who?” his sister Rachel walked into the kitchen, her arms full of shopping bags. Akatsuki and Hibiki immediately jumped up to help her.

“Ricky Zeller,” Blaskewicz stated as he took some of the bags as well.

“Ah,” Rachel nodded before noticing Gavin sitting at the table. “Hey there, Gavin…when’d you get here?”

“Hibiki found him and brought him home for lunch,” Blaskewicz added.

“Aunt Rachel,” Akatsuki flashed puppy-eyes at Blaskewicz’s sister, “please help us convince Mama and Daddy to let us keep Gavin-san.” Even Hibiki seemed to think it was a good idea, for she looked up at Rachel as well and blinked her sky-blue eyes at her aunt.

“Akatsuki, Gavin needs to stay with his family…they’d miss him if he suddenly up and vanished,” Rachel’s voice didn’t exactly sound as though she believed what she was saying.

“I beg to differ with you on that,” Gavin turned a page in his book. Blaskewicz glanced at the title and nearly did a double take when he saw it was Webster’s Dictionary.

“You’re reading the dictionary?”

Gavin nodded. “For the fifth time, yes. I read it every year to get any new words that were added.”

Blaskewicz didn’t really know what to say to that.

“Eddie, can I see you and Tenryu in the living room for a moment?” Rachel’s tone indicated it was important.

“Sure,” Blaskewicz got up from the table and followed his sister out of the room. “What’s up?” he asked, sitting down on the sofa and putting his arm around his fiancée.

“Honestly, the two of you keeping that boy isn’t a bad idea,” Rachel began. She was a social worker and the case of Gavin Zeller had come across her desk before.

“What do you mean?” Tenryu asked, surprised that Rachel seemed amenable to such an idea.

“His home life isn’t that great,” the foster care worker replied. “His father works all day and then spends most of every evening at the bar. Gavin’s had to all but fend for himself since he was ten.”

“Where’s his mother?” Tenryu asked.

“Ricky Zeller married Jo-Lynn Blackwell,” Rachel stated. “Remember her?” she asked her brother, who nodded.

“Yeah, I remember her,” Blaskewicz stated. “Homecoming Queen, Head Cheerleader…a really sweet girl.”

Rachel nodded. “She put up with a lot from Ricky, but she stayed with him because she refused to leave Gavin.” She sighed. “Then one night, Ricky called her and demanded she come get him from the bar because he’d had a few too many and the bartender refused to give him his keys. When she got there, he took the keys to her car from her and stated he’d drive them home. He hit a tree not five miles down the road while doing about eighty-five; he walked away with a cut on his forehead that required a couple stitches, and they buried her two days later.”

“Aw, jeez…” Blaskewicz murmured. He grasped Tenryu’s hand to calm her down, as the light cruiser had a look of rage on her face.

“That was three years ago,” Rachel shook her head. “People have reported how Gavin’s being treated, but nothing’s been done.”

“Why the hell not?” Tenryu snapped.

“Remember Ricky’s buddy Brady Watters?” Rachel asked Blaskewicz.

The Supply Officer nodded. “I think so…big, muscle-bound guy who liked picking on the lower classmen and then laughing it off as if he was toughening them up like a big brother who picked on his siblings?”

Rachel nodded. “He’s the local Chief of Police now, which means –”

“- that asshole can get away with treating his kid like shit,” Blaskewicz finished. Rachel nodded, adding, “And anyone who reports the situation suddenly finds themselves in deep trouble if they get so much as a speeding or parking ticket.”

“Damn…” Blaskewicz trailed off, uncertain as to what to do. I wish the Admiral was here, he thought to himself. He always knows what to do.

“Ricky’s never laid a hand on Gavin…not that I’ve seen, anyways,” Rachel amended, “he just doesn’t want anything to do with him. Which is a shame, too,” she added, “because he’s the smartest kid I’ve ever met in my life.”

“I kinda figured he’s above average when I saw him reading the dictionary,” Blaskewicz joked.

“That’s nothing,” Rachel replied. “When I came up to the school one time on the pretense of interviewing him about his home life, I convinced the principal to give him a placement test.” She sighed. “He reads on a post-graduate level and scored high enough on the test to be on par with a college junior.”

Tenryu’s jaw dropped and Blaskewicz ran a hand over his face, whistling softly.

“We informed Ricky of this and his response was that Gavin could stay right where he was until he was old enough to get a job and start contributing to the household.” She shook his head. “That man won’t do that kid any favors unless it will benefit Ricky Zeller.” A look of anger passed over her face. “When we asked him why he wouldn’t let Ricky test out of school and go on to better things his response was ‘What for? He’s just a little sissy boy who’ll probably grow up queer’.”

Tenryu shot to her feet with a growl, and Rachel jumped back in surprise as the light cruiser’s combat rig suddenly materialized around her. She stalked toward the front door, murder in her eyes.

“Ten, where’re you going?” Blaskewicz went after her. His fiancée turned to face him, angry tears brimming in her eyes.

“I thought I’d check out the slaughterhouse,” she replied. “I’d like to meet the owner.”

“I’d like it better if you stayed here,” Blaskewicz replied, knowing he really didn’t have a hope of stopping her if she decided otherwise.

“Eddie –” Tenryu broke off, trying to regain control of herself.

“We’ll find a way to help him, Ten…I promise,” Blaskewicz brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, causing the light cruiser to smile tenderly and wrap her arms around him, snuggling into his embrace.

“Thank you,” she murmured, her voice thick with emotion.

Rachel headed back into the kitchen, sensing she was intruding on a private moment. There was no doubt in her mind that her brother had found a great person to be his wife.

~~~

As Tenryu and Blaskewicz followed Rachel into the living room, Akatsuki and Hibiki watched them go.

“Wonder what they’re going to talk about,” Akatsuki mused.

“Miss Rachel’s probably going to tell them about my Dad,” Gavin murmured, his nose still buried in his book.

“Is there something wrong with your Dad?” Akatsuki turned to her new friend.

Gavin sighed and gave the duo a brief run-down of his situation. He hated bringing it up; it just made him feel more uncomfortable around people than he already was. However, he knew Miss Rachel was a good person, as she always helped him as much as she could, and if these girls were related to her, then he figured they were good people as well. By the time he finished, Akatsuki was outraged, and Hibiki was sitting beside him, stone-faced.

“Hibiki-chan,” Akatsuki complained, “Didn’t what Gavin-san just told us make you angry? How can you just sit there like that?”

“Etot ublyudok… (That bastard…)” Hibiki muttered before snapping out of whatever world she was off in and turning to Gavin, grasping his hand.

“Ne volnuytes…my sobirayemsya, chtoby pomoch’ vam (Don’t worry…we are going to help you),” she stated, locking eyes with him and making sure he knew she was deadly serious about what she was saying.

“Ya veryu tebe (I believe you),” Gavin nodded, and Hibiki’s jaw nearly hit the floor.

“Ty govorish’ po-russki? (You speak Russian?)” She asked, her surprise quite evident in her tone of voice.

“Nekotoryye (Some),” Gavin responded before switching to English. “The Rosetta Stone CDs I got from the library really helped, but they just taught the basics. If you can speak Russian fluently, perhaps you could teach me more?”

The small smile on Hibiki’s face told how pleased she was.

~~~

Three days before the group was due to fly back to Japan, the Airbus 380 dropped Avers and Kongo off at the Helena Airport. While they could’ve easily made the drive to Wolf Point that day Avers opted to get a hotel room in a town about thirty minutes west of there, knowing that if they went to the hotel in town, his arrival would be well-known within hours. The following day, they drove to Wolf Point and pulled into the free parking lot in the middle of downtown, just down the street from Avers Family Hardware. As they got out of the car Avers glanced down the street at his parents’ store and drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he felt Kongo walk over and wrap her arms around him.

“Teitoku-des?” the fast battleship gazed up at him questioningly. The Admiral shook himself out of his reverie and smiled down at her.

“I’m ok, sweetheart…just thinking. Come on,” he stated, kissing her forehead, “let’s get change at the bank and then go say hi to Mommy and Daddy Dearest.”

The couple made their way down the street to the bank on the corner adjacent to the parking lot. They blended in pretty well; both were wearing jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers, and Avers also wore a baseball cap with a silhouette of his fiancée’s ship form and the words ‘IJNS Kongo, Battleship Division 3’ written on it.

Getting change was accomplished easily, and they were once more headed for the bank doors when a man about Avers’ age passed them going in the opposite direction, stopped, and whirled around, his eyes wide with recognition.

“Matt Avers?” the man gasped.

Avers mentally cursed a blue streak at being recognized so quickly but turned to face the man and nodded.

“Yep, that’s me…who’re you?”

“Jake Fraley,” the man replied. “We were on the Quiz Bowl team together in high school, remember?”

Avers nodded, a smile appearing on his face. “Jake Fraley…yeah, I remember you.” He went over and shook the man’s hand. “How’ve you been? You’re working here?”

Jake grinned. “I’m one of the Vice Presidents. Glad to see you’re finally answering the letters we’ve been sending you.”

“What letters?” Avers looked confused.

“Your Dad never told you about the mortgages on the house and the store?” Jake looked concerned.

Avers shook his head. “Jake, I’ve been trapped over in Japan for the past five years…I haven’t had communication with anyone in the United States up until about six weeks ago. Not to mention the fact that my parents and I aren’t on good terms.”

Now Jake looked really concerned. “I think you’d better come into my office…we’ve got some things to talk about.”

When they reached Jake’s very nice office, Fraley motioned them to a pair of comfortable chairs and took a seat in the executive office chair behind the large desk.

“You’ve been in Japan the past five years, eh?” Jake mused. “I’m guessing that was part of your Navy service?”

Avers nodded as Jake motioned to a U.S.S. Nimitz baseball cap on a shelf behind him.

“I did six years in the Navy myself,” Fraley stated. “It was great seeing the world. You know the Wolf Point Courier did a story on you when you got your commission and shipped out?” he asked.

Avers looked surprised. “Really?”

“Oh, yeah,” Jake replied. “Everyone in town was really proud of you, but we never understood why your parents downplayed you becoming an officer and going off to serve.”

“Let’s just say the Garrett and Catherine Avers this town knows and the Garrett and Catherine Avers that I know are probably two different sets of people and leave it at that,” Avers replied, not wanting to get into things with Jake.

“You ever meet any of the shipgirls that were fighting the Abyssals?” Jake asked. “You must’ve at least seen a few in passing.”

Kongo burst out giggling and Avers grinned. “Yeah, you could say I’ve met a few.”

His fiancée’s giggles turned to outright laughter at that statement, and Jake looked back and forth between them, confused.

“Ok, I get the feeling I’m missing something here…” he trailed off, expecting them to fill him in.

“Jake, I’d like you to meet my fiancée, the fast battleship Kongo,” Avers introduced his fiancée, before proceeding to give Jake a brief rundown of his time with the shipgirls. By the time he was done, Fraley’s jaw was touching his chest.

“My God…” he murmured. “That’s incredible.” He stood, reaching across his desk and extended his hand to Avers, who stood and accepted the handshake. “Thanks, Admiral, for everything you and your people have done,” Jake then extended his hand to Kongo, who smiled and shook it. “And thank you, ma’am, especially…it’s a huge honor to meet a true hero.”

“No problem, Dess!” Kongo exclaimed cheerfully.

“Now what’s this about mortgages?” Avers asked. “I didn’t even know my father had taken them out in the first place.”

Fraley printed out several sheets of paper and handed them over. “There’s three on the store and two on the house,” he stated, “and your father’s deferred payments on both every other month for the past nine months. He’ll make a payment for one month, then defer to the next month. The only reason it’s been allowed to go on for so long is that -”

“The President of this bank is one of his best friends and a fellow City Council member, I know,” Avers replied.

“Exactly,” Fraley stated. “But to be honest, even he’s growing concerned. I’ll be blunt with you, Matt…your Dad’s up to his tail in hock, and it’s not getting any better.”

Avers glanced at the numbers on the sheets of paper Jake had handed over. He didn’t see a problem with paying all five mortgages off completely; he’d lived frugally during his years with the U.S. Navy, almost always staying in on-base housing and only rarely buying souvenirs in the various places he’d visited. With the hefty pay increase he’d gotten upon his promotion to Admiral and the extremely generous monthly stipends his Order of the Rising Sun, Order of the Chrysanthemum, and Gensui badge provided him, he’d built up a quite-impressive nest egg for himself. Even if he paid off all five mortgages, he’d still have a very large sum left in his bank account.

“What would happen if I paid all five mortgages off completely?” he asked, causing Fraley to blink in astonishment.

“Y-You’d be willing to do that?” he asked, stunned.

“Possibly,” Avers conceded. “What would I get if I did?”

“Well, if the bank foreclosed on the properties today and you immediately bought both properties at the cost of their respective mortgages combined, complete ownership of both the business property and the house would transfer to you,” Jake replied. “Your parents won’t be able to set foot on either one without your permission.”

“Will you take a check?” Avers grinned, producing his wallet and pulling out the single check he kept there for emergencies.

~~~

Avers’ check cleared within twenty minutes, and after making sure details of the transaction would not be made public until the following day, he and Kongo were walking out of the bank with keys to both his childhood home and his parents’ store. Fraley promised to meet them at Avers’ parents’ store to inform Garrett and Catherine of the foreclosures whenever Avers was ready.

“Where to now, Teitoku-des?” Kongo asked. She was ecstatic for her beloved Admiral; he was finally getting back at his parents for all those years of abuse, and it was seriously turning her on.

“I know I need to face my parents, but I don’t want to do it just yet,” Avers replied. “Let’s save that for this afternoon. Right now, I want to show you where I grew up.”

The fast battleship nodded eagerly at his plan, and they returned to the car and set off. Within fifteen minutes they had pulled into the driveway of the Avers property, a large two-story Victorian-style house set on at least three acres of land.

“You had to mow all this in one morning, Dess?” Kongo gaped at the size of the yard as she recalled her boyfriend telling her about his chores as a child.

“No, just about halfway out from the sides of the house,” Avers replied. “My father would mow the rest on Sundays when he was off from the store.” He sighed, remembering. “He’d laze around on his riding lawnmower while I helped my mother clean the inside of the house. Come on,” he stated as Kongo shook her head at how her fiancé had been treated, “let’s go inside.”

He unlocked the door and entered his childhood home for the first time in over thirteen years. He wasn’t surprised to see that very little had changed; the furniture was the same as it was the day he’d left in August 2002, and it had been bought five years before he was born. He gave Kongo the grand tour, such as it was, finishing upstairs in his parents’ office. Again, nothing in that room had changed from when Avers had last seen it, either; his father had refused to learn how to use a computer and kept all the family expense records by hand.

“Holy crap,” Avers stated as he opened one of the six filing cabinets in the closet, “They’ve got records in here going back to when they bought the house in 1979!”

“Very meticulous, Dess,” Kongo stated as she looked over some of the certificates hung on the wall, most of which were City Council Awards presented to Garrett Avers.

Avers opened another filing cabinet and found only one item in the drawer: a large binder with a rubber band around it, bulging with paperwork and labelled ‘Boy’s Debt’.

“Oh, my God…” he trailed off, “look what I found.” He held it up for Kongo to see. The fast battleship’s eyes widened.

“Proof of what your parents were doing, Dess!” she exclaimed. Avers nodded and brought the binder over to the desk and set it down. The first piece of paper they saw when they opened it was a hospital bill addressed to Catherine Avers dated June 1984.

“This was the bill for when she stayed in the hospital to give birth to me,” Avers stated, flipping through some papers as Kongo scoffed in disbelief at what she was seeing. “Here’s the bill for my first pediatrician’s visit…here’s the emergency room bill for when I broke my arm in second grade – my Dad was royally pissed at that one, by the way – and everything associated with that…the bills from the investigator my Dad hired to track me down in Boston after I cut off all contact with them…every expense I’ve ever caused my parents to incur is in here.”

He flipped to the back where there was a ledger book that contained dates and amounts. The first page in the book showed the ‘outstanding balance’ of slightly over thirty-eight thousand dollars. It was then that an idea came to the Admiral and he grinned widely.

“And I just thought of a way that I can twist the knife even more.”

“What?” Kongo tilted her head cutely. “How so, Teitoku-des?”

“See, before I found this little gem,” Avers replied, “my parents were more than likely going to portray me as the ungrateful brat who came back after ten years away, stabbed them in the back, and drove them out of their own home and the business they’d built up over the past forty years. But with this,” the Admiral patted the binder, “all I need to do is make the contents of this binder public, and they won’t be able to set foot in a single business in this town.”

“Will you make it public, Teitoku-des?” his fiancée asked.

Avers nodded. “Our next stop is the offices of the Wolf Point Courier. I’m sure there’s at least one reporter who’d be interested in this story.”

Kongo squealed excitedly and ran over to Avers, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him deeply. As they made their way out of the office and towards the top of the stairs, the Admiral spoke up.

“Well, that’s the tour of Casa de Avers,” he smiled. “Not much to see, I know, but at least now you’ve seen where I grew up.”

“It’s a very nice home, Dess,” Kongo smiled. “I imagine under different circumstances it could’ve been a happy home as well.”

Avers shrugged. “Perhaps.” He allowed himself to get lost in thought momentarily before coming back to his senses and smiling at his fiancée. “Let’s go get lunch at Wendy’s and then head over to the newspaper.”

As the couple walked down the hall towards the top of the stairs, they passed his parents’ bedroom. It was then that Kongo got a very naughty idea, and she turned to grin at Avers.

“How many girls did you sneak up here when you were a teenager, Dess?” she asked jokingly.

Avers laughed, stopping to pull her into his arms and kiss her. “None,” he replied. “You, gorgeous, are the first girl that I’ve ever brought up here.”

Kongo giggled and nipped at Avers’ bottom lip, and immediately the Admiral knew she was up to something.

“What’re you thinking?” He asked uncertainly. Kongo grinned.

“A prank on your parents, Teitoku-des!” she stated. “What’s something that would make your father very angry at you?”

“Honey, just knowing I’d come here when they weren’t home is going to piss him off like nobody’s business,” Avers replied. “I can’t really think of any other way to make him madder at me, can you?”

“Yes!” Kongo laughed, and shoved him through the open doorway into his parents’ bedroom.

Forty-five minutes later, the couple lay in a sweat-soaked heap on Avers’ parents’ bed, the scent of sex hanging thickly in the air. Avers stared dazedly at the ceiling, while Kongo laid halfway on top of him and nuzzled his chest sleepily.

“Ok,” Avers panted, idly stroking his fiancée’s petal-soft skin, “that…was one…of the most…epic ideas…you’ve ever had.”

The fast battleship raised her head and grinned at him, looking very pleased with herself. “Arigato, Teitoku-des,” she purred, leaning up to kiss him before bouncing to her feet.

“Shower time, Dess!” She giggled, “Then off to the newspaper!”

Avers smiled at Kongo’s exuberance and slowly got up. “Shower time, then lunch, and then off to the newspaper,” he amended. “I need replenishment.”

~~~

After another round in the shower, the couple made their way out of the house and over to their rental SUV. They’d left Avers’ parents’ room as it had been when they went for their shower, with Avers stating that his parents could stand to clean up after him for once in their lives, much to Kongo’s amusement. As they stood by the SUV Avers took a moment to look over the house and land one last time. He knew once he drove away that he’d never come back there again for as long as he lived. Another item of business that day was a visit to a realtor to put the property up for sale; deputies from the local Sheriff’s office would be dispatched to get Avers’ parents’ belongings out of the house and ensure Garrett and Catherine could no longer enter.

Avers was about to get in the car when he thought about taking a final memento of his childhood with him.

“Hang on a second,” he told Kongo. “I wonder if…” he trailed off, heading towards the detached garage. Kongo watched him for a moment before following him curiously.

“Dess?” she asked as she caught up with him.

“I just want to check something really quick,” Avers assured her, using the keys to unlock the garage and raise the door. “Thought so,” he grinned when he saw the mower he’d used as a kid sitting right where he’d last put it back in 2002. His father had bought it brand-new in March 1985 and it still looked as new as it had on the Sears showroom floor, thanks to Matt being forced to meticulously clean the mower after every use, right down to scrubbing the sidewalls of the wheels with a toothbrush and dish soap and taking the catcher apart to scrub the inside clean. The white block letters on the black hard plastic catcher still proudly proclaimed the mower to be a Craftsman, and even the ‘5.0 Reserve Power’ sticker on the front of the fuel tank showed no sign of peeling. Avers remembered being eight years old and struggling to maneuver the massive machine; it had cost nearly $500 and was built like a tank.

The Admiral went over to the mower, pushed it out of the garage into the driveway, depressed the control bar, and pulled the starter rope. The massive mower started with a roar, sounding just as good as the first time its engine had run. The Admiral let it run for a few seconds before shutting it off and turning to Kongo with a grin.

“We’re taking this with us.”

“Dess?” Kongo looked at him questioningly, and Avers shrugged, patting the mower’s handle.

“I actually enjoyed using this beast as a kid, and I’ve got a small patch of grass at my quarters. No reason why I can’t take care of it myself once a week in the evening.”

Kongo grinned at him and gave him a thumbs-up. Once Avers had wrangled the massive machine into the back of the SUV and closed the garage, they set off for downtown once more, stopping at the Wendy’s drive-thru for an extra-large order before heading back to the parking lot to eat. After they’d finished their meal – more of a snack for Kongo than an actual meal – they made their way to the offices of the Wolf Point Courier.

The newspaper had surprisingly expanded since the last time Avers had been inside on his third-grade field trip, and the couple was forced to ask someone where the Managing Editor’s office was. As they neared the doorway Avers noted the name on the door and grinned.

“I’ll be damned,” he laughed. “She made it.”

“Dess?” Kongo tilted her head cutely and looked at the Admiral questioningly.

“Melissa Caterman is the Managing Editor for this paper,” Avers replied. “She and I worked on our high school newspaper together. Being Managing Editor of this paper was her dream job…she’s never wanted to work anywhere else.” He smiled and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” a voice absently responded.

Avers opened the door and the couple stepped inside. Melissa Caterman was of average height and had blonde hair and green eyes framed by large eggshell glasses. She was studying layouts like they held the secrets of the universe, and it was obvious she took her job very seriously.

“Just put the courthouse reports over by the fax machine…thanks, Freddy,” she stated without looking up.

“No courthouse reports, Chief, but I do have the interview with Coach Fitz if you want to look it over,” Avers replied, causing Caterman’s head to jerk up, her eyes wide. She leapt to her feet and ran over and hugged him.

“Matt! It’s so good to see you!”

“Howdy, Chief,” Avers greeted her, returning her embrace. “Congrats on landing your dream job.”

“The same to you, Mr. Five-Star Admiral,” Caterman laughed. “Is it true those Abyssal creatures were defeated?”

“In the Pacific, so it would seem,” Avers replied. “In the Atlantic, no. But we hope to take care of that soon. In the meantime,” he smiled, “How’d you like two exclusive interviews, plus a story that might very well bring down a member of the City Council?”

Caterman’s eyes widened. “What?” When Avers made to repeat himself, she interrupted. “Let’s start with the two exclusive interviews…who would I be interviewing?”

“The first interview would be with the Commander of the World Kanmusu Fleet,” Avers indicated himself, “in his first-ever interview to an American newspaper. The second,” he indicated Kongo, “would be with one of the actual shipgirls, in the first shipgirl interview for an American newspaper.”

“O-One of the shipgirls?” the editor murmured blankly, turning to Kongo.

“Kongo-des!” Avers’ fiancée grinned happily.

“Two exclusive interviews in a hometown newspaper…” Caterman trailed off, imagining it. “You know how many major newspapers want to interview you, Matt?” she asked. “The New York Times…the Washington Post…and here you’re offering the first interview to me?” She giggled excitedly. “They’ll award me a Pulitzer just for scoring the interview alone!”

Avers shrugged. “You always were a good friend to me…why not help you out?” He grinned. “Those propaganda rags can go screw themselves, and you can direct-quote me on that – with the names of both those papers added – in the article.”

Caterman laughed and looked at Kongo. “You said your name is Kongo?”

“Yes!” the fast battleship nodded. “I’m the name ship of the Kongo-class! Born in England and raised in Japan!”

“What type of ship are you?” Caterman asked.

“Fast battleship, Dess!” Kongo replied. “No one has more energy than me!” She grinned devilishly at Avers. “You can attest to that, right, Teitoku-des?” She batted her eyes flirtatiously.

Avers cleared his throat awkwardly. “Yes, well…”

Caterman’s eyes weren’t on Avers, however; she’d spotted the impressive rock on the fast battleship’s finger.

“Are you two…?” she trailed off questioningly.

“Yes!” Kongo exclaimed happily before glomping Avers. “Teitoku is mine!” she giggled. After Caterman offered her congratulations to the couple, Kongo turned to her fiancé.

“Ex-girlfriend, Dess?” she asked, indicating Caterman, who snorted back laughter.

“No, sweetheart…just a good friend,” Avers assured her, with Caterman seconding his statement.

“Besides,” the editor replied, grinning, “he’s not my type.”

Kongo looked scandalized. “Everyone likes my Teitoku!”

Caterman giggled. “I understand that, but you’re more my type than he is if you get my drift.”

A pleased smile spread over Kongo’s face. “Ahh, I understand!” the fast battleship stated, “but while I appreciate the compliment, Teitoku will be the only recipient of my BURNING LOVE!”

“Mel and I never dated in high school,” Avers informed his fiancée, “but we did attend Senior Prom together.”

“Prom?” Kongo tilted her head cutely.

“A formal dance near the end of our last year in school,” the Admiral clarified. “We went together as friends.” He smiled, remembering. “My father wasn’t even going to let me go until I informed him that we were going as members of the school newspaper and as such, the tickets were already paid for.” He sighed. “And of course, the cost of the tux rental and Mel’s corsage were added to my debt.”

“What debt?” Caterman asked.

Avers grinned. “That brings us to the third story I mentioned.” He pulled out the debt book he’d taken from his childhood home. “The Garrett and Catherine Avers this town knows are a lot different from the parents I know.”

Avers and Kongo took seats in front of Caterman’s desk as she read through the binder. By the time she was finished, the editor looked floored.

“My God…what kind of people are they?” she shook her head, stunned. “This explains a lot about when we were kids…how you never came to any birthday parties or any dances except Prom.”

Avers nodded.

“And you’re willing to go public with this?” the editor asked. “You do realize that if I publish this story, your parents would be ruined in this town.” She thought for a moment, then added, “And probably throughout the country, if we publish this story in the same issue as your interviews.”

“My parents won’t have much left in this town anyway after tomorrow,” Avers replied, and proceeded to fill Caterman in on his recent business transactions.

“Oh, man…” Caterman laughed, “Way to pull the rug out from under them! I’m glad to see you’re getting them back for all the crap they put you through when you were a kid.” She set the binder aside for the moment. “We’ll come back to that story…let’s get your interviews done first.”

~~~

Two hours later, Caterman had the information she wanted, as well as the format for her article on Avers’ parents.

“Ok, I think that’s got it,” the editor stated. “We’ll be printing this up for tomorrow’s edition, so come by tomorrow and I’ll give you free copies. Before you go,” she added, “just out of curiosity, do you have any pictures of some of the other shipgirls?”

“Yes!” Kongo beamed happily and pulled out her iPhone 6. “Here you go, Dess!” She turned the phone to where Caterman could see and Avers began pointing out what was in the pictures.

“That’s the Headquarters building,” Avers stated. “That’s where my office is.”

Kongo flipped to another pic, which showed the American destroyers save for Hammann.

“Those are some American shipgirls we summoned,” Avers indicated. “They’re collectively known as ‘Willie D. and Taffy Three’.” He explained what that meant as Caterman cooed over how adorable the destroyers were.

Another pic showed Chicago, Indianapolis, and I-58. “That’s heavy cruisers Chicago and Indianapolis, and the girl hugging Indy is her girlfriend, Goya.” A slight smile came over Avers’ face. “Also known as submarine I-58, the same submarine that sank Indy in 1945.”

Caterman looked surprised. “Does that happen often? Ships that sank one another in World War II ending up together romantically?”

Avers shrugged. “There’s a couple cases like that…a lot of them are involved with their sister ships.”

The editor nodded and then appeared to remember something. “When you go back, you might want to tell Chicago that the Cubs are Number One in baseball right now…I bet she’d appreciate hearing that.”

“Definitely,” Avers replied as Kongo flipped to the next pic, which contained the three American carriers, Hamman, and Imuya.

“Is that the Enterprise?” Caterman gaped upon seeing the carrier wearing the ‘CV-6’ baseball cap. “You realize how many people would love to hear she’s back?”

Avers nodded. “Probably about the same number that would like hearing about Ari.”

Kongo flipped to another pic, which showed the two American battleships, both of which were wearing baseball caps with their ship IDs on them.

“My God…the Arizona…” Caterman trailed off. “My grandfather’s brother was aboard her at Pearl Harbor.”

Kongo flipped to another pic which showed Nagato, Mutsu, Oyodo, and Niyodo.

“I gotta say, I like the outfits on those two,” Caterman grinned. “Who are they?”

“That’s Nagato, my Chief-of-Staff,” Avers indicated the dark-haired shipgirl, “and her sister ship Mutsu, my Fleet Adjutant.” When he noticed Caterman’s grin, he smirked. “Don’t bother…they’re together.”

“Damn,” Caterman looked disappointed. “Mutsu looks like she could be a lot of fun.”

Avers chose to ignore that comment as Kongo giggled and flipped to another pic, this one of the four Yamatos.

“Holy Hannah!” Caterman gaped at seeing the impressive…attributes of the three super-battleships and their carrier half-sister. “Please tell me at least one of them…” she trailed off, devouring the pic with her eyes.

“I don’t know, sorry,” Avers laughed, “and besides, you’re here and they’re in Japan…what good does that do you?”

“For that I’d move!” Caterman giggled, and Kongo joined her.

The last pic Kongo showed the editor was of her sisters.

“They’re cute!” Caterman stated, “And their outfits match…are they in the same squadron or something?”

“They’re my sister ships, Dess!” Kongo stated proudly, “Hiei-des, Kirishima-des, and Haruna-des!”

Avers noticed Caterman was looking at Hiei with interest and rolled his eyes. “More on that later…why don’t the three of us have dinner at Curly’s Diner tonight?” He grinned as an idea suddenly came to him. “I might have something else you can put in your article.”

“I thought you wanted to keep a low profile for now,” Caterman stated. “Won’t going into Curly’s Diner kind of negate that?”

The Admiral shrugged. “I figure once I confront my parents me keeping a low profile around here will be a moot point, so why not get some good food out of the deal?”

“You’re on,” Caterman laughed. “See you tonight around seven?”

“1900…we’ll be there,” Avers confirmed, getting to his feet and opening the office door. “We’re off to the hardware store…have fun getting tomorrow’s edition together.”

“Are you kidding me?” Caterman grinned as she followed them out of her office. “With these stories, I’ve finally got a reason to yell ‘Stop the presses!’.” She walked them to the main doors of the building and then left them.

~~~

An hour later, Avers and Kongo stepped out of a local realtor’s office, having put the Avers family home up for sale. The realtor had taken one look at the property that the Admiral had wanted to sell and had all but drooled – apparently the Avers residence was in the heart of what was considered prime real estate for the area – and quickly informed Avers that she would have absolutely no problem in selling the house as soon as it was emptied. As Avers and Kongo approached the hardware store, he noticed the shop next to it was a power equipment dealer and immediately got an idea.

“Sweetheart,” he turned to Kongo, “why don’t you go in by yourself and pretend you’re a normal customer who’s just browsing, then when I come in you can reveal to my parents who you are? Give them another shock on top of all the others they’re about to receive.”

“Yes!” Kongo giggled, loving the idea Avers had come up with. Her Teitoku was so smart! As they stopped in front of the power equipment shop the fast battleship kissed her fiancé and headed towards the hardware store. Avers remained on the sidewalk and pulled out his cellphone, dialing Fraley’s office number.

“This is Jake Fraley…how may I help you?” the bank Vice President answered.

“Jake, this is Matt…I’m ready if you are,” Avers stated.

“Sounds good, Matt…give me about five minutes to get the paperwork together and I’ll head right over,” Jake stated.

“Great…meet me in the power equipment shop next door,” Avers replied.

“You got it…see you soon,” Fraley replied, and disconnected. Avers placed his phone back in his pocket and entered the shop titled Bernie’s Bikes and Lawn Equipment. His visit was quite fruitful; the owner was extremely interested in expanding his business, and a very reasonable price of purchase for the adjacent property was agreed upon within fifteen minutes. Fraley arrived ten minutes into the conversation and was sent next door to inform Avers’ parents of the recent developments at the bank while Avers and Bernie signed the sale paperwork, transferring ownership of the hardware store into Bernie’s name.

~~~

A bell over the door jingled as Kongo entered Avers Family Hardware and looked around for something to catch her interest. She noticed a thin, well-dressed woman with graying hair sitting on a stool behind a counter upon which sat an old, 1980s-style cash register. The woman was watching Kongo like a hawk as though she expected her to steal something.

“Can I help you, young lady?” she asked, a belligerent undertone in her voice.

Kongo regarded her prospective mother-in-law briefly and then smiled widely, apparently throwing the woman off-guard, for she blinked in surprise.

“No thanks…just browsing, Dess!” the fast battleship replied cheerily and wandered off down a random aisle, biding her time until her beloved Teitoku arrived.

The bell over the door jingled again, and Kongo glanced up to see Fraley entering.

“Hello, Jake,” the woman greeted Fraley, “can I help you with something?”

“Is Garrett here, Mrs. Avers?” Fraley asked. “I need to speak with him.”

“Hello, Jake,” Garrett Avers approached from the back of the store and shook Fraley’s hand. “You saved me a phone call. Your riding mower’s due for a tune-up in a couple weeks…just thought I’d remind you.”

“Already taken care of, Garrett, but thanks,” Fraley replied. “I took it to Bernie’s next door…you know he charged me about forty bucks less than you?”

While Fraley was speaking, Kongo surreptitiously looked Garrett Avers over and didn’t like what she saw. Her Teitoku’s father was of average height, with gray hair that was beginning to thin noticeably and he had a slightly thickening middle that came to many people as they approached their early sixties. He exuded no welcoming vibes whatsoever, and when combined with his wife’s sunny disposition Kongo was forced to wonder how her Teitoku had turned out half as well as he had.

“Yes, well…” Garrett’s smile thinned somewhat as Fraley spoke. “Cost of labor and all that,” he brushed off Fraley’s observation and attempted to direct him back to the reason the bank official had stopped by. “What’d you need?”

Fraley set his briefcase on the counter and opened it, withdrawing a stack of papers. “Garrett, Catherine, I came by to inform you that the bank foreclosed on all five of your mortgages today. We took possession of the store and your house, and while the paperwork was going through someone in the bank heard about what was going on and bought both properties from us. I’m sorry, but you no longer own this store or your house.”

Catherine Avers turned sheet-white and collapsed into her seat. Garrett looked as though he wanted to throttle Fraley where he stood.

“I don’t believe a damn word you say,” he snarled. “Your boss Bill Meyers wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen! I’ve been a good friend of his and a loyal customer of his bank for nearly forty years!”

“That’s true,” Fraley conceded, “but what else could he do when there was someone in his bank willing to pay off all five mortgages in full right then and there?”

“We’ll just see about that!” Garrett growled. “I’m going to see him right now!”

“He’s already gone for the day,” Fraley put a halt to Garrett’s plan. “He and Mrs. Meyers went to a family function in Helena this evening, so the earliest you’ll be able to see him would be tomorrow morning.”

Garrett swore under his breath and grabbed the papers from Fraley’s hands. “I’ll be in his office tomorrow morning at 9AM…and I’ll be putting in a word about you, Jake. We’ll see how much longer you’ll be in your cushy VP job.”

“I’ll see myself out,” Fraley closed his briefcase and headed for the door.

“And one more thing: consider your family’s line of credit here null and void!” Garrett called after him. “I don’t give credit to people who bring me BS like this!”

To his credit, Fraley didn’t even react to Garrett’s threats and continued out the door without stopping. Once the bank Vice President was gone Garrett turned back to the counter and began reading over the papers he’d been given, his expression turning blacker with each passing second, before swearing a blue streak and then looking around the store. He spotted Kongo looking over a display of electric weed-eaters and called out to her.

“Miss, if you wish to buy something, please bring it up to the counter now…we’re closing early today due to an unforeseen emergency.”

Kongo decided to ignore him and wandered off to another aisle. Garrett apparently thought she was going to get an item she’d seen earlier and turned back to his wife, who was perusing the papers with shaking hands.

“H-How could Bill just foreclose on us like this?” she asked, her voice breaking.

“I don’t know,” Garrett growled. “But I’d sure as hell like to meet the sonofabitch who swooped in and bought the store and the house right out from under us! I’d like to look him in the eye and then knock his teeth down his throat!”

The bell over the door jingled, signaling another customer had entered.

“We’re closing early today,” Garrett began, but a strangled gasp from his wife caused him to halt. He looked up to see Catherine staring wide-eyed at the door as though she’d just seen a ghost. Garrett turned to face the door himself and saw his son standing there, smiling as though he hadn’t a care in the world. There was only one thing he could say to that.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!”

“Looking for someone, actually,” Avers stated, but the sound of pounding feet from the back of the store stopped him from elaborating.

“TEIIII~TOOO~KUUU~!” an ecstatic voice squealed. Avers grinned as a fast-battleship-shaped cuddle-ball blew past his father at warp speed and leapt on him as though they’d been apart for six months or more.

“BURNING LOVE!” his fiancée announced, wrapping her legs around his waist and showering his face with kisses. “Chu-chu…chu-chu…Teitoku!” she cooed, nuzzling Avers happily.

“I missed you, too, sweetheart,” Avers laughed, adding jokingly, “even though we were apart all of fifteen minutes.” He turned to his father. “I won’t bother telling you what I’ve been up to the past five years because one, I doubt you give a damn, and two, if you watched the national news recently, you’d know exactly what’s been going on in the Pacific.”

“I’ve seen the news,” the elder Avers confirmed. “And enough to know that from what I can see, your part in the war is over. So now you can retire from the Navy and come home and start working off that debt.” He smirked. “You’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Avers laughed. “Actually, I don’t. I just saw Jake Fraley leaving here, so I’m guessing he told you that the five mortgages you had on the house and this store have been foreclosed on?” When his parents nodded, he continued, “You’re looking at the person who paid off those mortgages and bought both locations.”

For the first time that Avers could remember, his mother smiled at him. His father appeared stunned.

“You paid off the mortgages?” Catherine wiped tears from her eyes. “I don’t know how we could ever thank you for that.” She turned to her husband. “Surely, we could knock off some of his debt, seeing as how he just saved us from utter ruin?”

Garrett seemed to consider it. “I’ll admit it’s the first useful thing he’s ever done for us…might be worth a couple hundred dollars off.”

Avers burst out laughing. “No need for that.”

His father seemed to agree with this even more. “So, you want to work off the entire sum, eh? An admirable trait…I’ll give you that much.”

“Not in the least,” Avers replied. “The house has been put up for sale by a local realtor and I just sold the store to the shop next door…Bernie’s been wanting to expand his business for a while now, and I just helped him do that for a very reasonable price.” He smiled. “I’d start making up ‘Going Out of Business’ signs if I were you.”

Catherine collapsed in her seat again and burst into tears. Garrett gaped at his son, a twitch forming under his left eye even as his pallor faded to an unhealthy shade of gray and he sagged against the counter.

“I’m returning to Japan tomorrow with my beautiful fiancée,” Avers stated, indicating the young woman wrapped around him, “and I’m never setting foot in this town again. This’ll be the last time we have any contact whatsoever. And when I’m concerned about whether I’ll make a good father, I’ll just think about what my own father would do in whatever situation I find myself in…and do the exact opposite.”

He set Kongo on her feet and the couple headed for the door. As he opened it, he turned to look back at his parents. Garrett was staring at him like he wanted to murder him but was too paralyzed to move. His mother had glanced up quickly upon hearing the word ‘fiancée’ and was gazing at her son with a hopeful expression, as though she expected he would miraculously forgive her for all the emotional abuse of his childhood and allow her to attend his wedding. Avers decided to destroy that hope there and then.

“I do regret one thing about this situation,” he informed them. “I regret that my children will never have any contact with their grandparents.”

He gestured for Kongo to precede him out the door. The fast battleship didn’t spare her prospective in-laws a single glance as she walked out. Avers followed her outside and shut the door behind him; the last thing he heard from his parents was his mother dissolving into tears once more.

“Teitoku-des?” Kongo looked up at Avers, tilting her head cutely as the couple walked back to the car to plan what they could do while waiting for dinner.

“I’m fine,” the Admiral replied. “How about after dinner, we go back to our hotel and spend most of the night making sure any neighbors we might have get little to no sleep whatsoever?”

“Yay!” Kongo giggled and gave him two thumbs up.

