Chapter 4: Water
A few days later, at the usual pier.
“We went through a lot until yesterday, but let's be even more determined today,” Kagerou announced to her group who lined up before her.
There was no one who seemed to be taking her words seriously. The tension was low.
But Kagerou didn't become discouraged.
“You probably think it's going to be another boring training session, don't you? But today it's different. Today we're going to do a surface combat drill!”
Some of them let out surprised gasps.
Destroyers' bombardment paled in comparison to the battleships and cruisers, but that didn't mean they could cut corners with their training. There have been many cases where the Abyssal Fleet who almost escaped was sunk by the last hit of a destroyer.
Although not very powerful, the 12.7cm gun wasn't just for decoration. That's why Kagerou decided to train their shelling skills as well.
She borrowed the Abyssal Fleet dummy models by persuading the Munition Department. The officer in charge complained with “We've been told to curb consumption because it had been so high lately,” to which she argued, “But if we made the Rensouhou dolls as our training target, Shimakaze would be sad.”
She brought the Abyssal Fleet dummies and put them to the pier. She used to do this kind of training back at Kure.
“In other words, we will be using live ammunition this time.”
Everyone made a surprised face when they heard her.
“Isn't that dangerous…?” Ushio asked.
“Of course it's dangerous, but all of us have been on expeditions before, right? Don't we bring live ammunition on our expeditions?”
“Well… that's…”
Every destroyer girl went on an expedition at least once in their lifetime. Naturally, they were armed with live ammunition in case they encountered the Abyssal Fleet, so it wasn't like they didn't have any real combat experience. However, since there were only a handful of opportunities for them to participate in a full-scale naval battle, they never had the chance to shoot at the enemies. The reason why Atago suggested the special exercise was probably because she was concerned about their lack of experience in that area.
“After all, we can improve our skills by simulating a real combat situation,” Kagerou said.
The use of live ammunition greatly increased the feeling of tension and their level of concentration. She imagined that this would be a good way to gain experience before the special exercise.
Ushio still looked anxious.
“Have you received the permission to use them…?”
“I've already got that covered, so don't worry.”
Kagerou thumped her chest.
“I've done it before at Kure, too. You can be rest assured as long as I'm here. Training with live ammunition is kind of simple. I'm sure you'll be fine once you try doing it.”
“Well, very confident, aren't you?”
Kagerou let out a strange shriek of “Yeek!?” then turned around.
Atago was behind her.
“Are you going to observe our training again?”
“You submitted the request to utilize live ammunition, didn't you? That means someone of the heavy cruisers or bigger has to oversee it, you see. That's why I'm here.”
“Are you, perhaps, doing this just because you have nothing to do as the secretary ship…?”
“The Admiral is currently being given an earful because he tried to touch Tatsuta-san's breasts, so it's not a problem. Besides, I also brought other people with me.”
She pointed to her right. Kagerou, who looked in the direction, reflexively jumped up.
There were women dressed in a shrine maiden-style outfit. And there were four of them. Those figures, carrying enormous gun turrets, were without a doubt, the battleships. Moreover, they were the four sisters of the Kongou-class.
The woman in the forefront waved her hand.
“Hi~, I shall be carefully observing your training, ok~ay?”
The person with the distinct way of speaking was Kongou.
“Do not put a shameful display in front of our Elder Sister, you hear me?”
The one who was devotedly being concerned about her sister was Hiei.
“Please don't do anything reckless that can cause you to hurt yourself.”
The one giving the warning was Haruna.
“I am expecting to see a good training session from you.”
The one who pressured her the most, and casually at that, was Kirishima.
Kagerou was momentarily feeling overwhelmed by the appearance of the famous fast battleships.
Battleships were the mainstay of the war against the Abyssal Fleet, the goddesses of the sea who protected mankind. Their armor provided unlimited peace of mind to their allies, while their gigantic guns struck fear into the hearts of their enemies. Along with the aircraft carriers, they were indispensable individuals to the naval districts.
Of course, Kagerou had met battleships many times before. She saluted them whenever they passed by, and there were times where she pestered them to tell her about their fight against the Abyssal Fleet. But, she never experienced having her training watched by them.
And as expected, she complained to Atago.
“Why are such important sisters here…?!”
Atago put a finger on her cheek.
“Hmm, because I invited them?”
“There's nothing interesting at all in watching destroyers' training, you know?!”
“That's not true. Everyone is extremely curious to see how the destroyer girls fight.”
I mean, we only have 12.7cm guns, Kagerou thought. Unlike battleships who are literally equipped with ‘big guns’ such as the 41cm or the 35.6cm guns, the destroyers' equipment is so tiny that it is difficult to tell whether it is a main gun or just a high-angle gun. I don't mean to be self-deprecating, but ours are inferior in every way.
Atago, however, seemed not concerned about such things and waved her hand, saying, “Do your best!”
Kagerou was struck with a dark mood, but she shook her head to deny those thoughts. Rather, she could use this as an opportunity. If they could impress the battleship sisters here, their popularity at Yokosuka would skyrocket. If the word spread in the naval district through the mouths of the Kongou-class, it could surprise the other destroyer division.
Above all, destroyers also had an ultimate weapon that was as effective as a battleship's main gun.
“A-a-a-a-alright, everyone, we can't show something unsightly in front of the battleships. But there is no need to p-p–p-p-panic, so let's stay calm.”
“Isn't Kagerou the one panicking the most?”
Nagatsuki's line hit the nail, so she replied with, “Shut up.” She quickly prepared the live-fire drill.
“I'll pull them.”
Kagerou said while pointing at the Abyssal Fleet dummies.
“Fire when I give the signal, okay? When it's my turn, someone will exchange places with me.”
“Then let me do it first.”
