The standby order was to wait inside their room until a new order was issued in a literal sense. In the case of an emergency, they immediately would be called and dispatched, but otherwise, they didn't have to do anything.
It's a boring period, so the most efficient way to kill time was sleeping. The other activities were reading, doing meditation, muscle training, and et cetera. Some were even making bets among themselves.
The 14th Destroyer Division members also stayed in their own rooms and lay on their beds. The lined curtains were drawn to create a space for themselves to be alone. They could doze or read a book inside. Each of them had their own thoughts, but they were quiet.
In the midst of that, one of the bed curtains was slowly opened to avoid making noises.
It was Kagerou's.
She carefully got out of her bed. She breathed slowly, almost like she was holding her breath.
She walked while being careful not to make footsteps.
She took a quick glance behind. Satsuki seemed to be doing muscle training until just a while ago, but it was quiet now. She carefully opened the window and went outside.
No one was there. She had bribed the people in charge of weekly patrol duty with canned peaches, so they wouldn't be coming for another ten minutes. She had to get her equipment and head to the port before then.
She quickened her step to hurry.
Suddenly, she heard a voice.
“Where are you going?”
“Wha?!”
Ushio was making a cold expression behind her. Kagerou jumped up in surprise.
“W–w–why are you here…?!”
Ushio was staring at her with a reproachful look.
“You tried to leave without telling anyone, didn't you? But I noticed it straight away. Where are you intending to go?”
“Uh, nowhere in particular…”
Kagerou became flustered. Ushio brought her face closer.
“You're going to help Akebono-chan aren't you?”
“Uhh…”
“Am I wrong?”
Giving up, Kagerou nodded.
“…Yeah.”
“Did you sympathize with Akebono-chan after hearing about her circumstances?”
“That's a part of it, but also because no matter how much she denies it, that girl is still a destroyer, isn't she? She's our friend, right?”
Kagerou smiled awkwardly.
“Akebono is a foul-mouthed, uncooperative girl, and she's beyond saving[1], but she still went to help the convoy, didn't she? So I thought, ‘She is really a destroyer at heart.’ She's one of us. Our precious friend. And since she's our friend, then I have to help her.”
She furthermore added, “As Ushio has said, Akebono might get sunk if we don't help her quickly. However, this is a violation of order. I can't let everyone be dragged in this, right? So, at least I alone should do it…”
“I will go too,” Ushio said firmly. Reflexively, Kagerou replied, “Did you not listen to what I just said? This is a violation of order. We would be sent to the detention house if we're caught, you know?”
“I don't care if it's a violation order or whatever, I am going to help Akebono-chan, too. To begin with, I was the first one who suggested that we should help her.”
“No, but…”
“Kagerou-san said it yourself, right? That ‘I will never abandon my friends’?”
Ushio's expression was overly serious.
Kagerou opened her mouth to try to convince her to change her mind, but then closed it. She realized that it would be impossible.
Instead, she nodded.
“I understand.”
“What do you understand?”
This time, it was not only Kagerou who jumped up in surprise, but Ushio as well.
Satsuki was standing behind them while grinning. Next to her was Nagatsuki. Then Arare.
“Hee~, looks like these two are going to help Akebono. Will they also take me together with them, I wonder?”
“It's only Kagerou and Ushio who are not being frank about it. You guys should've reached out to me too,” Nagatsuki said.
“Depart…help…and return home… Then it will be over before long…,” Arare said.
Finally speechless, Kagerou then looked at everyone's faces.
Contrary to the way they spoke, there was not a single flippant expression among them.
Ushio's usual timidness vanished, Satsuki no longer grinning, Nagatsuki exhibited the bearing of an ancient samurai, and Arare was…the same as usual.
She didn't even need to ask. Everyone's intention was clear.
That was, to rescue their friend.
“…Alright,” Kagerou said to cheer herself and everyone else up. “Let's go together. We'll help Akebono.”
‘Yeah,’ the word was uttered quietly, so that no one else would notice.
