Part 2
I can’t let myself be taken for a fool, Kagerou thought.
If she responded with something stupid on her first day of taking her new post and was ridiculed, she wouldn't be able to recover for the rest of her life. She couldn't let the people there think that ‘The country bumpkin from Kure ate too many oysters and now she's gone nuts.’ Kure was a splendid port, but Yokosuka was much bigger, and just by being a Naval District, it took pride in its role as the guardian of Tokyo Bay.
She took a train from Kure, and because she was asleep, she almost missed her destination and quickly jumped off the train in a hurry, after that, she took the wrong bus and arrived at Kurihama after a long ride, frantically tried to go back, asked an elderly for directions and followed direction she was told, only to find an incredible cliff, and after contemplating about it, she realized that she must be mistaken as a tourist, then tried to at least do something by wandering around trying to find the way on her own, and by the time she finally arrived, she was drenched in sweat.
When she checked the time, she was surprised that it was still earlier than the appointed time. Shipgirls were trained to be five minutes early for everything no matter what, but Kagerou had planned to arrive not just five minutes, but two hours earlier. Though she had spent so much time getting there, it was still a fact that she still made it on time.
A bronze signboard written with “Yokosuka Naval District” was hung in the entrance. Because it was a port, of course it faced the sea, but she couldn't just go inside by swimming ashore. Therefore, most people entered through the gate here.
Her equipment would be sent separately, so it was natural that she came empty-handed. Shipgirls were forbidden to move on land while being equipped with their rigging. That wasn't without reason, people would panic if they saw someone with cannons and torpedoes on their back walking around on public transportation.
Kagerou stood still. First, she had to report her arrival to the admiral after going inside. She checked to see if her attire was presentable.
It was hard to say that she's neat and tidy. Thanks to her journey getting there, her outfit had become messy. So first, she smoothed out the creases on her skirt, straightened the tie around her chest, and brushed off the dust from her attire.
It probably would be enough. Disorderly clothes could be interpreted as the shipgirls' own manner. After that, as long as she could bluff her way through the rest, she wouldn't be taken as a fool.
She took a deep breath and walked through the gate. She showed her identification paper to the guard.
The guard was a man with a gorilla-like face and a gorilla-like build, but when he saw her identification paper, he immediately saluted her.
“Please come through!”
Shipgirls were both feared and admired at the same time. Everyone all knew that only these girls could save humanity.
Feeling somewhat better, Kagerou walked around the grounds. As one would expect from Yokosuka, even the guards were well disciplined. Kure was no slouch either, but Kure guards had a softer voice.
She walked along the edge of the road, trying not to get in the way of the cars driving around, turning a few times until she found the building she was looking for.
“… This is the place, isn’t it?”
Kagerou muttered to herself. It was too small to be called a building. Or rather, it was inadequate. No matter how you looked at it, it was prefabricated, and it looked just like the one used at a construction site. It would probably be more appropriate to describe it as a shack.
I wonder if this is really the Admiral's office? Perhaps I’ve made a mistake, she thought, but no matter how she thought about it, it was the right building. But is this really the place where I had to report for my arrival?
The actual building is probably under construction, so this is the temporary replacement, right? She decided to think so.
The door was dangerously left wide open. Kagerou stood at the front and announced, “Kagerou, coming in,” and gave a ten-degree bow before entering.
“Kagerou-class destroyer, Kagerou, reporting for duty in Yokosuka Naval District today at 0900! Your guidance and encouragement is deeply appreci—”
She couldn't finish the line she had borrowed from Shiranui.
Because the room was empty.
Kagerou was staring at the deserted room, dumbfounded.
Before her eyes was only a desk with a gray tablecloth spread out on top, without a single soul nearby. There was a hanging scroll on the wall with “Maritime Escort” written on it, but you wouldn't expect people to talk with it, would you?
(… Is coming here a mistake after all?)
No, it shouldn't have been a mistake. The room was here, and she already informed her arrival time beforehand. Then why was no one here?
She looked out the window where the teru teru bozu doll[1] was hanging to see if anyone was there. The port of Yokosuka could be seen clearly.
Then, a loud noise could be heard.
“Take shelter, evacuate!!”
Kagerou wondered, What’s happening? The people outside were running away, scattering everywhere like spider offsprings. Kagerou stared at them absentmindedly.
Eventually.
Whistling sounds echoed. She vaguely thought, Huh, somehow it sounds like shells falling, when suddenly the ceiling exploded.
“Kyaaa!!”
Kagerou was thrown out by the impact. The wall crumbled and collapsed to the outside.