Nagatsuki stepped forward, and Kagerou nodded.
“Alright. I'll head out to the sea…”
“Not that, let me pull the target.”
“Eh? You're going to pull them, Nagatsuki?”
“Yeah.”
She was already holding the towing rope.
“You can just leave it to me.”
“That's very kind of you, but are you sure?”
“Yeah, just do whatever you want later.”
Before Kagerou could say anything, Nagatsuki had already left the pier.
Kagerou shrugged her shoulders a little at the quickness of the process. She regained her composure and told the rest of the group.
“Then, I'll go first.”
She went to the sea. She could see Nagatsuki pulling the target ship offshore.
For safety reasons, there was enough distance maintained between Nagatsuki and the target. Kagerou took aim. She measured the distance and adjusted the direction.
“Engagement ahead. Target, enemy Abyssal Fleet, commence firing!”
The 12.7cm twin gun mount on her shoulder opened fire. A column of water splash emerged in front of the target. She increased the angle of fire a bit and fired again.
“Fire!”
This time, the column of water splash emerged behind the target.
“The target is bracketed!”
She reported a bit proudly. A voice of admiration of “Wow,” sounded from the place where the Kongou-class shipgirls were watching.
Bracketing meant sandwiching the target with two shots, one over and one short. All that was left was to adjust the angle of the guns between the front and the back, so the chances of hitting the target would be much greater.
Kagerou continued firing, and within a few moments, scored a hit.
She returned to the pier after firing the prescribed number of rounds. Nagatsuki also returned while dragging the target ship with her.
The Abyssal Fleet dummy was half hollowed out.
“Pretty decent, eh?”
Kagerou checked it herself and was satisfied for the time being. She glanced sideways at Atago and the others and saw that they were still smiling as usual, she didn't know what they thought of her.
“Let's move on to the next. This is a chance to stand out!”
She said encouragingly, and Satsuki stepped forward.
“My surface action is going to start now!”[1]
The 12.7cm[2] shells flew into the air with these energetic words.
Satsuki continued firing enthusiastically. The Abyssal Fleet dummy was surrounded by columns of water splashes. It looked like a broken fountain.
Before Kagerou could say anything, Satsuki ran out of shells and ended the bombardment.
The dummy was retrieved, and Kagerou checked it.
“There are… only one hit?”
Kagerou couldn't believe her eyes.
“Hey Satsuki! You only hit it once!”
The person in question was surprised but rather in a good way.
“Whoa, I hit it. I'm getting better, huh.”
“What do you mean by that?!”
“Before, I never scored a hit at all, you know. It's amazing to me that I could even land a hit. Maybe it's thanks to Kagerou's arrival here.”
“You fired all of your shells, though? If the enemy counter-attacked, you will be finished. You have to be more careful with your remaining ammunition.”
Then she turned to the Kongou sisters and forced a smile.
“Umm, that one was just a little entertainment. There will be more good ones to come.”
Ushio was next.
“I will… I will try my best.”
The bombardment began. The shells flew in a modest manner, just like her modest personality. Even the columns of water splashes were small, somehow.
The bombardment ended. Kagerou checked the dummy and made a conflicted expression.
There was nothing to write home about. Not good, but not bad either. It was just a level where the target would say “Oh, I am being shelled, huh?”
“Hmm. Not so bad… I think?”
“I'm sorry…”
Ushio shrunk her body.
“No, no, you can still improve. Then next, Akebono.”
Akebono seemed ashamed while staring at Ushio, and silently started shelling.
She bracketed with a few shots. Before long, she had a hit.
Kagerou was impressed. There was no wasted action, the correction she calculated from her initial shelling was brilliant, and she didn't waste her ammunition like Satsuki.
When she checked the dummy, she found that there were critical hits.
“That was excellent.”
“I'm a destroyer, so it's only natural. Did you really think I would miss?”
Kagerou didn't think that Akebono would miss, but she was still surprised to find that this shipgirl who had that kind of bad personality had such a high level on both fleet maneuvering and shelling.
She checked behind, thinking I wonder if Kongou-san and the others were impressed. All four of them were sitting on the beach, with Kongou holding a teacup.
“… Do you think they are impressed…?”
“Maybe they will be a little surprised when they see the next one.”
Akebono said in a bored tone, and Kagerou hurriedly looked forward.
The next in line was Arare.
She was taciturn, so she went to her firing position silently. She took a glance at the target, the Abyssal Fleet dummy.
“Firing…”
The 12.7cm shells launched. It reached the target after flying in an arc.
Flames emerged instead of columns of water splashes.
This was a live-fire drill, but the amount of explosives has been reduced. However, to make it easier to tell when the shells hit the target, more magnesium was added.
The flame was from that. In other words, it had directly landed on the Abyssal Fleet dummy.
“The first shot landed…?!”
Kagerou was shocked.
Usually, the hit rate for shelling was less than 10 percent. The first shot served as a test shot to measure the distance from the enemy, after which the bombardment would be performed at full power. In a real combat situation, allies and enemies would be moving around, so the hit rate would be even lower.
Although that was a shot done during the training, it was still affected by the wind and humidity. Hitting the first shot after making the calculation by taking these factors into account wasn't just a trivial thing.
She thought it was just a fluke, but then the shots following the first still landed directly at the target.
The bombardment was over and the dummy was retrieved. She didn't even need to check.
Staring at the target, as expected, even Kongou and her sisters seemed surprised. Atago was the only one still smiling.
The person in question, Arare, was exactly the same as usual.
Kagerou spontaneously tapped her on the shoulder.
“That was amazing! I didn't know you were this good. You have improved so much since that time at Kure, haven't you?”
“……”
“This will amaze everyone, I'm sure! You will be lauded as a hero in the naval district.”