If you looked at the erupting columns of water splashes here and there, it would look as if you were lost in an unexplored forest. Those trees of death were planted by the Abyssal Fleet's shells. An instant death awaited, even if you were just trying to approach them.
The Abyssal Fleet were rushing toward Akebono with an overwhelming momentum.
“Oh, geez! Just how many of them are there?!”
Akebono had already fired all her torpedoes, and she's resisting them by blindly firing her 12.7cm gun. The gun barrels were already overheated a long time ago, and thanks to the radiating heat, her face was as good as sunburned. Nevertheless, she couldn't afford to stop firing. She had to do whatever it took in order to let the cargo ships escape.
A pack of the Abyssal Fleet flashed glitteringly.
“Starboard!”
She shouted at herself, then turned right. Columns of water splashes were formed one after another behind her wake as if in pursuit.
Starboard, then immediately portside. Then starboard again. Akebono repeated the Z Maneuver. It was like the training with Kagerou and the others. It was quite useful not only for convoy escort, but also to avoid being hit by shells. Even more so if it was performed by a small, quick-witted and nimble destroyer.
She fired her 12.7cm gun again. It hit directly at the closest Ro-class destroyer. The Ro-class flipped over and then sank.
“Yeah!”
The brief moment of her immersing herself with the lingering joy didn't even last half a second. Thanks to her thorough provocation and noises, she was hunted by the whole pack of the Abyssal Fleet. The number was enough to make her wonder, ‘Is the entire enemy in this sea area all coming for me?’
That's fine. It will buy me time. Come more, come more.
A Ro-class destroyer that jumped out carelessly got in the way of a Chi-class torpedo cruiser, and it was struck by its own ally's torpedo and exploded. The sky was pierced by the pillar of fire.
Akebono repeated the Z Maneuver. Maybe, I could make it. Perhaps, I might also be rescued. And it's possible that I could even survive.
At that exact moment, an indescribable roar resounded.
The Ru-class battleship howled. She was frustrated as if she was a human being, and pointed her gun barrels toward Akebono who had completely evaded their pursuit.
“This is bad!”
Akebono gasped. Columns of water splashes of incomparable size from before emerged everywhere. Both the tremor that shook the air and the noise that permeated through the atmosphere was too staggering. And the Abyssal Fleet, still persistent, unleashed more attacks.
The columns of water splashes were more numerous and emerged even closer than before.
She was drenched with seawater from head to toe.
“Ugh, so salty, gross.”
Because of that, she lost her course. Just as she tried to restore her course, the assaults continued further.
“Wait, what the heck?!”
There was an impact from a near miss. Her chest was struck by the shockwave, and she could feel that her already unappealing parts had needlessly become even flatter.
Another one, this time, it landed right behind her. She nearly fell over.
She put her strength into her feet and stood firm. After preventing herself from capsizing, she went full portside. She performed maneuvers to disrupt the enemy's aim as long as she could. Without a doubt, time would decide her victory or defeat. The more she could stall for time, the more likely victory would belong to her.
But even that had come to an end.
The bombardments surrounding Akebono were getting closer. Numerous columns of water splashes emerged.
She evaded the storm of bombardments by turning left and right while being showered with seawater.
The last columns of water splashes collapsed, and she miraculously went through it all without a scratch.
The next moment, Akebono's face turned stiff.
A large group of Abyssal Fleet was before her eyes. It was as if the ocean was completely filled with them. The blue eyes all turned toward her.
Akebono realized that she had been lured. All of the bombardments up until now were intentional.
It was a scheme to ensure that she would be caught.
“R–Ready the torpedoes…”
The torpedoes didn't launch. She had already used them. Once you had fired the torpedoes several times, there would be no more of them. Naturally, she couldn't return to the port to get more.
The shell landed so much closer than before.
“Ngh!”
The impact caused her 12.7cm gun turret to slip from her hands. It flew to the distance then fell. Her consciousness also drifted somewhere far away, so she bit her lips with all her might to clear her mind.