~~~

Dinner at Curly’s Diner that night was a lively affair. Most of Wolf Point now knew that Avers was back in town, and as Avers and Kongo enjoyed their meal with Caterman, several people came up to their table and thanked both himself and Kongo for their efforts in defeating the Abyssals. Avers bore no ill will towards those who stopped by, and chatted amiably with anyone who approached him. Kongo found herself quite popular with the younger males of the town but made it perfectly clear she only had eyes for her beloved Teitoku. The Director of the Wolf Point Historical Society, ninety-three-year-old Effie Marlborough, also came by their table, and was nearly beside herself when Avers and Kongo happily agreed to pose for a picture with her for the town records.

As Matt and Caterman finished dessert and Kongo visited with a group from the local American Legion at another table, someone else approached.

“Matt Avers,” Wolf Point Chief of Police Joe White announced, “I need to speak with you. Your parents have charged you with falsifying documents to illegally gain control of their house and store. We can talk at the station…let’s go.”

Avers had been wondering when the Chief would approach him; Joe White had been a thorn in his side from an early age. Another close friend of his father’s, White took great pleasure in following Avers around whenever he ran errands for his parents. Avers usually didn’t go anywhere without White’s police car following him from about ten minutes after he left his home until the time he turned back into his driveway; his father had smugly made it a point to tell him that every time he sent Matt on an errand, he called the police station as soon as Matt had left the house and informed the Chief where Matt was going. Chief White usually wasted no time in providing Matt with a ‘police escort’ until he got back home.

Avers had been quite happy to escape to college and get out of White’s jurisdiction, but the Chief had called the Montana State Campus Police and ‘warned’ them about him. After three weeks of his officers closely monitoring Avers – who never went to frat parties or sporting events and spent most of his spare time in the library studying – the Campus Police Chief called White and chewed him out for wasting the Campus Police’s time. After that, Avers’ trouble with the Campus Police vanished, and he enjoyed the rest of his time in college. Now he’d come back for a brief visit, and it seemed that White was wanting to make up for lost time. Only now Avers was in no mood for such crap.

“Fuck off,” the Admiral replied, not even looking up from his massive bowl of apple cobbler. Caterman snorted into her cup of coffee.

“What’d you just say to me, boy?” White grabbed Avers’ shoulder roughly. He’d wanted to teach this ungrateful little shit a lesson for years now, only the kid had never stepped a single foot out of line the entire time he lived in Wolf Point. Garrett and Catherine had done so much for him and he chose to repay them by skipping town and not paying them so much as one red cent all these years. And now he waltzed back into their lives with false papers stating he now owned the hardware store and their house and had stolen it from under them? Not happening…not while Joe White was around!

He expected Avers to flinch and meekly obey when he used force, but the smug bastard remained right where he was, calmly sipping his drink like nothing was amiss.

“You really shouldn’t have done that,” Avers allowed a small smile to appear on his face. To White’s surprise, even Caterman was looking at the Chief like he was royally stupid.

“Are you threatening an officer of the law?” White’s voice took on an eager tone. Here was his chance to lock this kid up and throw away the key…

“No, merely stating a fact,” Avers replied, looking up and behind the Chief, a wide grin appearing on his face. “She’s the one threatening you.”

White turned to see a petite brunette standing behind him, a gleam of unadulterated rage in her eyes and a completely psychotic grin on her face. But that didn’t bother him so much as the large backpack – no idea why the thing had a mast and a funnel – she was wearing…that had four armored twin-mount gun turrets sticking out the sides.

“Heyyyy…” the girl trailed off, looking at White as though daring him to make the wrong move.

“Back away, Miss,” White ordered the girl, “this is police business.”

“Why are you touching Teitoku?” the question was asked almost conversationally, and if not for the troubling grin on the girl’s face, White would’ve thought the question had come from a random bystander who was merely interested in what he was doing.

“That’s none of your concern,” White snapped. “Now move along.”

A muscle under the girl’s left eye twitched, and White somehow knew he’d given her the wrong answer. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the two patrolmen he’d brought with him move off their barstools and stand in the aisle, arms crossed and waiting for action. The girl’s response was to rotate two of the armored twin gun turrets around so that one pointed at each of the two deputies. The other two, White saw, aimed right at his nose. His eyes narrowed at the challenge and he reached for his own weapon.

“Joe,” one of the elderly men at the American Legion table piped up, “you must be dumber than dirt if you think you and your boys have a hope in hell of standing up to that girl. She’s a battleship…those guns of hers could turn all three of you into strawberry preserves in the blink of an eye.”

Out of the corner of his eye, White saw the two patrolmen smile nervously and show their open palms to the girl, signaling they were no threat to her. He turned and gaped at them, stunned they were backing down so easily.

“Sorry, Chief,” one stated as he and the other patrolmen made tracks for the door. “I spent five years in the Marines, and one of the things my Senior Drill Instructor taught me was to choose the hill I died on. And this sure as hell ain’t it!”

They hurriedly left the diner, and White found the gun turrets that were previously aimed at his patrolmen had now joined the two that were targeting his nose. He sighed inwardly; the patrolmen were right…this was not the hill he’d choose to die on, either. But then a thought occurred to him: he knew how he could even the field, and it was parked in the city garage!

“All right, Miss…you win,” he smirked, releasing Matt’s shoulder. “This isn’t over, however,” he added as he headed for the door.

“Yeah, right,” Matt muttered, but he smiled up at Kongo as the fast battleship vanished her combat rig and rejoined him and Caterman at their table. The trio finished their meal soon after and made their way outside after settling the bill. As they exited the restaurant, a white-haired man wearing slacks and a plaid shirt made his way up to them.

“Admiral Avers,” the man greeted Avers respectfully, and Avers nodded, smiling, shaking the man’s hand.

“Mayor McTeague, nice to see you again,” he greeted, before introducing his fiancée.

“My apologies for not getting to speak to you sooner, but I was only informed you were in town a few hours ago,” the Mayor replied.

Aves waved off the apology. “No apology necessary, sir…this was just a quick stopover on our way back to Japan.”

“It’s a shame you can’t stay longer –” the Mayor’s statement was cut short by the sound of a heavy engine followed by the noise and flashing of police sirens. The group turned to see a large, armored SWAT vehicle barreling its way up the street.

“What on earth…?” Mayor McTeague gaped at the sight of the vehicle, obviously having seen it before.

Kongo, for her part, merely stepped into the street, her combat rig already in place.

~~~

White let out a battle cry as he increased the Special Response Team armored vehicle’s speed. It was the city’s pride and joy, and he was going to use it to run roughshod over that half-ship freak.

~~~

“Mr. Mayor, we might want to take cover…” Avers began but got no further than that.

“BURNING LOVE! FII-YAH!!!” his fiancée yelled and Avers actually exhaled in relief as she fired only one of her guns.

~~~

White saw the ship-person freak standing in the middle of the street, still wearing her weird-ass backpack, but he also saw the guns aiming directly at him. He increased speed further, but it was then that he saw he wasn’t going to be able to smash her before she fired; he swore a blue streak and swerved left so that when he exited the vehicle, he would have the benefit of its armor for protection.

He never managed to stop.

The single fourteen-inch armor-piercing round Kongo fired was meant to punch through the armor of Abyssal battleships and cruisers. The armor of a SWAT vehicle didn’t even register resistance. The round hit the SWAT vehicle dead-center on its right side and literally tore it in half. The back portion twisted to the left and bent forward, the jagged metal on the torn front end carving deep ruts down Main Street as pure inertia attempted to stop it.

The front half of the vehicle spun in circles as it tilted backwards, carving its own set of deep furrows in the street, doing two complete donuts before slamming full-speed into a brand-new, very expensive-looking Cadillac that was parked on the street. The car, despite being well-made, was literally pancaked by the assault vehicle.

People had poured out of the diner after Kongo had fired, so nearly everyone who'd been inside got a front-row seat to the brief, incredibly one-sided battle, and the crowd exploded into cheers when the assault vehicle blew in half. Kongo, for her part, turned to the crowd and took a bow. The two patrolmen who had backed down from a confrontation with her earlier merely strode past the fast battleship and headed over to the destroyed vehicle; now that they’d seen what she could do, they wanted no part in trying to arrest her. Mayor McTeague was quick to follow and approached the cab as the officers forced the door open and helped the driver out, one bracing him as he stood on shaky legs. The other patrolman reached up and grabbed the riot helmet concealing the driver’s identity and yanked it off, revealing the driver to be Chief White.

“You used the SRT vehicle for which the city paid nearly fifty thousand dollars, so you could challenge a girl who’s one of many worldwide heroes, all because she embarrassed you in a restaurant when you tried to arrest her fiancé, whom, I might add, is himself a worldwide hero?” The Mayor’s voice was deadly calm.

“Mr. Mayor, I can assure you -” Chief White began, but McTeague wasn’t finished.

“And as a result, you not only completely destroyed said expensive police vehicle, but also obliterated my wife’s brand-new, fully loaded 2018 Cadillac in the process.”

Avers and several members of the crowd – even the three patrolmen – cringed. No matter what else happened tonight, the Chief was in deep doo-doo.

“She’s not a hero…she’s a menace to society!” White snarled. “You saw what she did to this vehicle, and all because I tried to take him –” White indicated Avers, “over to the station to ask him some questions!”

“MY CAR!!!” a woman’s voice wailed from the back of the crowd. Mayor McTeague groaned softly as his wife broke through the crowd and ran up to him. “Chester, what happened?!” she exclaimed upon seeing the devastated vehicle.

“Don’t worry, dearest,” the Mayor soothed his wife, “the guilty party will pay full restitution.” He glowered at Chief White, who appeared none too pleased at this revelation.

“She’s a menace, Chet,” White reiterated, “and he’s a bald-faced liar, I swear!”

McTeague reached out and laid his hand on White’s left arm. “You’re fired,” the Mayor stated, patting the former police chief’s arm before turning to the patrolmen. “Have the Street Department come out here and get the street blocked off…and please lock him up,” he indicated White, who appeared to still be attempting to process the fact that his decades-long police career had just crashed in flames.

“Admiral Avers,” the Mayor turned back to the Admiral and his fiancée, “I apologize for that man’s conduct, and please rest assured he’ll be dealt with first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Maybe not first thing,” Avers replied. “I have a feeling there’ll be more pressing issues first.”

McTeague raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Avers turned to Caterman, who was rapidly writing in a notepad. “I think the Mayor deserves a heads-up on tomorrow’s front-page story.”

~~~

Ten minutes later, the trio – plus the Mayor – was sitting in Caterman’s office as the Mayor read what was to be tomorrow’s front-page article.

“My God…” the Mayor finally looked up from the layout boards and turned to Avers, “what they did to you…there’s just no excuse…” He collapsed in a nearby chair, looking every minute of his seventy-six years. “And he’s been on my City Council for the last twenty-five years…people are going to think I supported this bastard!”

“Sir, I can tell by your initial reaction you had absolutely no idea what was going on,” Avers replied, “nor did I expect you to. This was my parents’ most closely guarded secret, so it’s no surprise nobody in town knew about it.”

“Mr. Mayor, I can make an addition to this story, including an official statement from your office saying you had absolutely no idea about these events, and if you had, Garrett Avers would not have been elected to the City Council in the first place,” Caterman offered.

“Damn right he wouldn’t have!” the Mayor stated and nodded. “And ‘yes’ to your offer…absolutely. I’m not trying to make it seem like I’m saving my own tail here, but I’m not going to have him drag me down with him.” McTeague ran his hand over his face. “I’m calling an emergency City Council meeting for tomorrow night…once people read this, they’re going to be demanding he be kicked out of office, and by God, I’m going to give them what they want.”

He rose to his feet. “I’m going to head over to my office and draft that statement for you, Ms. Caterman.” The Mayor gave them all a tired smile before heading out of the room.

Avers turned to the two women and smiled wanly. “Tomorrow evening will definitely prove to be interesting.”

~~~

The following morning, Garrett and Catherine Avers arrived at their store in an uncertain mood. Chief White had been kind enough to put them up in his own home the night before, after the Sheriff’s office had allowed them into their former home to get some belongings. Garrett had nearly lost it completely when they entered their bedroom and saw the messed-up bed and got a whiff of the air; their son had obviously visited the house before coming to the store. Once at the Chief’s house, the couple had told the day’s events to the lawman, who promised to get to the bottom of things immediately. That had been around seven the previous night, and Joe had not returned to the house since.

They’d stopped at a local McDonald’s for their morning coffee like usual, only to receive a very frosty reception for some strange reason. Everyone they’d interacted with that morning seemed to look at them like they were the lowest form of scum on the face of the planet. They’d seen the ruts in the street in front of Curly’s Diner while en route to the store, then they’d found out the shocking news that Joe White had had a public meltdown and had been unceremoniously fired after pulling a beyond-insane stunt. He was currently sitting in the City Jail while his former underlings and the Mayor figured out what to do with him.

“I don’t understand what the problem is with some people today,” Catherine murmured as she got the cash register ready for the day. She’d asked her husband the night before about making up the ‘Store Closing’ signs, but Garrett had brushed her off, stating that he planned to speak to Bill Meyers that morning and that this trouble with their wayward son was all just a massive misunderstanding.

The ‘Open’ sign in the window hadn’t been on but ten minutes before the bell above the door jingled and Mayor McTeague walked in.

“Morning, Chet,” Garrett greeted the Head of the City Council. “What can we do for you?”

McTeague’s face was stony as he nodded respectfully at Catherine.

“Garrett, I’ve called an emergency City Council meeting for tonight…I expect both you and Catherine to attend.”

“Well, sure, Chet,” Garrett nodded, “we’ll be glad to. But really, did you have to be so hard on poor Joe like that? I mean, firing the man just because the stress of his job got to him and he let it out publicly…surely he deserves a second chance?”

McTeague glowered at Garrett. “I’ll let your statements on that matter slide because neither you nor Catherine were actually present for what occurred, Garrett, but suffice to say firing Mr. White was the most lenient of the choices I could’ve made yesterday evening. In any event, our former police chief’s problems are not your concern…if I were you, I’d be much more worried about what’s in today’s newspaper.” He tossed a copy of the Wolf Point Courier on the countertop. “I’ll see you both at the meeting this evening…good day.” He opened the door and walked out without another word.

“What’s up his ass?” Garrett wondered aloud, before glancing at the Courier’s front page and glowering upon reading the first two of the three major headlines:

HOMETOWN HERO RETURNS!

COURIER EXCLUSIVE! THE FIRST U.S. INTERVIEW WITH A SHIPGIRL!

But it was the third headline that nearly gave him a heart attack:

CITY COUNCIL MEMBER’S ‘FAMILY DEBT’ EXPOSED!

Garrett’s eyes rapidly scanned the article below, and his worst fears were confirmed.

“Garrett? What’s the matter now?” Catherine could tell by the rapid twitch under her husband’s left eye that something was horribly wrong.

“We-We’re ruined…” Garrett gasped out, holding the paper out to her and pointing to the article with a severely shaking hand. “It’s all out in the open now…”

Catherine read the article and promptly fainted. Garrett did nothing to help her; he was too busy gripping the counter to keep himself upright. He staggered over to the door and locked it, turning the ‘Open’ sign off seconds later; with the article that was in the paper, he knew he’d never have cause to turn the sign on again. He dreaded how the ‘emergency City Council meeting’ would go that night, and he already had a good idea what the meeting was going to be about.

~~~

That evening, Avers, Kongo, and Caterman watched from the back of the City Hall meeting room as the rest of the Wolf Point City Council voted unanimously to remove Garrett Avers from its list of members. Avers’ parents sat together in the front row of seats; none of the chairs around them were occupied as the rest of the citizens of Wolf Point had apparently decided they didn’t even want to sit by them, much less be associated with them.

The other order of business on the table that night was the appointment of a new Chief of Police. The position went to the senior-ranking member of the Wolf Point Police Department’s five patrolmen, a ten-year veteran named Dave Grazchik, who looked like the position of Chief was the last thing he wanted, especially since it was now up to him to aid in the prosecution of his former boss. Incarceration hadn’t done Joe White any good at all; in just twenty-four hours he’d gone from outrage at being locked up in his own jail to complete obsession over getting the ‘battleship-girl’. He’d spent most of the day muttering to himself about grandiose plans that he planned to enact once he was permitted to walk out of the jailhouse scot-free – as he fully expected to do – and then laughing insanely when he pictured the results in his mind. As it stood right now, the only place Joe White was going was the county loony bin.

~~~

Garrett’s worst fears about how the evening was going to go were confirmed when – upon walking into the room – he noticed he didn’t even have a place at the City Council table, thereby forcing him to sit in the audience with his wife. Catherine, to her credit, remained silent and composed, sitting ramrod straight and gazing straight ahead with her hands folded in her lap as people they could count as staunch friends only twenty-four hours ago publicly condemned and shunned them.

The hall emptied quickly once the meeting broke up, and not one of the residents spared a moment to speak with either of them. Garrett sighed inwardly; it was obvious there was nothing left for them in Wolf Point…they would have to move somewhere else and start over from scratch. He glanced around the room and noticed his son and that human-ship…thing leaving.

A red haze descended over his vision, and blood pounded in his head.

IT WAS ALL THAT BOY’S FAULT!!!

Oblivion followed seconds later.

~~~

Avers smiled at Caterman as the trio made their way outside.

“I wanna thank you for everything you’ve done, Mel,” he began, but the editor waved his thanks away.

“No need to thank me,” she replied. “Heck, I’m the one who should be thanking the two of you…I don’t think you realize how many doors were opened for me yesterday when you granted me those interviews.”

“I’d like to offer you a job,” Avers broached the subject that had been on his mind since the previous evening. “Public Affairs Representative on my staff.”

Caterman stopped in her tracks and gaped at the Admiral. “Are you serious?” she asked and Avers nodded.

“I know being editor of the Courier was your dream job,” he stated, “but you’d be making history here. Now mind you,” he cautioned, “I can’t offer much, salary-wise…say, five times what you’re making at the Courier.”

“F-F-Five times?!” Caterman gaped. When Avers nodded she laughed, “Where do I sign?!”

“Just like that?” Avers was surprised his friend was so quick to accept.

“I live in a furnished one-bedroom apartment,” Caterman replied. “I could get ten cardboard boxes from the local Dollar General tomorrow and pack up everything I own.”

Avers grinned. “Sounds like a plan…our flight for Atsugi Air Base leaves tomorrow evening. Get packing.”

Caterman’s response was to shriek excitedly and hug him.

~~~

Thirty hours later Avers sat in the passenger cabin of the Airbus 380. He hadn’t gotten much sleep the previous night; whether it was from knowing he would soon be back in command of his fleet or the whirlwind of events that had occurred over the past three days, his mind had refused to shut down.

Foremost in his mind was the fact that his father was dead.

Avers had been informed late the same night after the meeting; Mayor McTeague had driven to Avers’ hotel room to personally give him the news. Garrett had apparently seen the trio leaving the City Council meeting; driven by blind rage, he went to follow them and confront his son. He hadn’t taken two steps before collapsing from a massive aortic aneurysm. The shocks from the successive losses of her home, family business, reputation, and husband all within thirty-six hours had rendered Catherine Avers catatonic. When doctors were unable to get her to respond to anything, they – in accordance with Matt’s wishes – placed her in the same county facility as Joe White. Matt had no desire to remain in Wolf Point to settle his parents’ affairs; he entrusted the matter to Mayor McTeague, telling the Mayor to sell off everything and then just send him a check with the lump sum.

He sighed and silently got to his feet, heading to the back of the plane to use the facilities. When he got there, however, he saw that the bathroom was occupied; Akatsuki was missing from the cuddle-pile in the group of seats DesDiv 6 had commandeered as their own. Not really wanting to wait, he took the stairs to the unoccupied floor above to use one of the bathrooms there. After accomplishing his mission, he noticed that one of the other bathrooms was marked ‘Occupied’ as well. Knowing that the crew of the aircraft had their own washroom facilities near the cockpit, he figured the sign had just been flipped over on the last flight and the flight crew hadn’t noticed it and changed it back. He decided to do them a favor and help them out and opened the door to flip the sign.

To his surprise, the compartment was occupied by a boy who couldn’t have been more than thirteen. He was sitting calmly on the floor reading Tolstoy’s War and Peace, and when the door suddenly opened his gaze shot up from his book like a deer surprised by a spotlight.

“Greetings,” he smiled nervously.

“Hello,” Avers responded. “Who’re you?”

“Gavin Zeller,” the boy responded. “Who’re you?”

“Fleet Admiral Matt Avers, Commander of the World Kanmusu Fleet,” Avers replied, and to his surprise the boy shot to his feet and came to rigid attention.

“Admiral, sir!”

“At ease,” a slight smile came over Avers’ face; while he appreciated the respect being shown him, at the same time Gavin was a civilian and had no need to come to attention in the presence of an Admiral.

“Come on out of there.” He took Gavin over to a group of seats and sat down next to him. “Now, how’d you get here?” Avers knew he wasn’t a child of one of the flight crew; those individuals were all JASDF personnel.

“These four girls I met back in my hometown said they wanted to help me, so they smuggled me on board with their luggage.”

“Four girls…you’re referring to DesDiv 6?” Avers asked, and Gavin nodded.

“What were they helping you with?”

Gavin gave the Admiral a brief run-down of his home life and Avers immediately mentally absolved the four adorable destroyers from any blame. If he’d had a group of friends who’d helped him out like this when he was Gavin’s age, he would’ve taken advantage of it, too.

“I imagine you’ll have to send me back, won’t you?” Gavin asked, and Avers sighed.

“Well, not right away,” he conceded. “Seeing as how we’re currently north of Wake Island, we can’t exactly let you off at the next rest stop.” He patted Gavin on the shoulder. “Come on…let’s go join everyone else and you can spend the rest of the flight in a comfy seat instead of on a cramped airplane bathroom floor. Besides, they’re serving breakfast soon.”

Gavin’s stomach growled loudly at the mention of food.

“When’s the last time you ate?” Avers asked.

“I had a couple cans of Vienna sausage and a Rice Krispies’ Treat for dinner last night,” Gavin replied. “But as I’m sure you know, that’s hardly adequate sustenance.”

“Hardly,” the Admiral agreed. “Let’s get you some real food.”

He led Gavin down the stairs to the main floor of the aircraft, where the others were slowly awakening. As they stepped off the stairs, Ikazuchi glanced over at them briefly before resuming her morning routine. Seconds later, her brain registered the fact that the plane’s surprise passenger had been discovered by the Admiral, and her eyes snapped back to Avers, widening in fear. She quickly awoke her sister ships, all of whom quickly adopted the same expression; they knew they were in major trouble and had no idea how to deal with it.

“Awawawawawawa…” Inazuma began babbling nervously, Ikazuchi and Akatsuki quivered in their seats, and Hibiki let out a little sigh, emotionless as always.

“Der’mo (Shit),” the silver-haired destroyer muttered in Russian.

Tenryu’s mom-boat instinct kicked in as she sensed her girls were upset, and she quickly awakened.

“Wha? Whassa matter?” she murmured sleepily, running her hand over her face.

Three of the destroyers were too busy panicking to point out the cause of their upset, so it was left to Hibiki to nod in Avers’ direction even as she pulled out her flask and took a swig. Tenryu glanced over at the stairwell, her brain still half-fogged from sleep, but when she saw Gavin standing there, she became fully-awake in a nanosecond.

“Gavin?!” she gasped.

“Greetings,” the boy nodded.

Tenryu nudged her still-sleeping fiancé. “Eddie…Eddie, wake up now!” she demanded frantically.

“Mmm…yeah, five more minutes, babe,” the Supply Officer muttered, attempting to drift back off into dreamland.

“Eddie…crisis!” the light cruiser shook Blaskewicz roughly.

“Ok, Ten…I’m awake, jeez…” Blaskewicz yawned and opened his eyes. “What’s the problem, honey?”

Tenryu gestured to the front of the plane.

“Oh…morning, Gavin,” Blaskewicz murmured, running his hands over his face to wake himself up. He was halfway through this motion when his brain registered the fact that Gavin was not supposed to be on the plane, and he was fully awake in an instant.

“Gavin?!”

His shout of surprise jarred Mancini awake a few seats back.

“Huh? Wuzzat?” the Training Officer muttered incoherently as he raised his seat back. Beside him, Ashigara groaned sleepily and cuddled closer.

“Come on, sweetheart,” Mancini murmured, running his fingers through her hair, “wakey-wake time.”

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” the heavy cruiser muttered as she sat up.

“I know I am,” Mancini grinned, causing Ashigara to glower at him.

“It’s early, Gino…don’t be you just yet,” she squeezed by him and headed off towards the bathroom.

“Huh?” Mancini’s brain attempted to process Ashigara’s previous statement and failed, so he put it out of his mind and glanced around the compartment. Noticing Gavin standing there looking quite nervous, he asked, “Who’s the kid?”

“This is Gavin,” Avers replied. “He secretly boarded the plane in Des Moines with the help of four destroyers who shall remain nameless.” He glanced pointedly at DesDiv 6.

Ikazuchi, Inazuma, and Akatsuki quivered; Hibiki took another swig from her flask.

“You smuggled him on board?!” Tenryu gaped at her four charges.

“Da,” Hibiki nodded.

“We wanted to get him away from his father, nanodesu,” Inazuma put in.

“A real lady offers help to anyone in need,” Akatsuki stated.

“We told him he could rely on us,” Ikazuchi informed her.

Tenryu facepalmed. “People are probably having kittens back in Iowa…”

“I’ll call Rachel,” Blaskewicz stated, pulling out his cellphone.

“Skype might be better,” Avers offered. “Text her and tell her you need to Skype with her. That way anyone who needs to speak with her can talk without having to struggle to be heard on speakerphone.”

Within five minutes, Blaskewicz, Tenryu, Gavin, and Avers were upstairs while the Supply Officer talked to a frantic Rachel on Skype.

“Eddie! Thank God you called me…Gavin’s missing, and we can’t find him! I wish you and your girls were still here…you could help us look for him,” Rachel sighed. “He’s my responsibility now…Ricky drove drunk again last night and accidentally crossed into another jurisdiction.” She paused and wiped tears from her eyes. “He t-boned a minivan carrying a family with five kids…they don’t know if three of the kids will even make it.”

“Aw, jeez…” Blaskewicz murmured, while Tenryu grasped his hand in support. Gavin listened to what Rachel was saying, and though he attempted to remain strong Avers could tell he was deeply affected by the news. The Admiral reached out and placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder, and Gavin seemed to relax almost instantly.

“Please tell me he’s finally going down!” the light cruiser growled.

Rachel nodded. “They arrested him at the scene and when Ricky awoke in the hospital he tried to get up and leave. The cops of that jurisdiction were right there to stop him and in his rage at being detained Ricky spilled the beans about his buddy Brady sweeping all his accidents under the rug. Now Brady’s in his own jail for corruption and Ricky’s looking at twenty-to-life.” She paused to wipe her eyes again. “The one bright spot in all of this – if there is one – is that Gavin’s free from his father. Of course, he’ll go into the system once we find him, but he’ll get better care there than he did at home…he won’t have to fend for himself.”

Gavin approached the laptop and looked at the screen. “Greetings, Miss Rachel,” he stated as though nothing was wrong.

“GAVIN! Oh, thank God!” Rachel nearly collapsed in relief. “How’d you get on that plane without anyone knowing?!”

“Akatsuki and her sisters smuggled me on board,” the boy replied. “They didn’t even find me until this morning.”

Avers came into view of the screen. “Miss Blaskewicz, I’m Fleet Admiral Matthew Avers, Commander of the World Kanmusu Fleet. If my Supply Officer and his fiancée are amenable, once we get on the ground my office will coordinate with your office to get all the paperwork done so that Gavin can stay with them. I can assure you he will be very well cared-for and will get all the educational opportunities he desires.”

Gavin looked hopefully at Blaskewicz and Tenryu. The light cruiser turned to her fiancé questioningly.

Blaskewicz shrugged. “We’re already adopting four kids,” he grinned, “what’s one more?”

“Eddie!” Tenryu’s jaw dropped at how amenable Blaskewicz was to the whole situation.

The Supply Officer laughed. “Aw, come on, Ten…you seriously thought I’d mind? We’ve got the room, and plus, even without taking your sister and Kiso into account, Joji and I are gonna be seriously outnumbered in that house.”

“When outnumbered, it’s vital that men stick together,” Gavin muttered, causing Avers and Blaskewicz to choke back laughter. “Or so I’ve heard,” he finished when Tenryu turned to him in surprise, and even Rachel laughed.

“Whaddya say, Ten?” Blaskewicz asked.

The light cruiser in question smiled and shook her head. “Five kids and a horse-sized dog that thinks he’s a Chihuahua,” she muttered. “We definitely won’t get bored without Abyssals to fight.”

She suddenly found herself being hugged tightly by a happy Blaskewicz and a very thankful Gavin. Rachel, seeing the new family needed some time, promised to get back with them about the necessary paperwork and signed off, saying she would handle things with the police on her end.

After a few moments, the four returned downstairs. As they came down the stairs, DesDiv 6 looked up nervously, knowing that their return meant that Gavin’s situation had been handled for now and that the time for punishment for their stunt was at hand. To their surprise, Blaskewicz was smiling.

“Girls,” he called to them, “c’mon and greet the newest member of the family.” He and Tenryu soon found themselves tackle-glomped by three very excited destroyers.

Gavin, however, was being tightly hugged by the shipgirl who’d started it all by bringing him to the Blaskewicz home in the first place. He really didn’t know what to say to this; it was the most reaction he’d ever seen from her.

“Are you all right?” he asked Hibiki in Russian.

“Khorosho,” the little destroyer choked out, laying her head on her friend’s shoulder. Only the happy smile and the tears spilling from her closed eyes told how happy she was.

Chapter Text

The Airbus380 touched down at Atsugi Air Base shortly after 1030 hours Kure time.

“Welcome home, everyone!” Avers announced as the plane taxied over to the disembarkation point. As the door was opened and he looked out, he rolled his eyes upon noticing the small honor guard that had formed up at the bottom of the stairs. He knew that now, as a Fleet Admiral, he would have to get used to such things.

“Ahhh! Onee-sama!” a trio of eager voices began hollering as Kongo appeared beside him in the doorway; the fast battleship smiled broadly and waved happily as she saw her three sister ships. Waiting with them, Avers noticed as he came down the stairs, were Tatsuta, Kiso, and Admiral Robertson.

Avers saluted the honor guard as he walked down the stairs, then gave another salute to Colonel Tameichi Asano, Commander of Atsugi Air Base. He chatted briefly with the Colonel as the rest of the group disembarked from the plane, and then made his way over to Robertson, who also saluted him.

“Thanks for coming to meet us, Marcus,” he greeted his XO. “Although I didn’t expect an entire welcoming party. This is Melissa Caterman,” he introduced the editor who’d accompanied him over to greet Robertson. “She’s the new Public Affairs Rep for the fleet.”

Robertson greeted Caterman amiably, but he looked to have aged three years in the two weeks Avers had been gone. “Sir,” he began without preamble, “I hereby return command of the World Kanmusu Fleet to you.”

“Consider yourself relieved, Admiral,” Avers gave Robertson a nod. “Were you that eager to get back to your old job of XO?”

Robertson emitted a short laugh that – to Avers’ surprise – had an ever-so-slight tinge of mania to it.

“Let’s just say I understand why you needed a two-week vacation and leave it at that,” he replied.

“Has it been that crazy around here?” Avers asked.

“Professor Tanabe got on a summoning kick while you were away,” Robertson replied.

“Oh?” Avers asked, almost afraid to think of what might have happened. “He get any results?”

Robertson sighed before muttering, “Nineteen shipgirls in the last ten days.”

“NINETEEN?!” Avers gasped. “What the hell was he thinking summoning that many?!” He paused a moment to collect himself and sighed. What was done was done. “What nations and what kinds?”

“Two British, four American, five Italian, two German, and six Japanese,” Robertson replied, “Comprising one repair ship, five submarines, three armored cruisers, one light cruiser, one heavy cruiser, two aircraft carriers, and six battleships.”

“Have they settled in all right?” Avers asked another question he was uncertain he wanted to know the answer to.

Robertson laughed nervously. “As well as can be expected, sir. Some of their personalities are…quite unique.” He paused before asking, “How’d your visit back home go?”

Avers gave him a brief run-down, and Robertson was stunned by the time Avers finished.

“Incredible…so they’re basically ruined?”

Avers nodded. “Not that it matters…Mom’s catatonic from so many shocks in such a short amount of time, and I’ll never have to worry about him again.”

“Your Dad finally in jail for what he did to you?” Robertson asked.

Avers shook his head. “He’s dead…aortic aneurysm.”

“I’m sorry,” Robertson replied, and Avers shrugged.

“I’ve made my peace with it,” the Admiral stated. “Like I told him, if I want to know how to be a good father, I’ll just think of what he would do in whatever situation I find myself in, and then do the exact opposite.”

He glanced over to where Kongo was excitedly reuniting with her sisters. “That part of my life is closed for good now…it’s time to move forward, and the future looks very bright indeed.”