“……”
Her expression made it difficult to tell whether she was pleased or not.
Arare aside, Kagerou was in high spirits. That would shock Atago and the fast battleship sisters. If rumor spread throughout the naval district, the 14th Destroyer Division would be feared.
“Do you really think that it would go as planned?”
It was Akebono who uttered those words as if to pour cold water on Kagerou's face. Kagerou retorted with a bit of annoyance.
“Weren't you the one who said they would be a little surprised?”
“Perhaps they would be even mo~re surprised next.”
“Next? Next is… Oh!”
Kagerou hurriedly said to the shipgirl who was lining up the dummies on the coast.
“Sorry, sorry, it's now Nagatsuki's turn, isn't it?”
Nagatsuki, who was preparing to clean up, flinched for some reason.
“No… I'm good.”
“Ah, I guess you would be angry for being forgotten even though you volunteered to pull the dummy. Sorry, I'll take your place, so cheer up.”
Kagerou clapped her hands together and bowed repeatedly, but Nagatsuki shook her head.
“It's okay, really. Don't mind me.”
“Nagatsuki should also get your turn properly too. Next time, I will let you be the first one to do it, I swear. So, please just bear with it now.”
She forcefully took the towing rope. She lightly tugged it to make sure that the Abyssal Fleet dummy was still connected with the rope.
“Then I'm going to pull it, okay? You can start when I give you the signal.”
Kagerou headed out to the sea, leaving Nagatsuki who looked like she still wanted to say something.
She waved her hand when she was far enough away.
“It's okay now, you can start!”
A few moments later, the sounds of gunfire rang out. The shell was flying and going to land. A column of water splash emerged.
Near Kagerou, that is.
“Kyaaah!!”
She couldn't help but scream. In addition to being covered with seawater from the head, the vibration of the explosion also reverberated in her body. She was caught off guard that she nearly put her breakfast back in her mouth.
“Wh-what?!”
Then came the second and third shots. This time, the second shell fell farther away from the target, while the third one was much closer to the target.
But then, a shell landed near Kagerou again.
The impact almost knocked her over. She would have been in big trouble if it hit, even if it was just a shell from a destroyer's gun.
“Hold on, wait! Stop firing! Abort the training, abort!”
She waved her hands flailingly, but she didn't even know whether it could be seen or not. Nagatsuki's shells were falling only in areas that had nothing to do with the target.
Kagerou couldn't help but left the Abyssal Fleet dummy behind and returned to the pier. She yelled, still soaking wet, with bloodshot eyes.
“What are you thinking?! I thought I was going to die! Do you really hate me that much?!”
There was no reply. Kagerou continued to yell.
“Well, I did admonish you guys, forced you to train, and perhaps I might be a little bit too intense, but do you hate me that much to the point of going as far as to try to kill me…?!”
Again, there was no reply.
Disappointed, Kagerou looked straight ahead. Nagatsuki was standing still with a pale face.
“Ah… uh… S-sorry…”
“I don't know if you're actually sorry.”
“I'm really…sorry… That wasn't…on purpose…”
She trembled in fear while still completely pale faced. Kagerou forgot her anger in bewilderment at the difference between her usual demeanor.
“… What's wrong?”
“That was just her actual ability.”
The cold voice was from Akebono. She folded her arms with a bored look on her face.
“This girl is really terrible at shelling. She's always acting all high and mighty, but her combat skills are the lowest among the destroyers, she never hit the target no matter how hard she tried. She kept saying nonsense stuff about protecting Arare, but she's really the one being protected.”
“……”
Nagatsuki cast her eyes downward. Her stand-offish manner was just a shadow of its former self, as she was certainly down in the dumps.
Akebono turned to face Kagerou.
“Now you understand, right? Even the battleships would be shocked by her incompetence.”
Kagerou looked at Atago and the others. They were having a conversation. But she couldn't make out what the content of the conversation was. They were probably discussing the fact that someone had fired at their allies. Normally, this would be a case for immediate cancellation of the training.
Kagerou reflexively looked up to the sky.
“Ugh… the plan won't work now…”
“Sorry,” Nagatsuki said with a weak voice. “I'm sorry.”
She ran away as she was, going from the pier into the ocean and disappearing toward the direction of Sarushima Island.
“Ah… Ushio, can you take care of the rest for me?!”
“Y-yes?!”
“I'm going to chase after her!”
Kagerou chased after Nagatsuki without waiting for the flustered Ushio to reply.
Sarushima Island is an uninhabited island off the coast of Yokosuka. No one lived there, but there were barbecue plazas and swimming areas on the beach. However, those were only available during the summer and completely closed for the rest of the year.
Kagerou landed on the beach, looking for Nagatsuki.
It was not all that uncommon for shipgirls to receive emotional shock. Since fighting the Abyssal Fleet was so mentally draining, each naval district was required to have counselors stationed and ready at any time.
There were also shipgirls who were too embarrassed to consult with the counselors. The higher their self-esteem, the more likely they would avoid telling their problem. They would cry, agonize, and suffer in secret. As a result, they preferred to be in places where no one would be around. And Sarushima Island was such a perfect place for that.
“… Oh, there she is.”
She recognized the figure of a shipgirl who was crouching down in the corner of the beach. Kagerou slowly approached her.
Nagatsuki was hugging her knees, burying her face.
Kagerou sat beside her, not saying a word.
Both of them remained as they were for a while.
“…Kagerou huh…” Nagatsuki muttered.
“Yeah.”
“What…do you think of me, now…?”
“I never thought about it that much. I mean, Nagatsuki is Nagatsuki.”
“……”
Nagatsuki raised her face. She stared at the sea.
“… It was true… The things Akebono said back before…”
“Eh?”