The torpedo launchers installed on her thighs were also getting loose. She took them off herself and threw them away. If it couldn't launch torpedoes, then it's just a dead weight.
“This way, I'll be even faster! Maximum engine power! …Eh?”
Her movement was sluggish. Even the size of her whitecaps[2] was smaller than before. The speed wasn't getting any faster. The main engines were rattling because of the previous bombardments. She was losing speed—the greatest advantage of a destroyer.
Impatient, she yelled at her own feet.
“Dammit, move properly!”
This time there was an explosion accompanied by scattered fragments.
She reflexively covered her face. Shipgirls were much tougher and stronger than humans because they generated special protective film.[3] But when exposed to such amount of bombardment, they would eventually die.
She could feel it. Surely the Ru-class battleship was questioning her bravado up until now. That had to be why the woman shot at her like that.
Another column of water splashes emerged. She felt an underwater explosion under her feet. She almost fell over.
“Not yet!”
Even so, Akebono shouted.
“It's only…it's only my main gun, torpedo launchers and engines that got taken out!”[4]
She raised her body up even while she was in a poor shape. Even if she had nothing left to use, she wasn't going to stop resisting. Had there been a stone, she would throw it at them, had there been a twig, she would use it as a sword. However, even if she tried to look around for something, the only thing surrounding her was only the sea water and the Abyssal Fleet.
The approaching monsters. The desire to catch a dying prey. They seem to be enjoying it. The prey they had so much trouble catching is finally about to die, so it was enjoyable, huh? Has the convoy escaped? Have they reached the safe sea area? How is everyone in the 14th Destroyer Division doing? Are they sleeping? Are they having fun? Are they celebrating because the stupid uncooperative girl is gone? Right now, the only thing that came into my mind is the faces of my companions whom I've insulted. Nagatsuki, Satsuki, Arare, Ushio. And then Kagerou. At least, please let them forget about an idiot like me. Please don't let the Ru-class 16-inch shells fall to them.
The explosion lifted her body up. She somehow managed to balance herself up, but her left leg immediately started to sink.
(The portside is flooded?!)
Shipgirls called a situation where the main engines attached under their feet lost their floating power as ‘flooding.’ They would eventually sink if the flooding wasn't stopped. Akebono's left leg was submerged up to around her thigh.
“Flood the starboard!”
She purposely flooded the right side to cut off its floating power. She submerged her right leg as deep as her left leg to balance it. It was the basic damage control.
However, her main engines were helplessly losing power because of the bombardments.
Her left leg was submerged, and after that, her right leg was also submerged. Her legs should've stopped sinking halfway, but it didn't. She tried to pull her feet off the water, but this time she lost her balance and fell backward.
(Am I sinking?!)
Her face was submerged under the ocean.
Main engine noises resounded under the cloudy sky. The 14th Destroyer Division members were dashing while leaving trails of large whitecaps.
“Satsuki, confirm the direction!”
“We're right on the track! Keep going straight ahead!”
There was an immediate response to Kagerou's order. Just earlier, they passed by a convoy of cargo ships. The people onboard said that they were told to flee by a destroyer girl, and so they evacuated at full speed.
When they were asked about where the girl was, they pointed to the direction they came from.
“I heard sounds of artillery battles earlier. I hope she's safe, but…” They answered worriedly.
Kagerou and the rest first sent the convoy back, then rushed at full speed.
They forcefully borrowed their equipment by pretending that they had received the permission to use them. It was relatively easy to borrow the equipment for self-study, but that wasn't the case for live-ammunition. So, they put on a semi-threatening look when borrowing them.
The Equipment Utilization Request was only shoved under Atago's office door. It was Arare's idea. They did that just in case since they didn't have any permission to borrow the equipment, but they didn't think that it would be excusable.
Either way, they could be put in heavy detention if it was discovered, or worse, they could be court-martialed. They would be arbitrarily assigned with a defense attorney who would endlessly argue against the important-looking individuals using stupid arguments, charged guilty while denied from having appeal, then sent to jail. It wasn't that awful, but they would be discharged dishonorably and stuck doing menial labors for the rest of their lives. It's not that they didn't realize that they were doing something foolish.