“What—what on earth, what just happened?!”
Her eyes were rolling in a literal sense while she tried to get up. The prefab building from before had been completely destroyed. The hanging scroll with “Marine Escort” written on it had fallen on Kagerou's head, carried by the wind.
When she brushed the scroll off her head, she saw a single woman at her wits end in a distance in front of her.
“Gosh, I suppose it didn't expect it to become this bad. Where is the shipgirl who fired the 12.7cm gun at the Admiral's office?”
Was it a shipgirl's doing? Kagerou wondered. Since it was a 12.7 cm gun, it must have been a destroyer that fired it, isn’t it?
Even though it was called a 12.7cm gun, it didn't mean that the gun had an actual 127mm caliber. It was just a name that meant the weapon's capability was comparable to a 127mm gun. Not to mention, the 12.7cm gun fell into small armament category. It was meant to be mounted on a destroyer, so it couldn't be too large.
Still, it was fortunate that it was only 12.7cm shells, even more so that it exploded mid-air. If it had been 41cm shells from battleships, everyone would have been dead.
That being said, it was still weird for a shipgirl to shoot into the admiral's office.
“Where is that girl?!”
The woman before her was screaming with a bright red face in front of the girls who had gathered.
There was a reply saying “She is not here. She must have already gone somewhere.”
“Go find her. If she's not found within an hour, no one of you will have any meal!”
The girls started running off in a panic.
The woman who gave the order was still angry. Meanwhile, Kagerou tried to find some courage to speak to her.
“Excuse my rudeness.”
“Yes?”
The woman finally noticed Kagerou.
Blue hat and blue uniform. A white scarf around her chest. She recognized her as a heavy cruiser shipgirl at a glance. Her stature was tall as well, and she looked gentle. However, she could tell from listening to her earlier words that she looked scary when she was angry.
She examined Kagerou's figure from head to toe with her gaze.
“Oh, a destroyer. An unfamiliar face, it seems.”
“I am Kagerou of the Kagerou-class destroyer. Reporting for duty in Yokosuka Naval District today at—”
“Ah, my bad, you must be the girl that contacted me from Kure.”
She interrupted her by slightly raising her hand, not letting Kagerou to finish her whole sentence.
“I am Takao, the first ship of the Takao-class. The second ship is also here in Yoko District, but I'm sure you'll eventually meet with her. My job is handling exercises and accompanying the battleships going far away. Nice to meet you.”
“Yes…”
Since she was a heavy cruiser, she surely sortied with the battleships and aircraft carriers, and sometimes acted as the flagship, right?
That aside, her breasts were big. They were so big that her uniform was almost bursting. Was there a rule that said you couldn't be a heavy cruiser if you didn't have large breasts?
“Then, Takao-san is my flagship, is that—”
“No, that's wrong. Also, you are a destroyer, aren't you?”
“Yes. Then I—”
“Rather than that,” Takao grabbed both Kagerou's shoulders firmly. “Can you help me find that girl?”
“… Who are you referring to?”
“The one who bombarded the admiral's office just now, that idiot—no, that unique shipgirl, okay? That was the third occurrence for this month alone. Every time it happens, the admiral sulks and goes to the carrier dorm to get spoiled, you see. Last week he changed his mind and went to the battleship dorm, and the carrier girls raised a complaint. It's always us who get the short end of the stick.”
“Huh.”
It was unknown just how many times Kagerou had let out an astonished voice already. What’s with this Naval District?
“That's why, lend me your help, okay? This time I'm going to tie that girl up with a mooring knot until she can't move.”
“Um, so who should I be looking for?”
“An impertinent-looking destroyer with glaring eyes. You'll know right away if you see her.”
“What's the name of that ship?”
Takao finally told Kagerou the ship's name at last.
“Akebono.”
Yokosuka Naval District was spacious. It had a different role from Kure which focused primarily on training and education, but the practice grounds and the waters were incomparable. Before her departure, Kagerou's fellow shipgirls friends tried to scare her by saying “It’s unfortunate for you to be sent to Yoko District,” “Kure pales in comparison to the intensive conditions there,” or “You’d be much better going overseas.” No matter how you thought about it, they were only saying things from their imagination, but since she had nothing to refute them, she had no choice but to believe them.
It was said—not entirely without basis—that Yokosuka Naval District was full of tension because they always had to be ready to battle the Abyssal Fleet.
It was supposed to be like that.
Kagerou wondered, Why do I have to participate in a search for a girl? Well, she was a destroyer, so of course search and rescue was her specialty, but wasn't it strange that she was immediately ordered to do that right after she had just reported for duty? Thanks to that, she ended up in an awkward situation where she had to walk around the place without even getting a tour.