“The Mutsuki-class has poor balance. The gun turret and the main engines don't fit well together, so, as a destroyer girl, it's difficult. Especially for me…”
“I suppose so.”
“It's true. I've always, always been worried that perhaps, I'm just not good enough…. My armor is somewhat simple too.”
For shipgirls, armor was pretty much synonymous with the uniform they wore. At a glance, their uniform looked nothing more than a sailor uniform, but it was an important piece of equipment that protected them from the Abyssal Fleet attacks.
Different types of shipgirls have different types of uniform designs. The uniform was assigned according to the shipgirl's aptitude test, so there was no point in wearing someone else's uniform. In the unlikely event that someone wore someone else's uniform, it wouldn't become armor, instead it would return to being normal clothes.
It was well known that the Mutsuki-class had poor balance as a result of the improvement made to their uniform to accommodate their armaments.
“It is also the case with Satsuki. That girl always does muscle training, right? It is her manifestation of trying to build up as much strength as possible to make her body stronger…”
Huh, so that's why, Kagerou thought. I've always wondered why that muscle training maniac is always dead set on making others do it, but there's actually a reason behind it huh.
“She's admirable, unlike me. I've always told myself that I'm going to overcome it somehow, but I ended up having this kind of character. I tried to believe that it was my responsibility to protect others. But the truth is, I don't. I'm weak, so I want to be together with someone to make me feel safe. Arare is skilled at shelling, isn't she? That's why I tried to be close with her…”
“……”
“As you know, Arare has that kind of personality where she never refuses others, so I always relied on her for the whole time. That's why I was scared when Kagerou arrived. Someone who has known Arare for a long time has arrived, so I thought ‘Would this be the end of our relationship?’ It's laughable, isn't it? Even though I'm the only one who depended on her so selfishly…”
Nagatsuki turned her face from facing the sea to face Kagerou.
“Hey, Kagerou.”
“What is it?”
“Are you going to kick me out of the 14th Destroyer Division?”
Kagerou blinked her eyes repeatedly. Knowing there was no answer, Nagatsuki nodded slowly.
“Well, that's natural. A destroyer with poor balance, incompetent at shelling, and always depended on her friend is only a liability, isn't it. I would be better suited for being dismantled and scrapped.”
“Wait, wait, hold on!”
Kagerou hurriedly interjected.
“I won't kick you out. I mean, Nagatsuki is also one of my most important friends.”
Nagatsuki stared blankly at her.
“… Really?”
“Of course. Even I was not skilled at shelling at first. I was the worst one back in the 18th Destroyer Division. I finally became as good as the others after practicing a lot. That's why I'm sure Nagatsuki will eventually get better at it too.”
“I… will get better at shelling?"
“Yup. I'm sure there will be a time where everyone will be saved by Nagatsuki's shelling. I guarantee it.”
Kagerou thumped her chest.
Nagatsuki was silent. Her eyes concealed an earnest gaze, but then she looked away from Kagerou again.
She only murmured, “I see…”
Kagerou extended her hand to her.
“Well then, let's go back.”
“… You can go back first.”
Nagatsuki buried face on her knees once again.
Kagerou didn't force her to come along. She simply said, “I'll be waiting,” then walked directly from the beach into the sea and headed to the naval district.
Kagerou returned to the pier where they had been training. The 14th Destroyer Division members were all there, the others had left, except for Atago.
“Umm… What about Kongou-san and the others…?”
“They went out for a sortie. The Abyssal Fleet appeared near Nansei Islands.[3] They have to clean it up, otherwise the supply convoys might be attacked.”
“What about Atago-san…?”
“My job is to watch over your training, you know.”
She smiled widely.
This could be said to be a record of failure, and Kagerou even had a wild imagination in her mind that Kongou and the others had disappeared because they were too shocked at how poor the shelling was.
She returned to where the others were, then asked Ushio.
“How did it go? Did it go well?”
“… Yes, we managed somehow…”
Despite saying that, there was a concerned look on her face. I wonder if she didn't want Akebono to hear it? Kagerou imagined.
“Sorry about that. I'll take over again from here.”
Then she clapped her hands to encourage them.
“Next, we're going to do torpedo strike training!”
As expected, the shipgirls were nervous hearing that, including Akebono.
Torpedo strikes were the glory of the destroyers. Even the destroyers who were taken lightly as small fries would transform into wolves when it comes to torpedo strikes. The torpedoes they each carried had the power to sink large-sized vessels with a single blow.
Kagerou put her hand on her hips and said, “It's all okay no matter how bad we are at shelling as long as we're good at torpedo strikes. We can take the first place.”
“Isn't the special training all about escorting convoys?” Satsuki asked.
Kagerou immediately answered, “The Abyssal Fleet is going to attack us, so torpedo strike training is required. I'll prepare the targets, so let's do it again in order… Huh?”
She tilted her head. The target dummies she borrowed were nowhere to be found.
“Ushio, have you already returned them to the Munitions Department?”
“No… During the shelling training, Arare sank them all. The first shot all landed on target, and most of them were critical hits…”
Upon closer inspection, only the towing rope remained and was left on the pier. Everything else was at the bottom of the ocean.
“How are we supposed to train without a target?”
“That's true… Should I perhaps try to borrow them again?” Ushio suggested.
But they would likely be reprimanded for that. Being reprimanded was fine and all, but it was possible that they would be ordered to write plenty of documents for the loss reports.
“Oh dear. If that's the case, I can be your target ship if you want, you know?” Atago who was watching said.
Kagerou was surprised and hastily waved her hands.
“No need! No, it's inappropriate to make the secretary ship to play the role of the enemy.”
“It's okay. Let me contribute something to everyone.”