Rather, they just didn't care about what would happen after that.
Everyone proceeded doing what they did with the sole intention of helping Akebono.
A strange noise sounded from both of Kagerou's main engines.
It even vibrated with clattering sounds. It expressed its objection to the harsh motion it was forced to endure.
“Quiet!”
She yelled at her feet.
“Anything slower than this would be unacceptable! I will melt you inside Muroran smelting furnace if you dare to stop moving!”[5]
The clattering stopped. The main engines increased its rotational speed once again.
“We will reach the location any time now,” Nagatsuki said.
There was nothing on the sea at first glance, but it was the exact spot where the compass would reveal its malice. It was the sea area that could lead the shipgirls to a completely different place from where they wanted to go.
Whether they would reach their destination or not was really a matter of luck. All they could do was to pray.
“Everyone… Join hands!”
Kagerou extended her hands. Each of them took each other's hands.
They closed their eyes tightly. Kagerou prayed from the bottom of her heart.
Please. I beg of you, please send us to Akebono's place. To our friend's place.
For a moment, she felt a wind pass through her head.
She opened her eyes. The empty ocean from before was still in front of her.
But she was convinced that they were in the right direction.
“We passed through, the compass isn't going amiss!” Even Nagatsuki, who was usually formal and stiff, let her voice leapt in excitement.
There was no time to rejoice. From here, it was a race against time.
“Maximum battle speed on both sides! Don't slow down for even a bit!”
No one complained. Each of them adjusted their own Black and Red signal[6], then lined up and advanced.
They still couldn't see any figures over the horizon. With a hint of impatience on their faces, the 14th Destroyer Division marched on.
Rather than sinking, it's more apt to say that she was being dragged down. That was just how fast Akebono was going down.
(Am I...going to die...?)
Shipgirls would be removed from the navy list for two reasons. First was from being relieved from duty, where their rigging and armaments would be taken off them. After that, they would return to being ordinary girls.
The other was from being sunk. As it was often the case, shipgirls who were heavily damaged often chose to continue fighting for a bit longer than they should have instead of returning back, only to be sunk by the Abyssal Fleet attacks. In such cases, there would be no corpse or remains left, leaving only the name of the dead on the official gazette.
Akebono would be the latter.
Her body was sinking. It was lighter due to her losing some parts of her rigging, but it was almost impossible for her to float. Her limbs were numb and tired, and it just wouldn't move. Her main engines somehow seemed to be still in good shape, but it was meaningless since she had lost its floating power, and too bad, she was not a submarine.
It might be ironic since she was fully conscious. Perhaps it was an ordeal given to the girl so that she would be aware of her own demise.
She vaguely thought,
(The bottom of the ocean… I wonder…what's there…)
She didn't think that the heaven would be there. After all, the heaven should be above the sky. In that case, would there be the Dragon Palace?[7] However, Akebono didn't believe in fairy tales, so in the end, she dismissed the idea. The other answer would be sublime sands and deep-sea fishes. And also the illegally dumped waste.
She set her sight at the bottom of the ocean. It was pitch black. It seemed that there was still some time before she reached the bottom. How deep was this ocean area? At the rate she was sinking, it would just be like taking a short trip. The sea didn't let her die even though she was already done for. Dying sure took a lot of time.
Akebono, who had been staring blankly, opened her eyes wide.
(Ah...)
Countless blue eyes lined up in the water. Each one of them was about the size of a salmon. Rather than like a fish's, they looked more like insects', and they were moving in swarms. They were circling around, as if waiting for Akebono to reach the bottom.
Those were the eyes of the Abyssal Fleet. However, it wasn't the glittering eyes of hunters wanting to bite at its prey. It was a different kind of blue despite the identical color. It was gentle, whispering something through her mind.
They were inviting her.