By the way, the ‘tour’ here meant an arrangement for a shipgirl who had just been assigned to a new post, taking her from place to place in order for her to learn the layout of facilities in the naval district. If she didn't learn where everything was within one tour, she would be yelled at.
Since there’s no tour for me, I’m as good as a lost child. Where should I search to find her?
“This is a Naval District just like Kure, so the facilities must be similar…” Kagerou muttered at herself.
If I were to do something as outrageous as throwing shells into the admiral's office, where would I go afterwards? The most common case was fleeing to the mountains like a serial killer, or going with all your equipment to the Coral Sea Islands. Since there were many small islands that no one knows about in the south, living normally like Robinson Crusoe[2] would be possible.
However, from the way Takao spoke, it seemed that there had been several occurrences like this many times before. Fleeing to the south each time it happened wouldn't be worth the trouble. Just to be sure, she stretched out her body and looked around the bay, but there wasn't any shipgirl's wake on the water.
That means she is still on land. Is she in the Ordnance Bureau's Equipment Storage? No, there are guards there. Then, what about the dock? If someone is being treated there, it would be meaningless to hide inside. Port & Harbour Bureau's Quarantine Building? That will be funny because that girl might be threatened to be infected from a type of pathogen if she tries to hide there. Inner Bay Demagnetization Facility? Hiding in a place like that is just the same as admitting you're spying.
She wondered what she would have done if she was the one doing it. She had hidden herself under the floor of the auditorium when she was discovered by the people on the weekly shift duty when she tried to ginbai[3] for some ramune[4] and bananas from the cafeteria. When she was caught bringing in botamochi[5] and canned peaches from the outside and was chased by her friends to share some of it, she pretended to be a staff from the Repair Section of the Construction Bureau. Incidentally, she didn't do these things because she wanted to. It was because Shiranui caught a cold and wanted them, so she just had to.
(But would she hide in such an obvious place…?)
If the one hiding was a pro, then the one searching had to be a pro as well. Especially for a destroyer shipgirl, they were ready to do whatever it took to find their target, whether it was on land or sea. Even in other naval districts, it was common for fights to occur over towels, writing utensils, and sometimes even underwear borrowed from the battleships and the heavy cruisers.
Once again, she recalled Takao's words earlier. This was the third time this month alone. That meant she had been found twice. Perhaps she was in an easy-to-find place. Why was she in an easy-to-find place? Perhaps she wanted someone to look for her. However, she probably wasn't just wandering around the area. She had to be aware of the movements of people who looked for her, too. That meant—
Kagerou looked around. It had to be high up on the terrain and enough to see far away.
“It's likely over there.”
She ran to the building she saw at the edge of her field of vision.
It was a three-story brick-colored Western-style building. Among the many modern buildings, the color scheme and exterior made it stood out from the rest. It was the Yokosuka Naval District Government Office building.
Kagerou went inside without even giving a salute. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was watching, she ran up the stairs with a leap.
She went to the rooftop. The place was not so big, because it was used for hoisting flags.
There was one shipgirl there.
A classic sailor uniform with a blue ribbon tie. Her long hair was tied on the right side of her head, and a bell was attached to the hair clip. Her profile looked young, and the look on her eyes certainly had an impression of unfriendliness with her intense gaze.
This girl must be Akebono, Kagerou was convinced.
Akebono didn't look at her, and instead pulled out a pocket watch from her breast pocket.
“… Ten minutes. Huh, isn't this the fastest so far?”
The way she said it was almost as if she was mocking others.
“They are sure a bunch of incompetent fools, but I guess someone had learned their lesson. It's better that way for those light cruisers and destroyers.”
She turned around. Then she had a puzzled look.
“… Who are you?”
“Kagerou,” she answered.
Akebono looked even more doubtful.
“Kagerou, the first of the Kagerou-class? What do you want?”
“I've been reassigned here as of today.”
She tried to say, ‘Nice to meet you,’ but Akebono was in no mood to hear her greeting.
She was showered with a blatant dubious gaze.
“So, what are you here for?”
Kagerou was puzzled by the insulting tone, but answered, “I was ordered to look for you. The other shipgirls were told that they won't receive any meal if they can't find you.”
“You can just ignore them. Those destroyers are useless anyway, they are just going around making noises and scattering left and right.”
“Aren't you a destroyer yourself?”
“So what if I am?”
Akebono threw a glare at her, and Kagerou was at a loss for words.