Before she could stop her, she had already put her feet on the sea surface. She advanced, like sliding. Her breasts were bobbing up and down.
“Tell me when you're ready, oka~y?”
Kagerou's voice trailed off as she looked at Atago's smiling face.
“What should I do…?”
“But it was Kagerou-san who said we're going to do torpedo strike training…” Ushio said.
“Perhaps without the warhead…”
“Rather, I want to hit them,” Satsuki said. “Those chest armor is a nuisance.”
For some reason, Satsuki stared at Atago with a hint of jealousy.
Arare also murmured, “Launching torpedoes while aiming at the chest… That's novel…”
“I want to hit them at least once.”
“What kind of weird conversation you're discussing, jeez…”
Ushio interrupted flusteredly. Then, everyone's gaze was all focused there.
Ushio was startled.
“W-what…?”
“Those who have them sure are arrogant eh.”
Ushio covered her chests with her hands at Satsuki's words. Kagerou said in exasperation, “Hey! Stop with the weird talk. We'll do the torpedo strike training, just without the warhead.”
“Actually, Kagerou is also one of those who has them, isn't she?”
“Enough with that! Let's do the training!”
Everyone went to the sea.
They didn't do the training individually. Compared to shells being fired, torpedoes were overwhelmingly slower. The target could avoid them by visually spotting it. To prevent that, it was common for multiple ships to launch torpedoes all at once.
This was why it was effective to train as a destroyer division unit. The problem was the torpedo launcher's position installed in each ship.
It was still fine for the girls who were equipped with torpedo launchers on their lower back or arms. They could just bend their bodies slightly or point their arms toward the sea surface. The Type 90 torpedoes launched from a triple or quadruple mount launcher would then swim exactly like a fish in the water at a breakneck speed.
The problem was when the launchers were attached to the legs. Now this one was tricky. It was easy if it was attached to the ankle, but if it was attached to the thigh, they had to make an awkward posture like standing in a handstand[4] just to launch it. The manual said, “To fire the torpedo, rotate the launching platform,” but in many cases, the launcher was fastened tightly to prevent it from wobbling in the middle of cruising in the first place. The Abyssal Fleet would have torn them into pieces if they leisurely adjusted the angle of the launcher in the midst of a fierce battle. In other words, the shipgirls would have to bend their body to the extreme just to launch the torpedo, which was putting the cart before the horse.
“I'm completely different from any of them, though.”
Kagerou secretly puffed out her chest.
Her torpedo launcher was installed at the back, but it was connected to an mechanical arm that could move freely. This allowed her to launch her torpedoes with ease without having the restriction of making an extreme posture.
Ushio seemed to look at her enviously. She had her launcher attached to her thighs.
“I feel embarrassed when launching the torpedoes…”
Since her firing port was facing upward, she had to raise her legs extremely high up behind while facing the target or forward when facing against the target to launch her torpedoes into the water. Either way, the contents of her skirt would be on display for all to see.
“Why don't you just fix the firing port to face ahead in advance?”
“If I do that, there will be a bit of air drag, which will slow my speed down… And since speed is a destroyer's weapon…”
The more Ushio said, the smaller her body shrunk.
Kagerou nodded in understanding while murmuring, “Hmm.” Whether to expose or to not expose the inside of the skirt was a serious matter even for shipgirls. Shipgirls could do what expensive missiles and fighter planes couldn't, but in the end, they were still a girl. Although they wouldn't worry about it that much during a real combat situation, they would be embarrassed when they remembered it later.
Incidentally, Kagerou was wearing spats, which showed the improvement made for such a matter for the destroyers.
Akebono, who had been listening attentively, spoke up for the first time.
“Just don't mind it. It's that easy.”
“But…”
“I never worry about it.”
She was also an Ayanami-class just like Ushio. The way she tried to give a clear solution to the situation is quite impressive, Kagerou thought.
Kagerou thought for a moment and then said, “Well then, how about lowering your back when launching?”
“Huh?”
She gave a brief explanation in response to the question.
“If you point the launcher firing port downward in advance, it won't cause much air resistance. To launch the torpedo, bend your legs like when you are sitting on your knees. If you do that, the launcher firing port will face forward, won't it? If the firing port is pointing upward as it has always been, you just have to do the same but while facing backward.”
“Oh, I see!”
Ushio's face brightened, but then became concerned again.
“Launching torpedoes while sitting on my knees, huh… Somehow, it's like… I'm going to meet the parents of the other side, and the Abyssal Fleet might misunderstand…”[5]
“‘Parents of the other side’? What are you talking about?”
Atago said in a kind of bored tone from afar, “Are you not done yet~?” and Kagerou hurriedly nudged them.
“Let's do it, come on. Make a line. Don't forget to spread them in a traditional fan shape.”
Torpedoes were often launched in the shape of a traditional fan. That was so that one of them would hit the target even if the target tried to avoid them.
Kagerou signaled to Atago, “We are going to do it!”
“Umm, target, heavy cruiser Atago! Bearing, check! Course, check! Setting torpedo depth and fuse to automatic!”
They advanced in line. Atago's figure became clearer.
“Fire!”
There was a whooshing sound coming from the released compressed air. The torpedoes launched from each of the tubes were advancing toward Atago.
Kagerou held her breath as she watched.
Eventually, Atago made a big X sign with her arms.
“It's a miss~.”
“Ah.”
Kagerou was crestfallen. She understood that a 10 percent hit rate on a torpedo strike would be considered pretty good, but in order to aim for a higher rank in the special training, they would need to get an even higher hit rate. Missing all of them would be out of the question.
“Maybe the timing was off?”
“As expected, it's because we all have different bunch of postures when we launch them, after all,” said Satsuki.