They were inviting the sinking girl. Not like an invitation to a banquet or to play around.
But as a temptation.
₵Ø₥Ɇ ⱧɆⱤɆ.
₵Ø₥Ɇ JØł₦ Ʉ₴.
ⱠɆ₮'₴ ฿Ɇ ₣ⱤłɆ₦Đ₴.
ⱠɆ₮'₴ ฿Ɇ ₣ⱤłɆ₦Đ₴.
They were speaking to her. That was the only thing she could think of. The tiny little Abyssal Fleet were calling her to join their ranks.
Akebono was terrified. She was frightened, but it wasn't because of knowing that she would die soon. According to a theory, it was said that the Abyssal Fleet was the embodiment of the grudges and malice of ancient sunken ships. That also included shipgirls.
She had once thought that it was absurd. However, what about these entities who were trying to entice her there? And to add further, why did the Abyssal Fleet even have humanoid-class among them? Were they former shipgirls?
Am I going to be like that too?
(I don't want to die... I don't want to sink!)
Akebono became frantic. Her limbs couldn't move, but still she resisted, even if it's just with her consciousness alone. Like hell I will be their friend. I am a shipgirl. Glorious destroyer belonging to Yokosuka Naval District. I'm not cute, I'm foul-mouthed, and I'm stubborn, and to be honest, everyone hated me. But, I'm not going to cast away my pride. To be something like the Abyssal Fleet, as if my pride would allow it! But...even so...it's already...
Her body became heavy. The blue radiance encroached inside her mind. The light spread—
She was pulled up.
“Haahh!”
Ushio appeared on the sea surface carrying Akebono's body in her arms and was breathing heavily. Her whole body was soaking wet after she dived underwater by temporarily cutting off the floating power on her legs.
“Akebono-chan, please hang in there! You're still alive, right?!”
Ushio slapped Akebono's cheek then pulled it sideways. It was worth doing, as Akebono slowly opened her eyes.
“The Abyssal—Ushio!? Why…?!”
Akebono's face was filled with shock. At the same time, Ushio was relieved with tears welling up in her eyes.
“Thank goodness... I shall overlook the part where you mistook me for the enemy.”
“What about the convoy…?!”
Kagerou who arrived immediately afterwards said while staring ahead, “They've reached the safe ocean area. Ushio, drag Akebono out of here!”
Ushio grabbed Akebono's arm. She put her strength pulling Akebono.
“This way.”
“Ushio…that hurts!”
“Please endure it.”
Kagerou checked to ensure that Akebono was being towed. Then, she stared ahead once again.
She didn't even need to use her binoculars to confirm their existence; the large Abyssal Fleet armada. They were furious because someone prevented them from getting the prey they sank with a great deal of pain.
She shouted to those around her.
“Let's get outta here! Deploy smokescreen!”
“I'll do it.”
Nagatsuki stepped forward. She sailed left and right, producing black smoke from the boiler[8] on her back.
In the meantime, they performed the Sei Z maneuver, a simultaneous 180 degree turn to the right. They retreated from the battlefield together with Nagatsuki who had carried out her task.
The Abyssal Fleet didn't chase after them.
“We did it, yay! Ahahaha!”
Satsuki laughed happily. She clapped her hands in delight.
As for Kagerou, she wasn't too happy about it.
“Ushio, how's Akebono's condition?”
“All of her armaments were lost. Her clothes were torn apart too.”
She examined her with a quick glance. Certainly, Akebono's sailor uniform was in tatters, and even her trademark bell hairpin was missing.
“The first thing to do once we return to the base is to put her in the dock huh.”
“…Would they…allow it…?” Arare asked.
The girls had gone out to rescue Akebono in secret. By now, there should be an uproar over the disappearance of the entire members of their destroyer division. They would be reprimanded no matter what they do.
Kagerou folded her arms and pondered.
“It can't be helped. Let's prostrate ourselves and get inside the detention house, that way they would let her enter the dock, right?”
Akebono flailed wildly as she was being towed.