~~~

“Onee-sama!” Hiei, Haruna, and Kirishima tackle-glomped their returning sister ship, who hugged them back just as excitedly.

“I missed you all so much, Dess!” Kongo exclaimed. “I have so much to tell you about!”

“A lot has happened here as well, onee-sama,” Hiei replied. “So many new girls have shown up!”

“Oh?” A gleam of interest appeared in Kongo’s eyes. She noticed Haruna looking over her shoulder, turned, and saw the JASDF ground crew unloading an amount of baggage that was considerably more than what the group had departed with.

“Did you buy new luggage in America, onee-sama?” she asked.

Kongo shook her head. “Souvenirs, Dess!”

Her three sister ships squealed and clapped.

~~~

“So, you went there with four kids and came back with five?” Tatsuta raised an eyebrow at her sister ship, who grinned.

“Yep…we’re adding one more to the family.”

“Huh…” Tatsuta thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Whatever makes you happy, sis.” She turned to Gavin, who was watching all the reunions and looking somewhat lost. “Hey…Gavin, right?” The boy turned to her and nodded. “I’m Tatsuta and this is my girlfriend Kiso…I guess we’re your new aunts. Whenever you and the destroyers get to hang out with us, we’ll tank all five of you up on candy and soda, and then once you’re bouncing off the walls, we’ll hand you back to your parents. How’s that sound?”

“Very appealing,” a smile blossomed on Gavin’s face.

Tatsuta and Kiso grinned as Tenryu glowered at her sister.

~~~

Thirty minutes later, the group had returned to the naval base. Mancini and Ashigara went to see Ashigara’s sisters, while the Blaskewicz family headed off for their home and a reunion with Joji. Avers kissed Kongo and watched her go off to his quarters with her sisters, Caterman, and the mountain of souvenirs and other sundry items they’d purchased in the U.S. Thank God we had as big an aircraft as we did, he thought, otherwise there might’ve been a problem with all the additional luggage.

As the group passed the running track, Avers noticed Tone leading several other shipgirls in running laps. Shimakaze – as per usual when she ran – was far out ahead of the rest of the group…only this time there were three other girls with her. Not right behind, mind you, but keeping pace with her. All wore outfits similar to hers in different colors, and each had different hair color as well: one was a brunette, another was a redhead, and the third looked like she could’ve passed for Nagato’s younger, less-endowed sister.

“Did three of the Kageros get engine upgrades or something?” Avers asked Robertson, motioning to the speedy quartet. “No destroyer’s been able to keep pace with Shimakaze before.”

Robertson saw who Avers was looking at and suddenly looked very nervous.

“No…those aren’t Kageros,” he replied.

Avers could tell he was about to discover something else that had occurred while he was away.

“What aren’t you telling me, Marcus?” he asked.

Robertson sighed. “All four of them are Shimakaze-class ships.”

“That’s impossible,” Avers replied. “Shimakaze never had sisters…she was a one-off design.”

Robertson seemed to brace himself before replying. “That was before Yubari and Akashi decided to clone her some sister ships.”

Avers did a double take. “They did what?!”

His XO nodded. “The day after you all left was movie night.”

“And?” Avers asked. “Exactly what does that have to do with the fact that my repair ship and her girlfriend got it into their nutty little brains to play God?!”

Robertson heaved another big sigh before stating, “The film for that night was Jurassic Park.”

Avers broke into a run, heading straight for the repair docks. He seemed to reach them in no time and ran right into Akashi’s workshop. As he burst into the front area, he was surprised to find it empty; usually one or both of the shipgirls was huddling over some blueprints, waiting for one of their fellow shipgirls to come in with some sort of project or another. The fact that the office was empty was somewhat disconcerting.

Another door to the outside opened, and a shipgirl stepped inside. While most kanmusu looked to be in their early teens to mid-thirties, this shipgirl looked to be in her early forties. But like all kanmusu she was very attractive, almost reminding Avers of a shipgirl version of Julia Roberts.

“Help you?” she asked, nonchalantly pulling out a pipe and lighting it.

It took Avers a moment to answer, for it was the first time he’d ever seen a shipgirl smoke. The woman noticed his surprise and thought for a moment as to the source of his confusion, then it clicked.

“Oh…I used to be a collier,” she stated. “I’m repair ship U.S.S. Vestal.”

Avers introduced himself and the two shook hands.

“So, the group going to America will have their own repair ship…that’s good,” the Admiral mused.

“Yeah, I’ve been reading up on all the technical stuff that’s been written about us thus far,” Vestal replied. “A lot of it’s authored by Akashi, so I’ve got the author right here to ask questions if I didn’t quite get what she was talking about.”

“Speaking of Akashi, where is she?” Avers glanced around.

A muffled moan, followed by a round of giggles, sounded from the back room. The Admiral reddened under his uniform collar; he had a pretty good idea of what was going on behind closed doors but had absolutely no interest in confirming his suspicions.

Vestal rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Oh, for cryin’ out loud,” she muttered, rising from her seat.

Avers smacked his hand down on the counter loudly several times to gain the attention of the two shipgirls in the back, while Vestal employed the more direct approach of banging on the door.

“One sec!” Akashi’s voice called out.

A couple minutes went by before the Dynamic Duo emerged from the back. Yubari’s top was crooked, and she was blushing, while Akashi’s hair was badly tousled, and she had a wide grin on her face. Both also had suspicious-looking marks on their necks. When the two shipgirls saw who was waiting for them, they both smiled happily.

“Welcome home, Admiral!” Yubari exclaimed. “Everyone around here missed you like crazy!”

“Yeah, it was waaayyy too quiet with Kongo and DesDiv 6 gone,” Akashi put in. “What’s up?”

“I was just informed that our fastest destroyer now has siblings,” Avers replied. “Care to fill me in on exactly how this came about?”

“Don’t look at me,” Vestal replied as she headed out of the room, sensing she wasn’t really needed for this conversation. “All that went down before I was summoned.”

“No problem, sir,” Yubari replied breezily. “All it took was 600 units of Special Treatment steel, 90 units of Bauxite, 90 units of ammunition, 750 units of fuel, three industrial-grade 3D automated forges, a gene sequencer, one Cray supercomputer, and a thematic flux capacitor.”

“Throw in a single strand of Shimakaze’s hair, which provided the blueprint to base their bodies off and poof…three sister ships for our fastest destroyer!” Akashi added, smiling happily.

“Three 3D automated forges…a gene sequencer…a Cray supercomputer…do I want to know how much this little project ended up costing this fleet?” Avers asked.

“Probably not,” Akashi advised.

“Yeah, we heard Oyodo had a meltdown over it,” Yubari put in.

Avers resisted the urge to bang his head off the counter. “Just promise me that’s the end of your venture into the world of genetics…I don’t want to find the two of you cloning Raptors in your spare time.”

“Nah, we’re finished…we took the machine apart once the girls were done,” Akashi assured him.

“Iku was kinda pissed when we told her we couldn’t make her and Aiya their own harem of Emma Watson clones, but that’s about the only problems we had with the whole thing,” Yubari commented.

Avers allowed himself a small smile as images of a certain night in New York that flooded his head with that statement; the memory of Kongo straddling his lap in their hotel suite while wearing a several-sizes-too-small Hogwarts outfit and the beyond-carnal night that followed would be a memory that stayed with him vividly even if he lived to be a hundred or more.

He shook his head and turned his attention back to the two ‘Mad Scientists’. “And you’re certain there’s nothing wrong with these girls? I’d hate to have something suddenly happen to them.”

“Don’t worry,” Akashi soothed. “We ran like a thousand tests on each of them before we even let them out of the shop…Kiyokaze, Satokaze, and Murakaze are as healthy as any other shipgirl out there.”

Avers let out a huge sigh before nodding. “All right…I’ll consider the matter closed.” He headed for the door but stopped before leaving. “The experiment you did was beyond insane, but result was worth it. She’s not alone anymore.” He smiled. “You did good, Mad Scientists…you did good.”

The two shipgirls smiled widely at their Admiral as he left. When the door shut, Akashi turned to her girlfriend. “You know…that experiment got me thinking. I’m just wondering, did you ever want a sister ship? I mean, we could probably clone you a couple if you wanted.”

Yubari thought for a moment then shook her head, smiling. “Nah, I don’t need sisters because I’m not alone.”

Akashi blinked in surprise. “But you’re the only ship of your class, just like me.”

Yubari nodded. “True, but we’re not alone.” She wrapped her arms around Akashi’s waist. “We’ve got each other.”

The kiss she received in reply to that statement was all the confirmation she needed.

~~~

An hour later Avers was sitting behind his desk for the first time in two weeks. He’d just got done with his second meeting of the day; the first had been when Mikasa brought three of the new Japanese summons over; armored cruisers Yakumo, Izumo, and Iwate were now teachers alongside the four Myokos and the two Katori sisters.

The visit that had just ended had seen Bismarck and Prinz Eugen departing with their new ‘bodyguard’ U-556. Robertson had informed Avers that upon her summoning the U-Boat had immediately sought out Bismarck in her quarters and upon laying eyes on her had proceeded to have a meltdown of epic proportions. Akagi’s remorse for her actions at Pearl Harbor paled in comparison to the blonde-haired submarine girl glomping Bismarck and howling how sorry she was that she’d been unable to keep the ‘agreement’ Kapitan zür See Lindemann and Kapitänleutnant Wohlfarth had drawn up between them in 1941.

Neither Bismarck nor Prinz Eugen could get a word in edgewise until the girl had cried herself into an exhausted sleep. When she awoke, the battleship had been quick to speak up, hugging the submarine and repeatedly telling her she by no means held her responsible for what had happened back then. While U-556 appeared slightly mollified by this, she’d informed Bismarck that she’d decided to act as the battleship’s ‘bodyguard’ until further notice. When Bismarck protested, the submarine proceeded to offer herself as a concubine instead. While Bismarck sputtered incoherently – a rare sight indeed for anyone who knew the battleship – Prinz Eugen promptly vetoed the idea, informing U-556 that she – meaning Prinz Eugen – would be the only one who got to ‘guard’ Bismarck’s body in that manner. So, the submarine had decided to follow Bismarck and Prinz Eugen around, acting as a go-between for anyone who wished to speak to either of them.

“That was probably the most awkward visit I’ve ever had in my time here,” Avers replied. “You said Germany got one more shipgirl while I was gone?”

Robertson nodded. “Another submarine, but I have no idea where she is.”

“Speaking of Germany, Admiral,” Nagato interrupted, “the Bundesmarine was sending a liaison officer to meet the German shipgirls and send a report back to Admiral Oels. He was scheduled to arrive this afternoon, but we haven’t heard anything.”

“Flights from Europe are often delayed,” Avers replied. “I’m sure he’ll turn up eventually.”

~~~

Kapitänleutnant Adolf Prien of the Bundesmarine was lost…completely and utterly lost. Why Admiral Oels had sent him of all people to Japan when he didn’t even speak the language was beyond him. Perhaps it was his name, although he tried to minimize the connection. Yes, his great-great uncle had been a legendary U-Boat skipper whose loss had been a huge blow to German wartime morale, but he wanted to make his own career, not ride on the coattails of his long-dead relative!

He’d managed to get from where the plane had left him at Atsugi Air Base to the ferry that took him to Eta Jima, but getting to the naval base when there was no translator to be had – oh, to have been in possession of one of those gadgets from Star Trek that translated any language in the universe! – had been exceedingly difficult. There had been no car waiting for him and he had absolutely no idea how to ask if there was one available. Visions of a scene from the film Rush Hour 2 came to mind; Prien could only imagine what his sub-primitive Japanese would end up saying if he tried to ask someone for a ride. When combined with the vast time difference and the fact he’d been on a very uncomfortable military transport plane for most of the last forty-eight hours, he didn’t know whether to burst into tears or simply start looking in doorways until he found a bar.

However, his optimistic nature told him that all was not lost; at least he was now inside the naval base itself. He strolled along, looking quite out-of-place in his Bundesmarine blue uniform, his laptop case over one shoulder and pulling a rolling suitcase behind him.

“You look lost, Herr Kaleun,” a feminine voice called out to him in German.

Prien turned to face the source, extremely thankful that he’d somehow happened upon one of the German shipgirls – oh.

Oh my.

The vision coming towards him was sex personified: long, flowing blonde hair like a Norse goddess, beyond-perfect body, petite frame – she was five-six if she was that tall - and deep blue eyes that seemed innocent, but contained a gleam in them that said she was anything but. A U-Boat captain’s white cap was perched atop her silky-looking hair, while her perfect body was encased in a U-Boat commander’s leather jacket, which was unzipped halfway to reveal a set of very perky breasts covered by a feldgrau bikini top with red and white markings. Below the waist, all she wore was tennis shoes, socks, and a pair of very-skimpy string bikini bottoms that matched the partially hidden top, putting on full display a set of legs that seemed to go on forever as well as probably the most incredible…stern…Prien had ever seen in his life.

Put all these things together and you got one of those girls who was perfectly legal to do depraved and very naughty things to and with, but a girl who looked at least five years younger than she actually was. Encounters like these, as Prien vaguely recalled from the stories he’d heard in his Volkschüle years, usually began with the phrase ‘Don’t tell your parents / older brother…’ or ‘Dear Penthouse…’

Prien forced all thoughts of that nature out of his mind; no matter how positively delectable this girl looked – and he honestly didn’t think words existed to describe her particular level of delectable – he was first and foremost an officer and a gentleman. He smiled and came to attention.

“I do believe I am, miss,” he replied in English. “Bundesmarine Kapitänleutnant Adolf Prien, at your service.”

The girl froze upon hearing his name. “P-Prien?” she stammered, switching to English as well. “Any relation to –”

Prien sighed inwardly. Even all the way in Japan he couldn’t escape someone knowing the notoriety of his name. He smiled tolerantly.

“Yes, same family…Günther Prien was my great-great uncle.”

The emotional expression on the girl’s face morphed into a smirk that was downright sinful, and Prien ignored his natural male response to drop to his knees and thank God that he was the one she was bestowing said look on.

“How very interesting,” the girl purred, and pulled open the front of her jacket to better reveal her bikini top and what was written on it in white lettering:

U-47

Prien had never been so thankful for his famous distant relative.

~~~

A knock at the door caused Avers to look up from a supply report that Oyodo had compiled while he’d been away. The Admiral was actually thankful for the distraction; the food consumption rate of whatever battleships had been summoned had stretched the supply bureau almost to its limit, but now that said shipgirls had gotten accustomed to eating things were slowly starting to even out. He signed off on the various requisitions, including three small, unsigned notes written by three different individuals:

Cookie dough ice cream – NOM!

Buffalo wings are life.

More Starburst FaveReds, yes?

“Enter,” he invited the person on the outside, and the door opened to reveal the first shipboy Avers had ever seen in his life. Said individual was of moderate height, had black hair, and was wearing a tan suit with a black shirt and red tie. He walked in and glanced rapidly around the room as two more shipboys entered: a taller boy with a stockier build, and a muscular individual whose dimensions made NFL defensive lineman Vince Wilfork look scrawny. This individual took a look around the room for himself before nodding to Avers in greeting and looking out into the hall.

“’S okay, Boss,” he said, before moving aside to allow another individual to enter.

This shipboy could’ve been a clone for a 1920s mobster, right down to the spats on his shoes, large coat draped over his shoulders, and slicked-back hair under a fedora that complimented his very-expensive looking black pinstripe suit. He smiled genially at Avers.

“Our Admiral retoins,” he spoke in a heavy Brooklyn accent, before glancing at his two companions. “Boys, leave us show the Admiral the respect due his rank.”

Avers watched, surprised, as the three shipboys bowed deeply from the waist. The speaker merely inclined his head; as the apparent leader of the group, he seemed to think that was enough of a gesture from him.

“Allow me to introduce myself, sir,” he stated. “I’m Vittorio Veneto of the Littorio family, also known as Don Vittorio. My friends call me Don Vito. These are my associates, Francesco Caracciolo,” he indicated the large shipboy, “Sonny Bolzano,” he motioned to the stockier shipboy, “and Eugenio di Savoia,” he indicated the shorter individual. “We wanted to come by and introduce ourselves and let you know that we’re available should you need our assistance with any Abyssal matters.”

“That’s good to know,” Avers didn’t know what else to say.

“It would appear that most of the world’s major nations are getting ship-persons now,” Vittorio Veneto mused. “About the only ones left out are the French people and those crazy Soviets.”

“Actually, boss,” Francesco Caracciolo amended, “they’re not Soviets anymore…they’re a group of federated socialist republics.” He looked quite pleased at knowing such big words and Avers got the impression that the battleship was the brawns of the operation, not the brains.

“Don’t make me hoit you, Frankie,” his ‘boss’ muttered. The Italian battleship looked like he was about to say something else, but a cellphone blaring That’s Amore by Dean Martin went off. Eugenio di Savoia pulled the phone out of his pocket and answered it.

“Yeah?” He listened to what the person on the other end of the line was saying. “Ok,” he replied, and hung up before addressing his friends. “Ma wants us back at the restaurant…she needs help preparin’ for the dinner rush.”

“Boys,” Vittorio Veneto ordered, snapping his fingers, and the two cruisers and Francesco Caracciolo headed for the door. Vittorio Veneto turned back to Avers and nodded.

“Forgive our sudden departure, Admiral, but family calls. We’ll be seein’ ya.” He walked out the door that his fellow battleship was holding open for him.

“I thought the visit with U-556 was strange, but this one blew it out of the water,” Avers stated after a brief moment of silence.

“Uh-oh…” Niyodo’s nervous voice abruptly changed the subject. Avers glanced over at the light cruiser to see her writing a message down and looking more and more concerned as she did so.

“What now?” he asked.

“I just received a message from Ark Royal, one of the two British carriers Professor Tanabe summoned,” Niyodo replied. “She’s currently out on the target range and reports sighting German warships. She’s proceeding to attack.”

“Weren’t all the new summons informed that the war’s been over for many decades?” Avers asked, and Nagato nodded.

“Yes, Admiral,” the battleship replied. “Some, however, have been more difficult to convince of this than others.”

“And let me guess: Ark Royal’s one of them?” Avers stated, and his Chief-of-Staff nodded again. The Admiral rolled his eyes. “And the other British carrier is with her?”

“Victorious,” Mutsu confirmed, “but despite having served longer, she’s not very assertive when it comes to saying things like, ‘The Germans are our allies now…don’t attack them with air strikes’.”

“It’s gonna be especially hard to convince her of that today,” Niyodo mused, “since the German ships she sighted are old friends of hers…”

~~~

Prinz Eugen smiled happily as she and Bismarck steamed through the target range, playfully attempting to outdo each other at marksmanship. They weren’t bothering with range-marking – as Bismarck’s guns had a much greater reach than those of her cruiser consort’s – merely trying to see who could hit more targets.

It had been a nice date thus far, and Prinz Eugen was loath to have anything spoil it; no one else was currently using the target range, and U-556 was off in the distance, giving the couple some time alone while at the same time staying nearby to provide ‘protection’. Hence, the German cruiser wasn’t too happy when the couple sighted Graf Zeppelin heading towards them at flank speed, Aquila, Lebe, and Max hot on her heels. U-556, seeing there might be a problem, also headed over.

“What is it?” Prinz Eugen demanded, returning Graf’s salute that – as the cruiser was the senior-ranking German warship – was a mark of respect from the carrier.

“We were practicing flight ops nearby when my radar detected a large group of aircraft inbound to your position from the west,” Graf replied. “Preliminary IFF indicated Swordfish and Fulmars!”

A faraway look appeared in Bismarck’s eyes. “Swordfish?” she whispered. Prinz Eugen looked stricken; she knew what the mere mention of that type of aircraft did to her girlfriend. The two destroyers quivered nervously; having been sunk before Bismarck had even been commissioned, they’d heard from Prinz Eugen the saga of what had happened during those ten days in May 1941 and knew without a doubt they didn’t want to experience it firsthand.

“No!” U-556 whispered and dove deep without anyone noticing she was gone. She headed west at her best submerged speed; the indignities of May 1941 would not happen again!

“Graf, I thought the British knew we were their allies now,” Aquila spoke up.

“Apparently one of the carriers refused to believe it,” Graf Zeppelin muttered.

Prinz Eugen shook herself from her worry over Bismarck. “Oh, we are SO not doing this,” she growled. “Let’s combine our groups together for support. Graf, Aquila, give us some fighter cover…the British aircraft are going to be surprised when they get here! Once the attack is over, prepare to launch every aircraft you have in order to follow the survivors back to their carriers! They want a fight, they’ve got one!”

“Jäwohl, Prinz!” Graf Zeppelin replied, and both she and Aquila turned into the wind.

Bismarck turned to her cruiser girlfriend, having been jarred out of her flashback by Prinz taking command. She steamed over to Prinz Eugen and wrapped her arms around her from behind.

“I have to say,” she purred in the heavy cruiser’s ear, “that seeing you take charge was quite…stimulating. Perhaps once we return to our quarters, I could show you in detail how much it affected me.” She punctuated her statement with a nip to Prinz Eugen’s earlobe – earning a whimper in response – before steaming back to formation, giving her girlfriend a promise-filled look over her shoulder.

Within minutes, the skies over the German ships had no less than thirty Messerschmitt Bf109-Ts and Reggiane Re.2001s circling as a combat air patrol. The German shipgirls kept their eyes on the sky as well, both pilots and shipgirls spoiling for a fight.

They would not have long to wait.

~~~

Just over the horizon, Ark Royal and Victorious steamed along, a thrill of excitement running through the former’s veins. A Swordfish that had been sent up on observation training had frantically reported a pair of German shipgirls on the gunnery range…Bismarck and Prinz Eugen, no less! Sure, Ark knew the war had been over for decades now, but there was no rule stating she couldn’t give her old foes one helluva scare! Vicky was initially reluctant, but Ark managed to convince her to put up half of a large group of practice aircraft and launch them towards the unsuspecting Germans.

“Wish I could be closer, just so I could catch a glimpse of the look on ol’ Biscuit’s face!” Ark giggled. “For her it’ll be May 1941 all over again!”

“I still say this is cruel,” Victorious muttered. “Tormenting another shipgirl about her sinking is not my idea of fun.”

“Aw, come off it, Vicky…Jerries are fun to mess with!” Ark admonished her fleet mate. “They’re so straitlaced and serious most of the time, it’s good to rile ‘em up every once in a while!”

“If you say so,” Victorious rolled her eyes.

“We should be hearing from the strike leader any minute now…” Ark Royal’s gaze turned to the horizon, eagerly awaiting the first reports of chaos.

~~~

U-556 swam through the water as fast as her engines would take her. She had to find the British carriers before something horrible happened to Bismarck and / or Prinz Eugen. Normally, she would only be concerned with the battleship, but as Bismarck was now in a serious, committed relationship with her 1941 consort, U-556 figured she’d better watch out for Prinz as well; if the cruiser were hurt or sunk, Bismarck would be inconsolable, and an upset Bismarck was not something the submarine could live with.

She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn’t even see the obstacle in her path, so when she bounced off a hard form, it came as quite a surprise. Regaining her stability, she slung her wet hair back from her face and turned to see exactly what she’d hit.

…and promptly started drooling.

He was an Adonis…something straight out of one of the Old West romance novels that Jintsu girl had let her borrow. Long black hair, deeply tanned skin, and a very-toned body. Dark eyes that seemed to see into her very soul stared back at her, startled.

“Uuuhh…” the German submarine trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words.

~~~

Submarine U.S.S. Wahoo, SS-238, was enjoying his first few days after being summoned. It was somewhat disconcerting enjoying the hospitality of the nation that had been responsible for his sinking all those years ago, and he was stationed not too far from where he’d met his end, incidentally. Rather unnerving was the fact that the majority of the shipgirls he’d met had taken one look at him and begun giggling mindlessly. He’d looked at himself in the mirror and couldn’t figure it out…what was it about him that caused everyone to get a case of the giggles?

And now it appeared that one of his fellow submarines had been knocked senseless when she collided with him. It certainly wasn’t proving to be his week.

“Are you all right, fellow submarine?” he asked.

Startled deep blue eyes looked up at him from beneath light brown bangs.

“I-I’m fine…” the girl trailed off, but she then appeared to remember what she’d been doing, for her sense of urgency returned full-force.

“I need your help!” she begged frantically. “My friend Bismarck is being attacked by British carriers! Please go to the submarine pens and get my friend U-47…tell her U-556 needs her help in stopping the British fleet from repeating May 1941!”

Wahoo struggled to remember the exact message and nodded once he was sure he had it down correctly in his head.

“Very well, U-556…I will tell her exactly that.”

“Thank you!” the German submarine swam off in a westerly direction.

Wahoo shook his head and thanked the Creator as he headed for the submarine pens. At least this shipgirl hadn’t giggled when he spoke to her…maybe things were looking up.

~~~

It turned out to be a disaster.

Ark Royal watched in stunned silence as the surviving aircraft – three Swordfish and four escorting Fulmars – broke off to form up and land on their respective flight decks: one Swordfish and two Fulmars for her, and two Swordfish and two Fulmars for Vicky.

“Seven aircraft out of thirty-six sent out, and no damage to the targets. German aerial and gunnery skills at their finest,” Victorious bit off, glowering towards her companion. “I trust you’re satisfied.”

“How did they get fighter protection? From German and Italian aircraft, no less?” Ark Royal wondered.

Victorious scoffed. “Apparently those two carriers Germany and Italy were building during the war came back too, only this time they’ve been completed, and they just happened to be on the gunnery range and came to help. Now come on, let’s head for shore…I don’t want to give them the opportunity to retaliate.”

Ark Royal sighed. With their seven aircraft now aboard, there appeared to be no reason to stick around.

~~~

U-556 sensed propeller noises in the water and poked her periscope up to investigate. Her jaw dropped as she beheld two unescorted British fleet carriers, one Ark Royal-class and the other Illustrious-class. They appeared to be in the middle of recovering what must have been the survivors of the air strike on Bismarck and the others. It looks like our antiaircraft guns and fighters proved to be a nasty surprise, the U-Boat grinned to herself. I’ll give them another one…this is for May 1941!

She launched two practice torpedoes at each carrier.

~~~

The two British carriers were just about to turn for home when Victorious noticed bubbles in the water…bubbles that were headed straight for both her and her companion.

“LOOK OUT, ARK!” she yelled, but it was too late.

Two practice torpedoes slammed into Ark Royal’s port side, drenching her in red paint.

“NOT AGAIN!!! I HATE THOSE BLOODY U-BOATS!!!” the British carrier howled.

Victorious managed to turn and avoid one of the torpedoes aimed at her, but the second caught her in the bow. She too got doused in red paint.

“Well, doesn’t this just top off the day,” she muttered darkly. “First, I get dragged into a prank wherein I lose a major chunk of my practice aircraft, and now a bloody U-Boat decides to use me for target practice.” She turned and glowered at the bedraggled Ark Royal. “From now on out, Arkie, I’m in charge when we go out, got it? That way there will be no more attacks on our former foes!”

“But –” Ark Royal began to protest, but Victorious cut her off.

“That is an order, Leading Seaman, from a Left-tenant Commander…do I make myself clear?” she barked, using the ranks they had been awarded upon being summoned.

“Aye-aye, ma’am!” Ark Royal growled, not bothering to salute. Under the circumstances, Victorious let the indiscretion slide.

Suddenly, a radar report caused her to glance off to the east. “Six surface contacts approaching from the east at twenty-seven knots! Closing fast!”

“Bloody hell!” Ark Royal swore and reached back for an arrow.

“No!” Victorious growled. “Our aircraft are useless now…they’re exhausted! Let’s just make for shore as best we can!”

The noise of an airplane engine caused the carriers to glance skyward. An Arado Ar234 cruised lazily overhead, keeping tabs on the two carriers. With the brilliant red paint trails the two flattops were leaving, they stood out like a sore thumb on the ocean’s surface.

Ark Royal let out a roar of frustration and fired her antiaircraft guns skyward. The Arado merely dodged the resulting flak bursts, seeming to thumb its nose at the British carriers.

“Ruddy floatplanes!” Ark Royal growled.

To their surprise, a Bf109-T joined the floatplane, and its pilot appeared none too pleased another German was shadowing the British shipgirls.

“Might there be dissention in the ranks?” Victorious mused, grinning.

“Who cares?” Ark Royal shrugged. “Now’s our chance to escape prying eyes…let’s go!”

For once, Victorious conceded her more-impetuous companion had a point.

~~~

“Another aircraft’s already shadowing them?” Prinz Eugen looked at Graf in surprise. “Whose and what type?”

“From my pilot’s observations, it’s an Arado 234.”

“Must be Deutschland or one of her sisters,” Bismarck mused. “They’re the only German ships not with us.”

“Wait…another group of ships is approaching the British from the west!” Prinz Eugen stated. “My radar just picked them up!”

“Shall we make course to intercept?” Graf inquired, her, Aquila, and the destroyers ready to turn at a moment’s notice.

“Nein!” Prinz Eugen ordered. “Pursue the British carriers! They’re our objective! We can find out who the unknown ships are later!”

But as they soon discovered, there was no need to wonder, for the unknown ships had apparently picked them up on radar and altered course towards them.

“The unknowns are moving to intercept us!” Prinz Eugen informed the rest of the group. “Graf, Aquila, stand by to launch a strike. The rest of you, prepare for surface combat!”

“Surely they’re not Abyssals…” Bismarck trailed off uncertainly.

“We’re taking no chances!” Prinz Eugen replied. “Target largest ship…stand by to open fire! Destroyers, battle stations torpedo!”

“Jäwohl!” Lebe and Max replied.

“Awaiting visual confirmation of IFF!” Prinz Eugen’s eyes – as well as those of the other shipgirls – were glued to the western horizon.

And then, as they watched, familiar structures began appearing. Bridge towers of two Admiral Hipper-class cruisers…two Leberecht Maass-class destroyers in the lead, a carrier with a superstructure identical to Graf’s…and a Bismarck-class battleship decked out in winter 1942 camouflage.

“Is that…?” Bismarck gasped, a happy smile spreading over her face.

“Cancel combat!” Prinz Eugen ordered, flashing a smile of her own. “They’re family!”

“Sister!” came a voice Bismarck remembered hearing only briefly in early 1941…that brief six-hour window where the pair operated together in the North Sea, Prinz bursting with pride as she escorted the two of them.

And then Prinz and Bismarck departed for Poland, never to return to Germany. But now, they would operate together…share in the triumphs they were meant to share all those years ago.

The silver-haired shipgirl steamed over to Bismarck and embraced her, both in tears at seeing one another again.

“When were you summoned?” Bismarck asked excitedly.

“Only two hours ago!” Tirpitz smiled. “Deutschland informed us where you were, so we formed up and headed out to find you. I do have one question, though,” the battleship trailed off, looking uncertain. “When did Scheer and Spee become kinky, prank-loving nut jobs?”

“It’s a long story,” Bismarck replied. “And we’ve got all the time in the world for you to hear about it.”

Tirpitz nodded. “As you can see, I brought some friends along.” The two battleships turned to look at the rest of the fleet, where Lebe and Max were jabbering excitedly to their newly summoned sisters, Z-2 Georg Thiele and Z-4 Richard Beitzen, and Prinz Eugen was clinging to Admiral Hipper and Blucher as though she were terrified that they were merely apparitions and would disappear if she let them go.

“Who are they?” Bismarck indicated the two individuals standing off alone, looking somewhat out of place.

“Oh!” Tirpitz smacked her forehead as if to remind her about something. “Come and meet them…they were a surprise to us as well!” She pulled her sister ship over to the two loners and indicated the tall blonde girl.

“Hinde, this my sister, the famous Bismarck!” Tirpitz babbled excitedly. “Sister, this is our successor!”

“Successor…?” Bismarck trailed off, confused.

The tall blonde smiled. “Battleship Hindenburg, hull number H-39…it’s an honor to meet you, Bismarck.”

“I remember hearing about the H-class in passing once,” Graf Zeppelin stated, her and Aquila having joined the group unnoticed. “They would’ve been powerful ships had Hitler waited until 1948 to have them completed before attacking Poland.” She looked at the other individual standing beside Hindenburg. “I feel as though I should know you, but at the same time I know this is the first time we’ve met.”

Said individual was a dark-haired young man wearing a Hochseeflotte uniform with Kapitänleutnant’s sleeve insignia. He nodded in response to Graf’s question, and smiled a movie-star smile upon seeing Aquila looking nervous as though Graf was going to leave her for him.

“You have nothing to worry about, madam,” he responded with a slight German accent to his voice. “The reason she and I seem drawn to each other is we would’ve been in the same class, had we both been completed.” He turned to Graf Zeppelin and extended his hand. “Flugzeugträger Peter Strasser, at your service.”

“I have a brother?” Graf dazedly shook Strasser’s hand; of all the German summons she expected to meet, the planned-only second ship of her class was by no means one of them.

~~~

Wahoo knocked on the door of U-47’s quarters, but almost immediately realized he was not going to get the German submarine’s help; by the very loud and ecstatic way U-47 yelled she was coming, the American submarine knew she didn’t mean she was approaching the door.

He sighed and headed outside again. Perhaps, after informing U-556 help would not be forthcoming, he could find a quiet little spot under a tree somewhere and meditate for a while. Communing with the Great Spirits always made him feel at peace, and he certainly needed that when dealing with the current of insanity that seemed to prevail at the naval base.

~~~

Ark Royal laughed as she and Victorious approached the dock. It had been almost certain that the German ships were going to catch them, but then another group of ships approaching from the west had caused their pursuers to stop dead in the water and the two groups had begun to mingle together. Whatever type of ships the new ones were, the British carriers were thankful they’d managed to halt the Germans from pursuing them further.

“Ha! Told you we’d make it, didn’t I, Vicky?” Ark Royal laughed.

“Yes, you did,” Victorious replied. “So, I’ll be gracious enough to admit it: I was wr –”

The shriek of incoming shells cut her off mid-word, and seconds later splashes from practice shells exploded around them.

“WHAT THE BLOODY HELL?!” Ark Royal screamed. “How’d the Jerries get ahead of us?!”

The two British shipgirls slowly came to a stop as they struggled to comprehend the situation.

“Those three pocket battleships…it has to be them!” Victorious stated. “Or two of them, at any rate! My radar shows only two contacts!”

~~~

Near the docks, a pair of shipgirls watched in satisfaction as their shells bracketed the bedraggled, exhausted, paint-soaked British carriers. Apparently, Bismarck and the others had done a number on them when the Brits deigned to fake-attack them…wünderbar!

“Excellent shooting, sister,” one grinned. “It would appear our gunnery skills have not diminished over the years.”

“Agreed, meine leibchen,” her companion replied, before waving cheekily at the two approaching carriers, both of whom immediately recognized the German ships.

“SALMON AND GLUCKSTEIN!” one of them roared, enraged, stopping inches away from them. The other carrier merely stopped and looked as though she wanted a shower and a very large, very strong drink.

Scharnhorst and Gneisenau grinned and aimed their six eleven-inch gun turrets at the two British girls. “Boom,” they chorused. “You’re sunk.”

Chapter Text

Avers walked purposefully towards the docks, where he had a feeling that he’d be viewing the aftermath of the encounter between the British carriers and the German shipgirls. However, his progress kept being delayed; first it was due to destroyer Isokaze, who proudly introduced battleship Impero, whose chosen outfit seemed to be that of a Roman general – complete with long sword and fancy gold helmet with red fringe – as the newest leader in the Army of the Round Table. Avers decided to deal with later the look of utter devotion the Italian battleship was bestowing upon the Japanese destroyer; apparently both the male Littorios were crazy as loons.

The second halt was due to an absolutely ecstatic and very emotional Titanic, who was hugging a smaller liner like she was a Hoppo-level-adorable teddy bear. It was only when Olympic and Britannic caught up to them did Avers find out that Titanic’s new cuddle buddy was her would-have-been rescuer RMS Carpathia. The small Cunarder didn’t appear annoyed by the way the much-larger liner refused to let her go, more dazed than anything else, as if she were still trying to absorb everything that had happened in the three hours since she’d been summoned.

Now, as he finally approached the docks, he could see a crowd had gathered. He saw the German shipgirls standing off to one side – although there appeared to be quite a few more of them than he remembered – and two paint-covered individuals being given a dressing-down by Warspite, who, with her honorary rank of Captain, was the highest-ranking of the British shipgirls. Standing off to the side, close enough to the German shipgirls so that Avers guessed they too were Germans, were another pair of shipgirls, so similar they were obviously sister ships. They were listening to Warspite dressing-down the two British carriers and were looking very pleased with themselves.