Because the 14th Destroyer Division was made up of different types of ships, their launching postures were hectic; some launch while standing, some while sitting, some while raising one hand or lifting one leg up. If their group was made up of the same type of ship, it would be easier to match the timing of their surface combat actions, and they could achieve greater combat result proficiency easily as a result.
“That's why I said you shouldn't be embarrassed about it,” Akebono said in an exasperated voice. “It's just faster to just swing your leg up than to try to sit on your knees every time.”
“…But…”
Ushio was blushing, but Akebono wasn't going easy on her.
“You are just too self-conscious. What are you going to do by worrying about it that much as a shipgirl? You want the Abyssal Fleet to swallow you? You haven't changed at all, have you? You've never once been helpful since that time.”
“B-but… I'm also…!”
Ushio tried to argue with tears in her eyes. Kagerou interrupted them.
“Alright, alright, that's enough. Akebono, can you stop poking every little thing at her?”
“… Hmph,” Akebono muttered, sounding bored. “There are some things that won't heal no matter how much pain you go through.”
Kagerou was caught off guard by those words, but she decided to not pursue the matter any further.
“Let's do it again. Next loadout.”
They lined up again. She informed Atago, “We are going to do it again!”
“Let's go. We'll launch it even closer this time.”
“Eh? Even though it's not a night battle?” Satsuki said.
Kagerou acknowledged her concern.
“That's right, we are not good at this, so we have to get as close as possible. Hitting from close is easier than from afar, after all.”
Conversely, the counterargument that they could be the one being attacked by the enemy by going closer was pretty much sealed. While that was exactly right, they had to do at least this much to earn the first place.
“First battle speed on both sides!”
With Kagerou's order, everyone advanced.
The sea breeze struck them in the face. When they caught sight of Atago's figure, they still didn't slow down. They went closer to Atago, not only until they could see her body shape, but until they could also see her facial features clearly.
“… Fire!”
Whoosh. The compressed air was released. As soon as the torpedo was launched, they turned around and withdrew. It was an act based on the assumption that the enemy would counterattack.
After getting far enough, Kagerou looked back to check.
Atago had made another X sign again.
“Ahh…”
Kagerou held her head with both hands.
“Yikes, we missed again.”
It was quite embarrassing to miss twice in a row. While it was not unusual to miss in a real combat situation, considering this was in training, they should be able to hit. Moreover, a real combat situation was more difficult and more demanding than in training.
“Ushio launched her torpedo properly, you know,” said Satsuki. “But she's crouching down, so it's kinda weird.”
“Please don't speak about that… I will try to overcome my feeling of embarrassment properly.”
Ushio replied even as her cheeks turned red in embarrassment.
Atago approached them.
“The result isn't very good, yes?”
“Excuse me… From Atago-san's perspective, how was it? Is there's something wrong with the firing distance?”
Atago put her finger to her cheek.
“Hmm, I don't think there's any particular problem with the distance. As for the launching posture, let's see, I think it's good to be unique.”
It must have been funny to her when she watched us being so careful about the postures. Somehow, I can understand how Ushio feels.
“But the main issue is that some of the torpedoes were launched too late. You have to launch them all at the same time, otherwise the hit rate will drop.”
Kagerou turned around.
“Did someone launch it late?”
The destroyer girls were silent for a while, but eventually someone slowly raised a hand up.
“… Arare?”
Arare nodded faintly.
“…My launching mechanism is… a bit slow because…the trigger is in poor condition…”
“Don't tell me, it has been like that even before the first torpedo strike?”
Arare nodded her head in affirmation to Kagerou's question, “Yes…”
“Well, you should have told me that beforehand.”
“I've tried telling you…” Arare muttered.
“It must have been because your voice was too soft,” Atago said.
Arare's voice was too soft by nature, and on top of that, she tended not to say anything other than what was necessary. It was the same back in Kure, and there were even bets made as to whether or not she would speak for more than three seconds.
That was fine for when they were on land, but it was a different story on the sea. They had to be loud, because it was important. Fundamentally, shipgirls communicated to each other over the radio, but in a real combat situation, it was often impossible to listen to the radio, not only because of the rowdy gunfire sounds, but also because of the howls and roars from the Abyssal Fleet. So they mostly had to yell into the microphone.
Because there were frequent malfunctions due to the constant yelling, the manufacturer was concerned and started supplying microphones with reduced sensitivity. As a result, these microphones would not pick up a low voice.
“Even though you're so skilled at shelling… Hey Arare, can you try saying ‘Launching torpedoes!’?”
At Kagerou's request, Arare opened her mouth.
“…Launching torpedoes."
“Say it again.”
“Launching torpedoes.”
Kagerou tilted her head.
“Hmmm, I guess I can hear you properly this way, even if your voice is low.”
“You should get into the habit of speaking more loudly when you're out at sea, okay?” Atago thought for a moment, then clapped her hands once. “Hey Kagerou-chan, will you listen to Big Sis' request?”
“May I ask who this ‘Big Sis’ person is?”
“Oh dear, please don't be mean to me. Let me train Arare-chan myself.”
“Ehh? Even though you're the secretary ship?”
“It's a special request I will only ask today, you know?”
Atago pulled Arare, who was standing still, along with her. She took her to the other side of the pier, to the sandy beach.
Kagerou and the rest of the group were down to four.
“Isn't this the time to call it quits?” Akebono said.
Kagerou shook her head. “No, not yet. We have to train ourselves. I mean, Atago-san is even taking the trouble to help us.”
“She is just killing time.”
“Let's do the torpedo strike training again like we just did before.”
At the very least, they had to be able to launch them all at the same time even while doing different kinds of launching poses.
She retrieved the torpedoes they had used earlier. Since torpedoes were expensive, it was best to shorten the firing range when using them for training so that they wouldn't sink and be unable to be retrieved.