“Idiot! You guys have nothing to do with this! It's my fault, so it should be me who get punished!”
“You don't need to worry about it. Right, everyone?”
“Indeed. Akebono should rely on us a bit more,” Nagatsuki said.
Satsuki also said while smiling, “Yup, yup. You can even call us ‘Big Sis’ if you like, you know?”
“As if I would bow my head down to the Mutsuki-class!”
“My little sister is stubborn, eh?”
“I'm not stubborn!”
Kagerou chuckled as her typical stubborn reply echoed.
At that moment.
Columns of water splashes emerged far ahead.
Kagerou was startled. For a moment, she wondered if it was a mine explosion. However, there wasn't anyone ahead of them.
She looked behind. A faint dull sound came from behind the smokescreen.
“We're being bombarded?!”
The shipgirls were flustered.
The Abyssal Fleet hadn't given up yet.
The Abyssal Fleet attacked persistently, perhaps because of being humiliated from being outwitted by the destroyers on top of failing to catch the convoy. Several columns of water splashes emerged in front of girls.
“Kagerou, what should we do?”
After being asked by Nagatsuki, she reflexively told them, “We should run. After all, we won't get hit by those shells anyway.”
True to her words, the enemy bombardments seemed only misdirected at the wrong place. Although it was in the direction of the course they were heading to, the columns of water splashes were just flashy and not even remotely close to them. They could avoid them with ease as long as they were a little careful.
Another bombardment. This time it landed behind them.
“Where are they aiming—”
Kagerou's face froze as she was about to finish saying it.
(—Are they bracketing?!)[9]
They were being put into a bracket between the shots.
The Abyssal Fleet were determined to catch them. As evidence of that, the next shells landed much closer than before.
The columns of water splashes pierced the sky, scattering seawater around. The sea surface swayed unsteadily.
“Woah!”
Satsuki yelped. She was the first to be showered with seawater.
“Why did it splash at me?!”
Kagerou, too, was puzzled. She looked behind to check, but the smokescreen was still there. Despite that, the Abyssal Fleet were shelling with precision. How did the Abyssal Fleet locate their position?
“—They have Fire-Control Systems!”[10]
The shipgirls gasped at Kagerou's words. Anyone knows how effective radars were. The notion of having radars so that they could slack off during lookout duty was on everyone's mind at one point. However, destroyers hardly received them. And yet, the enemy had them.
“…Is that…true…?”
Kagerou answered Arare's question, “There's no explanation of it otherwise! The battleship-class almost certainly—”
Suddenly, a silhouette emerged from the smokescreen.
The standing figure was the Ru-class battleship. A domineering figure, it was as if she was the queen who reigned over this planet. That woman was the one with the Fire-Control System. Inside her deep blue eyes, there was a mix of grudge and persistent obsession of desire to tear them into pieces and to not let her prey get away. Her main armaments of 16 inch Triple Gun Mounts were directed straight at them.
And around her were a large armada of the Abyssal Fleet.
The Ru-class battleship turned her back and howled.
The Abyssal Fleet roared in response. War cries echoed under the cloudy sky.
Arare covered her ears in the face of such gruesomeness. The Abyssal Fleet's roars stirred fear in the hearts. One of the qualifications to be a shipgirl was whether or not you could withstand facing such roars without losing your nerve. However, no matter how many [Excellent] marks you got on your aptitude test, you would be seized with fear once you encountered the actual thing. It was said that the top brass even considered artificially strengthening the girls' resistance to it using drugs.
Kagerou managed to shake off her fear.
“Z Maneuver!”
She flashed the signal[11] and shouted at the same time. Then, she ordered Arare, “Contact the Naval District! Tell them ‘We ran across a large armada of Abyssal Fleet containing a Ru-class battleship, requesting reinforcements,’ or something!”
“That might…alert the enemy…and attract them…”
“Just do it!”
Sending an unencrypted radio transmission was akin to revealing your position to the enemy and telling them to come. The Abyssal Fleet would swarm them faster than moth swarming light sources.