As Warspite looked to be on a roll and didn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon Avers wandered over to the German shipgirls, who came to attention and saluted.

“All right,” he announced, returning Prinz Eugen’s salute, “Let’s have it.”

The German cruiser gave a brief accounting of the incident and Avers quickly saw the Germans were by no means at fault; the two British carriers started it and were soundly thrashed in return. As Bismarck finished up, U-556 broke in, quite emotional, stating the incident had allowed her to redeem herself and that she no longer needed to be Bismarck and Prinz Eugen’s self-appointed bodyguard, something the two surface ships appeared very thankful to hear.

Avers was then introduced to the numerous new German ships; he knew Blaskewicz would have a fit over the additional expenditure of supplies per month that came with summoning two battleships, another carrier, two battle cruisers, two heavy cruisers, and two destroyers, but the German ships all appeared so happy to see one another again he couldn’t say a word against them. Bismarck and Tirpitz appeared quite eager to operate with one another and seemed to automatically include Hindenburg in their plans. Gneisenau seemed to be a smaller version of Mutsu; the battle cruiser exhibited a lot of Mutsu’s seductive and playful qualities, but whereas Nagato always appeared flustered by her sister ship’s seductive teasing or when Mutsu got the better of her, Scharnhorst soaked up her sister’s flirtatious attention like a sponge and appeared to be quite willing to give as good as she got.

Avers walked over to where Warspite appeared to finally be winding down.

“Warspite, I see you’ve got things well in hand,” he greeted the British group, returning their salutes as he did so, “so I don’t really see the need for me to get involved.” He turned to a sullen Ark Royal and an embarrassed Victorious. “I trust the two of you learned your lesson?”

“But –” Ark Royal attempted to justify her actions.

“Seaman!” Warspite sharply cut her off before she could even begin, and after a brief pause the carrier sighed and gave a brief nod. The battleship appeared satisfied and turned to Avers with a smile.

The Admiral nodded and addressed the group. “All right, folks…show’s over!” he announced, even as the British battle cruisers strolled up. Hood – much to her aggravation – appeared to be acting as a buffer between Repulse and Renown, who, as usual, were bickering about Repulse’s uncouth mannerisms and Renown’s constant attempts to remedy them. Just another day at the naval base.

~~~

Professor Tanabe was ready to tear his hair out by the roots. All he’d been doing was watching some soccer on the small television he had in the summoning chamber, and now he had two Argentinian, one Chilean, two Brazilian, and three Spanish shipgirls almost at blows with each other due to their respective countries’ near-fanatical enthusiasm for the sport.

“Please, please! Let’s not fight over this, ladies!” Sao Paulo admonished the other girls in the summoning chamber. “It’s a proven fact that Brazil is the King of Soccer, and all our lives would be made that much easier if the rest of you would simply acknowledge that fact.”

Her sister ship, Minas Gerais, smiled and nodded as though everything she was saying was gospel.

“Excuse me?” España snapped. “Would you care to repeat that, chica? Don’t call Brazil the ‘King of Soccer’ when you couldn’t even win the World Cup both times it was held in your own country!”

The two Brazilian battleships gasped as if dealt a mortal insult.

“I hate to play what they call the ‘devil’s advocate’ here,” Rivadavia spoke up, “but our Spanish compatriot does have a point.”

“Si,” Moreno agreed. “Letting another country win on your home turf really isn’t something you should brag about.”

“Agreed,” Almirante Latorre put in as the Brazilians sputtered indignantly, “Even though Brazil did have Pelé.”

“Big deal!” Alfonso XIII brushed the Chilean battleship’s input aside. “When was the last time he was on a soccer field? The 1970s?” Her sister ship Jaime I nodded in agreement.

Professor Tanabe watched as the argument devolved into spiels of cutting, rapid-fire Spanish that he probably didn’t want to know the translations of. He didn’t really know what to do. Nor, apparently, did the fourth Spanish shipgirl, heavy cruiser Canarias, who was standing off to the side shaking her head in embarrassment.

It was then that the professor remembered that he’d summoned eleven French shipgirls shortly before turning on the soccer match…and said French shipgirls were nowhere to be seen now.

One thing was for certain: the Admiral wasn’t going to like this one bit.

~~~

Shimakaze flopped down on the grass with her three sisters and their sets of Rensouhou-chans.

“Call this one a draw?” she asked, scarcely able to believe she’d uttered those words. She adored her sisters and couldn’t thank Yubari and Akashi enough for creating them.

Her sisters nodded and lay down beside her, each murmuring happily. Life was good.

“Pardonéz-moi, but would you care to race?” a voice with a French accent inquired. Shimakaze’s head shot up.

Standing before them were two destroyer girls, one blonde and the other a redhead, and both were knockouts. They were smiling eagerly.

“Sure!” Shimakaze bounced to her feet. “But I don’t know how much of a race it’ll be…we’re the fastest destroyers in the fleet. I’m Shimakaze, and these are my sisters Kiyokaze, Satokaze, and Murakaze.”

The blonde’s smile widened even further.

“So, you’re Shimakaze! At last we meet!” she exclaimed excitedly. “I am Volta, and this is my sister Mogador…perhaps you’ve heard of us?”

Shimakaze nodded. “The French super-destroyers that could go almost as fast as us?”

Mogador giggled and turned to her sister. “Oh, we like a challenge, oui?”

“Oui,” Volta agreed. “To the docks!” she announced, and she and her sister took off running, the Japanese shipgirls right behind them.

~~~

He strolled through the naval base, quite excited at having answered the call to return to action in France’s hour of need. But even more exciting was that there were so many beautiful ladies about! For a single man like himself, it was open season! But he wasn’t looking for just any woman, he was looking for The One…The One whom he would spend the rest of his life with. She was here on this base, he could feel it! He just had to find her and let her know he was here, and she would more than likely fall into his embrace, for no one could resist the lure of amour!

As he strode past the docks, he noticed a large crowd of shipgirls and turned to glance at them. The world seemed to stop as he his eyes landed on a certain one. It was her! He’d found her!

He wasted no time…all ahead flank, destination: love!

~~~

H.M.S. Hood didn’t know what had happened. One moment she was mediating between Repulse and Renown, and the next she was leaning back and staring up at a young man about her age, who was holding her in his arms.

“Ah, my little Swedish meatball…it is love at first sight, no?” the young man crooned, showering Hood’s face with kisses.

“What the bloody – get off me!” the battle cruiser sputtered indignantly, flailing about until the young man lost his grip on her, causing her to fall to the ground. Once free, she sprang to her feet, summoned her combat rig, and fired a full broadside from her secondary guns before storming off.

When the smoke cleared, the young man lay on the ground, dazed, looking as though he’d been chewed up and spat out by a very large animal. He grinned goofily up at Avers and a stunned Renown; Repulse was lying on the ground nearby, in convulsions she was laughing so hard.

“She is shy, no?” the young man asked, referring to the departed Hood.

“Hardly the word I’d use,” Avers replied drily, staring down at the young man as though unsure what to make of him yet.

The young man noticed Avers’ insignia and jumped to his feet, coming to attention and saluting smartly.

“Bonjour, mon Amiral!” he stated. “Marine Nationale light cruiser Émile Bertin, at your service, monsieur!”

“Our first French summons,” Avers noted. “Welcome.”

“Non-non-non, monsieur!” Émile Bertin replied. “There were eleven of us in total…we were standing around wondering what to do, but the scientist never said a word to us. He was engrossed in watching football, so we left.”

“You left?” Avers tried to think of how much chaos could be caused by eleven newly-summoned French warships – who, incidentally, had no idea what year it was or what was going on that caused them to be resurrected, this time in human form – running around a Japanese naval base unattended. A chill went up his spine. “Where are the others?”

“We all split up, figuring we could find out more about our situation that way,” the light cruiser replied. “Speaking of which, could you tell me what year it is?”

Avers informed him of the current world situation. To the Admiral’s surprise, Émile Bertin looked unperturbed, merely nodding in understanding.

“So, France needs us once more,” he mused. “Then they will have their wish!” He came to attention and saluted. “I am at your disposal, mon Amiral!”

Avers smiled at the young man’s enthusiasm. “Just remain on the naval base and try not to get into trouble…we’ll probably call a meeting this evening of all the recent summons and give you a more detailed briefing.”

“Trés bien!” the light cruiser stated. “Now, if you will excuse me, mon Amiral, there is a certain matter that requires my complete attention.” He turned in the direction Hood had run off and chuckled. “This small croquette…she thinks that by playing hard to get, she makes herself more attractive to me.” He grinned worshipfully. “How right she is! So, en garde, minx!”

Avers did a facepalm as Émile Bertin took off. Repulse bent double, overcome by another fit of hysterical laughter, and Renown blinked in astonishment as though not sure what to make of the amorous Frenchman.

~~~

Taiho exhaled happily as she launched another Reppu with her crossbow. She spent most of her free time out on the practice range; not because she needed the practice, but simply because she wanted to make up for lost time. During the war, she’d only been in commission for slightly over three months before being sunk, and on her first combat sortie, no less.

“Practicing?” a voice from beside her feet asked in English, causing the carrier to start in surprise and nearly lose her balance. She looked down to see a submarine girl watching her.

“Sorry,” the girl looked somewhat embarrassed. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Yes, I’m practicing,” Taiho replied, inwardly cursing herself for allowing a nervous tint to slip into her voice; she’d never been comfortable around submarines. “Not that I need to, it’s just that I find it comforting.” She sighed, looking out at the ocean. “I was caught unaware once before, and I paid for that mistake with my life.” She shook her head. “I must not allow that to happen again.”

“Jeez,” the sub-girl stated. “Did our aircraft get you?”

“No, it was actually one of your kind,” Taiho replied.

“Ah,” the sub-girl looked nervous. “Listen,” she began, “you don’t have to worry about me…I’m not gonna fire torpedoes at you. The war is over and I’m just grateful to have been summoned back, y’know?” She held out her hand. “Submarine U.S.S. Albacore, SS-218.”

All color drained from Taiho’s face as she gazed upon the submarine that had caused her to meet a violent and explosive end over seventy years ago. “A-Albacore?” she stuttered.

The sub-girl nodded, looking at the carrier in concern. “I’m guessing you heard of me in the last war or something?”

Taiho laughed, inwardly cursing at the hysterical tone her laughter had to it. “You could say that, yes.”

An expression of realization came over the submarine’s face. “We met during the last war, didn’t we?”

Taiho nodded. “Yes…on a beautiful June day in the Philippine Sea.”

Albacore looked stunned. “You’re the carrier I fired torpedoes at, aren’t you?”

Taiho nodded. “I’m Taiho, yes.”

“I sank you?” Albacore seemed surprised. “From what I could tell I only hit you with one torpedo.”

“Correct,” the Japanese carrier replied. “But my crew’s inexperience amplified the damage.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how so?” Albacore asked.

Taiho sighed; while no shipgirl liked to recall their sinking, she figured it couldn’t hurt to tell the submarine who sank her what had happened.

“The torpedo hit flooded my forward elevator well and jarred the elevator itself loose. It fell two meters into its well and cracked the aviation gasoline tanks underneath it, thereby allowing avgas to mix with the water and building up avgas vapor in the space as well. My crew tried to vent the fumes by turning on the ventilation fans, which simply blew the fumes throughout my hull.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “That afternoon, a spark touched off the fumes and produced an explosion so massive it buckled my armored flight deck upward and blew out the sides of my hangar deck. I sank about two hours later.”

“Yikes…” Albacore winced. “I’m sorry.” She paused, then said, “If it’s any consolation, I didn’t survive the war, either.”

It was Taiho’s turn to look surprised. “No? How did you meet your end?”

“I struck a mine off northeastern Hokkaido on 7 November 1944,” the submarine replied. “Not one of my better moments, to be sure.” Suddenly she brightened. “Hey!” she grinned. “Launch some of your aircraft! I’ll help you learn anti-submarine tactics!”

Taiho looked surprised. “You’d do that?”

“Sure!” Albacore replied. “’Sides, it’s the least I can do after…you know,” she left off the part that said, ‘after I managed to sneak through your screen and sink you’. “And let’s face it,” she stated, “my fellow submarines and I sank nine of your kind and damaged three more during the war…Japanese ASW tactics need some serious work.”

When put into those statistics, Taiho was hard-pressed not to agree. Twelve out of twenty-eight carriers sunk or damaged was not a figure one could simply brush off. And far be it for her to refuse an offer of further training.

“Very well,” she stated, raising her crossbow. “I am at your disposal, Albacore-san.”

The submarine grinned. “Call me Albie.”

~~~

Avers was making his way back to his office when he noticed a group of destroyers standing on the parade ground, seemingly going to play a game of baseball. However, the ships were not in the usual baseball formation: one was at bat, another was on a makeshift pitcher’s mound, two more were standing near the batter, seemingly waiting their turn, and two others were cheering on the four that were playing. As Avers watched, one of the two cheering the others on waved a small pirate flag, while the second – oddly enough – took a large bite out of a raw potato.

The batter pointed off to the northeast in the manner of Babe Ruth.

“BATTER CALLS HIS SHOT!” the pitcher yelled. Avers was surprised to hear a male voice.

“PITCHER TAKES HIS STANCE!” the same individual yelled, winding up. “HE WINDS UP…HE THROWS!”

The pitcher threw the ball.

“SEE YA!” The batter swung at just the right moment, knocking the ball clean out of the park in the exact direction he’d pointed, but didn’t take off running. Instead, everyone watched the ball soar away into the far reaches of the naval base before arcing downwards. There was a large explosion when it landed.

“HOME RUN!” the pitcher yelled.

“YAY!!!” “YAAR!!!” The two destroyers on the sidelines cheered, while the other four burst into laughter.

“Who’s next?!” the pitcher gasped, pulling out another baseball from a crate at his feet.

“My guess would be him, dude,” one of the shipboys in line replied, pointing to Avers.

“Yarr!” One of the shipgirls watching exclaimed. “Admiral off the starboard bow, mateys!”

The six destroyers came to attention and saluted Avers, who returned the gesture before turning to the pitcher.

“Names?” Avers asked.

“O’Bannon! Call me Bannie!” replied Potato-ship.

“Yarr! I be Kidd, matey!” stated Pirate-girl.

“Stanly,” the pitcher replied.

“Charles Ausburne…call me Charlie, sir!” the batter chimed in.

“Claxton!” “Dyson!” the two in line added.

“DesDiv 45…Live Fast, Die Hard, Take Many With You!” the four boys chorused.

“Arleigh Burke’s Little Beavers,” Avers nodded. “Nice to have you back with us.”

“He said ‘Beaver’,” Claxton muttered, and he and his brothers cracked up. Thankfully, Kidd and O’Bannon appeared to be clueless as to why the four boys were laughing like loons.

Avers sighed, causing the four destroyers to grin at him as though they didn’t have care one in the world. Oh, to be that young again, the Admiral thought momentarily, then nixed it by telling himself that if that wish were granted, he wouldn’t be a Fleet Admiral and – most important of all – he wouldn’t have Kongo.

“What kind of demented form of baseball were you all playing just now?” he asked, almost afraid to learn the answer.

“It’s a game we invented called Dyna-Ball,” Stanly replied.

“Yeah!” Charlie stated excitedly. “Basically, we hollow out baseballs and cram them full of dynamite!”

“You’re playing baseball with explosives?” Avers felt faint.

“Yeah! Pretty cool, huh?” Dyson grinned.

“Gotta be, like, probably, the most-epic thing you’ve ever heard of, right?” Claxton asked.

“When were the four of you summoned?” the Admiral asked.

“A few hours ago,” Stanly replied. “The guy operating the pool thingy appeared pretty occupied with a bunch of battleships speaking Spanish, so we all snuck off.” He pointed to the box of baseballs at his feet. “We found these baseballs and decided to improve on them.”

“How did you manage to acquire explosives?” Avers asked another question he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to know the answer to.

“We each cracked open a few of our depth-charges,” Charlie replied as though it was the natural response to such a question. “That explosive works pretty good, don’t it?”

“Yes, but it’s not supposed to be used in baseballs…” Avers was interrupted by a shout from Claxton.

“DUDES!” the destroyer was jumping up and down excitedly. “I just thought of something that would make Dyna-Ball even better!”

“Ooh! What?!” his brothers asked eagerly, seemingly forgetting their Admiral was standing right there and listening to every word being said.

“Super-glue depth-charges all along the bat!” Claxton exclaimed as though making a profound revelation. “That way you’ve got a certain element of risk to yourself every time you’re up, not just whenever you hit the ball or wherever the ball lands.”

Exclamations of “Dude…most epically awesome!” and “Sweet!” resounded from the group. Avers could see that as hyper and insane as the little murder-balls of Taffy Three were, this quartet put them to shame; they were as likely to get someone killed as they were to seriously injure themselves. But before the Admiral could say another word, the quartet took off running, jabbering excitedly amongst each other.

Avers suddenly realized the immense danger they sported; with the wonder that was the internet at their fingertips, Lord only knew what those four could get up to. He was jarred from his thoughts by an excited shriek.

“KIDD! BANNIE!”

The two remaining destroyers turned at the sound of their name to see Willie running at them full speed.

“WILLIE!” The pair shrieked in return.

Willie was almost to them when she seemed to trip on thin air and go flying. She landed hard on her stomach and slid to a stop in front of them like a baseball player making a desperate 9th Inning grab at the World Series.

“’mokay!” she muttered, her voice muffled by the fact she had her face planted in the ground. Before anyone could reach down to help her up, the accident-prone Fletcher sprang to her feet and swept Kidd and O’Bannon into a huge hug.

Avers smiled. He knew he didn’t need to say anything to them; Willie and the Taffies would make sure they found their way to the meeting. He resumed the walk to his office, half-wondering what else the day would hold, and half-afraid to find out.

~~~

That evening Avers sat in the large auditorium on base waiting for his audience to arrive. While Robertson was busy looking over some paperwork, the Admiral took a moment to allow his thoughts to wander onto the subject of how drastically the world had changed with the arrival of the Abyssals, and how certain things were no longer a threat.

ISIL had ceased to exist three months after the Abyssals had arrived and exactly six weeks before the first shipgirls had been summoned. Russia had committed its only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, to a joint U.S-Russian-Chinese strike force out of Vladivostok, having sent their fleet flagship - escorted by no less than five icebreakers, eight destroyers, and three cruisers – through the Arctic to reach the eastern port. China had committed its sole carrier Liaoning, and America had contributed the Eisenhower and the John C. Stennis. Human-built warships proved to be no match against Abyssal weaponry; only the Eisenhower – severely damaged – and a handful of cruisers and destroyers survived to escape to Yokosuka.

Russia and China had been devastated by the loss of their only aircraft carriers, and their respective leaders looked to take their rage out on anything that drew their attention – Russia’s Vladimir Putin in particular was not known for his gentle demeanor – and to give their mourning countries a shot in the arm. Therefore, when ISIL leaders made the mistake of glorifying the destruction of the warships on social media, going so far as to offer an alliance to the Abyssals, neither country was pleased. Within a week of the social media post, Russia and China both had two full armies apiece – totaling nearly four million men – swarming into Syria and Iraq, annihilating everything that even so much as looked like it supported the terrorists. When Al-Baghdadi and his men fled into the hills against the relentless onslaught, saturation bombing campaigns followed up by ground forces with hundreds of troops armed with flamethrowers roasted the last survivors from their lairs.

While Russia and China vented their rage in Syria, North Korea and Iran attempted – rather stupidly – to take on the Abyssals themselves. Iran went first; an Iranian patrol boat attempted to stop a group of Abyssals as they transited the Strait of Hormuz. It was almost immediately sunk with all hands, which enraged Iran’s military leaders enough for them to petition President Rouhani and Ayatollah Khomeini to allow them to use all force against the ‘infidel creatures that were surely a creation of the Great Satan’. When put in those terms, Rouhani and Khomeini could hardly refuse.

The next time Abyssals were sighted in the Strait, the Iranian Army launched anti-ship missiles at them from Tehran. The Abyssals simply dodged them, then launched an airstrike of their own against the capital of Tehran…with no less than fifty thousand aircraft. The bombing didn’t stop until every inch of Tehran resembled Tokyo after the 1945 fire raids. With their leaders dead and their capital obliterated, Iran was essentially out of the world picture, and recently rumors had begun to surface that the descendants of the Shah might be resuming power in the country.

North Korea’s attempt was even more disastrous. When Abyssals ventured into North Korean waters, Kim Jong Un didn’t bother asking his generals for advice; the Little Kumquat simply aimed one of his country’s most-powerful nuclear missiles at them and pressed the launch button with a psychotic smile. Said smile rapidly vanished when the Abyssals – using their ‘spooky magical Abyssal bullshit’ – managed to gain control of said missile and send it right back where it came from. The spot where Pyongyang had once stood still glowed in the dark to this day.

~~~

“Excuse you! You want to watch where you’re going, chica?” Avers was brought out of his thoughts by a voice outside the door snarling in Spanish.

“You’re excused…now, please stand aside and let the prides of Brazil enter the room,” another voice replied in the same language.

“Oh no…you didn’t just say that!” another voice exclaimed as Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais walked into the auditorium. Following behind them were three other shipgirls whom Avers guessed were the three España-class battleships from Spain.

“Believe what you want,” Sao Paulo murmured absently as she and her sister found seats. A spiel of colorful, indignant Spanish followed them, only to be cut off as another shipgirl approached the Spaniards from behind.

“Please move aside, children…you’re blocking the aisle,” Almirante Latorre admonished the Españas in English, all three of whom whirled to face the newcomer.

“Children?” Jaime I snapped, also switching to English. “Who are you to call us children?” she asked the Chilean battleship as she, Rivadavia, and Moreno moved past them.

“Well, the three of you are acting like children, so it only seems fair for her to refer to you as such,” Sao Paulo piped up from her seat.

The three Spanish battleships turned back to her with the speed of vipers. Avers, sensing a major blow-up was imminent if he didn’t step in, walked down the steps leading to the stage and headed their way.

“Smart aleck!” Alfonso XIII bit off.

Sao Paulo glanced back and smirked. “Impertinent child,” she shot back.

Jaime I’s eyes blazed fire. “Neutrality patrol centerfold,” she snarled.

Sao Paulo shot to her feet like a jack-in-the box as Minas Gerais gasped beside her. “Battleship wannabes,” the Brazilian battleship bit off.

The Spanish trio gasped at the dig at their pre-dreadnought design. España quickly recovered, however, and with a grin delivered what she deemed to be the killing blow.

“World Cup rejects,” she smirked, pronouncing each word as though secure in the knowledge it would start a major ruckus.

She wasn’t wrong. Sao Paulo let out an unearthly shriek of rage and dove at the Spanish battleship, her arms outstretched, and her hands twisted into claws.

“STAND DOWN!” Avers roared and to his surprise his shout was like flipping a switch on the Brazilian battleship. Sao Paulo came to rigid attention, muttered an embarrassed apology, and went back to her seat with her head held high. Avers then turned to the three Spanish shipgirls, who – knowing they’d actually started the whole thing – looked ready to bolt.

“I trust you’re not going to start something like that again?” he gave them a pointed look.

There was the sound of running feet out in the hall, and another shipgirl burst into the room. She was obviously Spanish in origin and appeared quite embarrassed by the behavior of the other Spanish shipgirls.

“D-Don’t worry, A-Admiral,” the girl panted. “I will make sure of that personally.” She turned to the three battleships and glowered thunderously at them.

“Disgraceful!” she growled. “How can the three of you call yourselves officers in the Spanish Navy when you act like that? His Majesty would be so disappointed if he knew!”

“Listen, Canarias,” España attempted to interrupt.

“No, you listen, Petty Officer 1st Class!” Canarias snapped. “When a Captain speaks, you keep your mouth shut until they’re done talking. AM I UNDERSTOOD?!”

The Spanish heavy cruiser had a point. Despite having smaller guns than the three battleships, Canarias had certainly served a lot longer than they had, not being scrapped until 1977, thus earning her the honorary rank of Captain and the position of senior-ranking Spanish shipgirl. Thus, she was in charge until someone else who’d served longer got summoned. And she didn’t seem afraid to throw said honorary rank around when it was needed.

Her tirade caused the three battleships to snap to attention, followed by a chorus of “Sí!”.

“Now find your seats, sit down, and be quiet!” Canarias ordered, “And if you even so much as look in the direction of our Brazilian allies, I’ll see you busted down to Seaman Recruit! MOVE!”

The three Españas marched off sullenly. Canarias followed right behind them, offering Avers a tired and apologetic smile as she passed him. The Admiral nodded in response, letting the Spanish cruiser know he appreciated her taking control of her people.

He made his way back to the front of the room, nodding as Émile Bertin threw him a friendly wave as he and the French contingent arrived. Led by a statuesque redhead, she was followed by two nearly identical blondes, followed by another blonde, all of whom looked to be planning something in secret. Another light cruiser flopped down in a seat and glanced around with the detached air of an artist; Avers was suddenly reminded of the emo kids on campus at Montana State. With them were two destroyers who probably could’ve run circles around any Olympic Track & Field Gold Medalist any day of the week – those two had to be Mogador and Volta – and a submarine whose…dimensions…were on par with Atago’s. Lastly came a beret-wearing blonde who looked quite uncomfortable, as though she felt she didn’t belong there. But that made only ten French ships, and according to Émile Bertin, eleven had been summoned…one was missing.

Avers’ thoughts on the French contingent were broken by – as usual – another bit of mischief.

“WHO LIVES IN A PINEAPPLE UNDER THE SEA?!” a male voice thundered.

“SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!” three other male voices responded.

“ABSORBANT AND YELLOW AND POROUS IS HE!” the first voice yelled again.

“SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!” the other three voices replied.

“What in the world…?” Robertson looked towards the entrance with a confused look on his face. Avers had informed him of the four whack jobs who’d been happily hitting explosives with bats, but Robertson hadn’t seemed like he believed him.

“Those are the four I told you about earlier,” Avers smirked.

The song continued loudly as DesDiv 45, Stanly in the lead, marched into the auditorium. All four were grinning like idiots, knowing and relishing that their antics were making them the focus of attention. They marched right down to the front row, going through the entire theme song before coming to a stop in front of Avers and Robertson and saluting.

“DesDiv 45, reporting as ordered, sirs!” Stanly announced.

“Thank you,” Avers responded. “Find some seats, guys,”

“Right!” Charlie replied. “DESTROYERBOTS, HEAD OUT!”

The quartet literally bounced off to find seats, singing at the tops of their lungs,

“OUR ARMOR MIGHT BE FAIRLY THIN, BUT WE THINK WE’RE INVINCIBLE…WE ARE THE VERY MODEL OF, DESTROYER INDIVIDUALS!”

Avers shook his head and turned to his XO. Robertson looked like he’d been hit in the forehead by a brick.

“They make the Taffies look calm in comparison,” he muttered faintly.

“And just think,” Avers grinned. “Both they and the Taffies are going with you when you return to the States.” By the look of dawning horror on Robertson’s face, his XO had obviously forgotten about that. “You’re going to be trapped on a plane with both those groups All. The Way. Across. The Pacific.”

“Urk…” Robertson muttered, looking faint at the prospect.

“And then,” Avers continued. “You’ll be trapped with them on another plane All. The Way. Across. The United States.” He grinned. “Won’t that be just one huge barrel of happiness and fun?”

His XO whimpered pitifully.

“Forgive the interruption, but could you tell us where to find the Admiral of this base?”

Avers glanced down to see two shipgirls, both wearing Republic of China Navy uniforms, one an Ensign and the other a Chief Petty Officer.

“I’m Fleet Admiral Avers,” Avers replied, “and this is my XO, Admiral Robertson. How can we help you?”

The two girls came to attention and bowed deeply. “Light cruisers Ning Hai and Ping Hai of the Republic of China Navy, reporting for duty, sir,” they chorused.

“Welcome back,” Avers greeted. “You two are the first Chinese ships we’ve been able to summon.”

“I have a question, sir,” Ning Hai asked. When Avers nodded for her to continue, she asked, “With all due respect to America, what the hell did you do to Japan? They were savages and monsters, now they’re concerned with things called ‘anime’ and ‘J-pop’, and they went from revering their Emperor to adoring things called ‘plushies’.”

“Agreed,” her sister put in. “We planned on having to engage their destroyers in battle on the way over here to meet you, but every destroyer we saw was too adorable to shoot at! What kind of magic is this?”

Avers shrugged. “I can’t really explain it. About the best explanation we’ve managed to come up with thus far is ‘sparkly magical shipgirl BS’.”

The two Chinese shipgirls looked at each other and shrugged.

“All right, I’ll buy that,” Ning Hai replied. “Seems to match up with the rest of the weird things around here.” She came to attention and continued. “Admiral, let it be known that my sister and I have sworn allegiance to the Republic of China, or Taiwan as it is known today. We did not serve Communist China when we were in hull form, and we will not serve it now.”

Avers cringed inwardly – the cruiser’s statement was a diplomatic incident in the making – but nodded in acceptance. Before he could say anything on the matter, another voice spoke up.

“Greetings, My Liege!” Impero bowed and gave Avers a Roman salute. “I present the compliments of Her Majesty, Queen Isokaze!”

“What in the name of Chiang Kai-Shek is wrong with you?” Ning Hai looked at Impero like he was crazy. “You’re a battleship, not part of the Roman Legion! From what we were led to believe, battleships are supposed to be the sane ones!”

I beg to differ, Avers replied silently, automatically thinking of his beautiful fiancée and her sister ships. ‘Sane’ did not describe them by a long shot.

Impero turned to the two light cruisers and smiled.

“Greetings, Chinese warriors! I look forward to fighting alongside you!” He turned back to Avers. “I don’t know if you know this, My Liege, but Chinese warriors are renowned for their fighting skill and extreme bravery on the battlefield.” He glanced again at the two Chinese cruisers and nodded in approval. “I have a feeling these two will more than prove their worth.” He then headed off to find a seat, the Chinese duo following suit, Ning Hai muttering under her breath in Mandarin.

The room continued to fill up as Don Vittorio and the rest of his Italian group filed in, followed by nine of the newly summoned German ships. U-556 followed soon after with Wahoo, and Albacore wandered in with them, typing on her phone. Avers had been told the submarine and Taiho had been seen training together on the target range, and the Admiral guessed that’s who she was conversing with.

Yakumo, Izumo, and Iwate were next to arrive, bringing with them the latest Japanese summons: destroyers Asakaze, Uranami, and Yamakaze. Avers was somewhat surprised the other nine Shiratsuyu-class ships hadn’t tagged along with Yamakaze; he recalled the commotion when Mutsu had shown the girl to the destroyer dorms and her sisters – who’d been waiting for Yamakaze to show up for so long – had caught sight of her. Yamakaze – who’d been the first of her sister ships to be sunk – had confessed to Mutsu she’d been quite nervous about seeing her sisters again, as she didn’t know if they would accept or reject her for being the first to be lost. She needn’t have worried; Mutsu reported that she’d barely escaped being trampled by nine ecstatic shipgirls as they tearfully tackle-glomped their long-lost sister ship. Uranami’s reunion with her twelve sister ships had been less intense, but it was still obvious the Fubuki-class was glad to see their number increase. Kamikaze and Harukaze were also pleased to see Asakaze; the last remaining bunk in their room was empty no longer.

Movement in the doorway caused Avers to glance up and then do a double take. U-47 was strolling in, looking very pleased with herself, and dragging behind her a young man in a Bundesmarine uniform. Said individual looked shell-shocked – not to mention thoroughly exhausted – and followed the submarine almost like a puppy eager to please its master. The submarine walked down to the front of the auditorium and presented the young man, who came to attention.

“Kapitänleutnant Adolf Prien, Bundesmarine, reporting for duty, Herr Admiral,” Prien stated. “My sincerest apologies for the lateness of my arrival, but I was unavoidably detained this afternoon.”

“‘Unavoidably detained’?” Avers asked. “How so?”

Prien went fire-engine red and U-47’s grin grew even wider. Robertson – who’d been listening in on the conversation – caught the pair’s reaction to Avers’ question and cleared his throat awkwardly. Prien sighed, looking like he would very much rather be someplace else.

“With all due respect, Herr Admiral, please don’t make me answer that question outside your office.”

U-47 snorted and burst out giggling. She obviously had no qualms whatsoever about everyone knowing what she and the German officer had gotten up to that afternoon.

Avers rolled his eyes. “Very well…please don’t let this happen again, all right?” Prien nodded eagerly as the Admiral turned to U-47. “Your boyfriend has a job to do here…please let him do it.”

The submarine grinned and nodded before snuggling up to Prien and winding her arms around the German officer’s right arm. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that she’d staked her personal claim on him and no one else was allowed to touch him.

“Also,” Avers reminded her, “he’s not a machine…he needs food and sleep to function properly. So, take a break from your ‘extracurricular activities’ every now and then and make sure you both are ‘properly supplied’, all right?”

“I have plenty of condoms, Herr Admiral…there is no need to worry,” U-47 purred. “Although,” she amended with a grin, “my Kaleun and I managed to put quite a dent in them today…I might need to take your advice and stock up some more.”

Robertson coughed loudly and Avers resisted the urge to facepalm. Prien looked like he wanted to vanish.

“He meant food and drink, meine leibchen, not contraceptives,” the German officer murmured.

U-47 had the decency to blush. “Oops,” she giggled, although she obviously wasn’t the least bit sorry.

“Take your seats, please,” Avers smiled thinly, wanting to end the conversation as quickly as possible. Prien looked quite relieved to escort his submarine girlfriend away from their CO.

“That was the most awkward conversation I’ve had in a long time,” Avers murmured to Robertson.

“Wasn’t easy overhearing it either,” the older man chuckled.

Avers smirked, noticing the arrival of another new group out of the corner of his eye: the Australian contingent. Led by heavy cruiser Australia, it consisted of heavy cruisers Canberra and Shropshire, light cruisers Perth, Sydney, and Hobart, and destroyers Vampire, Vendetta, and Voyager. Unlike the rest of the non-Japanese contingent; these nine shipgirls would be proceeding to Sydney once the rest of their fellow non-Japanese fleet-mates left for the United States. Avers figured the two Chinese shipgirls would be staying in Japan, at least until Taiwan managed to build some sort of accommodation for them.

The Australian contingent greeted Ark Royal and Victorious; the former nodded politely, but it was obvious she was still sulking over her earlier dressing-down from Warspite. Victorious happily greeted the new arrivals; she’d served in the Pacific during the war and had seen Australian ships often.

Thunderous feet could be heard outside and then the door to the auditorium was nearly ripped off its hinges.

“I, SATSUMA, HAVE ARRIVED!”

“AS HAVE I, KAWACHI!”

“Um, Owari here…”

Three Japanese battleships stood in the doorway. But they were not just any Japanese battleships: they were super-battleships. Owari – also known as Hull 797, or Yamato No. 5 – was dressed in an outfit almost identical to Shinano’s, save for the fact her kimono was a nice shade of lavender. From the brief meeting he’d had with her Avers could tell she was a quiet girl who was very unsure of herself, almost as if she didn’t believe she deserved to be there. No. 797 had been cancelled before even being laid down, so when Owari arrived it was quite a surprise. It hadn’t been a problem for the other Yamatos, who’d descended on Avers’ office with the force of a typhoon upon learning they had another sister ship to welcome.

Then there was Satsuma and Kawachi. But they weren’t the World War One-era battleships of the same name, oh, no…these were the names chosen by Hulls 798 and 799.

The super-Yamatos. Super-battleships with even bigger guns than the Yamatos…and a penchant for Kongo-level craziness. Avers was just thankful they didn’t exhibit Kongo’s Teitoku obsession as well. It went without saying that the four Kongos absolutely adored the super-Yamatos, who were embracing life in human form in the 21st Century to the fullest.

Blaskewicz had not been thrilled at the impact on supplies. Oyodo – who’d taken the post of Supply NCO in his absence while the former was back in the States with his family – had had a meltdown over the same issue, to the point where Niyodo stated that she’d come back to their quarters, gotten in bed, cuddled her stuffed Pooh Bear like it knew the meaning of life, and pulled the blankets over her head ala the belief of Homer Simpson that if you fell asleep with your blankets pulled over your head all your problems would magically solve themselves overnight and things would look a lot brighter in the morning. The light cruiser was less than pleased to find her plan hadn’t worked.

“WHOA, MAMA!” Catcalls and whistles erupted from DesDiv 45 as they laid eyes on the ‘gun turrets’ of the two super-Yamatos. The pair of giant battleships soaked up the attention like sponges, walking over and sitting down right behind the quartet of American destroyers, who looked beyond pleased at the honor. With Satsuma and Kawachi drawing all the attention to themselves, Owari – looking quite thankful for that – snuck over to where the armored cruisers were sitting and found a seat.