“We're down to four now, let's just do what we can. Well then, first battle speed on both sides!"
For quite some time, they lined up and launched the torpedoes repeatedly, again and again.
They started to get used to it as they repeatedly did it, and even the contrasting forms they posed when launching the torpedoes also started to look better. Perhaps feeling that she had no time to be shy, Ushio silently also tried her best not minding about the posture.
To Kagerou, it was rather more surprising that Akebono was still doing the training with them.
“I thought you were going to say ‘I'm heading back.’”
“It's because guys are so awful, so I'm sticking with you to make sure I'll have something to laugh about later.”
It is certainly true that Akebono has a high level of proficiency at both shelling and torpedo strike. I often feel that it would be nice if only she had a better personality.
Kagerou checked at the time with a glance.
“Shall we stop now?”
“What about Nagatsuki and Arare?” Satsuki asked.
Kagerou said while looking around, “Nagatsuki should be back any minute now. As for Arare… I'll just see how it goes.”
After letting the other girls go back first, Kagerou hurried to the direction Atago had gone.
Atago and Arare were standing on the beach doing something.
“?”
The two of them weren't doing anything like preparing for shelling or postures for launching torpedoes. They were just standing there, facing the sea. Kagerou approached them with a question mark floating on her head.
“Excuse me, we are about to finish the training but… What are you doing?”
“I'm going to teach her a spell to raise her spirit,” Atago said.
“A spell…?”
“Well then, let's do it. Stand next to me, Arare-chan.”
She made Arare to stand up next to her without letting her decide whether to accept or refuse.
“Alright, take a deep breath.”
Atago took a deep breath and Arare mimicked her.
“Panpakapa~n!”
Kagerou was startled. Arare was silent, while Atago pouted.
“Come on, you've got to shout it out too.”
“……”
“If you shout loudly on a regular basis, people won't misunderstand your instruction because of your soft voice. This is important.”
“……”
Rather than Arare being convinced, the atmosphere was more like she didn't understand what was going on.
Atago, of course, didn't care about that. She tried to make her shout while facing the sea, “Okay, let's do it again, panpakapa~n!”
“… Pa… pan…”
“Panpakapa~n!”
“Paka…”
Compared to the ever cheerful Atago, Arare's voice was getting quieter and quieter.
Kagerou looked behind her. The shipgirls who were passing by were whispering to each other. They giggled while saying, “It looks like she was caught by Atago-san,” and “Whoa, that sounds terrible.”
Arare, who usually always had a blank expression on her face, steadily dropped her head. The area around the nape of her neck had turned slightly red.
Kagerou looked at the laughing shipgirls who passed by, and then turned her gaze back to Arare.
She approached her.
“Hey, Arare.”
“……?”
Arare raised her face. Kagerou said to her, “Let's do it together.”
“But why…Kagerou also…?”
“I was just thinking that my voice has become softer too.”
Kagerou lined up next to Arare. While she was at it, she also rolled up her sleeves.
“I'm going to get fired up. I've got to overcome my soft voice, you see.”
“Let me join too.”
An unexpected voice appeared.
There was Nagatsuki. She was breathing a bit heavily, perhaps because she had just returned from Sarushima Island.
“Even if I'm poor at shelling, I don't want to lose to Arare when it comes to voice. I want to be able to help Arare even if it is just in that area alone.”
Kagerou smiled at her line.
“Alright, it won't be embarrassing if the three of you do it together,” Atago giggled, “Ufufu. I'm sure that this time it will reach the horizon. Come on, let's shout as loudly as possible until the shipgirls across the ocean can hear us. Panpakapa~n!”
“Pa…Panpaka…pan…”
Arare's voice was as quiet as ever. Kagerou shouted to encourage her.
“Panpakapa~n! If you used my voice to cover yours, it wouldn't be embarrassing.”
“I won't let you beat me either. Panpakapa~n!”
Nagatsuki also shouted, and Arare also tried to follow her lead.
“Panpakapan…”
“Panpakapa~n!”
“Panpakapa~n!”
Their training continued until the sun set over the horizon.
That night.
Kagerou, as expected, was so exhausted that she almost tumbled entering the study room. She pulled the chair out while making dragging noises, sat down, and plopped down on her desk.
Because of the training and the panpakapan shouting, not only was her body fatigued, but her voice also became hoarse. Especially since she volunteered to join them to shout panpakapan herself, so she couldn't leave early and stayed with them until the end.
After lying limply for a while, she waited until the dopamine called ‘motivation’ greeted her inside her brain, then slowly raised her body. She took a letter paper and a fountain pen out of the flat drawer and laid them out.
She stared blankly at the paper that served as a means of communication and the writing instruments that served as a communication device.
She intended to write a letter to Shiranui. At first, she had planned to write a letter to Shiranui as soon as she arrived, but it repeatedly got delayed, and eventually, she didn't even have the time to think about it until now. There was no sign of Shiranui sending any letter from Kure, but she was that kind of person, so there's no point worrying about it.
The paper aside, a fountain pen for a girl was too much. The slogan of “Shipgirls must set a good example as a role model for all women,” was being promoted repeatedly, so even furnishings were distributed as part of their supplies. Back then, she was even surprised to learn that there was calligraphy in the training course.
The naval district had landline telephones, of course, and not only that, the shipgirls were also allowed to have cell phones or smartphones. However, they rarely had the chance to use them since there were restrictions in the usage.
This was because the higher-ups didn't want them to communicate something without their knowledge. Officially, it was said to be a measure to prevent confidential information from leaking out, but the shipgirls perceived it as “Like a father wanting to know the contents of his daughter's conversation on the phone.”