But that was irrelevant to them. The fact was that they were already being pursued by a large fleet of enemies.
16inch shells were constantly raining down, turning the surroundings into a shooting range.
The destroyers ran through the torrents of water splashes columns. The bombardments were chasing them relentlessly.
“Ouch!”
Satsuki mumbled. She must have been hit by the fragments. It seemed that the damage wasn't serious, but the numbers of the near-misses definitely increased.
“Don't stop moving!” Kagerou shouted. “Keep running toward Yoko District!”
That went without saying. The sea was astir, and the air was filled with nothing but the bombardment sounds. Still, they keep moving.
“—gh!”
Arare's body was sent upward because of the shockwave. Seeing that, Nagatsuki caught her.
“Are you okay?”
“…Thank you.”
It was like a knight rescuing his prince. But of course, they couldn't afford bantering around right now.
Kagerou looked ahead, then checked behind. The distance between them and the Abyssal Fleet was shrinking. Columns of bombardments ahead of them prevented them from going through.
“All ships, take evasive action at will!”
Everyone instantly grasped Kagerou's order. Despite that the order was to do as they see fit, they didn't scatter around. They had to do everything in order to escape while deceiving the enemy. They had practiced both the Z Maneuver and the dispersion maneuver thoroughly. They performed both to perfection, as anything less would be pointless. It was deeply ingrained in their bodies.
Carefully, but also fearlessly, everyone made their way through the jungle of water splashes columns.
Kagerou looked behind once again.
She gnashed her teeth. The figure of the Ru-class battleship was even bigger than before. The distance was getting closer again. No matter what they did, the woman was chasing after them regardless.
They couldn't get away from her at all. They weren't able to increase their speed any further even if they wanted to.
There was a reason of that, and they were aware of it. It was because they're towing Akebono.
After all, Akebono and Ushio who was towing her would be slow. Kagerou and the rest couldn't go at full speed because they had to match the speed. They had no choice but to evade the bombardments by performing maneuvers.
She looked at Ushio with a side glance. Drops of water were trickling from her face. It wasn't seawater, but sweat. That girl was giving her all towing Akebono.
Akebono, who was being pulled, screamed.
“…Just leave me behind!” She said while thrashing around. “Let go of me! Isn't it fine for you guys to escape alone?!”
Ushio said to Kagerou, ignoring Akebono, “The scrap just spoke, what should we do?”
“That's unusual, so let's put it on display in Yoko District.”
Ushio gripped Akebono's arm tightly. Akebono yelled, “Just leave me! If it's just you guys alone, you would be able to escape right?! Because you guys are destroyers!”
Everyone ignored Akebono's words. They concentrated on doing evasive maneuvers.
The Ru-class's battleship shoulders flashed.
It landed so close that Kagerou was nearly overturned. The enemy's aim was getting more accurate, but that wasn't all. The interval between the shot and the impact was getting shorter. The distance was closing considerably.
Nagatsuki sent a glance to her. She seemed to ask, ‘We would be caught sooner or later if this continued, what should we do?’
Kagerou had to make a decision.
She was racking her brain, narrowing her field of view. A number of ideas to survive came and went inside her mind. How about deploying smokescreens? No, it's meaningless since the enemy has radar. What about scattering around? We would be crushed going separately against those numbers. What if we surrender? I have never heard of them letting anyone live.
There has to be something. A better solution.
Something destroyers excel at.
“—In that case!” Then, she continued, “Prepare for surface action!”
Everyone was surprised. Among them, the one who was surprised the most was Akebono.
“Huuh?! What are you thinking!?"
Kagerou pretended like she didn't hear Akebono and gave them instructions.
“We will hold off the Abyssal Fleet here! We will do the same thing as what Akebono did earlier. It's our turn now.”
“Are you serious?!”
It went without saying. Kagerou was serious.
She genuinely intended to fight the Abyssal Fleet and hold them off.