Avers smiled as he noticed Bannie and Kidd running in, dragging with them the latest American heavy ship to be summoned: aircraft carrier Saratoga. Sara was a sweet girl who was the epitome of the terms ‘girl next door’ and ‘heartbreaker’ rolled into one package. The American destroyers adored her from minute one, and other countries’ destroyers also seemed to be gravitating towards the carrier. As for her fellow American shipgirls, the only contention amongst them – if it could be called that, at any rate – was from Enterprise, seeing as how she was no longer the highest-ranking American carrier. Saratoga had been appointed to the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade, one rank higher than Enterprise’s rank of Ensign, making ‘Sara’ the highest-ranking American carrier. Having relinquished the reins of leadership to the elder carrier, Enterprise seemed to relax slightly and was more apt to enjoy a night out with the other older shipgirls.

~~~

The last American ship was sitting off by himself. Submarine U.S.S. Harder, SS-257, wasn’t as sociable as his American fleet-mates, preferring solitude to social interaction. That was the life of a submarine, after all: patrol alone, hunt alone, kill alone…and die alone.

But he wouldn’t say no if a girl showed interest in him. Several of his fellow American ship-persons were finding significant others; Yorkie, Indy, and now Albie seemed to be getting along quite well with the Japanese ships they sank or were sunk by. Not so with Harder…he’d run across Tanikaze in the first few hours after he’d been summoned, and she’d taken one look at him and run screaming in the opposite direction. Talk about a blow to the ego. Wasn’t his fault he’d been nicknamed ‘The Destroyer Killer’.

“Take a look, Comrades…this is why capitalism will eventually fail,” a Russian-accented voice stated.

Harder turned to see a group of seven Russian shipgirls entering the auditorium.

“Hate to burst your bubble there,” he called out, “but you’re really out of the loop. It’s actually Communism that failed.”

The leader of the group turned to face him with a poisonous glare. “Heresy! You know not of what you speak, American submarine!”

Harder shrugged. “Don’t believe me…I don’t really care. But history’s kind of hard to ignore.”

The submarine pulled out his phone and pulled up a scan of the front page of Moscow’s largest newspaper, dated Christmas Day 1991:

Gorbachev Resigns…Soviet Union Dissolved!

Two of the shipgirls merely raised their eyebrows and one looked troubled, but the photo seemed to be akin to a punch in the gut for the other four.

“No! It cannot be true!” one whispered.

“Capitalist lies!” another replied. “This must surely be a fake perpetrated by the West to deceive us!”

Harder took his phone back and went on YouTube, pulling up a video showing Gorbachev’s resignation speech and then the Soviet flag coming down from the roof of the Kremlin for the last time.

“Could the West have faked that?” he asked.

“Then it is true,” the leader of the group stated. “My apologies for doubting you, American submarine.” She turned to the rest of the shipgirls, four of whom were on the verge of tears. “Marat,” she addressed her sister, “you and I experienced the October Revolution – as did you, Chervona Ukraina – and we were made stronger by the experience. Now it is your turn, Kirov and Tashkent, to experience your own revolution, albeit…how many years late?” she turned back to Harder briefly.

“Soviet Russia fell on Christmas Day 1991…it’s been nearly twenty-five years now,” the submarine replied absently without looking up from his phone, on which he was now playing a bowling game. “Aw, come on…stay out of the gutter, you miserable little puke!” he growled upon seeing where his ball was headed.

“But Gangut,” Kirov’s voice was breaking, and tears welled in her eyes, “everything we fought so hard for is gone, and has been for years! How do we deal with this?”

“We are Russians!” Gangut snapped. “Did our country break when Napoleon invaded, or when the Revolution occurred? Did it break during the Purges of Stalin, or when the German Corporal invaded?”

“Nyet,” Tashkent replied.

“Then the seven of us will not break now!” Gangut finished. “Russia is still a mighty nation, and we have been summoned back from the beyond to help her in her hour of need. I for one will gladly answer that call. Who of you is with me in that?”

“To the end, sister,” Marat replied.

“Da,” Tashkent put in.

“I as well,” Chevrona Ukraina stated.

Kirov didn’t say much, but she exhaled shakily, wiped her eyes, and nodded.

“My name is Sovetski Soyuz,” stated another of the Russian shipgirls. “I was named for a country that no longer exists, and I was never completed. I will proudly uphold the legacy of that name as I have been given a second chance at the life I never had.”

“I am Kronstadt,” another stated, “I was designed and named, but never laid down. I will not squander this chance I have been given. Now,” she glanced around the room, “where are the Germans? They must pay for their invasion.”

“You made ‘em pay…big time,” Harder put in. “You’re allies now, so there’s no use looking for German ships; you can’t shoot at ‘em or sink ‘em.”

“Der’mo,” Kronstadt swore under her breath.

“Don’t worry, you weren’t the only ones who wanted to go looking for old enemies,” Harder replied. “But the higher-ups really frown on that, so you just gotta make peace with everyone and work together.” He shrugged. “Makes life easier if you do, or so I’ve been told.”

“Let us find seats,” Gangut stated. “I’m sure our Admiral has much to tell us.”

~~~

Professor Tanabe was ecstatic. He and his beloved summoning chamber had been on a roll as of late, bringing back shipgirls left and right. The supply situation never really bothered him; a lot of the recently summoned shipgirls would be transferring to America soon anyways, and that country could supply probably every shipgirl from World War II if Tanabe managed to summon them all.

But for now, it was getting late, and dinner was calling. Perhaps one more summoning attempt before calling it a day.

He had the radio going as he pondered what type of ship to summon next, and barely noticed the song that had begun playing was having an effect. However, the summoning chamber going completely haywire was more than enough to bring him out of his thoughts.

Sparks flew, and monitoring devices skyrocketed past their red lines. The poor Professor didn’t know what was going on; all he could do was crouch under a table and scream while hoping the building didn’t explode around him.

The summoning pool was trying to bring something through, and it was drawing on any power it could to make it happen. Every light in the building went out as the summoning pool drained the building’s power grid in its effort to continue functioning. Finally, with a sound like a car backfiring, the computer sparked once, twice, three times, and then shut off.

Tanabe crawled out from under the table and fumbled around in the darkness before finding the emergency breaker switch and flipping it on. The lights came back and immediately Tanabe noticed his baby needed some major repairs before she would work again.

And then he saw the girl that was standing in the room. Whatever summons the chamber had broken itself trying to accomplish had worked.

“H-Hello,” the girl greeted in a British accent. She smiled nervously.

Tanabe’s response was to keel over in a dead faint.

~~~

The meeting had been going on for about twenty minutes when the doors to the auditorium opened and Professor Tanabe’s latest summons walked in…well, more like she crouched under the doorframe and walked in.

Avers took one look at her and his jaw nearly hit the floor. Said shipgirl was at least seven-foot-three; her hair was pure white, her skin was nearly Albino-like, and her eyes were the purest ice blue the Admiral had ever seen. Add those factors to her nearly super-model Amazonian body and this was one very attractive girl.

“He-Hello…I’m sorry if I’m interrupting, but I was just summoned, and when the Professor awoke, he told me to come here,” the girl responded.

“What do you mean ‘when the Professor awoke’?” Avers asked.

“Well, my summoning blew out the machine he was using,” the girl replied, “and when he saw me, he took one look and passed out.”

A muffled ‘urk’ behind him caused Avers to turn and look. Oyodo was standing there, her eyes wide and a look on her face that said she wanted to string Professor Tanabe up by his own intestines.

“Su-supplies…” was all the light cruiser could get out before she collapsed in a dead faint. Robertson moved to help her and Avers raised an eyebrow at the scene before turning back to the new girl.

“Could you tell us your name, please?”

The girl came to attention and saluted. “Aircraft carrier H.M.S. Habakkuk, reporting for duty, sir!”

Now it was Avers’ turn to feel faint. Habakkuk. A carrier that existed merely as an idea on paper that combined ice and wood pulp into a substance called Pykrete. A hull forty feet thick, nearly four thousand feet long, nearly six hundred feet wide, and displacing 2.2 million tons. A ship so massive her air group contained four-engine bombers.

She’d never been built, so she had no experience whatsoever. She needed a shitload of training to even be ready to sortie. On the other hand, there was absolutely no way Japan could supply both her and the rest of the shipgirls. Scratch that…theoretically, they could do it, but the rest of Japan’s population would have to forgo eating completely to make it happen, and as much as Japan loved their shipgirls Avers knew they weren’t going to go for it.

Habakkuk was going to have to get her training done in the United States…there was no other way around it.

Avers turned to Robertson and smiled. Robertson looked worried.

“She’s going to America, isn’t she?” he asked resignedly.

Avers nodded. “She has to. There’s no possible way Japan can supply her.”

Robertson sighed; he knew Avers was right.

“And besides,” Avers reminded his XO, “the President will have no problem authorizing the supply increase to account for her…America’s the only country that has a hope of doing it.”

He turned back to the huge carrier-girl. “Sorry if it seemed like we were talking about you like you weren’t here. As you can probably tell, our supply situation is somewhat dire, what with all the new ships being summoned. And the larger a shipgirl was in her previous life – or, in your case, had you been built…” he trailed off.

“The more supplies they consume as a shipgirl,” Habakkuk finished, and Avers nodded.

The British carrier smiled. “I’ll try to be as least a drain on your supplies as possible, sir.”

“With the Pacific Abyssals severely limited, it should be easier to get supplies from America, but as soon as is practicable, you’ll be heading to the United States yourself.” Avers replied, then grinned. “And there you can eat all you want. But until then, find a seat and we’ll get you brought up to date.”

The massive carrier smiled in thanks and somehow managed to fold herself into one of the auditorium’s seats. Avers knew that until she left for the United States, special arrangements would have to be made so that she was at least somewhat comfortable; someone of Habakkuk’s stature and measurements was not going to fit in the bunks that were in the carrier dorms; even some of the Japanese carriers had trouble with them.

“Just out of curiosity,” Avers asked her before resuming the meeting, “how were you summoned?”

“I heard a song on the radio,” Habakkuk replied. “It had a catchy tune, too: ‘something, something, Ice, Ice, Baby’…” she trailed off, shrugging. “At least, I think that’s how it went.”

Avers had to bite his tongue hard enough to draw blood to keep from collapsing in hysterical laughter.

~~~

The following day, Harder was sitting down by the docks staring out at the water. He enjoyed looking out at the sea when he wasn’t training, and no one ever seemed to bother him. His fellow American subs were doing their own things: Albie was hanging out with Taiho, and Wahoo – when he wasn’t fending off giggling amorous suitors – was spending quite a bit of time with U-556. He sighed, smiling as he recalled a story some of the shipgirls told him about how one of the Japanese battleships had been fishing when she’d inadvertently hooked an Abyssal heavy cruiser, and it ended up being shot through the head by the Admiral because the battleship hadn’t had her combat rig with her.

Maybe I oughta take up fishing, the submarine mused.

“Um, excuse me…Harder-kun?” a timid female voice called out.

The submarine turned to find one of the Japanese destroyers standing there. Like all destroyers seemed to be, she was adorable…a petite little thing with deep blue eyes that matched her just-over-shoulder-length hair and had the potential to get someone to do anything they wanted. Her short navy skirt came down to mid-thigh, and her sailor shirt rode up just enough for him to catch a glimpse of her stomach. She was looking at him like she hated to bother him, and that she expected him to ask to be left alone.

“That’s me…what’s up?” Harder decided to be sociable for once.

“I-I just wanted to meet you,” the destroyer murmured. “My sisters told me the Destroyer Killer had been summoned, and I wanted to say hello.”

Harder inwardly rolled his eyes at the use of his nickname but smiled and nodded.

“Nice to meet you…what’s your name?”

“I-I’m Minazuki,” the destroyer stuttered, and instantly Harder knew their connection. 6 June 1944, off the Japanese fleet anchorage at Tawitawi, near Borneo…a tanker and its escorting destroyer were sighted…torpedoes fired…destroyer hit and blown up…yeah, he remembered her. She was the only remaining target of his he hadn’t met. Hayanami and Sagara Maru hadn’t been summoned yet, Tanikaze had run away screaming, and his chance meeting with Ikazuchi had been overshadowed by her light cruiser mom-boat standing nearby eyeing him suspiciously. To be honest, he was surprised this girl didn’t have sister ships or a mom-boat with her.

“Your squadron flagship isn’t with you?” he asked, wondering if he should expect a sneak attack by a light cruiser.

Minazuki shook her head. “No, I snuck off…my sisters Sacchin and Fumi-chan distracted her.”

“Nice,” Harder laughed. “But you might wanna get back…if she finds out you snuck off to have a clandestine meeting with the submarine that sank you during the war, she might get a little pissed.”

Minazuki shrugged. “Then she can be pissed…I heard Tatsuta-sama use an expression once: ‘Better to be pissed off than pissed on’.”

Harder was thankful he hadn’t been drinking when she’d said that, for he was certain if he had then he would’ve shot liquid from his nose.

“You have a point there,” he wheezed, attempting to get his laughter under control.

“I mean, I’ve heard from Iku that there are people out there who like being pissed on, but Natori-sama isn’t one of them. At least,” she amended, a thoughtful expression coming over her face, “I don’t think she is.”

Harder rolled his eyes at the mention of the submarine’s name; he’d met Iku in passing the previous day and figured that if there was anyone twisted enough in the head to tell an innocent destroyer about potty fetishes, it would be her. While marriage to a JMSDF NCO just as – if not more – perverted than her had made the Japanese submarine completely monogamous, it apparently hadn’t done anything to dampen – much less correct – her lewdness.

“I wouldn’t ask, if I were you,” he advised.

Minazuki giggled. “I won’t.” She glanced back at the naval base buildings. “This might seem like a strange question, but did you wanna hang out for a while?”

Harder looked surprised. “Don’t you have training or classes or something with your sisters?”

The destroyer shook her head. “Classes are done for the day, and besides,” she smiled shyly, “you look like you could use a friend.”

Honestly? Yeah, I could, Harder thought to himself. Damn…can this girl read me or what? He rose to his feet.

“Sure,” he replied. “Know of anywhere special we could go?”

“Mamiya-san’s Café is a popular spot…come on, I’ll show you!” Minazuki grabbed his hand and began to pull him with her.

Harder went willingly, although he tried very hard to ignore the tingle that had shot up his arm the instant the destroyer’s hand had touched his.

~~~

H.M.S. Hood was not having a very good day. She’d been stuck in her dorm most of the morning, and not because she was sick, either.

She was being stalked…by a lovesick – or just plain sick, she hadn’t decided which yet – French light cruiser. Her fellow battle cruisers were no help whatsoever; Renown gave her a sappy spiel about listening to her heart, while Repulse simply thought it was hilarious.

It was both a blessing and a curse that she wasn’t in some sort of leadership position in the British shipgirl hierarchy so that she could concentrate on those duties, but the leadership roles had been taken by Warspite, Achilles, and Renown. So, she was free to dwell on the fact she had an unwanted suitor. At least Bismarck hadn’t tried to pursue her romantically; being saved during Operation: Challenger Deep (as the final battle with the Pacific Abyssals had come to be known) by the very ship that blew her out of the water back in 1941 wasn’t something she was pleased about.

She huffed in frustration as she walked purposefully to the commissary for lunch. She’d had toast for breakfast in her dorm room, and for a battle cruiser such as herself, that just wasn’t going to cut it. A proper lunch was needed to keep her mind sharp on how to avoid that annoying Frenchman.

“Where are you, Darling?” a playful French voice cut into her thoughts. “I am looking somewhere for you!”

“Bloody hell!” Hood swore and ducked into a side street, temporarily giving up her plan to refuel.

She came out of the side street and came to a screeching halt. Her way was being blocked by three blonde shipgirls, who looked very pleased to find her alone.

“Can I help you?” Hood raised an eyebrow.

“You are H.M.S. Hood, oui?” One of the blondes asked with a French accent.

Hood nodded. “And you are?”

The blonde trio grinned maliciously.

“Perhaps you remember us from Mers El-Kebir?” the blonde on the right inquired. “Dunkerque,” she gestured to the shipgirl on the left, “Strasbourg,” she motioned to the blonde in the center, “and Bretagne?” she pointed to herself.

Hood froze, a conversation with Bismarck coming back to haunt her.

“And correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you have a little mix-up with the French fleet back in 1940? I imagine Dunkerque and Strasbourg, when they’re summoned, will want to discuss that matter with you…and I’m sure Bretagne has some strong feelings on the issue as well.”

The German battleship had been right.

Bloody hell…

Clanking noises brought Hood out of her thoughts. She was stunned to see all three French shipgirls had summoned their combat rigs…and every gun turret they had was now aimed directly at her.

“You know, Hood,” Bretagne smiled, looking like the cat who’d eaten the canary, “I believe karma is, how you say…the real bitch, no?” She grinned and turned to her companions. “It is payback time, oui?”

“Oui!” the other two chorused, and Hood braced herself as she saw the French gun turrets making final adjustments before opening fire. She sighed inwardly; without her combat rigging, she had no chance whatsoever. Her death during her encounter with Bismarck and Prinz Eugen in the Denmark Strait seemed noble compared to how her life as a shipgirl was going to end.

So much for the Pride of Britain, she thought, closing her eyes and awaiting the inevitable. God Save the Queen…Your Majesty, I’m sorry…

“STOP!” a voice yelled.

Hood cracked open one eye to see Émile Bertin running towards them, a look of outrage on his face directed at his fleet-mates. He came to a stop beside Hood, his own combat rig already summoned, and to Hood’s shock the light cruiser’s 6-inch guns were aimed at the trio of French battleships, who appeared just as surprised as the British battle cruiser.

“What gives you three the right to engage her in battle when she is unarmed? Have you no honor?” He spat in French.

“Where is the honor in engaging ships at anchor, using them for target practice when they are bottled up in their own harbor?” Bretagne snarled.

“She was following orders as a ship of the Royal Navy…she had no choice!” the light cruiser replied, before switching to English once more. “Would we not have done the same in her case, followed the orders of the officers appointed over us? She cannot be held responsible for the decisions made by those above her! If you wish to blame someone for what happened at Mers El-Kebir, blame that traitorous swine Churchill!” Émile Bertin spat the name as though it were the foulest of curses.

Dunkerque seemed to consider Émile Bertin’s words briefly before shrugging.

“You make some very valid points,” she stated. “But the fact remains that Monsieur Churchill is dead,” she glowered at Hood, “and she is not.” Her gun turrets once more targeted Hood. “And that needs to be rectified immédiatement.”

“Now step aside and let us complete our mission,” Strasbourg growled.

“Absolutely not!” Émile Bertin fired back. “As a Lieutenant de vaisseau (Lieutenant) in the Marine Nationale, I hereby order all of you to immediately STAND DOWN!”

Dunkerque and Strasbourg knew he had them there; the light cruiser did, in fact, outrank them. But they’d forgotten about the third member of the blonde trio.

“Belay that!” Bretagne snarled. “As a Lieutenant with four years’ Time in Grade to your three,” she smirked, “I hereby countermand the Lieutenant’s orders, and order you to step aside! Dunkerque, Strasbourg, prepare to fire on my command!”

“I will NOT step aside!” Émile Bertin yelled back. “If you wish to fire on her, you will fire on your fellow countryman as well!” he turned to Hood and took the stunned battle cruiser’s hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing it before turning back to the three battleships, coming to parade-ground attention, and saluting smartly.

“Vive l’amour!” he stated. “We die together!” His 6-inch guns targeted Bretagne, whose eyes widened in astonishment.

Hood was blown away by the light cruiser’s bravery and devotion. She’d done everything in her power to dissuade and/or reject him, and here he was defending her against ships he had no hope of defeating.

It’s sad I’m just realizing this now, she thought, closing her eyes in resignation. Who knows, we might’ve been good together…

“STAND DOWN, ALL OF YOU!”

The bellowed command had the effect of stopping everyone in their tracks. Even the crowd the spectacle had by now managed to attract ceased all chatter as though they were being spoken to as well.

A statuesque redhead made her way through the crowd, a look of absolute rage on her face. Even Bretagne didn’t bother to speak up; the Lieutenant Commander’s stripes on the newcomer’s jacket sleeve meant she no longer had any authority.

As the senior-ranking shipgirl broke through the crowd, all five of the would-be combatants – Hood included, as she was only a Lieutenant herself and she respected a higher rank no matter what their nationality – came to attention and saluted.

“What is the meaning of this?!” the newcomer snapped, returning their salutes impatiently.

“Ah, Richelieu,” Bretagne greeted. “We were just about to get retribution for our disgrace at Mers El-Kebir!” She smiled. “I know you were not at that battle, but would you like to join in for the sake of national honor?”

“Are you insane?!” Richelieu barked, turning on Bretagne like a viper. “Britain has been our ally for decades now! And here the three of you are like a pack of thieves, ambushing the pride of the Royal Navy when she is unarmed and planning to shoot her down like a dog!” She looked at the three battleships like they were something disgusting she’d accidentally stepped in. “You call yourselves battleships of the Marine Nationale? Disgraceful!”

Bretagne met Richelieu’s gaze without blinking, her sullen expression saying she still believed she was right but could do nothing about her situation as Richelieu was of a higher rank. Dunkerque and Strasbourg looked like they were about to burst into tears; all they’d wanted to do was gain some pride back after having been humiliated in the one surface action they’d participated in during the war. They never expected this reaction from the leader of the French contingent.

Richelieu turned to Hood and smiled for the first time, although everyone could tell she was horribly embarrassed at what had very nearly occurred.

“H.M.S. Hood, on behalf of the Marine Nationale, I apologize for my subordinates’ actions. I hope you do not paint all of us with the same brush, no?”

Hood shook her head. “No need to apologize, ma’am…I understand where they’re coming from. When I was summoned, one of the first ships I laid eyes on was Bismarck, and I immediately wanted to go after her. My own contingent leader had to knock some sense into me as well before I saw reason and accepted the fact that Germany and Britain have been allies for quite some time now.” She extended her hand to the French battleship, who eagerly clasped it. “I look forward to working with you in the hopes of defeating the Abyssals once and for all.”

“Très bien!” Richelieu laughed, before turning back to the blonde trio and glowering at them. “As for the three of you, you’re all on report and are relieved of duty and confined to quarters pending a disciplinary hearing!”

Bretagne’s expression morphed from sullen to irate, but Richelieu ignored her and turned to Émile Bertin.

“Émile Bertin,” she stated. “You have shown great honor here today. You defended what was right, even at the cost of being forced to stand against your own countrymen, and I commend you for that. It is a desirable trait for someone in a leadership position. Therefore, I hereby name you my Acting Executive Officer.”

As the light cruiser stammered out his thanks, Hood spared a moment to glance at Bretagne; the French battleship looked beyond livid at the recent turn of events. Having made that announcement, Richelieu turned her attention to the three battleships again.

“Left face!” she ordered. “Back to quarters, march!”

The three battleships marched off, Bretagne in the lead and Richelieu in command. As they left, and the crowd dispersed now that the action was over with, Hood turned to Émile Bertin.

“Thank you for what you did,” she stated. “I would’ve been badly hurt, if not dead, had you not bought time for Richelieu to get here.”

The light cruiser smiled bashfully. “It was nothing…I believe in standing up for what is right. I am also an officer and a gentleman, and a gentleman never fails to come the aid of a lady in distress.”

Hood smiled and leaned in. “Thank you all the same,” she replied, lightly kissing his cheek before walking off, leaving behind an utterly flummoxed French cruiser. She was several feet away before she heard him call out,

“Dinner tonight, Darling? Hosho’s Restaurant?”

Hood smirked to herself. She might have thought him annoying before, but any light cruiser who fearlessly faced down three of his own country’s battleships couldn’t be all that bad. She made a decision.

“I’m in the battleship dorms…pick me up at seven!”

If anyone had happened on the scene at that moment, they would’ve wondered why a British battle cruiser was walking away smirking and a French light cruiser was several feet away doing a happy dance.

~~~

Supply ship Irako walked purposefully towards the commissary. The kitchen crew had reported there was a new, unexpected employee amongst them, and that she was a miracle worker. For example, this morning’s breakfast fare had – courtesy of this new person – included some of the most incredible Belgian waffles and croissants that the supervisor had ever seen, or tasted, and as the supply ship neared the building in question, the delicious smell of French onion soup was making her stomach growl in anticipation.

Irako rarely ate in the commissary; being part owner in her own very successful restaurant meant she had little need to eat anywhere else. But today was special…she was going to try and recruit another partner into her, Hosho, Rex, and Conte’s business…someone who knew appeared to know French food inside and out.

She entered the commissary and greeted the kitchen crew amicably, looking around for any new faces but failing to spot one. Getting a bowl of soup – along with anything else that looked like the new person might have had a hand in preparing – she settled at a table and began eating. As she ate, her confidence in the decision she and her three partners had made to recruit this person. Now if only she could find said individual.

As she returned her bowl and utensils to the window, one of the attendants motioned her over.

“You’re here looking for the new person, aren’t you?”

Irako nodded. “Have you seen her?”

The attendant nodded. “When she saw you come in, she hid in the pantry. I don’t think she’s going to come out until you’re gone, so you might as well go in after her. Come on back.”

Irako thanked her as she came through the door leading into the kitchen and headed back to the vast pantry built onto the commissary. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. The room was well-lit, but she couldn’t see anyone; the person must be hiding way in the back somewhere.

“Hello?” she called out.

There was a scrabbling sound and a small ‘eep’ of surprise.

“You don’t have to be afraid…you’re not in any trouble,” the supply ship stated.

Irako heard footsteps and then the new person appeared. She was well over six feet tall, with brilliant red hair held back in a ponytail by a large black band. She wore a white peasant blouse and a long black skirt and was probably the prettiest girl Irako had ever seen. Wide emerald-green eyes looked at the supply ship shyly.

“You…you are not here to take me off to Basic Training?” she stuttered nervously.

“Basic training?” Irako echoed blankly. “Why would I do that?” she paused and then another question came to her mind. “Sorry…I probably should’ve asked who you were first.”

“I am le paquebot (the ocean liner) Normandie,” the shipgirl stated. “During my brief period of inactivity in New York after my country declared war, I was conscripted into the French Navy, where I attained the rank of Reserve Leading Seaman. But careless handling of flammable materials destroyed me at my berth, and I was later salvaged and cut up for scrap.” The green eyes flooded with tears. “I am no coward,” the liner stated, “but I do not wish to serve again, for I am no fighter. I ask you, please…let me aid France in another way!”

“I don’t think that will be a problem,” Irako stated. “We don’t really have need for troop transports in this war.”

“Really?” the question was asked so earnestly, Irako’s heart couldn’t help but go out to the poor girl.

“Really,” she replied. “Let me make a quick phone call to the Admiral in charge and we’ll make sure of that.”

She pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number she never thought she’d have to use.

“Admiral,” she stated when the line was answered, “this is Irako. I apologize if I’m interrupting anything important, but I have a situation here that I believe should probably be cleared up as soon as possible.”

~~~

That evening Avers walked through the door of his quarters feeling pretty good about himself. One of the perks of his job was when he got to deliver good news to a subordinate, and he’d gotten to do that very thing earlier that afternoon.

The liner Normandie had turned out to be the final French kanmusu summoned. And what was probably the most beautiful ocean liner ever built had become one of the prettiest shipgirls Avers had ever seen in his life. Not that he was looking, mind you, but being a sailor, he had a natural impulse to appreciate a beautiful woman when he saw one.

He placed his cap on the small table just inside the door and headed into the living room, finding his beautiful fiancée glancing over a planner and muttering under her breath.

“Hello, gorgeous,” he murmured, sitting down beside her and leaning over to kiss her cheek.

“Heyyy…” Kongo gazed at him and though she gave him one of her dazzling Kongo-smiles Avers could tell his beloved fast battleship was stressed-out.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her.

Kongo sighed in resignation, instinctively cuddling into Teitoku’s embrace.

“Nothing major…just wedding details, Dess,” she murmured into Avers’ chest.

The Admiral chuckled. “Sweetheart, I told you…I’ll be happy with anything you pick; you know I don’t have an eye for this stuff. That’s why I’m leaving everything up to you…so it will be everything you dreamed of on your special day.”

Kongo emitted a whine of frustration. “That’s one of the things wrong, Dess,” she complained. “We haven’t even decided when the ‘special day’ is…I can’t start making definite plans until we decide that.”

At that very moment Avers got an idea that he hoped his fiancée would love.

“Why not make a day you’ve always hated acknowledging into one you won’t want to ever forget?” he asked.

“Dess?” Kongo looked up at him questioningly.

“Let’s get married on November 21st,” Avers replied, bracing himself in case Kongo hated the idea.

However, the amazed smile that spread over the fast battleship’s face quickly reached blinding brilliance. Kongo couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it herself…her Teitoku was so smart! And such a romantic, too!

Avers didn’t get a worded reply but judging by the ecstatic squeal and the fact that Kongo immediately pounced on him, he had a feeling that the date for their wedding had officially been set.

Chapter Text

As August became September, life at the naval base slowly returned to normal after Avers’ return. Well, as normal as life at the naval base could get, anyways. Professor Tanabe had managed to repair the summoning chamber but had cut back on his rate of summoning; since the machine had been repaired, only four shipgirls – battleship Oklahoma and destroyers Cassin, Shaw, and Downes – had been summoned.

Upon first being summoned, Oklahoma – like most of the shipgirls – was disoriented, but after being informed of the situation appeared ready to fight the new enemy. That is, until she realized where she was and whom she was fighting alongside. Upon realizing that she was expected to make nice with the very same ships whose aircraft had ripped her guts out and capsized her at anchor…well, she wasn’t exactly jumping for joy. Upon meeting her Avers noted one thing immediately: though she hid it well, for this battlewagon, the war was not over. She wanted revenge, and she was going to do something about it the first chance she got. Avers made a note to keep an eye on her, for sooner or later she was going to make her move.

The three new destroyers were just the opposite: they accepted their circumstances. Despite all three having been present on 7 December 1941 – and all three having suffered catastrophic damage during the raid – Cassin, Shaw, and Downes had gone on to serve throughout the war and lived to see Japan surrender, so they bore no ill will towards their former enemies.

But even though there was an uncertain situation in that direction, one thing could always be counted on: there was always going to be some sort of chaos to make Avers forget about any potential problems. And destroyers – whether it be the adorable moe-blobs of DesDiv 6, the hyper little murder-balls of Taffy Three, or the nutcases of DesDiv 45 – were usually involved in said chaos somehow or another. It was especially true of the last bunch…they didn’t have a mom-boat to mind them, so most of the time they were left to their own devices.

Avers had vowed to string up and slowly dissect with a rusty Spork – and no anesthetic – whatever individual had thought it a good idea to introduce DesDiv 45 to the world of Jackass. He’d been forced to lie down on the couch in his office to calm his nerves when he saw the DesDiv 45 group Facebook page the quartet had created proudly bearing the statement ‘Johnny Knoxville is a god’. The YouTube channel they’d started – which catalogued their insane stunts, along with the reactions of whomever witnessed them – was currently at just over twenty thousand followers and climbing.

Today, however, DesDiv 45 had taken a break from their insane antics to help around the naval base. There was a dripping shower head in the bathroom on the second floor of their dorm room, and although Base Maintenance personnel had been informed of it, a dripping shower head was – when compared with some of the other problems on their list – quite minor and could be dealt with at a much-later date.

It had been two weeks since the dripping shower head had been reported to Base Maintenance and nothing had been done as of yet. Hence, it was only logical to infer that Base Maintenance had way too much on their plates and therefore would greatly appreciate some help.

And this is what led to DesDiv 45 making a preliminary reconnaissance on the leaky shower head before leaving base to take the ferry to the mainland. Once there, they headed over to the local Home Center store (Japan’s version of Home Depot or Lowe’s) where they purchased anything they thought they might need. After a not-so-quick detour to a large fireworks store en route back to base, they were now once more standing in the bathroom, looking determinedly at their opponent.

“That’s our objective, guys,” Stanly informed his brothers. “Make that thing stop leaking.”

“Well, first we gotta figure out why it’s leaking,” Charlie stated. “So, to do that, we –”

“Blast?” Claxton grinned hopefully, holding up a string of M80s and a lighter.

“Naw, dude! In plumbing you only use blasting as a last resort!” Dyson shot back.

“Right!” Charlie agreed. “Besides, you should always try a hammer first! And if that don’t work, then you can blast!”

“How about we first try removing the shower head?” Stanly quirked an eyebrow at his brothers’ tendency for the extreme.

“…or yeah, we could do that,” Claxton shrugged.

The destroyers quickly ran into an obstacle: the shower head was stuck tight. No amount of twisting it with their bare hands would dislodge it.

“Hmm…” Stanly mused, staring at the shower head as though he expected his intense, thoughtful gaze would dislodge it.

“Now can we blast?” Claxton asked, causing Dyson to roll his eyes.

“Dude, hold on! We haven’t even tried a hammer yet!”

“That’s the next step,” Stanly replied. “Charlie,” he addressed his nearest brother, “hand me that wrench, would ya?”

“No problem, bro,” the destroyer passed Stanly the large red monkey wrench, and the division leader hooked it onto the pipe sticking out of the wall that the shower head was attached to.

“Now, hand me the hammer,” he stated.

“Dude,” Claxton sounded uncertain, “while I’m all for blasting and shit, I dunno if I’ve ever heard a hammer referred to as ‘the plumber’s helper’.”

Dyson scoffed. “Of course not, dude…plumbing’s a serious business! You think those guys are gonna reveal their secrets to just anyone?”

“True,” Claxton conceded.

“More workie, less talkie,” Stanly stated, taking the hammer from Charlie and positioning it against the handle of the wrench.

“Here we go!” he stated and swung firmly. The hammer impacted squarely with the wrench handle, just like he’d planned.

There was a loud metallic ‘chink’ and the pipe sticking out of the wall broke off.

Stanly lowered the wrench that was still firmly grasping the piece of pipe attached to the shower head. Charlie reached up and took hold of the shower head. To everyone’s surprise, it now turned easily and quickly slipped off the chunk of pipe.

As one, the four destroyers looked back up at the busted pipe sticking out of the wall.

“Huh…” Dyson trailed off.

“Told ya we shoulda blasted,” Claxton muttered.

“This job just got a whole lot more complicated,” Stanly stated.

“Least the shower head finally came off,” Charlie decided to look on the bright side.

~~~

The next morning, destroyer Tashkent made her way up to her dorm room after a sleepover at DesDiv 6’s home. She’d befriended Hibiki upon discovering the Japanese destroyer had served in the Soviet Navy for eight years after the war, and as such the pair got along quite well. She found it interesting to see how grounded and serious Hibiki was in the midst of her three sister ships, a sword-wielding, eye-patch-wearing mom-boat, a Supply Officer father figure who worshipped the ground said mom-boat walked on, and an adopted brother who – more often than not – appeared shell-shocked by the insanity around him.

Now the Russian destroyer had returned to her dorm after a good time with some friends. As she made her way down the hall, the murmur of voices and several rumblings that sounded like rubble collapsing coming from the communal bathroom piqued her interest, so she headed in that direction.

When she pushed open the door, her jaw dropped at the sight she beheld. While most of the bathroom was perfectly fine, one shower stall had been completely decimated. Broken tiles were everywhere, the surrounding wall had had large holes apparently blasted out of it, and several pipes that looked like they should have been inside the wall now lay on the floor amidst the rubble. And sitting on benches nearby, looking quite satisfied, were the four destroyers of DesDiv 45.

“Guys, I’d say this was a job well-done,” Stanly grinned at his brothers.

“Yep,” Charlie agreed. “Thought for sure we’d hit a snag when that pipe broke, but we powered through.”

“Didn’t I tell ya? Super Glue works wonders,” Dyson put in.

“As does spot-welding,” Claxton stated, glancing over at the welding rig in the corner. “And I even got to blast some, too.”

“Bozhe moi!” Tashkent exclaimed as she beheld the chaos. “What have you four done here?!”

“Oh hey, Tash!” Dyson actually waved at the Russian destroyer.

“We decided to help out Base Maintenance,” Charlie replied. He grinned and pointed at the shower head. “That ol’ shower head won’t leak anymore, that’s for sure!”

“Yep! All it took was planning, some ingenuity, and nineteen straight hours of hard work!” Claxton chimed in.

“Hey, if you wanna make an omelet, you gotta break some eggs,” Stanly reminded his brothers.

“This place looks like Tidy Bowl Man went berserk,” Tashkent muttered, causing Claxton and Dyson to burst out laughing. Charlie reached over and picked up one of the pipes lying on the ground.

“Hey, Bro,” he asked Stanly, “Where does this go?”

Stanly looked at the pipe for a few moments, then over at one of the holes in the wall, and then back at the pipe again before answering his brother.

“Trash,” he replied. Charlie nodded in satisfaction and tossed the pipe onto a pile of broken tiles. Tashkent groaned and shook her head.