“…Uh…”
“Being reassigned means you're just from Kure or Sasebo. I'm sure you messed something up and was sent away. It must be that kind of stuff, you're either hit by a toss bombing[6] or by a volley of shots because you failed on the lookout, aren't you? Again, Yoko District will be cramped with all the scraps.”
Kagerou was confused first rather than losing her temper. What's with this shipgirl who only kept insulting people since earlier?
“You should just retire yourself as soon as possible because destroyers are useless against the Abyssal Fleet. Well, even if you don't retire, the result is the same because you will eventually be sunk. The removal from the navy list after sinking also means twice the effort for the paperwork, so retiring right away is better.”
She tried to refute those words that filled with malice.
“I—I'm here to fight properly, you know.”
“Huh? Fighting against the Abyssal Fleet is a term only used by the battleships and aircraft carriers, don't you realize?” Akebono sneered. “When it comes to destroyers, their job is either to escort a convoy on an expedition or to be sacrificial pawns for others to escape the combat zone. Destroyers aren't expected to be useful from the start.”
“Aren't auxiliary vessels necessary to fight a battle?!”
“Too bad, they aren't needed. The fleet attendant[7] isn't the main actor of the stage, you see. No matter what the destroyers do, they aren't expected to be anything more than throw-aways. Even the light cruiser girls think so.”
“There's no way that's true!” Kagerou shouted. All the light cruisers in Kure were kind and respectful. Especially Jintsuu, who was strict but also gentle at the same time, who said “The destroyers are our pride.”
And yet, why is this girl so rude?
“Destroyers are not useless!”
“Yeah, I guess you're right. Perhaps they can at least be useful for trying to find me.”
There's no way I will get along with this girl.
Kagerou's mouth curved into a grimace in anger. If I knew this would be the case, I should've practiced hurling insults more. I never needed to practice for that to begin with since Kure didn't have such a vexatious shpigirl. My partner, Shiranui, is calm and collected, though a bit sarcastic, she never once directly speaks bad of others.
Naturally, Akebono was not concerned about Kagerou's circumstances at all.
“So, what's the Kagerou-class going to do with me now that you're obstructing me here?”
“… I'm going to bring you back.” She spoke in a low, growling tone. “If I don't bring you back with me, I might not receive meals too.”
“Isn't it better to eat a little less to lose weight?”
“I'm not fat!” She forcefully grabbed Akebono's arm. “We're going back!”
“Whoa, how violent. The rumors about the Kagerou-class being all brawn and no brain idiots were true, weren't they?”
“You're noisy!”
Kagerou pulled Akebono along with her, trying not to look at her face as much as possible.
Kagerou brought Akebono in front of Takao. Akebono was still continuing to bad-mouth others but didn't resist being dragged.
“I brought her back.”
“I appreciate your efforts. So it's true that the Kagerou-class' swiftness is really fast, it seems."
Takao was impressed. Kagerou dispiritedly saluted.
“Then I shall excuse myself.”
“Ah, wait. Take this girl with you too.”
‘This girl’ obviously was referring to Akebono. Kagerou had a mystifying look on her face.
“To the detention?”
“Unfortunately, I have received an instruction from the Admiral to disregard her actions without question.”
“Huh? Didn't she blow up the office?!”
“Our Admiral is a masochist and a firework lover, and it seems that he was watching from somewhere else. ‘The explosion flames rose beautifully, so she’s not guilty,’ or so he said.”
‘That's absurd,’ Kagerou thought. Under normal circumstances, her equipment would definitely be dismantled and the shipgirl herself would be put into a trial and sent to Kurihama prison.
Be that as it may, Kagerou didn't want to be with this destroyer shipgirl, whether she was guilty or not.
“Well then, I don't know where to bring her, but as long as I take her with me, then that's fine, is that right?”
“There's one more thing. There was a letter of appointment for Kagerou. I wonder where it is…” Takao rummaged through the stack of papers in her hand. “Here it is. Hmm, it says ‘Kagerou of the Kagerou-class destroyer is to be assigned to the following destroyer division: The 14th Destroyer Division.’”
Kagerou repeated the appointment order just now in her mouth. Fourteen, fourteen? I don't remember hearing about it. Was there such a destroyer division?
“Why does Yoko District have a fourteenth division?”
“Who knows. I wonder if they decided it by playing darts or something.”
It seemed that Takao really didn't know and said something vague.
The official rules had stipulated that the destroyers division belonging to Yokosuka Naval District were numbered from one to ten. The fact that there was a fourteenth division in Yokosuka was like an exception.
From the tenth onwards, it was assigned to the destroyer division in Kure. I am from Kure, so maybe it’s because of that? Kagerou wondered. Or is there some other reason?