Therefore, the most feasible means of communication with the outside world was by letter. These letters varied in length, ranging from simple businesslike letters to stacks of short stories-like volumes, and that resulted in the only mailbox in the naval district being always full.
Kagerou wasn't trying to write a love letter to her lover, or professing her faith to a secret cult, nor trying to leak military information on the sortie against the Abyssal Fleet, so she intended to just write normally.
‘Dear Shiranui-sama…’
The moment she wrote that, she tore the paper up, rolled it up, and threw it in the trash can. It fell off, so she picked it up and put it in the trash can properly.
She felt that it was way too stiff. Since she was writing a letter to her old partner, the writing style should have been more like a normal mail.
‘Shiranui-cchi.’
She rolled it up. What the heck is Shiranui-cchi? I never called her like that.
‘To Whom It May Concern. I hope you are doing well in this fine autumn weather…’
It became too stiff again. She also rolled it up and threw it away.
‘Yeay, GoOd mOrniNG!’
Incomprehensible. She threw it away.
After that, Kagerou continued to try various kinds of writing styles for her letter, only to tore it up and threw it away over and over again. There were even letters that would rave up publishing company's editors from the originality of the writings if they saw it, but it all ended up in the trash can.
Thanks to the mental fatigue from the training, she couldn't think straight. As a result of shouting panpakapan for hours, her mind was in a state like a pachinko parlor's grand opening.[6] Her throat was also dry and parched.
After scattering more food for the goats[7], eventually she settled with a more casual style of writing.
‘How's Kure? Here, it's—’ She hesitated for a while, then wrote, ‘—the worst.’
It turned negative, but who cares, she thought.
'My destroyer division is at the bottom of the rank. The person in the secretary ship position is a weirdo and the admiral is also a jerk. The sea breeze is kind of unpleasant too. There's definitely oil mixed in it.’
She didn't think it was a lot of writing. Rather, complaints kept surging one after another.
‘Arare also has been affected by the bad influences and is even more taciturn than before. I really wonder if this is truly a naval district. I feel like crying because I'm the only one who is having my efforts wasted. I'm always thinking about Shiranui all the time, you know. I want us to be together in the same destroyer division again.’
Kagerou was so absorbed in writing that she didn't notice that there was someone behind her.
“Kagerou.”
“W-whoa. W-what?”
She turned around while still sitting down. It was Nagatsuki. Next to her was Arare, who was holding a bag in her hand.
“Are you writing a letter? Sorry if we interrupted you.”
“N…Nah, it's fine. So what is it?”
Nagatsuki cleared her throat a little.
“I have troubled you so much today. I'm sorry that you had to go along with my selfishness.”
“It's okay, no problem, we are in the same destroyer division, aren't we?”
“Thanks to Kagerou, I now can understand my own foolishness. I won't trouble you anymore from now on. I promise it.”
She nudged Arare.
“Here…”
Arare handed the content of the bag to Kagerou.
“Today… you accompanied me until the end, so…our thanks…”
“A gift? Is this for me?”
Arare nodded deeply
“Nagatsuki and I… saved to buy this for you…”
Kagerou blinked in surprise.
“Thanks.”
“The one who should be thanking you… is us…”
Arare bowed her head in a motion that was difficult to understand.
“Thank you…”
“Let me offer my gratitude too. Thank you so much, truly.”
Nagatsuki also bowed her head. The two left the study room after saying these words.
Kagerou looked at the thing that was handed to her. It was wrapped in tinfoil, so she opened it.
It was a long & thin sweet bean jelly[8] with ‘Mamiya’ carved seal stamped on it.
Among the many confections made by Mamiya, the sweet bean jelly was the best of the best. Although the reputation of Mamiya's confections had surpassed all other famous stores, only the shipgirls had the privilege to taste them. Since the sweet bean jellies were rarely available, competitions to get them often unfolded.
Kagerou took a small bite at the tip of the sweet bean jelly. A lingering sweetness spread in her mouth.
After savoring the taste for a while, she picked up her fountain pen and added a few lines to her letter.
But, I will do my best, so please watch over me from Kure.
Note :
[1] : Satsuki's in-game attack voiceline.
[2] : Satsuki should've been using 12cm guns, but it's written 12.7cm so perhaps the author made a mistake, but I don't know.
[3] : The KanColle community (and the Japanese Government) usually called it Nansei Islands (literally translated as ‘Southwest Islands’), but it is known as Ryukyu Islands in the West.
[4] : Not sure about what it meant. Perhaps something like bridge pose in Yoga where you bend your body backwards until you can touch the floor with your hands, it kinda counts as handstand in a sense, isn't it? Or maybe it is quite literally a handstand, and that actually would be sick to see.
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| Something like this perhaps |
[5] : She's saying it feels like she's about to meet her future parents-in-law. Basically, it's like when you are going to ask the parents for the approval to marry their daughter.
[6] : Means hectic and full of mess. Pachinko is a mechanical game originating in Japan that is used as an arcade game, and much more frequently for gambling. It fills a niche in Japanese gambling comparable to that of the slot machine in the West as a form of low-stakes, low-strategy gambling. It is really popular in Japan.
[7] : Goats eat plants, grass, or anything made from wood. Sometimes goats also eat paper because of its smell. Since paper is made from wood, the goat might think that it is also one of the plants since paper is specifically made from pulp which contains vegetable fiber.
[8] : Youkan, a Japanese confection made of red bean paste, agar, and sugar. It is usually sold in a block form, and eaten in slices.
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| Youkan |
It is somewhat similar to the novel "Suomus Misfits Squadron": there was a squadron which was also formed of useless leftover witches with different and incompatible equipments.
ReplyDeleteThe leftovers are going to prove that they aren't just useless bunch!
Delete