Stanly stood up and dusted off the knees of his pants. “C’mon, guys…let’s button this job up. Tonight’s Movie Night, and I’m not missing Dr. Strange.” He walked over to the faucet. “I think it’s time for a test run.”

Tashkent decided to go check her hair at one of the mirrors. As long as she didn’t actually see the chaos, then she couldn’t be called as a witness in any investigations.

Stanly reached down and turned the faucet knobs. A sound like engines powering up for takeoff rumbled through the bathroom. The formerly leaky shower head blasted off the spot-welded end of the pipe, shot across the bathroom, and straight into a mirror on the opposite wall, shattering it.

DesDiv 45 watched it go, then turned and gazed at the pipe that was now gushing water at an alarming rate. Suddenly they snapped out of it; Stanly reached down and fiddled with the faucet knobs in an attempt to turn off the water; they turned loosely, and when he twisted them far enough over to one side they simply fell off in his hands. He stood back up, holding a knob in each hand, and gave his brothers a stricken look.

“Uh-oh…” Charlie, Claxton, and Dyson chorused.

“Well, do something!” Stanly ordered the others.

Charlie bent down and rummaged in a tool satchel, pulling out a rubber mallet and a large cork.

“Stand aside, fellas!” He held up the items like they were relics that would save the world. “Charlie Ausburne’s gonna save the day!”

Bracing the cork against the torrent of water, he pressed it against the broken piece of pipe and hammered it in using the rubber mallet. The flow of water slowed, then ceased.

“See?” the destroyer grinned at his brothers. “Nothin’ to it!”

Tashkent refused to look in the direction of the chaos and continued messing with her hair. She was thinking she should probably leave the bathroom altogether when the knobs on the faucet of her sink were blown off by water escaping, showering her with twin streams of water and turning her hair into a mess. The destroyer shrieked in surprise and jumped back from the sink, cursing wildly in Russian.

“Whoa…I dunno what the hell she’s saying, but it don’t sound good,” Dyson muttered.

“Tash! Plug the holes with your fingers!” Stanly called.

The Russian destroyer swore and did as he asked, incredibly pissed-off that she’d allowed herself to be inadvertently dragged into the chaos that was anything DesDiv 45 attempted to do.

As Tashkent plugged up the faucet holes with her fingers, an even bigger cacophony arose as the water decided to blast out of the five toilets in the bathroom.

“Don’t look at me for this one!” Tashkent yelled. “And someone get over here and help me…my fingers are now stuck!”

“Get some nails, boys!” Charlie yelled as Claxton and Dyson went over to help the Russian destroyer. “Let’s start nailing toilet lids down!”

“Those things are porcelain, not wood!” Stanly hollered. “Nails won’t do anything to ‘em!”

Once Tashkent’s fingers were freed, Stanly turned to the group. “Each of you take a toilet, close the lid, and sit down! We’ll trap the water that way!”

Tashkent looked at him like he was crazy, but she was also forced to admit to herself that she knew nothing about plumbing repair; maybe Stanly’s idea was insane enough to work.

And to her astonishment, it did work…for all of about thirty seconds. Then two sinks literally exploded off the pipes they were mounted on, sending a clear message to the five destroyers: the water was now in charge.

“ABANDON BATHROOM!” Stanly yelled. “Let’s get down to the first floor and shut off the water, then we can go get some Shop-Vacs and clean up this mess!”

The group turned and headed for the door but stopped dead when they saw the repair detail from Base Maintenance standing there, gaping as though unable to believe what they were seeing.

~~~

Warrant Officer Sosuke Zeisho had seen quite a bit in his time with the World Kanmusu Fleet. And while most people would think that being a part of the Base Maintenance group was probably the shittiest job there was – the chaos of Pacific War-era warships adapting to life in the 21st Century and living in human form had been known to create epic-scale damage and messes – it was actually the cushiest job around.

The Base Maintenance group got paid monthly like all military personnel, but – as they were also some of the most hard-working (due to how often chaos occurred) and under-appreciated people on base – they also received a stipend depending on how big a mess they had to clean up. Even better, promotions were on a set scale, and one didn’t have to have a college degree or have gone to an Armed Forces Academy to become an officer; Zeisho himself had only two more months before he was eligible for promotion, and if he was honest, he saw himself staying in uniform for the long haul. But up until a few moments ago, he’d just been looking forward to getting commissioned two months from now; Ensign Zeisho sounded pretty damn good to him.

Then he and his detachment had gotten the call to go fix a leaky shower head in one of the destroyer dorm bathrooms. While it wasn’t a major mess, they’d packed up their tools and headed over there, expecting to be there and gone within the hour.

Boy, were they wrong. But while the magnitude of the mess was astounding, neither Zeisho nor his men minded one bit. Again, they got paid a stipend depending on how big a mess they had to clean up. And this mess looked like it was going to earn him a check that would give his younger sisters one hell of a Merry Christmas.

But first they had to contain the damage. Zeisho whirled to face his detail, his attention zeroing in on the personnel nearest the stairwell.

“Sato! Get downstairs and shut off the water! Komura, Inami, the two of you go find three or four wet-dry vacs and one of those big rolls of black contractor bags! Let’s get this done in a hurry…let the higher-ups know that Repair Team 6 doesn’t waste time!”

“Hai!” the three enlisted men responded and took off. Zeisho turned back to the five destroyers.

“All right,” he stated, “I have got to hear how this one started.”

The four male destroyers began talking over one another, babbling excitedly about how they’d decided to help out since Base Maintenance seemed to have a lot on their plate, only they’d hit a snag when the pipe broke and things just seemed to go downhill when they decided to test out their repairs and wasn’t that always the way of things?

“Hey, Chief?” Zeisho turned to see Petty Officer 3rd Class Muneo Imanishi looking at the pipe with the cork jammed into it. “This pipe looks like it was spot-welded.”

“Yeah, that was our way of fixing the pipe when it broke,” Charlie replied.

“As you can see, it didn’t really work,” Stanly put in.

“Kid…the terms ‘plumbing’ and ‘spot-welding’ aren’t supposed to go together,” Imanishi groaned. “In fact, they’re pretty much on the opposite ends of the spectrum!”

A faerie crawled out of Stanly’s shirt and stood on his shoulder. From the way the little man was waving and the amount of tiny ‘Hey’s he was emitting, it was obvious he disagreed with what Imanishi was saying. Imanishi listened to what was being said – somehow, he could understand every word of it – and then nodded.

“Understood, Chief, sorry for doubting you.”

Zeisho turned back to the group in front of him. Save for all the water everywhere, the damage was really only confined to the one shower stall, and his team could have that finished by the end of the day.

“Our apologies for making all this work for you,” the lone girl stated in a Russian accent.

Zeisho smiled courteously at her. “Don’t worry about it…Base Maintenance personnel get a stipend check for every job they have to do that results from ship-person chaos. This job right here will probably buy my younger sisters that PlayStation 5 they want for Christmas, so actually I should be thanking you.”

The Russian destroyer giggled, and Zeisho forced himself to ignore how pretty she was.

~~~

Twenty minutes later, Tashkent and DesDiv 45 headed out of the restroom. Zeisho’s team had the repairs well in hand, and they quickly told the destroyers they didn’t need help in their repairs; Claxton’s longing glance at the spot-welding rig and then his random fiddling with some fireworks and a lighter probably accelerated the repair team’s efforts to get them out of there.

As they exited, they found Mutsu coming up the stairs with five more destroyer boys.

“And this is the upstairs, where you’ll be located –” she stopped her tour upon seeing DesDiv 45. “Oh, and here are your neighbors on this floor –” She stopped again, seeing the stunned looks on the eight Americans’ faces.

“Stanly? Charlie?” one whispered.

“Clax? Dys?” another gasped.

“DUDES!” Claxton exclaimed to his brothers, “Look who it is! DesDiv 46! Converse, Foote, Spence, Thatcher, and our squadron flagship Aulick!”

“Nicky’s back, too,” Spence put in. “She’s with Willie, Bannie, and Kidd.”

“Awesome!” DesDiv 45 exclaimed.

An extremely excitable reunion followed as Mutsu and Tashkent looked on. Mutsu smiled fondly, remembering her own emotional reunion with her own sister ship, while Tashkent looked on in horror. Her four neighbors were insane enough, but she’d tolerated them up to now; now there were five more. And they all knew each other. They’d all served together…in the same squadron, no less. They were all brothers.

“No…absolutely not! I am not dealing with this!” The Russian destroyer muttered, shaking her head as she turned away and headed purposefully down the hall to her room.

“Something wrong, Tash?” Mutsu followed her, standing in the doorway looking concerned.

“Nine boys?!” The Russian destroyer whirled to face the Japanese battleship. “I am forced to share floor – and bathroom, let’s not forget that – with nine BOYS?!”

Mutsu bit her lip, finding it very hard to not burst out laughing.

“The four boys were crazy enough, now there are five more?! I leave for one night, they destroy bathroom by playing plumber! What if I leave for week on maneuvers?” the Russian destroyer complained. “Will dorm still be standing when I return? Between nine of them, I think not!”

Mutsu couldn’t handle it anymore and burst out giggling.

“It’s not funny!” Tashkent exclaimed in Russian, but Mutsu waved off her anger.

“I’m sorry,” she giggled. “It’s just that it’s so cute…you’re finding out what it’s like to live with younger siblings…isn’t it fun?”

“Nyet!” Tashkent gestured in the direction of the bathroom. “They are…how you say…touched in head, yes? They have no regard for their personal safety…did you know they play baseball with balls filled with explosive powder from depth-charges?”

Mutsu nodded. “The Admiral told us about that one.”

Tashkent nodded. “What kind of personnel do these sorts of things?”

“Well,” Mutsu replied, “the motto of the U.S. Navy destroyer force during World War II was ‘Live Fast, Die Hard, Take Many With You’…I guess they’ve just chosen to live that phrase to the fullest.”

“‘Live Fast’…fine,” Tashkent replied. “‘Die Hard’…that’s their business. But ‘Take Many With You’ part? Have that pertain only to enemy, not neighbors in dormitory!”

As if in reply to the Russian destroyer’s statement, a conversation drifted down the hall from DesDiv 45’s room.

“Dude, what’re these things?” Spence’s voice was heard asking.

“FGM-148 Javelins,” Stanly replied. “Don’t mess with ‘em…nobody knows they’re in here.”

“They don’t look like javelins,” Foote put in.

“That’s just the name for ‘em,” came the reply. “They’re anti-tank missiles.”

“AWESOME!” Thatcher replied. “Can we shoot one?”

Mutsu’s eyes widened in horror. Tashkent gestured in the direction of the conversation as if to say, ‘my point exactly’.

There was a reluctant sigh before Stanly replied with, “Oh, fine…I got a case of thirty plus three spares, anyways. Just do it outside, will ya?”

~~~

“Well, I wasn’t gonna fire it off in here, duh!” his brother ship replied, hefting the nearly-fifty-pound rig with ease and walking into the hallway.

“Just making sure,” Stanly murmured before turning to a futuristic-looking gun on his desk.

“Wuzzat, dude?” Foote looked at it with interest.

“That’s the fully functional blaster I’m building,” Stanly replied. “It’s based off the one Han Solo used in the original Star Wars.”

“What’s Star Wars?” Thatcher asked. “Sounds cool.”

“Only the most epically awesome movie EVER!!!” Claxton yelled. “Dudes!” He yelled to the rest of DesDiv 45, “We gotta show these guys Star Wars…they’ll go nuts!”

“I’m not missing Dr. Strange,” Stanly replied, “but you guys can stay here and watch Star Wars if you want to.”

“Nah, we’ll come with you,” Aulick replied. “Then we can come back here and marathon Star Wars.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Converse put in. “How many Star Wars movies are there?”

“Right now there’re seven,” Stanly replied. “An off-shoot, Rogue One, is supposed to be coming out this Christmas, and then Episode VIII sometime next year.”

“The first three films are the prequels, but they came out like twenty years after Episodes IV, V, and VI,” Claxton stated.

“Why’d they do that?” Converse wondered.

“I dunno,” Dyson replied, “but we’ll watch ‘em in order. The first three have a really hot Princess in ‘em!”

“Episode VI has a girl in a skimpy metal bikini,” Charlie grinned.

“Girl in a metal bikini?” Spence, who’d been listening to the conversation while he was out in the hallway fiddling with the Javelin, stuck his head back in the room. “Dudes, I’m there!”

“I know, right?” Aulick grinned. “I haven’t even seen these films yet, but already I’m likin’ ‘em more and more.”

Spence gave his brother a thumbs-up and ducked back into the hallway.

~~~

“You see what I will be living with?” Tashkent informed Mutsu. “Why I cannot simply room with Japanese destroyers or with my fellow Russian ships I will never know!”

“Come on, it won’t be that bad,” Mutsu tried encouraging the Russian destroyer. “Besides, they haven’t even lived here one day –”

“WHA-HAAA!!!” There was a yell from the hallway followed by roar of a missile launching. Mutsu stuck her head out of Tashkent’s room, saw the Javelin streaking down the hallway seemingly straight for her nose, and jumped back into the Russian destroyer’s room with a girlish shriek. The missile roared down the hall and impacted with the window on the far end.

Normally a Javelin’s two-man crew set the missile so that only impact with a heavily armored surface would set it off, but in this case the two-man, highly trained U.S. Army crew had been replaced by a single, newly summoned, eager-to-use-expensive-things-that-go-‘boom’ Fletcher-class destroyer. As such, when the Javelin hit the window, it detonated, rocking the building and obliterating the entire upper wall of the building and part of the roof, and rendering three – thankfully unoccupied – dorm rooms in the building completely unusable.

DesRon 23 stuck their heads out of DesDiv 45’s room and gaped at the giant hole at the end of the hall.

“Whoa…” Spence trailed off, stunned. “Weapons sure have changed since my day.”

“Dude!” Thatcher exclaimed. “Most-epically AWESOME! We gotta do that again!”

“Hell yeah!” Converse replied. “Let’s draw straws and whoever draws the short straw has to stand there while another of us fires one of those things at him!”

“Well, I’ve always wanted to see what would happen if one of us got hit with one…” Stanly mused. “It’s an experiment worth trying.” He glowered at his brother. “But we’ll do it outside, which is where you were supposed to have fired that thing!”

“Oh, you meant ‘outside’ as in ‘outside the dorm’, not ‘outside in the hall’,” Spence nodded in understanding. “My bad, bro.”

“Meh, no harm, no foul,” Stanly shrugged.

The door to the bathroom creaked open and Zeisho and his men crept out. The Warrant Officer took one look at the hole and his jaw hit the floor.

“What happened here?!” he gaped.

Stanly snapped a couple pictures of the mess with his digital camera. “The effects of firing off a Javelin anti-tank missile indoors.”

Zeisho didn’t even want to think about how the destroyer had gotten his hands on such a thing. But his second-in-command, Petty Officer 2nd Class Yasumi Kato, was already barking orders to the rest of the men.

“Get back to Supply and get wood beams, bricks, mortar, a new window, some really big ladders, and roofing tiles! We were on-scene first…this is our job, not Team Four’s! Now move it!”

“Hai!”

Zeisho nodded with approval at how fast his XO snapped to it, then turned to the destroyers.

“Who fired off that missile?”

“That’d be me,” replied the one standing in the middle of the hallway looking down at the launch unit.

Zeisho walked up to him and – to the destroyer’s surprise – hugged him.

“Thank you…because of this incident, I can probably make a down payment on a 2018 Infiniti Q70.”

“Um…no problem, dude,” Spence looked uncertain.

Nearby, Tashkent stuck her head out of her room and gasped at seeing the damage, then looked at the other end of the hall and saw the culprits. She stormed out of her room.

“Well, now you’ve got it, Toyota!” she completely misused the American phrase. “Thanks to this, we’ll all have to move!”

Spence turned and gave the Russian shipgirl a very appreciative once-over. “The name’s Spence, Red,” he replied, giving his fellow destroyer a grin. “How you doin’?”

“I…you…ohhhh!” Tashkent stormed back to her room, muttering darkly under her breath in Russian.

“See?” Mutsu grinned as the destroyer flounced in and sat in her desk chair, “you can’t even get mad at them…they’re like your younger brothers already.”

Tashkent groaned when she realized – though she was loath to admit it – that the battleship was right.

~~~

The missile explosion was heard throughout the naval base. In his quarters, Avers sat up in bed and looked around blearily.

“Whadda hell wuzzat?” he muttered sleepily before glancing at the clock. Upon seeing 1000 he did a mental calculation and realized he’d only been asleep six hours. He and Kongo had had – typically for a Friday – a late night.

“Teitoku-des?” a sleepy voice called before a flawless-skinned, naked arm poked out of the cocoon of blankets and pulled Avers back down. The Admiral settled back into the blankets and pulled his fast battleship into his arms.

“It was probably another bit of chaos,” he murmured, “about which I’ll have yet another screaming fit. But,” he amended, smiling contentedly with his eyes closed, “it’s Saturday, I’m off-duty, and I have a beautiful woman in my arms. So, they can deal with it themselves for once.”

Kongo giggled sleepily before snuggling up to her Teitoku and lapsing back into sleep. Avers was quick to follow her.

~~~

Over at a house on base, the missile incident was completely overlooked. DesDiv 6 had risen late and – after saying goodbye to Tashkent – three of the four were currently scooping food into Joji’s dog bowl while the Great Dane watched them with rapt attention.

“Why don’t we let Joji-san feed himself?” Akatsuki complained as she held the forty-pound bag of dog food so that her sister ships could scoop some out.

“We tried that before in the past, nanodesu,” Inazuma replied.

“Yeah, and Mama wasn’t too happy, remember?” Ikazuchi put in.

“Oh, yeah…” Akatsuki trailed off. “Daddy thought it was funny, though.”

“He didn’t think it was funny when Mama made him go pick up Joji’s messes from the yard, so the maintenance crews could cut the grass,” Ikazuchi shot back.

“True,” Akatsuki conceded.

“Oops!” Ikazuchi spilled a scoop of dog food on the floor. Joji pounced immediately and it was gone in seconds.

“Thank you, Joji-san!” the little destroyer squealed. “You’re such a good boy, cleaning up that mess for me!” She hugged the big dog and giggled when he showered her face with doggy kisses.

“You spilled food, Ikazuchi-chan,” Inazuma stated, “I don’t think Joji-san was going to leave it on the floor, nanodesu.”

~~~

While her sister ships fed the dog, Hibiki knocked on their brother’s door.

“Gavin-san? Are you awake?” the silver-haired destroyer poked her head into the room to find Gavin crouched over the drafting table he’d set up, glancing between a set of blueprint paper he’d tacked to the board and a sheet of schematics nearby.

“Have been since seven,” the boy absently responded. “Morning, Hibiki…did you sleep well?”

“Da,” she responded, forcing down the blush that always seemed to rise to her face whenever Gavin asked how she was doing. “And you?”

“Quite satisfactory,” Gavin replied. “Thanks again for the blueprints you got for me…they’ve worked out quite well.”

“You’re welcome,” Hibiki replied. “What exactly are you trying to make?”

Her friend turned to face her for the first time that day and grinned excitedly. Hibiki forced herself to ignore the small thrill she felt at seeing him smile.

“Come and see!” he stated excitedly. The silver-haired destroyer walked over and looked at the blueprints.

“Behold!” Gavin stated excitedly. “Kanmu-Shoes!”

“‘Kanmu-Shoes’?” Hibiki raised an eyebrow, uncertain as to what she was looking at.

“Shoes for humans that will give them shipgirl propulsion abilities on water!” Gavin grinned at her.

Hibiki’s jaw dropped. “Bozhe moi…” she trailed off, stunned at what Gavin had accomplished. “And you’re confident this will work?” she asked.

Gavin nodded. “Simple physics is all it is. And if you know how to use skates you can balance on these…same principle. I’m going to have several versions; here’s the list.”

He gave the destroyer a piece of paper with the product names written on them:

Type I ‘Big Seven’ – slower speed version for beginners.
Type II ‘Junkan’ – cruiser speed for more experienced users.
Type III ‘Hibiki’ – destroyer speed for those wanting to go fast.
Type IV ‘Fletcher’ – competition version for those wishing to do fancy moves.
Type V ‘Wind Racer’ – high-speed professional racing version.

Hibiki blushed when she saw the Type III carried her nickname. “You named one of your products after me?” she asked.

Gavin nodded. “Sure…why not? You’re my best friend.”

He was completely surprised by the fierce hug he got in return.

“Khorosho,” said best friend muttered.

~~~

Over in another bedroom, light cruiser Tenryu slowly came awake. She stretched like a cat as she turned over and smiled upon seeing her fiancé still dead to the world. Deciding that since she was awake and therefore he should be too, she snuggled up against him, molding her body to his and nuzzling his neck.

“Eddie…” she purred. “Wake up…”

Blaskewicz groaned sleepily. “Mmm…five more minutes, ‘k, Mom? I don’t wanna go feed the chickens. It’s cold outside.”

Tenryu snorted into his neck and giggled. That reaction got the Supply Officer to awaken; he grinned upon realizing where he was and that not only did he not have to get up and feed chickens, but that there was a gorgeous, scantily clad young woman cuddled up against him.

“Morning, babe,” he wrapped his arms around Tenryu and kissed her deeply.

“Mmm…it is now,” the light cruiser grinned.

“Sleep well?” Blaskewicz asked, and his fiancée nodded. “Like a rock.”

Tenryu glanced over at the calendar tacked to the wall and sighed before hiding her face in Blaskewicz’s chest. “We really need to get cracking on wedding plans,” she murmured. “I don’t wanna be engaged forever…I want to be married.”

“We gotta pick a date first, Ten,” Blaskewicz replied. “Besides, the food’s going to be easy to pick…the shipgirls on base’ll eat anything; we just gotta decide how much to get.”

Tenryu giggled, knowing what he said was completely true.

“And as for picking a date, why don’t we do like Mancini and Ashigara did and take a page from the Admiral and Kongo’s plans?” Blaskewicz offered.

“What do you mean?” Tenryu pulled her head up to look him in the eye.

“Well, the Admiral and Kongo are getting married on November 21st, right? That’s the day Kongo was sunk,” Blaskewicz stated, and Tenryu nodded.

“Yeah, so?”

“Well, Mancini and Ashigara picked June 8th of next year as the date for their wedding,” Blaskewicz informed her. “You know what happened on that day in 1945.” When Tenryu nodded he continued. “If you’re amenable, why don’t we do the same thing?”

“Huh?” Tenryu’s sleep-fogged brain was still in start-up mode and therefore couldn’t make the connection to what Blaskewicz was saying. The Supply Officer grinned.

“Let’s have our wedding on December 19th.”

Tenryu didn’t want to admit to herself how incredibly sweet she thought Blaskewicz’s idea was, so she decided to show him instead by kissing the living daylights out of him, separating only when both of them were forced to breathe in order to keep from passing out.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” Blaskewicz responded, causing the light cruiser to giggle and nod.

~~~

Destroyer Minazuki was bored. Harder-kun wasn’t up yet, and Natori-sama had gone out shopping with Nagara-sama, so she and the rest of DesDiv 22 had been temporarily left to their own devices. Natori hadn’t been too worried about doing so; her four destroyers were fairly level-headed girls that didn’t get into much mischief, so she felt like she could leave them alone for a few hours.

However, Minazuki’s list of solutions to her boredom didn’t include wandering into the summoning chamber to see what Professor Tanabe was doing. Yet here she and DesDiv 22 were, watching every move the Professor made. To his credit, the Professor didn’t seem to mind; he was going about his business and answering any questions the four destroyers posed to him, but Minazuki could see that he was probably going to start summoning soon, so they’d better get ready to move on.

“Girls,” Professor Tanabe stated, “I’ll be right back…I need to use the restroom. Please don’t touch anything, ok?

DesDiv 22 nodded.

At that moment, however, the building’s air conditioner came on. It caught one of Hoppo’s hairs that had stuck to Satsuki’s jacket the previous evening when the little Abyssal had given the destroyer a hug. Unnoticed, the strand of hair coasted around the room on the gust of air…and right into the summoning pool.

No sooner had Tanabe left the room than the summoning pool began shimmering.

“What did you guys touch?!” Satsuki glanced frantically between her sister ships.

“N-Nothing, Sacchin!” Fumizuki stuttered.

“Same here!” Nagatsuki replied.

Minazuki merely held her hands up and shook her head to show she too wasn’t to blame for what the machine was doing.

The summoning pool sparkled and shimmered some more before a girl broke the water’s surface, causing DesDiv 22 to gasp. She had porcelain skin and white hair to match, and DesDiv 22 recognized what she was almost immediately: an Abyssal Re-class aviation battleship.

“Sh-She’s…” Nagatsuki trailed off, stunned.

“H-How…?” Fumizuki stuttered.

“Uh-oh…” Satsuki muttered, certain they were going to get blamed for this.

Suddenly, the girl moaned and sat up. Amethyst-colored eyes blinked open with a blue flash, and the mid-thigh length leather greatcoat and black-and-white vertical striped scarf she wore shifted as she changed positions. Her eyes landed on the now-terrified DesDiv 22, but instead of attacking, she smiled widely, particularly when she laid eyes on Satsuki.

The four destroyers whimpered, knowing they had virtually no chance against such a powerful opponent, especially at such close range.

“Ma…ma?” the battleship asked, looking at Satsuki.

Of all the things the destroyers expected her to say, that was certainly not one of them.

“EHHH?!” Satsuki gaped. Her sister ships could only blink in astonishment.

“What’s your name?” Fumizuki asked, figuring that if they weren’t going to be attacked, they could at least try to be friendly.

The Abyssal blinked. “I am…Re?” she responded questioningly.

“That’s your class,” Nagatsuki responded. “What’s your name?”

“No, no…” Satsuki cut her off, “She can be called Re-chan if she wants…I think Re’s a pretty name.” She went over to the Abyssal and knelt. “I’m Satsuki. These are my sister ships Nagatsuki, Fumizuki, and Minazuki.”

“Suki-chan,” Re stated, before grabbing Satsuki and hugging her tightly.

“GLACK!” the little destroyer gasped for air before being released once Re-chan realized her new friend was having trouble breathing.

“I’m sorry, Suki-chan,” she murmured. “I don’t know my own strength.”

“That’s kinda scary when you realize she’s a battleship,” Nagatsuki muttered. “What’re we gonna do with her? The Admiral finds out an Abyssal was summoned, he’s gonna go postal.”

“He doesn’t have to find out about her,” Satsuki stated. “Come on…let’s get her back to the dorm.”

Minazuki grinned excitedly. Now she had a reason to wake up Harder-kun!

“I know someone who can help us!” she informed her sisters. “I’ll run and get them!”

“Good idea, Mina-chan,” Satsuki stated. “Fumi-chan, go with her. Naga-chan and I’ll get Re-chan back to the dorm.”

“Right! Come on, Fumi-chan!” Minazuki took off, Fumizuki following behind her. Satsuki and Nagatsuki ushered Re-chan out of the building soon after.

No sooner had they departed with the accidental summons than Professor Tanabe came back from the restroom. He glanced around the room, surprised at finding it empty, then shrugged. Time to get to work…there was summoning to be done.

~~~

Harder was in that twilight space between sleep and full wakefulness when he was rudely jarred back to consciousness by a pounding on his door.

“Huh? Whassamatta?” he murmured incoherently, before realizing someone was pounding on his door. He sat up with a groan. “Hang on!” he called. “I’ll be there in a sec!”

He swung his legs over the side of his bunk and staggered to the door before opening it. “What’s wrong?”

Silence greeted him. The submarine blinked and forced his eyes open to find two Japanese destroyer girls staring at him in shock.

~~~

Minazuki had been excited that she was going to spend more time with Harder-kun. However, when he opened his door all thoughts of spending the day with him vanished and were replaced with – to her embarrassment – thoughts of her telling Fumi-chan to go on without her and then inviting herself to spend the rest of the day alone with her friend, whom she was now seeing in a very different light.

She was pleased to see her Harder-kun had a very fit body with several tattoos on it: the number ‘257’ was on both his upper arms in white, while his wartime ‘score’ was tattooed on the left side of his ribcage. The fanciest tattoo was on the right side of his ribcage: a silver oak leaf entwined in the blue neck ribbon of a Medal of Honor, with the name ‘S. D. Dealy’ inscribed on the oak leaf in navy blue. In addition, the phrase ‘Hit ‘em Harder!’ was written in quotations above the oak leaf and the dates ‘02-12-1942 – 24-08-1944’ were written in navy gold on the blue neck ribbon.

Minazuki blushed as thoughts of tracing the lines of the fancy tattoo with her tongue flashed through her mind. She glanced at her sister ship and saw that Fumi-chan didn’t mind what she was seeing, either. She forced herself not to show jealousy.

“Hey…you guys okay?” Harder asked the two daydreaming destroyers. At the sound of his voice, Minazuki shook herself from her daze and smiled excitedly at the submarine.

“Harder-kun! We need your help! Oh,” she blushed, realizing her sister was still standing beside her and had not been properly introduced, “this is my sister Fumizuki.”

“Nice save,” Fumizuki muttered, smirking. While she certainly appreciated the sight of the shirtless submarine, she could see by her sister ship’s reaction that he’d been claimed. And Mina-chan certainly had history with him; this was the sub that had sunk her back in 1944.

“Nice to meet you,” Harder scratched his chest groggily. “Guess I should get some clothes on, huh?” he smirked when he noticed both destroyers’ eyes following the movements of his hand.

His question once more jarred the destroyers out of Happy-Shirtless-Submarine Land and back into reality, causing them both to blush violently.

“Harder-kun!” Minazuki whined, flustered.

“Sorry, Mina,” the submarine used his nickname for her, “couldn’t resist.” He walked into the small bathroom attached to his quarters and began getting ready for the day. “You said you needed my help?”

Minazuki nodded and began to explain the situation.

~~~

“So basically, some girl was summoned that wasn’t supposed to be, and you girls snuck her out of the summoning chamber and to your dorms to hide her from the Admiral to save him a shit-ton of stress?” Harder summed up as he, Minazuki, and Fumizuki made their way down the hall of the destroyer dorm to DesDiv 22’s room.

“Yep!” Minazuki smiled.

Harder thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Meh…at least your hearts were in the right place.”

The two destroyers – Minazuki especially – seemed to preen under the submarine’s approval as they reached their dorm and opened the door. Satsuki, Nagatsuki, and Re-chan – who was raptly watching SpongeBob on the small television DesDiv 22 had in their room – looked up as they entered.

Harder took one look in the room and his eyes widened.

“Holy dive planes, Batman!” he gaped. “That’s an Abyssal!”

“An Abyssal?! Where?!” Re sprang to her feet. “Let me at her…I will wipe her stain from this earth with all of my power!”

“She’s joking, right?” Harder looked at the destroyers.

“Unfortunately, no,” Satsuki responded before telling Re, “It’s all right, Re-chan…calm down.”

To Harder’s surprise, the Abyssal immediately calmed down and went back to watching SpongeBob.

“All right, so you guys got her out of the summoning chamber and to your dorm,” he stated. “What’s your plan for when your squadron flagship comes in and sees her? I don’t think she’s gonna welcome her with open arms.”

The four members of DesDiv 22 glanced uncertainly at each other. What Harder was saying was completely true, but they didn’t really want to admit it. Still, they wanted to give Re-chan a chance. Before any of them could reply, however, there was a knock at the door.

“Girls?” Natori’s voice was heard on the other side of the door as the knob turned, causing the four destroyers to look at each other in fright. “I’m back…”

The door opened to reveal DesDiv 22’s Nagara-class light cruiser mom-boat. The scene Natori beheld was one she definitely wasn’t expecting: her four charges sitting there with an American submarine…one which, incidentally, sank one of them in the war.

But it was the individual sitting on the floor staring at the television and giggling that grabbed her attention almost immediately. Natori’s jaw dropped when the girl turned, saw her looking at her, and smiled and waved before returning her attention to the television.

Natori’s shriek would’ve been heard throughout the naval base if Harder hadn’t jumped up and clapped his hand over her mouth.

“No, no…it’s okay, see? She’s not harming anybody…she’s more interested in SpongeBob.”

“B-B-But…how?!” the light cruiser asked after Harder removed his hand from over her mouth. “And why did you girls have to be the ones to find her?!”

“We were kinda in the summoning chamber when she came out,” Nagatsuki stated.

“Yeah, and when she came to, she saw Sacchin and called her ‘Mama’,” Fumizuki put in.

“I-I need to sit down,” Natori whimpered, collapsing into one of the nearby desk chairs. She clapped a hand to her forehead. “What are we gonna do about this?” she murmured to herself. “The Admiral finds out my girls are aiding and abetting the enemy, we’ll all go down!” It was then she appeared to realize an American submarine was in the room as well. “And what about you?” she asked. “How’d you get involved in this?”

“Minazuki and Fumizuki pounded on my door, woke me up, and said they needed my help,” Harder replied. “I went with them, saw Re for myself, had my own minor freak-out, and then realized she’s no threat. I was trying to help them figure out a way to hide her when you showed up.”

“I –” Natori seemed to be at a loss for words.

Before anyone could say anything, the door opened again, causing everyone in the room – save Re, who continued to be completely engrossed in her cartoons – to freeze in their tracks.

“Hey sis, I’m headed down to the track for a couple hours –” Nagara began as she opened the door but cut herself off upon seeing the girl watching the television. Her eyes widened in terror.

“Aw, crap,” Harder muttered, knowing what was coming.

Nagara screamed at the top of her lungs, causing Re to turn her attention from the television.

“Silence, please,” she requested. “The Great Yellow Sponge is speaking. I must hear his wisdom.”

That statement stopped Nagara in her tracks. “‘The Great Yellow Sponge’?” she blinked in surprise before glancing at the television screen. When she saw what was playing, she turned and looked at Harder and the others as if to say, ‘Seriously?’

“I know…we can’t explain it either,” Harder replied.

“It makes her happy, so we just go with it,” Satsuki stated.

“Huh…” Nagara trailed off, this information apparently failing to compute in her brain.

Minazuki was about to say something to break the silence when she noticed movement out the window. She looked down at the ground below and gasped upon seeing Nagato headed in the direction of their dorm.

“Uh-oh…” she trailed off.

“What is it?” Harder glanced over at her upon hearing her.

“We’ve got company inbound…Nagato-san’s headed this way! She must’ve heard Nagara-san shriek!”

The two light cruisers looked at each other in terror. The Secretary Ship seeing an Abyssal in their rooms would not be good. They promptly began to hyperventilate, Minazuki and Fumizuki joining them, while Nagatsuki and Satsuki sat stoically, awaiting their fate.

Harder sighed; it looked like he’d have to be the one to save the day.

“All right, everybody just stop!” The submarine ordered, causing silence to reign; even Re turned to look at him. “Not you, Re…you can continue watching The Great Yellow Sponge.”

The Abyssal smiled and turned back to the television with a squeak of approval. Harder turned to the other six shipgirls in the room. “Ok, here’s how this is gonna go: Mina, make two bowls of microwave popcorn and toss some of that seasoning you like with ‘em. Make one bowl for Re and the other for the rest of us. Fumi, Naga, and Sacchin, sit down and watch Yellow Sponge with Re. You two,” he addressed the pair of whimpering light cruisers, “take a swig or two of this and calm down.” He pulled a bottle of Jack Daniels from his stores and handed it to Nagara, who immediately took a large gulp from the bottle before handing it to her sister.

~~~

Five minutes later, when Nagato knocked on the door, Fumizuki answered it.

“N-Nagato-san…welcome,” she murmured nervously, stepping back to allow the battleship entry.

Nagato forced herself to ignore how adorable the destroyer was and scanned the room. She’d been walking near the dorm when she’d heard a shriek, and by asking around had been able to determine it had come from this room. Now she just had to determine who’d uttered it in the first place.

Her eyes scanned the room. Nagatsuki, Fumizuki, and Satsuki were munching away on a bowl of popcorn. One of the American submarines was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall, and Minazuki’s head resting in his lap. He was idly running his fingers through her hair, and it appeared it was putting the destroyer to sleep, for she was cuddling closer and closer to the submarine. The submarine glanced up at the battleship and gave her a friendly smile as though nothing was wrong.

Naga-mon reared her head at the touching scene, but Nagato forced her to remain silent and continued her appraisal of the room. Nagara was falling asleep in a desk chair, an Abyssal was sitting in front of the television contentedly watching SpongeBob and eating out of another bowl of popcorn, and Natori was curled in a ball on the lowest bunk, also nearly asleep.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary here; perhaps she had the wrong room…

Wait.

Let’s run through that again, her mind informed her. Nagato didn’t see any harm in that.

Two light cruisers, both nearly asleep. Aside from the fact one was Nagara, who was usually on the track in her spare time, nothing was wrong there. Three destroyers eating popcorn, nothing wrong there either; destroyers usually snacked throughout the day. A fourth destroyer cuddling with a submarine…odd, but nothing abnormal. So that left…

Right.

The Abyssal watching cartoons and eating popcorn. The battleship turned her gaze on said individual, but as she did so, Re glanced over at her and smiled up at her with child-like innocence.

“I’m watching the Great Yellow Sponge…popcorn?” she held out her bowl to Nagato.

That was the last thing Nagato remembered before blackness fell.

“S-So…c-cute…”

~~~

Avers glowered at the people assembled in his office. Saturday and Sunday were his days off, and he was none too pleased at having been called in on one of those days. Neither was Kongo, who was sitting on the couch in his office, drawing sketches for her wedding dress (bordered by numerous hearts and lovey-signs, all of which had ‘Kongo + Teitoku’ written on or around them).