“It's kind of like a leftover division, huh.”
“You did well figuring that out.”
“Please don't say such ominous things. Who are the other members besides me?”
Takao pointed next to Kagerou.
“She's right here.”
“Huh?”
“There, next to you.”
Kagerou pondered, I can’t comprehend what Takao is saying. No, actually, I understood. I just didn't want to believe it. I was called to Yokosuka because I was the young and energetic Kagerou-class destroyer. I don’t think having that expectation is unreasonable.
She timidly looked next to her and then turned her face back.
“You don't mean… with Akebono…?”
“That’s right.”
Kagerou sprang up.
“T–t–that’s a lie, right?!”
“Why would I lie? You yourself already said something about the leftovers, I believe?”
“To think that it's true is unbelievable…!”
“I thought that the shipgirls from Kure District were good at deducing things.”
Takao was wrapping up the documents as if to say, ‘That's all I have to say.’
Kagerou said with a clinging momentum, “T–the lead ship, who is the lead ship? Takao-san is the lead ship, right?!”
“It's you.”
“Eh?!”
“Kagerou will be the lead ship of the 14th Destroyer Division.”
“Noooo!!”
The lead ship was a ship that gave commands and managed the destroyer division. Usually, a light cruiser with excellent speed and communication capabilities served as the lead ship. For a destroyer to be a lead ship was an exception among exceptions.
Kagerou was almost overwhelmed when Takao continued, “There had been a number of shipgirls in the past who tried to rein Akebono, but they all failed. I've been serving as a temporary lead ship for her, but now I'm finally being relieved from that duty.”
“But that doesn't mean I'm—”
“The admiral said ‘She'll be able to do it since she’s from Kure,’ you know?”
I've never heard of such a thing. If coming from Hiroshima means you could lead everything, this planet would belong to the Carp or Sanfrecce by now. [8]
Kagerou was so dizzy that she almost felt like sitting down. Takao told her with a relieved look on her face, “It's a weight off my shoulders. The sea somehow looks more azure than usual, what do you think?”
“To me it looks no different from a sewage ditch…”
“There are still the other girls in the 14th Destroyer Division, you should look for them. Please get along with them.”
Takao told her that and left while saying “I suppose I’m going to celebrate a party with canned beef today.”
After that, only the two shipgirls remained.
Kagerou glanced sideways at her neighbor. The shipgirl with a bad mouth and bad attitude really looked very bored.
After a while, Akebono said as if speaking to herself, “… Pulled an unlucky number, huh.”
“So you understand?”
She thought Akebono was being surprisingly honest, but then she glared at her.
“I’m talking about myself.”
Kagerou shouted at last, “Shut up you damn idiot!” What’s with this destroyer with her awful personality? I had heard that there were many good girls in the Ayanami-class, but this one is just lower than the lowest of the lows. Who would ever want to get along with her? She's better be hit by a skip bombing[9] and sunk in the Solomon Sea.
Akebono had no idea what was going inside Kagerou's heart. She had long since disappeared.
Note :
[1] : Japanese handmade dolls from white paper of cloth that is believed to prevent bad weathers or rainy days by hanging it on the window.
[2] : A novel by Daniel Defoe telling a story of an autobiography of the title character (whose birth name is Robinson Kreutznaer) – a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical desert island near the coasts of Venezuela and Trinidad, roughly resembling Tobago, encountering cannibals, captives, and mutineers before being rescued. It's a fictional character but was believed to be a real person by many people.
[5] : Rice balls covered in sweetened red beans paste or azuki paste. It's written as Ohagi but it's the same thing I guess.
[6] : It's a bombing method where you fly so low to almost touch the water to avoid radar detection and proximity fuses. The attacking aircraft pulls upward when releasing its bomb load, giving the bomb additional time of flight by starting its ballistic path with an upward vector. The purpose of toss bombing is to compensate for the gravity drop of the bomb in flight, and allow an aircraft to bomb a target without flying directly over it. This is to avoid overflying a heavily defended target, or to distance the attacking aircraft from the blast effects of a nuclear (or conventional) bomb.
[7] : Tsuyuharai, one of the two attendants that accompany a yokozuna(highest ranked sumo wrestler) when he performs his dohyō-iri or ring entrance ceremony.
[9] : Another low-level bombing method. It allows an aircraft to attack ships by skipping the bomb across the water like a stone. Dropped at very low altitudes, the bomb never rises more than about 5 metres (16 ft) above the surface of the water, ensuring that it will hit the side of the ship as long as it is aimed correctly.
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