“I don’t have words for this one,” the Admiral addressed the group before turning to Professor Tanabe, who looked like he desperately wanted to be someplace else right then…like Pluto.

“How?” the Admiral asked. “How in the world did that summoning pool of yours bring back an Abyssal?”

“I-I-I don’t know,” Tanabe replied nervously. “I wasn’t even aware one had been brought back until I was called to your office.”

Avers sighed. At least there’d been no trouble whatsoever out of the latest unexpected arrival; DesDiv 22 and Harder had taken her to Hosho’s restaurant where Re had been overjoyed to see Darwin and Hoppo. Hosho, of course, had immediately offered to take the new girl in, and Re seemed to have no problem accepting this. Neither did Satsuki, who appeared glad to relinquish the reins of motherhood to the older light carrier.

He turned to Nagara and Natori. “Re appears to be happy with Hosho and her girls?”

The two light cruisers nodded.

“Neither of you see her causing problems or going berserk and trying to kill us all in our sleep?”

Nagara and Natori responded in the negative. Avers nodded.

“Then I’ll consider the situation closed.” He turned to Tanabe. “Professor, for the love of all that is holy, please don’t let something like this happen again. And try summoning some smaller ships for a while, will you?”

Oyodo whimpered from the corner and hunched over her radio set. Niyodo rubbed her back and murmured comfortingly to her.

“I’ll try, sir…would a cruiser or two be all right?” Tanabe asked.

Avers considered it for a moment, then nodded. “I don’t see a problem with that.”

Tanabe thanked the Admiral and hurriedly took his leave.

“Now,” Avers rose to his feet and motioned for everyone to head to the door, “if you all will excuse me, it’s the weekend and my beautiful fiancée and I have a wedding to plan.”

“Dess!” came the statement from the nearby couch.

~~~

While Avers and Kongo were getting back to planning their special day, in another part of the naval base a very different style of planning was going on.

“Okie, I don’t think I wanna do this…” destroyer Shaw trailed off uncertainly. Her division mates Cassin and Downes nodded in agreement as they sat in one of the rooms in the battleship dorm.

“Don’t the three of you even think of backing out of this!” battleship Oklahoma growled. “All four of us were there that morning…all four of us died that morning –”

“Actually, the three of us were only severely injured,” Downes raised a finger to make a point. “We were all rebuilt and served in the war.”

“Yeah, and Ari and Vestal were there that morning, too,” Cassin put in. “You don’t see them going around planning revenge.”

“That’s irrelevant!” the battleship snarled. “What is relevant is the fact that those of us who were there that morning in Hawaii are now expected to play nice with the very ships that murdered us in cold blood! And then I find out we’ve got a murderer who’s flying our very own colors!”

“Huh?” the three destroyers started in surprise. They’d grown somewhat immune to Oklahoma’s talk of revenge for Pearl Harbor, but to hear that one of their own was a murderer was not something they’d expected to hear at all.

“Who?” Cassin demanded.

“Look!” Oklahoma thrust a sheet of paper towards them.

The destroyers glanced at it to find part of a Wikipedia entry, with one sentence highlighted:

After she was thoroughly examined, Iowa and two other vessels used Nevada as a practice gunnery target on 31 July 1948.

“She executed my sister,” Oklahoma choked out, “and I’m going to make sure she pays.”

“But she didn’t sink her,” Shaw pointed out. “Look at the next sentence.”

The ships did not sink Nevada, so she was given a coup de grâce with an aerial torpedo hit amidships.

Oklahoma shrugged. “That plane was the mercy shot…after that trio did the dirty work.” An extremely dark look came over her face. “There were three of them that day…Iowa, a heavy cruiser, and a destroyer. Naval Vessel Registry doesn’t list the names of the cruiser and the destroyer, but if I ever find out who they were, they won’t live long enough to regret it.”

The three destroyers quivered in fear, glad they weren’t the ships Okie was referring to.

“Here’s the plan,” Oklahoma stated. “We’re going to launch an attack on the carrier dorms…surprise them while they sleep, just like they did us.” She grinned maliciously. “And when Iowa comes to stop us…” she trailed off with a laugh and flexed her fingers, “payback time.”

“Wh-What about the other ships in the Japanese task force?” Downes asked. “The surface warships and the submarines.”

“They never fired shots at us…they were too far away,” Oklahoma replied. “For that reason alone, they’re being spared. Well,” she amended, “that and some of the submarines haven’t been summoned yet, and the oilers weren’t even with the main force, but that’s semantics.” She waved her hand in dismissal.

Cassin, Shaw, and Downes looked at each other uncertainly. They didn’t know what to say…this was planning an ambush on one of their own. Iowa was a nice girl; there was probably more to this thing with Nevada than they were being told. And the Japanese carriers that Okie was talking about blasting in their beds had always been kind to them, especially Akagi, who almost always had a head-pat for each of them. Shokaku was just as sweet, and Soryu, Hiryu, and Zuikaku were like older sisters. Kaga wasn’t as free when it came to displaying her emotions, but she had an aura about her that made any destroyer want to earn her approval.

The trio was broken out of their thoughts by Oklahoma’s voice.

“Tomorrow is Sunday,” she grinned. “What better day for revenge?” The battleship giggled to herself, seeing in her mind all her plans coming together. She then shook herself from her reverie and turned to the three destroyers in front of her. “Meet me near the carrier dorms tomorrow at 0645…we attack at 0715. Go on,” she waved them out of her room. “Get some rest for tomorrow…it’s gonna be a blast.” She giggled at her unintentional pun as the destroyers walked out.

Once they were outside, Cassin exhaled in relief.

“Okie’s got problems,” she sighed.

“Yup,” Downes agreed. “Big problems.”

“The sad thing is we can’t even relate to where she’s coming from,” Shaw replied. “We’re destroyers…we’ve got so many sister ships we don’t know what it’s like being that close to just one person.”

“Did you get it?” Cassin asked Shaw, who nodded and held up her cell phone.

“Every word…let’s go see Ari.”

~~~

Avers and Kongo were snuggling on the couch under a thick blanket Kongo had bought during their trip to the U.S. when a knock at the door interrupted their cuddle-time. Avers groaned; he’d just gotten comfy after changing out of his uniform and back into a t-shirt and pajama bottoms. When Kongo attempted to get up and answer the door, the Admiral whined and held her tighter, causing the fast battleship to giggle.

“We can’t be rude to guests, Teitoku-des,” she lightly admonished Avers, untangling herself from her Admiral’s embrace and rising to her feet; Avers laughed when she exaggerated the movement of her hips when she caught him blatantly admiring her body clad in a sports bra and cotton shorts.

The Admiral sat up and rubbed his hands over his face; cuddle-time was apparently over for now, judging by the urgent tones of the voices at the door. As he got to his feet, the voices grew louder and soon Kongo was leading Arizona, Iowa, and three American destroyers into the living room. Avers could tell this was quite serious; the destroyers looked like they didn’t know what to do and were being comforted by Kongo, Arizona looked quite grim, and Iowa looked devastated.

“What happened?” Avers asked.

Arizona handed him a cellphone. “Listen to the selected audio track, Admiral,” she requested.

~~~

Ten minutes later, Avers rubbed his hand over his face again, this time in exhaustion. He could scarcely believe what he’d heard.

“I knew something wasn’t right the first time I met her after she was summoned,” he stated. “But this…” he shook his head.

“Could she be possessed by an Abyssal, Dess?” Kongo put in.

“I don’t think so,” Avers replied. “If she was, she’d want to kill everyone on this base, not just certain shipgirls. No, the only thing she’s obsessed with is getting revenge on the six carriers who attacked Pearl Harbor and the ship she believes killed her sister.”

Iowa whimpered and finally spoke, her voice choked with emotion. “But Nevada wasn’t there that day! Only her ship form was…she died when the first bomb went off at Bikini!” Tears spilled down the fast battleship’s cheeks. “Had she still been alive I wouldn’t have fired a shot…none of us would’ve!”

The three destroyers leapt up and hugged her as she broke down, and Kongo leaned over to rub her back soothingly.

Avers sighed. “I need to get in touch with Professor Tanabe…I’ve got an idea how we can fix this; might as well try and see if it works. It seems to be the only chance we’ve got of nullifying Okie’s lust for revenge. Outside of actual combat, that is,” he muttered the last part, then cursed inwardly when Iowa whimpered pitifully, causing Kongo and the destroyers to renew their comfort efforts.

The Admiral turned to Arizona. “I don’t have to ask, but I wanted to make sure you’re all right with this.”

Arizona smiled. “Thank you for the consideration, sir, but I have no problems with it. It’d be nice to have another member of the Pacific Fleet here.”

~~~

Summoning a ship required work. Summoning a specific ship was like trying to locate a needle in a haystack. Avers watched throughout the afternoon, evening, and night as Tanabe summoned shipgirls left and right…Dutch destroyer Kortenaer and light cruisers Java, Tromp, and De Ruyter, Canadian light cruisers Ontario and Quebec and destroyer Haida, German submarine U-123 – who appeared to have no idea why she’d been summoned – and American submarines Argonaut and Nautilus…the list went on and on.

But none of the summons was the girl they were so earnestly hoping for.

Tanabe had just ushered four American cruisers – heavy cruisers Portland and San Francisco and anti-aircraft cruisers Atlanta and Juneau – off with Enterprise and Hornet when Avers glanced over from the computer he’d been working at. The Japanese scientist met his eyes and smiled tiredly.

“I’m sorry, sir. I had hopes, but…” he trailed off.

Avers nodded. “I’ve got one more thing I want to try, and we’re going to keep this up until morning.”

Tanabe nodded uncertainly. Arizona looked over at the screen of Avers’ computer and grinned.

“Damn…that just might work…” she murmured tiredly.

~~~

Oklahoma’s alarm went off at 0615 the following morning. She eagerly threw herself out of bed and showered quickly before dressing in her chosen outfit for that day: full dress blue uniform with all her ribbons, her gold Commander’s stripes on full display. It was Payback Day; naturally she needed to look her best.

Once she was dressed, she took a last look around the room and sighed. She seriously doubted she would ever come back here, so she’d packed what few belongings she had the night before. They rested in a box at the foot of her bed. She didn’t see any harm in granting her enemies the miniscule favor of packing up her quarters…not like she was providing intelligence or anything.

The battleship stepped outside the dorm and breathed in the frigid winter air. It was a clear morning, only a few puffy clouds in sight in the gradually lightening November sky. How like that morning in 1941, she mused before glancing down at her wristwatch: 0632. Only thirteen minutes before she had to meet the destroyers. Better hurry, she thought, setting off at a brisk walk. Even so, she took a moment as she walked to enjoy the beautiful sight of the frost on everything. She might be hell-bent on revenge, but she did like winter, and Christmas was just around the corner…a shame that when Christmas arrived this year, she would be either dead or locked up in whatever passed for a brig on this base.

The carrier dorm was now in sight. She took another brief glance at her watch: 0641. Good…she liked being punctual. Then she huffed impatiently when she realized noticed there was no one else around. Apparently, punctuality means nothing to destroyers…four minutes to go and they’re nowhere in sight. Gaahh! But then she told herself to remain calm; she hadn’t planned to start the attack for another half-hour, so she could probably cut the destroyers a little slack…them being cute certainly worked to their advantage. And they’re probably all piled together in one little puddle…stop it! This was not the time to think of things that made one want to squee with joy, this was war.

By 0705, Oklahoma was forced to accept the fact that the destroyers probably weren’t coming. While she was upset at being forced to go it alone, she conceded that it hadn’t been right to put such a heavy burden on them. I’ll just get enough revenge for all of us combined, she thought, nodding to herself in satisfaction.

At 0710, she summoned her combat rig and lovingly stroked the ten 14-inch guns that appeared before stepping from her hiding place and getting into optimum firing position, having scouted the area the previous afternoon. She’d had to use the guise of pretending to have taken up photography as a hobby – claiming to be figuring out the best light possible for the perfect shot had made her feel like a complete idiot – but it had gotten the job done. Now all was ready.

“I wasn’t there, you know.”

Oklahoma froze. That voice…she gasped inwardly. It-it sounds…it sounds like…no! It can’t be! It’s my conscience playing tricks on me…it must be! She inwardly cursed herself as she turned to look anyways.

And her heart promptly skipped a beat.

A shipgirl emerged from the shadows of one of the nearby trees. She wore white boots with a black garter belt around her left thigh, a short, dark tan dress with a white stripe going all the way around near the bottom hem, a light gray coat with tassels around the collar, and a red tie with a single white star in the middle of the knot. Her waist-length red hair was in a single ponytail, her matching red eyes matching red eyes were fixed firmly on the other battleship, and her combat rig sported gun turrets on each side, twins over triples.

She looked just like Oklahoma remembered her.

“Wh-What?” Oklahoma stuttered, almost unwilling to believe what she was seeing.

“That day in 1948…I wasn’t there,” the redhead repeated, walking up to Oklahoma. “The last thing I remember of my previous life was sitting in some tropical lagoon with Pennsy, Swayback, Sara, and some other ships. I was dressed in,” she shuddered, “this absolutely-horrific red-orange outfit – God, I swear I’ll never wear that color again as long as I live…talk about clashing with my hair! – and then I heard this countdown and there was this blinding light. The next thing I know, I’m standing in a room in this small pool of water, and this American dressed in a Japanese Navy uniform – that took me a few minutes to get used to, I don’t mind telling you! – and Ari are standing there grinning like idiots before they welcome me back and then play this audio tape on this little wafer-thin black thingamajig, whereupon I hear my beloved sister state she wants to not only get revenge for something that happened seventy-five years ago, but that she wants to kill a fellow American battleship for something she didn’t even do.” She shook her head and reached out, grasping Oklahoma’s hand in hers. “That’s not the sweet, kind sister I remember.”

Oklahoma gasped upon feeling how warm and solid the girl’s hands were. This wasn’t some mirage she was seeing…she really was here!

“B-But…” Oklahoma was at loss for words. The blonde squeezed Oklahoma’s hand tightly.

“I wasn’t there, Okie,” she murmured, before smiling warmly. “But I’m here now.”

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Oklahoma let out an agonized wail and collapsed into the blonde’s arms, murmuring “I’m sorry” in between great shuddering, gasping sobs.

U.S.S. Nevada, BB-36, hugged her sister and let her cry herself out. She knew Okie needed this, and they had all the time in the world to catch up.

~~~

Some distance away, a nearly-asleep-on-his-feet Avers watched the two battleships reunite.

“We did it, sir,” Arizona responded, smiling at the scene. Iowa, standing nearby, wiped away a tear as she watched.

“Yep,” Avers murmured, his speech slurred slightly due to exhaustion. “And all it took was nearly twelve hours of calling for help into the summoning pool and approximately 133 back-to-back renditions of Home Is Nevada to make it happen. No offense to the people from that great state or to the battleship who bears its name, but I never want to hear that song again.”

Movement out of the corner of his eye brought his attention back to the two battleships that were now making their way over to them. Okie’s hysterics started all over again the second she laid eyes on Iowa; the battleship launched herself at Iowa and she proceeded to start bawling and apologizing once more. Avers, figuring that Arizona could handle the situation, bid the battleships a good morning and then headed back to his quarters to crash for a few hours.

Twenty minutes later, he was sliding into his bed, and five seconds after that his arms were full of a sleepy fast battleship clad in nothing more than a black silk Victoria’s Secret tank top and panty set.

“Teitoku-des?” Kongo murmured sleepily, nuzzling Avers’ neck.

“Go back to sleep, sweetheart…it worked,” Avers replied. “No shots were fired, and Okie has her sister now.”

Kongo let out a soft mewl of approval and snuggled closer. “Sleep now, sex later, Teitoku-des,” she murmured, kissing his cheek before lapsing back into sleep.

Avers smiled before following her into dreamland; he had no problem with that plan.

Chapter Text

The weeks passed, and soon it was early November. Things had begun to calm down chaos-wise, but excitement was ramping up for the wedding at the end of the month. The French contingent had resolved its problems; Dunkerque and Strasbourg had tearfully apologized to Hood for what had happened; the British battle cruiser assured them she didn’t hold it against them and looked forward to serving with them in the future. The atmosphere surrounding Bretagne’s apology – made formally in Avers’ office with the Admiral, his staff, and Richelieu looking on – was a lot more strained, but it was obvious that the French battleship had had time to consider her actions and was truly regretful for what she’d done. Hood, of course, accepted the apology.

On November 2nd, Avers was chatting in his office with a guest when the shipgirl he’d had paged a few minutes previous knocked on the door.

“Come on in,” he smiled at the shipgirl in question. His guest was looking at the girl with interest as well, as he was one of the few American civilians to ever lay eyes on a shipgirl.

“You wanted to see me, Admiral?” the girl asked, looking with interest at all the television equipment that had been set up in the room.

“Yes, I did…do you happen to have your ship cap with you?” Avers asked, enjoying the joke he was about to play.

The girl scoffed. “Always…why?”

“Could you put it on for this gentleman?”

The girl nodded and slipped it on. The man’s eyes widened when he saw the logo emblazoned on it:

U.S.S. Chicago
CA-29

“Admiral, we’ve got to get a shot of her!” he exclaimed, causing Avers to laugh.

“Hence why I asked you to bring all this equipment.”

The man turned to Chicago and extended his hand. “Ma’am, I’m Mike Steinbaum with the United States’ Major League Baseball Commission. It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Um, ok…thanks, I think…” Chicago still seemed uncertain as to why this person was so excited to meet her.

Avers smiled and turned on the television in his office. It showed Game Seven of the World Series, at that moment being played at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois.

“Take a look,” he told Chicago, motioning to the screen.

The heavy cruiser turned to the screen and her jaw dropped.

“The World Series…THOSE ARE MY CUBS!” she shrieked excitedly.

“Game Seven, in the 10th,” Steinbaum put in.

“And my Cubs are winning…please be quiet now, I’m praying,” Chicago murmured, her attention fixed solely on the screen, causing everyone else in the room to chuckle.

Avers unmuted the television so they could hear what was going on. Michael Montgomery was on the mound for the Cubs, and the crowd was at fever pitch.

“Here’s the 0-1…” Fox Sports’ Joe Buck was saying as Montgomery took his stance.

Montgomery pitched, and batter Michael Martinez of the Cleveland Indians swung, somehow making contact.

“This is gonna be a tough play…” the announcer warned. “Bryant…”

Cubs 3rd Baseman Kris Bryant caught it and threw it to 1st Baseman Anthony Rizzo.

“THE CUBS…” Buck’s voice rose in excitement. Chicago’s eyes widened.

Time seemed to stop as Rizzo made the catch…seconds before Martinez touched the plate.

“…HAVE WON THE WORLD SERIES!” Buck yelled.

The crowd at Wrigley Field went beyond insane. In Avers’ office, Chicago’s scream hit supersonic levels.

“Bryant makes the play!” Buck announced. “It’s over! And the Cubs…have finally won it all! 8-7 in 10!”

Chicago was still bouncing around and screaming. In the entire time she – and her successor CA-136, for that matter – had been in commission, her team had never won the big one. She’d seen the Cubs go for the gold in 1932, 1935, and 1938, and her successor had seen them in 1945 – all unsuccessfully, she might add – but none since. Now her dream had come true.

“Ma’am,” Steinbaum managed to get the heavy cruiser’s attention, “the reason all this equipment is here is so we can do a live video link direct to Wrigley Field so you can join the celebration.”

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!” Chicago shrieked. “HELL YES!”

“We’ve got something for you,” Steinbaum replied, going over to a box and pulling out an official Cubs jersey in Chicago’s size. The name ‘Chicago’ was on the back, along with the number ‘29’. Chicago’s eyes filled with tears when she saw it.

“My own jersey?” she whispered, taking it in her hands reverently and carefully putting it on.

“Are you ready to say hello to Wrigley Field and the United States?” Steinbaum asked, and the heavy cruiser nodded, the grin on her face a mile wide. Speakers that had been set up in Avers’ office suddenly came to life as Steve Goodman’s classic song Go, Cubs, Go blared out. Avers and Steinbaum cringed at the volume, but Chicago ignored it completely, and started singing along almost immediately. Avers kept his eye on the television, and soon it flashed to a scene in his office, showing the heavy cruiser smiling wildly, singing the chorus of the song, and pointing to the icon on her ship cap. When the crowd at Wrigley Field saw her name, they went nuts once more, cheering wildly.

“And here’s a surprise!” Buck’s voice exclaimed. “America’s first look at a U.S. Navy shipgirl, and what a look it is! This one looks as happy as her namesake city is tonight!”

“Say something if you want!” Steinbaum whispered, and Chicago grinned even wider.

“I LOVE YOU, AMERICA! GO, CUBS, GO!!! WHOO!” she screamed, and the crowd at Wrigley Field cheered even louder.

Avers watched the scene and smiled. For at least one shipgirl, this would be a morale booster for months to come.

~~~

Before Avers or anyone else knew it, the day had arrived. November 21st…the day of the first shipgirl wedding in history. And it was only fitting that the bride was the first shipgirl ever summoned. Everyone on the naval base had been invited to attend, meaning the wedding was truly a massive one; the ship-person attendance alone numbered over 300 guests, and when combined with the human base personnel and other guests the guest list swelled to over 500.

Several world leaders had even been invited; Emperor Akihito was in attendance, as were America’s President and First Lady. Another world leader – invited without the bride’s knowledge – had been escorted straight to the bridal chambers – Avers’ personal quarters – which was currently a scene of controlled chaos.

Kongo had been abnormally calm all morning. Sure, she was extremely excited about her impending nuptials, but she also knew she had no reason to get crazy; her Teitoku would be waiting for her at the altar no matter how long she took to get ready. Her bridal party, consisting of her three sister ships, seemed to be the ones acting crazy. As Kongo placed the finishing touches to her jewelry, there was a knock at the door. Hiei opened it to reveal a near-hyperventilating Fubuki.

“K-Kongo-san…” the Special-Type destroyer stuttered, “Th-there’s s-someone to see you.”

“Is it the Admiral?” Kirishima asked. “If so, he can’t come in! Tradition says it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding!”

Kongo smiled as she fixed an earring. She knew it wouldn’t be her Teitoku; he’d been texting her throughout the morning, telling her how much he loved her and how much he was looking forward to becoming her husband. Kongo had squealed and giggled at each message…then promptly silenced him by stating she loved him back, was looking forward to becoming his wife, and was really looking forward to their wedding night.

“It’s n-not the Admiral!” Fubuki replied, her voice still quite nervous.

“Then show them in, Bucky!” Kongo called out.

She was still fixing her earrings when the room grew stone quiet save for a few strangled gasps. Kongo turned…and nearly fainted when she saw who was standing there.

The distinguished-looking elderly woman was dressed in a simple pale blue dress with matching shoes and wide-brim hat, and she carried an older-style white handbag, but Kongo didn’t care what she was wearing, really…the point was this person had somehow known about her wedding and had chosen to attend. She promptly performed a full, formal curtsy.

“I am deeply honored, Your Majesty,” she murmured.

“Your husband-to-be invited us, dear,” Queen Elizabeth II replied. “How could we not come? You were born in England and were the first shipgirl to be summoned. The honor of meeting you is ours.”

Kongo barely refrained from squealing with excitement.

~~~

Over in the groom’s quarters – Avers’ office – said husband-to-be glanced at his watch and grinned.

“Something funny?” Avers’ best man, Admiral Robertson asked. The older man had been beyond touched upon being asked to fill the position; he was wearing U.S. Navy formal dinner dress so that he somewhat closely matched the rest of the groom’s party – consisting of Blaskewicz and Mancini – of Imperial Japanese Navy formal dress uniforms.

Avers turned to him. “Just wondering how the bride is enjoying her visit from our surprise guest.”

“Surprise guest?” Mancini asked. “Who’d you invite without her knowing?”

“Queen Elizabeth II,” Avers replied. “I just got word she’s arrived and is currently visiting our quarters to convey her best wishes to the bride.”

The three other men in the room looked thunderstruck.

“Y-You invited the Queen?” Robertson gaped.

“Yep,” Avers replied. “Surprisingly she accepted.” He glanced at his watch. “And on that note, I believe it’s time we headed over to the day’s venue.”

~~~

The venue for the wedding was the parade ground, with the altar being set up in front of the steps leading down to it. Kirishima had taken charge of decorating, with help from French light cruiser Gloire, who had been summoned with the initial batch of French warships. Gloire had the air of the tortured artist, and spent most of her time in her room, which she’d converted to a makeshift studio. However, when approached with the request to help decorate for the wedding, she’d gladly discarded her paint-covered artist’s smock and thrown herself headlong into the project.

First to come down the aisle was destroyer Urakaze, who was acting as the Flower Girl. Avers had broached the idea of Kongo asking the destroyer to take part in the ceremony as she also had been sunk on that date, and the fast battleship had jumped at the idea. When asked, Urakaze had become very emotional and hugged Kongo tightly; now she performed her duties as seriously as she had her escort duties during the war.

Following Urakaze, Avers himself escorted Janice Robertson to her seat; while Catherine Avers had come out of her catatonia six weeks back and moved to a Seattle retirement home, Avers had absolutely no desire whatsoever to have her present at his wedding, instead asking that Robertson and his wife function as honorary Parents of the Groom.

Next down the aisle came Kirishima escorted by Mancini. The youngest Kongo was smiling happily and waved cheerily to several kanmusu as they made their way down the aisle. For his part, Mancini was fighting to keep a smug smirk off his face after he saw the look of lust Ashigara was giving him; he knew what seeing him in his formal dress uniform did to her, even more so now that he was wearing flag rank.

Following them were Haruna and Blaskewicz. The fast battleship’s cheeks were rosily tinted as she didn’t care much for attention, and right now everyone’s attention was fixed on her. As they walked, Blaskewicz took time out to smile at the row occupied by his family, and acknowledge the waves from Akatsuki, Ikazuchi, and Inazuma. Hibiki merely nodded, watching the antics of her sister ships with her typical resigned little sigh. Gavin sat beside her, clad in a nice suit; the silver-haired destroyer apparently took comfort in his presence, for her flask remained in her pocket.

Next came Hiei escorted by Admiral Robertson. As Kongo refused to decide between her sisters as to who would be her Maid of Honor, all three Kongo sisters were simply bridesmaids. As she walked down the aisle, Hiei broke decorum to wave happily at her girlfriend Mel Caterman; the two had been dating since about a week after Avers and Kongo had returned from the States. The publicist blushed and returned the fast battleship’s wave with a smile.

As Avers watched the Kongo sisters make their way down the aisle, he glanced out at the assembled guests. Admiral Fuchida and his aide represented the JMSDF, Atsugi Air Base Commander Colonel Asano represented the JASDF, and a Major General named Iida – newly-promoted, judging by the proud grin on his face – represented the JGSDF.

DesRon 23 was sitting together, surprisingly not causing chaos; Claxton and Dyson appeared to be playing the ‘slap-hands’ game, as were Converse and Charlie and Foote and Thatcher. Aulick was attempting to act as referee but was laughing too hard. Stanly had leaned over the seat in front of him, introduced himself to the startled JGSDF General, and began speaking about something. Avers decided to ignore the conversation when the destroyer mentioned the term ‘anti-tank missile’. Spence was making fake goo-goo eyes and kissy faces at poor Tashkent, who was attempting to ride herd over the whole bunch of them and only partially succeeding.

The rest of the American shipgirls sat nearby, intermixed with a few Japanese; Imuya sat with Yorktown and Hammann, Taiho with Albacore, and Goya with Indy. Harder sat with DesDiv 22 and Minazuki; the submarine appeared to be struggling with paying attention to the wedding and not how very nicely Minazuki filled out her dress white uniform, and the destroyer had obviously noticed, for she had a smug little grin on her face.

One row up from them sat the four U.S. battleships; Nevada seemed somewhat self-conscious in her dress whites; Avers caught her glancing down at her sleeves and smiling slightly upon seeing her Commander’s stripes. Oklahoma had her head resting against Nevada’s left arm; she hadn’t left her sister’s side since that fateful Sunday, and if Nevada’s constant presence kept the battleship’s demons away, then Avers was all for it. Nevada had informed him she was fine with it also; she’d been eagerly catching up with her sister ship, and the pair had regular competitions out on the gunnery range.

The German shipgirls sat together, with Wahoo sitting beside U-556 and Prien sitting with U-47. The latter was only partially paying attention to what was going on, alternating with looks of blatant lust at her boyfriend, who was wearing his full-dress uniform. Avers had a feeling they would either be some of the first ones to leave or else be charged with public indecency for not having the courtesy – or sense – to wait until they got back to Prien’s quarters.

The British ships were crowded together as well; Émile Bertin sat with Hood, of course. The French light cruiser practically worshipped the British battle cruiser, who at first had been rather embarrassed at the attention her significant other lavished on her, but when she realized it wasn’t just for show – Émile Bertin really felt that deeply about her – she accepted it and now seemed to care for him as much he did for her.

Two new British ships had also joined the fleet, and both were males. Heavy cruiser Kent had been quite confused when summoned, but upon having the situation explained to him had shrugged and decided to go with the flow. He appeared quite content to stroll through his new life with a friendly smile, and the fact that he knew absolutely nothing about the opposite sex seemed to be a great attractor for many shipgirls.

The other new British summons was…well, what words could describe battleship HMS Barham? ‘Brash’ might be one word Avers would use. ‘Flamboyant’ would certainly be another; he’d arrived wearing the uniform of a Royal Navy Captain from the War of 1812, a nod to his namesake, Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, an Admiral who’d died in 1813. Barham might dress like a Napoleonic War naval officer, but he’d quickly adapted to life in the 21st Century. (Although, like most of the British ships, he hadn’t been pleased to hear of the abolition of the rum ration.) He’d been awarded the rank of Lieutenant in the Royal Navy based on his years of service and seemed to have adopted Kent – a Lieutenant (j.g.) – as his unofficial Adjutant. In the short time he’d been on base, Barham had become one of the more popular people; the battleship always had a friendly smile on hand and his booming laughter and captivating stories were now a fixture in the commissary at mealtimes.

A change in music through the loudspeakers signaled the arrival of the bride. Over 500 people – all but a few of them in dress uniform – rose to their feet in respect. Avers took one look at the vision approaching and only his training to be an officer and a gentleman kept his jaw from hitting the ground.

Kongo walked down the aisle as though on parade at the Grand Naval Review, escorted by Emperor Akihito. Avers had included a note from Kongo with the Emperor’s invitation, in which the fast battleship had requested that her Emperor give her away. An Imperial Household Ministry employee had responded to the invitation two days later, stating that not only had the Emperor accepted the invitation to attend the wedding, but he would be deeply honored to walk her down the aisle.

The bride’s traditional white dress was simple; the strapless bodice hugged her torso tightly, and the skirt had no flare-out at all, it draped down her legs all the way to the floor and had only a small train, not enough for an attendant. The fast battleship had her hair done in her usual style; her veil draped her radar antennae perfectly, and the only addition to her headgear was a small, silver tiara. Long gloves went from the middle of her upper arms down to her wrists, ending in fancy flares, and her bouquet was a mixture of roses and chrysanthemums, the national flowers of their three countries.

When they reached the altar, Avers came to attention and bowed deeply to Akihito, who smiled and nodded in return before placing Kongo’s hand in Avers and going to his seat next to Empress Michiko.

“Heyyy…” Kongo murmured, smiling at Avers as he lifted her veil.

“I’d say you look gorgeous, but that wouldn’t begin to cover it,” Avers murmured back, causing the fast battleship to squeal softly.

“Dearly beloved,” the officiant began, “we are gathered here today to celebrate one of life’s greatest moments, the joining of two hearts and to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes to the words which shall unite this couple in marriage. Should there be anyone who has cause why this couple should not be united in marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

Kongo glanced sharply at the audience, and a ripple of laughter ran through the assembled shipgirls. It was an unspoken cardinal rule at the naval base: getting between Kongo and her Teitoku was almost like interrupting teatime…it just wasn’t done.

The officiant saw the look as well, and smiled, allowing a brief pause before continuing.

“Today we have come together to witness the joining of these two lives. For them, out of the routine of ordinary life,” Avers raised an eyebrow at the words ‘ordinary life’ and another ripple of laughter went through the crowd, “the extraordinary has happened. They met each other, fell in love, and are finalizing it with their wedding. A good marriage must be created. It is never being too old to hold hands. It’s remembering to say ‘I love you’ each and every day, and it is not just marrying the right person, it’s being the right partner. Romance is fun, but true love is something far more, and it is their desire to love each other for life. And that is what we are celebrating here today.”

The officiant paused, then stated, “The bride and groom will now say their vows. Kongo will go first.”

The fast battleship took a deep breath and smiled brightly.

“Matthew-san,” she began, surprising the Admiral with the use of his first name, “you are my dream come true. I am so excited to be standing with you here today.” She giggled and let a tiny bit of her regular Kongo-ness out, causing Avers to smile. “You are so precious to me,” her voice grew choked up as she said this, “and I plan to cherish you forever.” She paused to wipe away tears before continuing. “I promise today and for all our tomorrows to be the best wife I can be. To take care of you in times of sickness and in health, and to be your support system during the good and the bad that we know we will face in this lifetime together.” She smiled and finished with, “I give you my BURNING LOVE! and faithfulness from this day on.”

“Admiral,” the officiant prompted. Avers sighed and gathered his nerves before speaking.

“Kongo,” he began, “I’m yours. Throughout most of my career – throughout most of my life, for that matter – I never thought I would be doing this…standing up in front of a large crowd of people and pledging my heart and my life to the woman of my dreams, but here I am. And I cannot tell you how thankful I am and how happy that makes me.” He paused briefly as Kongo choked back a sob. “I also promise to take care of you in sickness and during the bad times we may face, and I pledge to be a joy in your life and cheer you on during your struggles. I look forward to the good times we will share in the future, just as I looked forward to today, and I give you my love and faithfulness from this day on.”

“Admiral, Kongo,” the officiant stated, “I would ask that you always treat yourselves and each other with respect and remind yourselves often of what brought you together today. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness, and kindness that your marriage deserves. When frustration and difficulty assail your marriage – as they do every relationship at one time or another – focus on what still seems right between you, not only the part that seems wrong. This way, when clouds of trouble hide the sun in your lives and you lose sight of it for a moment, you can remember that the sun is still there. And if each of you will take responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and happiness.”

“Kongo,” the officiant asked, “do you take Matthew to be your husband? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect him, forsaking all others, and holding only unto him forevermore?”

“YES!” the fast battleship squealed, causing Avers and the crowd to laugh.

“Admiral,” the officiant asked, “Do you take Kongo to be your wife? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect her, forsaking all others, and holding only unto her forevermore?”

“I do, and always,” Avers responded, and Kongo grinned excitedly.

“Who has the rings?” the officiant asked, and Robertson stepped forward and handed them to the officiant.

“The ring is a symbol of the unbroken circle of love,” the officiant stated, holding the rings up. “1st Corinthians Chapter 13, Verse One says, ‘If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging symbol.’”

“Good point,” Barham stated from the audience as though the officiant had been speaking to him and not to the entire group. Kongo giggled softly, while Avers chose not to comment.

“Love freely given has no beginning and no end, no giver and no receiver, for each is the giver and each is the receiver,” the officiant continued. “May these rings always remind you of the vows you have taken.”

He handed one ring to Kongo, who handed her bouquet to Hiei and took Avers’ left hand in hers. “Please repeat after me: I, Kongo of the Kongo-class,”

“I, Kongo of the Kongo-class,” the fast battleship stated.

“Take thee, Matthew, to be my husband.”

“Take thee, Matthew-san Teitoku-des, to be my husband.”

“To have and to hold, in sickness and in health.”

“To have and to hold, in sickness and in health.”

“For richer or poorer,”

“For richer or poorer,”

“In joy and sorrow,”

“In joy and sorrow,”

“And I promise my love to you.”

“And I promise my love to you.”

“And with this ring,”

“And with this ring,”

“I take you as my husband, for as long as we both shall live.”

“I take you as my husband, for as long as we both shall live.”

The fast battleship slid the ring onto Avers’ left ring finger. The officiant then handed the second ring to Avers, who took Kongo’s left hand in his.

“Admiral, please repeat after me: I, Matthew Garrett Avers,”

“I, Matthew Garrett Avers,” the Admiral stated.

“Take thee, Kongo of the Kongo-class, to be my wife.”

“Take thee, Kongo of the Kongo-class, to be my wife.”

“To have and to hold, in sickness and in health.”

“To have and to hold, in sickness and in health.”

“For richer or poorer,”

“For richer or poorer,”

“In joy and sorrow,”

“In joy and sorrow,”

“And I promise my love to you.”

“And I promise my love to you.”

“And with this ring,”

“And with this ring,”

“I take you as my wife, for as long as we both shall live.”

“I take you as my wife, for as long as we both shall live.”

Avers slid the ring onto Kongo’s left ring finger, smiling as the fast battleship emitted a very quiet squee of excitement.

“To make your relationship work will take love,” the officiant stated. “This is the core of your marriage, and why you are here today. It will take trust to know, that in your hearts you truly want what is best for each other. It will take dedication, to stay open to one another, and to learn and grow together. It will take faith to go forward together, without knowing exactly what the future brings. And it will take commitment, to hold true to the journey you both have pledged to today.”

The officiant paused briefly, then with a smile stated,

“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Admiral, you may kiss your bride.”

Kongo let out an ecstatic squeal and tackle-glomped Avers, fusing her lips to his. Instead of the Wedding March, the Imperial Japanese Navy march blared through the base loudspeakers as the crowd rose to its feet and applauded, many of the Japanese shipgirls shouting “BANZAI!” and Barham shouting “BRA-VO!” The cheers continued as the happy couple made their way up the aisle.

~~~

The reception was held at Hosho’s restaurant, which had numerous tables set up outside to handle the overflow of patrons. Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko had a brief, private audience with the bride and groom before departing, while Queen Elizabeth II met with the British, Australian, and Canadian shipgirls before she left. The President and First Lady, however, stayed for the reception, and gladly posed for pictures with the American personnel.

Avers and Kongo danced to Celine Dion’s Because You Loved Me, then for the traditional father-bride and mother-groom dance, Kongo danced with Admiral Robertson and Avers danced with Robertson’s wife Janice. Once the traditional dances were over with, it seemed that those individuals who were normally wild and wooly but had calmed down for the duration of the ceremony decided to get wild and wooly again. Avers preferred to concentrate on his meal and ignore that fact that DesRon 23 had decided to perform an intricate, choreographed dance routine to the tune of Boogie Wonderland, causing Tashkent to desperately attempt to make it seem as if she didn’t know any of them.

Other highlights of the reception was Blaskewicz dancing with the members of DesDiv 6; Avers and Mancini both dancing with Hoppo (Avers glanced over at Ashigara while Mancini was dancing and guessed by the expression on the heavy cruiser’s face that her ovaries had exploded), Bannie, Kidd, and Willie D. using their butter knives to engage in an impromptu sword fight, Gavin dancing with Hibiki (he looked quite nervous, while the silver-haired destroyer looked quite pleased), and even Darwin and Re dancing with some of the male base personnel. Barham entertained everyone with his own ‘unique’ style of dancing, and Repulse found it quite humorous when the battleship grabbed Renown as his dance partner; the staid battle cruiser looked positively scandalized at being whirled around the dance floor in such a manner.

Hiei caught the bouquet, much to her excitement, while newly commissioned Ensign Zeisho was surprised to be the one to catch the garter. Avers had originally not planned to have a garter toss; at the one wedding he’d been to previously, the single men there had avoided the garter like it was a hand grenade dipped in AIDS, and he had no desire to see the same thing at his own wedding. Of course, puppy eyes from his bride-to-be was all it took for him to change his mind.

~~~

Kaga sat at the table 1st Carrier Division had been assigned to and watched her girlfriend devour her slice of cake amidst moans and squeals about how yummy it was. She had to admit, while she enjoyed launching her planes to rip the guts out of Abyssals, it was even more satisfying seeing her beloved Akagi-san happy. And food certainly made Akagi-san happy.

Akagi looked over at her girlfriend, who was sitting there watching her with a slight smile on her face. A blush came over her food-filled cheeks, and she quickly swallowed, daintily wiping her mouth before smiling back at Kaga-san.

“I take it you like the cake, Akagi-san?” Kaga asked drily.

Akagi nodded. “It’s so good! Here, Kaga-san…try some!”

She scooped some up on her fork and offered it to Kaga. The fleet carrier sighed inwardly; she rarely ate sugary things, but she also knew she couldn’t refuse an offering from Akagi-san. She opened her mouth and allowed her girlfriend to feed her the morsel which, she had to admit, was quite good.

“Oh, Kaga-san,” Akagi giggled, “you have some icing on your mouth. Here, let me get it for you.”

Kaga expected Akagi to use a napkin; her girlfriend leaning over and licking the icing off with her tongue before giving her a deep kiss was – if she was honest with herself – a very pleasant surprise indeed.

And it was that feeling that gave her courage to say what she said next.

“Akagi-san,” she murmured, “did this wedding today make you happy?”

Akagi nodded, nuzzling Kaga’s neck. Kaga struggled to maintain decorum and focus on what she wanted to say instead of jumping up and dragging Akagi back to their quarters.

“Perhaps we could do something similar one day soon, then?”

Akagi abruptly stopped her nuzzling and pulled back to gaze at her girlfriend with wide eyes. Kaga looked down and blushed.

“I-I love you, Akagi-san,” she murmured softly, not used to expressing such emotion outside their quarters. “A-And I was wondering, w-would you consider spending the rest of our lives together?”

Kaga didn’t get an official answer right away, but the fact that Akagi dragged her off to their quarters and left a half-eaten piece of cake on the table was enough of a ‘yes’ for her.

~~~

Harder finished the last bit of his slice of cake and set his fork down with a sigh. It still seemed almost surreal to him, being back fighting again after so many years had passed. But now he got to experience things his human crew talked so much about.

Food was at the top of the list of things he enjoyed, and the culinary personnel on the naval base outdid themselves each day with new things for him to try. Hosho’s restaurant and Mamiya’s café weren’t too far behind.

Then there was the sense of family he got from being around the other ship-persons at the naval base and hanging out with DesDiv 22 so much made him think of the destroyers as kid sisters.

Well, three of them, anyways; the fourth member of the group he was uncertain about. Minazuki was pretty much his best friend, but lately he’d been seeing her as something more than that. And he was by no means an expert at reading women – what male on this planet was? – but judging by the thorough once-over the Japanese destroyer had given him when he’d answered the door the day they’d met Re, she was seeing him in a different light as well.

Someone sat down beside him, followed by said individual leaning her head against his left arm and letting out a contented little sigh. The submarine glanced over at Minazuki, who was acting quite familiar despite being in uniform. Normally this sort of thing would gain them both a court-martial – seeing as how he was a mere Seaman 1st Class and she was a Lieutenant – but regulations were different for the ship-personnel.

“You ok?” he asked, and the destroyer nodded.

“Just the wedding atmosphere getting to me, is all.” She looked up at Harder and smiled in a way Harder had never seen her smile before. “It also gives me hope.”

“Hope?” the submarine had no clue what she meant by that.

“Mina-chan!” Fumizuki called from across the room, waving her over.

“Hope for my own chances,” Minazuki clarified, rising from her chair. “If Kongo can land the Admiral, then I have a chance at landing my own crush.”

Harder jerked in surprise when she trailed her fingers up his neck, and when he turned to look at her, Minazuki glanced back at him and gave him a flirtatious wink, giggling as she scampered off to see what her sister ship wanted.

He sighed, shaking his head. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, he thought. I’ll never understand the workings of the female mind.

~~~

“Having fun, sweetheart?” Avers asked his wife, as they danced to Life After You by Chris Daughtry. He knew better than to call her ‘Mrs. Avers’; the term seemed to drive the fast battleship insane with lust, and he’d been dragged into a closet once already this evening.

Kongo nodded against his chest. “Yes!” the fast battleship giggled, looking up at him in adoration. “We’ve got so many years together to look forward to!”

“At least thirty, yes,” Avers replied.

“More than that, Teitoku-des,” Kongo replied. “Did I not tell you the side-effects of being with one of us?”

Avers had a sinking feeling his life was about to take a monumental turn. “I’m guessing this has something to do with ‘Sparkly Magical Shipgirl Stuff’?” he asked.

Kongo nodded. “We don’t age like humans,” she stated, “our aging is one year for every ten years.”

Avers thought of being in his seventies and his wife looking half that age – and having the sex drive of someone that age to boot – and smiled vacantly. It was his wedding day, so he figured he could appeal to his baser male instincts at least once.

Kongo guessed what he was thinking and giggled. “You don’t understand, Teitoku-des,” she stated. “When we marry a human, our shipgirl aging abilities extend to them as well.”

“Come again?” Avers asked blankly, unsure if he’d heard her correctly.

“You, Admiral Blaskewicz, Admiral Mancini, Petty Officer Komura, Gavin-san,” Kongo stated, “all of you will age like we do…one year for every ten years.”

Avers did some quick math in his head and felt faint. “So, what you’re saying is all of the people you just listed are going to live for a very long time?”

Kongo nodded and grinned at her husband. “Like I said, we have so many years to look forward to, Teitoku-des!”

Eighteen years of hell in exchange for at least five times that number of happy ones. The Admiral glanced up at the ceiling as though conversing with a higher power. All right, I’ll give it to you…you came through in the end. Thanks.

He ended his conversation with The Man Upstairs and smiled down at his wife.

“You’re right, sweetheart…we do indeed.” He then thought for a moment about all the names Kongo had listed. “Is Gavin included because he was adopted by Tenryu?”

His beautiful wife giggled and shook her head. “He’s been claimed by someone’s BURNING LOVE! already; it’s just neither of them know it yet.”

Avers immediately knew the stoic little silver-haired individual of whom she spoke and nodded; he’d seen how close Gavin and Hibiki were and couldn’t deny that once the pair got older and realized how they felt about each other, they’d probably remain attached at the hip for the rest of their lives.

“I see what you mean,” he murmured, nuzzling her silky hair. Kongo emitted a quiet, happy noise and snuggled closer as they continued to dance.

~~~

Predictably, the normality didn’t last. How could it, when there were ship-persons involved?

Avers sighed as he watched while another bit of wedding chaos unfolded before his eyes. Spence and Foote were up on the small stage provided for the DJ and performing a duet of Barry Manilow’s Can’t Smile Without You.

“You know I can’t smile without you. I can’t smile without you…” the two destroyers sang happily as their brothers imitated braying donkeys, they were laughing so hard. It was obvious the two singers were having trouble keeping straight faces as well.

Tashkent slunk down in her seat, trying to go unnoticed, while the rest of the audience watched with varying degrees of humor, save for one person. Barham looked like he was being tortured.

“I can’t laugh, and I can’t sing…I’m finding hard to do anything…”

The British battleship clapped a hand to his forehead in an overly dramatic display of agony before forming a gun with three fingers of his right hand, putting the ‘barrel’ of the gun in his mouth, depressing his thumb as though it were the ‘hammer’, and then collapsing onto Kent’s shoulder as though he’d just blown his own brains out. The rest of the British ships – even Renown – watched the theatrics, biting their lips to keep from bursting out laughing.

“You see I feel sad when you’re sad. I feel glad when you’re glad. If you only knew what I’m going through…”

~~~

Minazuki smiled as she made her way back to the table where she’d left Harder-kun, but the smile dimmed when she saw he was no longer sitting there. She pouted briefly but refused to entertain the thought he’d left the reception without telling her good night; he was too much of a gentleman for that. But she couldn’t really fault him if he had slipped off alone somewhere for a while; she’d given him a lot to think about.

“Hey.”

Harder’s voice caused Minazuki to turn to him with a smile, but her smile faltered slightly when she saw him gazing at her with a curious expression.

“Harder-kun, are you all right?” the petite destroyer asked, worried. She didn’t know what she’d do if she’d made him uncomfortable by telling him she was interested in him as way more than just a friend.

The submarine nodded. “Yeah, I’m good…I’ve been thinking about what you told me earlier.”

Minazuki blushed and looked down, certain he was going to tell her they should just remain friends. “H-Harder-kun,” she stuttered, “I-I understand if you don’t feel the same w –”

Her attempt to gloss over what she’d said earlier was cut off by Harder tilting her face upwards and kissing her softly.

“You don’t have to worry about that, Mina,” he informed her, bracing himself for happy tears and hugs from his best-friend-turned-girlfriend.

What he wasn’t prepared for was for the destroyer to squeal excitedly and leap on him, wrapping her legs around his waist and attaching her lips to his like a leech. He discovered he liked this new side of Minazuki very much.

~~~

German aircraft carrier Peter Strasser sat at one of the tables reserved for the German ships. He sighed, looking out at the couples on the dance floor. Bismarck and Prinz Eugen, Graf Zeppelin and Aquila, U-556 and Wahoo, U-47 and Prien (well, they weren’t dancing so much as standing in place while attempting to eat each other’s faces), Scheer and Spee, Tirpitz and Hindenburg, Hipper and Blucher, Gneisenau and Scharnhorst (who seemed to be simply grinding against each other rather than dancing)…even the four German destroyers appeared to be having fun.

Everyone was paired up but him. Not that he was looking for someone or anything, but it would still be nice to have someone.

“I’ve been watching you,” a voice purred from behind him. Peter turned towards the sound of the voice, but there was no one there. He sighed, figuring the voice had been talking to someone else, and turned back to watch the dance floor again.

And nearly fell out of his chair at the sight of a beautiful girl sitting next to him, smiling at him like the cat that ate the canary. She had long blonde hair and deep blue-green eyes and was wearing a very pretty, light yellow dress that came down to just above her knees. And with as…well-endowed…as she was, he figured she was at least a heavy cruiser.

“H-Have you, now?” he cleared his throat awkwardly. “Might I have your name, lieblich?”

The girl blushed at his use of the term of endearment. “Je suis le sous-marin Surcouf,” she replied, and Peter thought it was the sexiest thing he’d ever heard in his life.

“Flugzeugträger Peter Strasser, charmed,” the carrier grasped the French submarine’s hand and pressed a light kiss to the back of it, causing its owner to giggle softly.

“You are a gentleman,” she smiled. “I like that.”

“A Prussian officer always treats a lady with the utmost respect,” Peter stated, then smiled. “But at the same time always appreciates a sight of great beauty such as yourself.”

Surcouf blushed becomingly as Peter rose to his feet. “I can hardly believe a woman as beautiful as yourself does not have a full dance card this evening. As such, I best take my chance while I can.” He formally bent down and extended his hand. “Might I have the honor, mademoiselle?”

The French submarine giggled and rose to her feet, uncrossing her seemingly mile-long legs. “You may, good sir.”

As they found a spot on the dance floor and began to sway slowly back and forth, Surcouf murmured, “Tell me, being a flier, you must have all sorts of interesting stories.”

Peter chuckled softly. “I have a few I can recall, yes.”

He nearly had heart failure as the gorgeous submarine snuggled closer, laying her head on his shoulder. “Tell me some of them, please?” She glanced up at him, and when those wide, innocent eyes combined with the positively alluring scent of her perfume, the German carrier could refuse her nothing.

“Of course,” he replied, thinking of an interesting story. “Let’s see. Ah, yes…here’s one that might interest you. The year was 1915…”

The stories kept coming, and the pair kept dancing as long as the music played.

~~~

The party continued long after the bride and groom departed. As they’d just recently come back from two weeks in the United States, the couple had decided to not take a honeymoon and instead planned to spend three days locked in their quarters together with no interruptions from the outside world.

Two hours after the happy couple departed, Spence and Foote were once again taking the stage, this time in a rendition of Tammy Wynette’s Stand By Your Man, much to their brothers’ hysteria.

“Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman,” Spence crooned, and Thatcher and Converse fell out of their chairs laughing. “Giving all your love to just one man.”

Barham looked at the stage in horror as the performance continued, while DesRon 23 howled with laughter, and the two onstage struggled to keep singing and not succumb to the same mirth.

“But if you love him,” Foote added, “Oh, be proud of him…’cause after all, he’s just a man.” The duo tapped their feet on the stage before belting out the chorus.

“Stand by your man…” they chorused, and by this time all seven of their brothers were in convulsions. Over at the makeshift bar, Tashkent downed another shot of vodka.

At a nearby table, Barham picked up the full glass of very expensive Johnnie Walker he’d just gotten from the bar and slammed it down like it was water before setting the glass firmly on the table and turning to the rest of the British contingent.

“The barracks beckon, I think, Kent,” he announced, addressing the heavy cruiser. “Needs make haste, Left-tenant, before my ears commence bleeding!” He headed for the British barracks, giving a nod at the two remaining bridesmaids as he passed.

~~~

Kirishima smiled and waved as the group of British ships departed. Hiei and Mel had already left, and now it was just her and Haruna onee-sama remaining of the bridal party. Haruna was currently staring half-asleep into a partially drunk glass of champagne, watching the bubbles rise to the top, while her younger sister sat and recalled the day’s events.

Her beloved Kongo onee-sama was now married! How wonderful! And Hiei onee-sama was perfectly happy in her relationship with Mel-chan. The question was, when was it going to be her turn? Or Haruna onee-sama’s, for that matter?

She sighed. Many expected her to fall for the ship that sank her, battleship U.S.S. Washington. While Kirishima considered that a possibility, the problem was that said battleship had yet to be summoned. And while a relationship with a fellow fast battleship did sound pleasant, Kirishima didn’t want to focus solely on that; there were, as the old saying went, plenty of fish in the sea. Too many to count, according to her recent calculations.

“Our time will come soon, Haruna onee-sama,” she swore firmly.

“Hmm? Kirishima-chan?” Haruna stirred sleepily beside her; apparently champagne put the fast battleship to sleep.

“We will find people worthy of our hearts,” Kirishima stated. “I will accept no less for us.”

“Haruna agrees,” her sister ship murmured, laying her head down on her arms. Kirishima noticed and smiled indulgently.

“Come, onee-sama…let’s get you back to our quarters,” the fast battleship stated. “You don’t need to fall asleep here.”

Haruna’s only answer was a sleepy groan as she got to her feet and allowed her sister ship to escort her home.

~~~

Harder struggled to catch his breath as he gazed up at the ceiling in his quarters. He’d never been so surprised in his life. But really, should he have expected anything less? He was a sailor, and…well, needs must on shore leave, and all.

“Mmm…good night, Harder-kun,” the little blue-haired hellcat purred as she rolled off to the side and then snuggled up next to him, laying her head on his left shoulder and lapsing into an exhausted sleep.

The submarine managed to summon enough energy to lean down and plant a kiss on her sweaty brow. Minazuki mewled in contentment and snuggled closer, throwing an arm over his chest. Harder turned onto his left side and wrapped both arms around the destroyer.

The evening had ended much differently than Harder had anticipated, but he was by no means complaining. He’d figured on a heavy make-out session before he left Minazuki at the door to her quarters, with the promise of a date the following day.

Not by a long shot. He’d somehow lost control of where they were going when Minazuki guided them to his dorm instead, opened the door to his quarters, shoved him inside, walked in after him, and then pounced. In between trying to perform a tonsillectomy on him with her tongue – and damn, was she an incredible kisser – she’d informed him that he was hers now and she his, and anyone who thought otherwise or attempted to change said status quo would receive a Long Lance torpedo in a very inconvenient place, regardless of their rank.

It was almost embarrassing how much of a turn-on her new-found assertiveness was to him, and he’d made certain to convey his feelings on the matter. As he lapsed into sleep himself, he thought back to when he’d first been summoned and how uncomfortable he’d felt. Now he had someone who cared deeply for him, and whom he cared deeply about…and he knew there was nowhere else he’d rather be.

Chapter Text

No sooner had the chaos surrounding Kongo and Avers’ wedding died down than the excitement began to rev up for the Blaskewicz / Tenryu wedding. The bride was becoming more of a nervous wreck by the day, while her sister and husband-to-be had their hands full trying to keep her calm, with DesDiv 6 doing their best to help in this regard. Gavin, Kiso, and Joji did their part by simply weathering the gathering storm.

~~~

The first indication Avers had of impending chaos was the phone call from Professor Tanabe, asking him to come to the summoning chamber and bring the two Chinese light cruisers with him. Intrigued, Avers did as the Professor asked, meeting the two cruisers en route to the summoning building.

“Admiral,” Ning Hai greeted, her and her sister bowing in respect to their Commanding Officer, “why is our presence being requested here?”

“Honestly, I have no idea,” Avers replied, holding the door for the two ladies before entering the building himself.

Upon entering the chamber, they found Professor Tanabe conversing with a shipgirl of obviously Asian origin. When the new girl noticed the trio, she came to attention and saluted.

“Admiral, aircraft carrier Shi Lang reporting for duty, sir!”

Avers ran through his mental list of ship names and came up with zilch. “I’m sorry, but I’ve never heard of a ship by that name,” he replied. “When were you commissioned?”

The girl smiled. “Understandable, Admiral…Shi Lang was the name rumored for me, but the higher-ups chose the name Liaoning instead.”

The Admiral froze; now that name he recognized.

“My God…” he trailed off, “a modern shipgirl.”

A blush colored the Chinese girl’s cheeks. “I apologize if that creates difficulties.”

“Not at all,” Avers replied. “Might make things easier, in some respects…you’re acclimated to life in the 21st Century, so you can hopefully help some of the other shipgirls adjust.”

“Whatever will help you, sir,” the carrier replied, before noticing the two cruisers. “You two are Chinese, yes?” she asked in Mandarin.

“Yes,” Ning Hai replied. “Light cruisers Ning Hai and Ping Hai of the Taiwanese Navy.”

Shi Lang raised a delicate eyebrow. “Were you not once part of the Chinese Navy?”

Ning Hai nodded. “Yes, but we did not serve the Communists.”

Shi Lang nodded, apparently having decided something. “Admiral,” she turned to Avers, who sensed life was about to take a sharp turn once again into Chaos Land, “please inform the representatives of the Taiwanese government that they now have an aircraft carrier in addition to their two light cruisers.”

Avers’ urge to scream was cut short by the water in the summoning pool bubbling wildly, causing him to turn to Professor Tanabe.

“What’s happening?”

“I think something else is trying to come through, but I don’t know what type of ship…wait a second…” the Professor looked at one of the computer screens, studying something intently. As he did so, the water bubbled even more wildly, and suddenly a shipboy flew broke the surface with an excited yell, his leap taking him straight out of the pool to tackle Avers around the midsection and sending them both to the ground.

The shipboy sat up and looked around with a goofy grin on his face before looking down at Avers.

“Hi, I’m Trigger! T-R-I-double ‘guh’-ER…that spells ‘Trigger’!” he stated.

“I know,” Avers croaked, still trying to get his breath back, not having much success what with a ship-boy sitting on him. He noticed Professor Tanabe on the phone, frantically dialing Headquarters to get someone down there.

He had a sinking feeling life had just gotten a lot crazier.

~~~

Not five minutes later, the two Chinese cruisers had taken Shi Lang to be processed, and Robertson and Mutsu were standing in the chamber with Avers and Tanabe. Before anyone could ask Avers anything, the doors flew open again and Kongo burst in, heading straight to Avers.

“I heard about the accident…are you all right, Teitoku-des?” she asked, snuggling against him.

Avers wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “I’m fine, sweetheart…no permanent damage.”

Kongo made a happy little noise and relaxed.

“Hey, uh…what’s a Teitoku?” Trigger asked, looking around inquisitively.

“The Japanese word for ‘Admiral’,” Avers replied, “or, to put it plainer, what you landed on when you flew out of that pool.”

An expression of intense concentration came over Trigger’s face – for a second Avers thought he could actually hear the gears turning – before he smiled.

“Oh…I gotcha! Sorry about that, by da way!” he laughed. “I just saw da light and went towards it!”

“And you don’t remember anything else?” Professor Tanabe asked.

Trigger shook his head. “Nah…all I remember about my sinkin’ is bein’ banged up by explosions, and then I musta got clonked on the head by a depth-charge or somethin’ and that ended me. Next thing I know I’m seein’ a bright light, so I go towards it, and poof! Here I am.” He grinned at Tanabe. “Some story, huh?” he laughed. “Ah, I got a million of ‘em!”

“Why don’t you go with Mutsu and she’ll get you processed and assigned to a dorm?” Avers asked, and his Adjutant nodded and headed for the door. “Then she’ll point you in the direction of the commissary, so you can get some food.”

“Ooh, food sounds good…I’m feelin’ a little bit hollow inside, if ya know what I mean,” Trigger replied.

“Come on, Trigger,” Mutsu called; the battleship was already outside the door waiting on him.

“Comin’, cutie!” Trigger waggled his eyebrows and charged towards the door, breaking into song as he did so.

“Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo! The most wonderful thing about Triggers is so many wonderful things! Their bows have got their torpedoes…their sterns have got the same thing! They hunt and sink and hunt and sink, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun! But the most wonderful thing about Triggers is I’m the only one! IIIIII’m the only one! WHOO!” He was out the door by the end of the song but poked his head back in briefly to state the last line.

Kongo collapsed against her husband in a fit of giggles. “I like him, Teitoku-des!” she laughed.

“Of course, you do, sweetheart,” Avers replied, leaning down and kissing the top of her head. He’s about on the Kongo-class level of the Crazy Scale, so you sense a kindred spirit. He turned to Professor Tanabe, who looked like he didn’t know what to say.

“Why?” the Admiral asked.

“Why what, Admiral?” Tanabe looked confused.

Avers sighed and elaborated.

“Why is it that at least four out of every ten ships that come out of this pool seem to be completely CUCKOO FOR COCOA PUFFS?!” he roared. “From battleships who think they’re reincarnations of Al Capone and Marc Antony, to a light cruiser who’s as big a lothario as Pepe Le Pew! And now this?! Did you dump Crazy Juice into the water or something?!”

He turned to Admiral Robertson – who looked like words were failing him as well – and smiled. Robertson met his eyes and then seemed to read his mind, for a stricken expression came across his face.

“No…” Robertson groaned, shaking his head.

“Guess what?” Avers grinned.

“Please, sir…no,” Robertson begged. “I’ve already got a British carrier that could eat every scrap of food in Japan and consider it an appetizer, and nine destroyers whose sole missions in life appear to be acting crazy and doing foolish stunts for their internet followers. My sanity would not survive both a trans-Pacific and then a cross-country flight with all of them plus that submarine on one plane.”

Avers walked over and patted his XO on the shoulder. “War is hell, Marcus,” he stated, before heading for the door with Kongo wrapped around his arm.

“I thought you liked me,” Robertson joked, and Avers laughed.

Professor Tanabe watched as the group made their way out of the building before turning back to his work. Not five minutes later, however, he was staring at the latest summons to come out of the pool: a girl who wore a dress that had the pattern of U.S. Navy Measure 32/15x camouflage on it and had several cranes as part of her combat gear, and a man in his mid-twenties dressed in the outfit of a late-Victorian-era gentleman. His outfit consisted of black shoes and wine-colored socks paired with a black jacket and white shirt, and a black top hat with a buff-colored band around the bottom completed his ensemble.

Professor Tanabe didn’t know what to say; the unnamed individuals appeared to be just as surprised to be there as Tanabe was to see him.

“Well…” the male ship-person glanced around uncertainly, “this is awkward…”

“Where am I?” the girl addressed Professor Tanabe, who was surprised that she showed no animosity towards him.

“You’re in Japan…welcome back,” the Professor replied. “Can I ask your name?”

“U.S.S. Currituck, AV-7,” the girl replied. “Why the hell am I in Japan?”

“Yes, I’d like to know that myself,” the male stated, before giving them both a slight bow. “R.M.S. Oceanic, of the White Star Line here.” He turned to Currituck. “What kind of ship are you, my dear?”

“I’m a seaplane carrier,” Currituck replied distractedly.

“What’s a seaplane?” Oceanic looked confused.

“An aircraft that’s either launched by catapult from a ship or can take off from – and land on – the water,” Currituck informed the liner.

“Oh, my…that sounds fascinating!” Oceanic replied excitedly. “So, they’ve made some improvements in those flying machines since I had my little accident, then?”

Currituck smiled slightly. “You could say that.”

“Yes, indeed,” Professor Tanabe replied. “It’s 2017, so the world might be a bit of a shock to you.”

“2017? 103 years since I was lost?” Oceanic blinked in surprise. “Well, I daresay this will be a learning experience.”

Professor Tanabe smiled wanly and directed the pair to the Headquarters building; he had no idea what to do with either of them, and figured Avers would have a better idea.

~~~

December 19th arrived as the culmination of a week of frenzied activity. Blaskewicz’s entire family had arrived on base three days prior, and while the rest of the family toured various places on the Japanese mainland – escorted by one of the Kongo sisters – Tenryu and the bridal party had begun final preparations.

Now the big day had come and Avers watched amusedly as his Supply Officer paced his office nervously. The groom’s father and five brothers – Andrew, Fred, John Jr., Martin, and Jason – also watched him pace – all but youngest brother Jason, who’d pulled out a very expensive-looking laptop and was currently plugged into a fierce battle on World of Warships – finding Eddie’s nervousness funny. Gavin was also present but was currently absorbed in typing something on his tablet.

“Relax, son,” John laughed. “She’ll be there.”

Blaskewicz shook his head. “I’m not worried about that, Dad…I’m worried about what comes after that.”

“Eddie, Dad gave us all The Talk,” Martin – seventh in line, while Blaskewicz himself was eighth – reminded him, grinning. “Remember, when a man and a woman love each other –”

“Not that either!” Blaskewicz glowered at his brothers and Mancini, all of whom laughed. “I’m talking about the adoption and then the parenting portions. I don’t know if I can be a good father.”

That gave everyone in the room pause, as none of them could really relate; John Jr., Martin, and Jason were single, Fred was dating someone but was not yet married, Mancini was engaged, and Andrew and his wife had yet to become parents, while John Sr. merely looked at his son askance. The silence was broken by Avers.

“That’s crazy talk,” the Admiral stated, walking over to Blaskewicz and placing a hand on his shoulder. “Eddie,” he stated, startling Blaskewicz with the use of his first name, “those four girls adore you and they’re practically bouncing off the walls at the prospect of being adopted. Believe me when I say I don’t think you have a thing to worry about.”

The Supply Officer let this information sink in for a few moments, then he smiled in relief and nodded.

“You’re right, sir.” He laughed, shaking his head self-deprecatingly. “What was I thinking?”

“Nerves are natural in the case of something like this,” Avers replied as the group made their way out of Blaskewicz’s office and towards the venue where the ceremony would take place. “I had a bout with them myself last month.”

“You didn’t look it,” Blaskewicz replied, and Avers smirked.

“Course not…the Admiral can show no fear, not even of the unknown,” he joked, causing the other occupants of the room to laugh.

~~~

The ceremony was held at the parade ground, just as the Avers/Kongo ceremony had been. And just like for their Admiral’s wedding, every shipgirl that had been summoned was present.

DesDiv 6 – well, three of the four, anyway – were literally quivering with excitement as the bridal party formed up to walk down the aisle. Hibiki got into her place in line and watched the commotion around her with a resigned little sigh. She longed to take a sip from her flask during times like these, but her dress didn’t exactly have pockets, so the flask stayed at home.

“Hey,” Gavin’s voice greeted her as he came up beside her. “Are you prepared for this?”

Hibiki turned to reply…and lost the power of speech when she saw Gavin’s outfit. As every other male participant in the ceremony – save for John – was wearing a uniform, Blaskewicz saw no reason why his adopted son-to-be should be left out. Therefore, Gavin was wearing Imperial Japanese Navy dress whites, complete with the gold anchor shoulder boards of a Midshipman.

“Father got you a uniform?” she asked in Russian.

Gavin grinned and shook his head. “You know I’ve been going to school online, right?”

Hibiki nodded; Gavin had completed high school within two weeks of arriving in Japan and since then had been studying online – more like breezing through, from what his professors had said - the University of Tokyo’s Engineering School. According to what his professors had said, he was on track to complete his bachelor’s degree two years early. And if that wasn’t enough of an accomplishment, his brainchild, Kanmu-Shoes, had hit Japanese store shelves a week ago. Gavin had taken the technology to ASICS Shoes, which had been ecstatic to market a product so closely connected with Japan’s beloved shipgirls. The shoes were selling out faster than the company could make them, and Gavin now had a very nice sum in his bank account. That sum was expected to grow substantially once Kanmu-Shoes hit stores worldwide.

“Well, the Admiral said as soon as I have my degree, he’ll commission me as an Engineering officer. Until then, I’m rated as an Officer Candidate.”

A lot of girls would squee with excitement at such an announcement, but Gavin knew the small smile and soft “Khorosho,” Hibiki spoke was her version of such a thing.

~~~

Minutes later, the ceremony began. Blaskewicz stepped up to the altar erected at the top of the steps leading down onto the parade ground and Avers – who’d been asked to officiate – joined him. The Admiral had been surprised when Blaskewicz informed him the ceremony – out of respect to his parents – would be a Christian one and Avers had recruited Robertson – who had led a Bible study at his church back in the States – to perform the Scripture readings and prayers.

First down the aisle were Ikazuchi and Inazuma, who were serving as flower girls. The two destroyers walked proudly down the aisle, taking their flower petals out of the basket Joji was holding in his mouth. DesDiv 6 had been scandalized that in all the chaos of preparation, there had been no thought as to what role the four-legged member of the Blaskewicz household would play in the family’s special day. Therefore, the four destroyers and Gavin came up with the current plan. Joji, for his part, was quite accommodating – as Great Danes naturally are – and the sight of the two adorable destroyers walking up the aisle on either side of a dog that was already quite large and by no means done growing brought ‘aww’s from quite a few people.

Next came Akatsuki, being escorted Blaskewicz’s oldest brother Andrew, who had dug out his Army dress blues for the occasion. Akatsuki loved her bridesmaid dress and was still beaming over the high honor she’d gotten at Kongo’s wedding; Renown had introduced her to Queen Elizabeth II, and when Akatsuki had curtsied, the Queen had stated the little destroyer was a ‘true lady’. Akatsuki had managed to wait until she walked out of the receiving room and back to the reception before letting loose with the biggest squee ever heard on base. Now she walked down the aisle as though she were an official Lady-in-Waiting, a truly eleph-er, elegant young woman.

Tatsuta was next, escorted by Mancini. As he walked down the aisle with the light cruiser on his arm, the Training Officer glanced over at Ashigara and grinned; the heavy cruiser was giving him the same look she’d favored him with when she’d watched him dancing with Hoppo at Avers’ wedding…one that said she wanted to climb him like a jungle gym until he’d forgotten his own name.

God, I love my formal dress uniform, he thought.

The Maid of Honor and Best Man came next, prompting more ‘aww’s; Gavin appeared to be very proud to stand up with his prospective adoptive father, while Hibiki’s small smile told how pleased she was. As the pair reached the end of the aisle, they separated to stand with their respective parties, Gavin receiving a pat on the shoulder from Blaskewicz.

A fanfare of music preceded the bride’s arrival, and everyone got to their feet. Avers glanced at Blaskewicz and saw Gavin pat the Supply Officer on the arm in support. Blaskewicz glanced down at him and smiled in thanks, but once Tenryu began her walk down the aisle he only had eyes for her. The light cruiser’s dress was both traditional and non-traditional…it was a white, shoulder-less, floor-length number paired with long white gloves that went up past her elbows and ended in fancy lace cuffs. She didn’t wear a veil, opting instead to wear her normal headgear.

Blaskewicz was surprised at the happy expression on his intended’s face. She looks gorgeous, he thought, but this isn’t her style of dress at all. She can’t be comfortable in that.

It was then he noticed the ‘additions’ Tenryu had made to her gown; around her waist was the Japanese Navy dress sword he’d given her for Christmas last year and strapped to her back was the sword she carried with her every day. He grinned upon seeing this.

Yeah, his girl rocked.

As Tenryu reached the end of the aisle, Blaskewicz smiled at her.

“Great dress,” he murmured. “You look amazing.”

“Thanks,” Tenryu blushed, unused to wearing such girly attire.

“Nice jewelry, too…” Blaskewicz indicated the two swords. “Suits you perfectly.”

Tenryu grinned and DesDiv 6, overhearing the exchange, giggled.

Avers glanced over the assembled people and began the ceremony.

“We are gathered here today in the sight of God, and in the presence of friends and loved ones, to celebrate one of life’s greatest moments. We are here to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes and blessings to the words that will unite Edward and Tenryu in holy matrimony.”

He paused briefly, then asked, “Who gives this woman to be married?”

The bride and groom appeared startled at the question; as Tenryu had no family except Tatsuta, they’d chosen to leave the question out of the ceremony. Avers, however, had been asked to include it anyway by the six people who answered it now.