Akebono managed to do it, so we have to do it too. I can't show an unsightly appearance in front of our comrade who fought with all her might.
Fight the Abyssal Fleet, then send the heavily damaged Akebono back to Yokosuka.
Destroyers might look small, but they cared about their friends more than anything else. If someone needed help, they would dive into storms of enemy bullets, if someone was heavily damaged, they would take them home no matter what. They would oppose any enemy who hurt their friends without exceptions, and they would never abandon their friends, no matter how difficult it was to evacuate them. That was how Kagerou was taught, and she believed it from the bottom of her heart.
She would do it no matter how unreasonable or how reckless it was. She was willing to do it even if it meant she would hurt herself.
If she was asked why she would do that, she would give the only answer.
Because we are shipgirls.
Because we are the proud destroyer girls!
Kagerou said, “We will support Ushio and Akebono evacuation from this place. Nagatsuki, Satsuki, Arare, all of your lives now are in my hands!”
“Understood.” The first one to reply was Nagatsuki. “It's a great honor to fight for the consort ship.”[12]
Next was Satsuki, “Alright! We'll be able to do something cool, huh?”
And Arare, as usual, nodded and only said the bare minimum.
“…Roger.”
Kagerou's expression became cheerful after listening to everyone's replies.
“Thank you, everyone.”
Then she told Ushio, “Ushio, take Akebono back to Yoko District. Put her in the dock first, and have her eat something nice. You absolutely have to do it, okay?”
“Yes.”
There was no trace of Ushio's usual timidity. Kagerou was convinced, ‘If it's this girl, then it will be fine.’
“Wait! I'll fight too! Ushio, let go of my hand!”
Akebono shouted, still being pulled. Ushio reprimanded her, “That won't do. Akebono-chan and I will escape.”
“Like hell I will! I want to fight too!”
“Didn't you listen to what I said?!”
“No! Let me fight! I can still fight! Let me fight together with them!”
“What can you even do in that shape?!”
“Just let me fight with them! Kagerou and the others will die won't they?! I don't want everyone to die! I don't want everyone to disappear!”
“I absolutely won't allow you!”
“Ushio you idiot! Everyone is idiot! Aaaah!”
Ushio tightly gripped and pulled Akebono who was sobbing.
Kagerou confirmed the two figures leaving, engraving the sight on her mind. O Great Watatsumi, Great Sumiyoshi gods, Poseidon and many other sea deities whose names remain unknown, please watch over those two all the way to Yokosuka. One is a timid girl and the other is a foul-mouthed girl, but they're very, very good girls.
Then, she shouted, “Turn around!”
She sent a Z-Sei signal (simultaneous turn one hundred eighty degrees to the left.) Turning around, the shipgirls faced the Abyssal Fleet armada.
The Ru-class battleship was glaring at them. She must have been offended that mere destroyers were approaching her. Destroyers were ridiculed as tin cans because of their low protection. A bona fide battleship wouldn't need to use their main armaments to chase away a bunch of destroyers, they would use their secondary armaments instead. But now, the battleship pointed her main armaments at them, either out of respect, or because she wanted to overwhelm them with its enormous might.
Such a pressure and air of intimidation.
It sent shivers down to their spine. Akebono was really fighting against such a monster.
Kagerou suppressed her fear and put it away inside her heart. These guys, I'll sink them no matter what it takes.
“Speed up, maximum power! We can't let even a single one of them go through!”
If they keep going on as they were, they would crash head-on into each other. The enemies were overwhelming, but, what of it? A destroyer's job was to give everything they've got. And that was being a shipgirl all about.
“We're within torpedo firing range!” Satsuki shouted, but Kagerou shook her head.
“Not yet! Let's get closer so that we can hit them for certain!”
Columns of water splashes surrounded them. Kagerou advanced while evading them.
The columns of water splashes dispersed. Beyond them were the monsters of the sea, the massive numbers of the Abyssal Fleet.
“All ships, take aim!”
She waited until the last moment, then shouted, “—Fire!!”
The torpedoes were launched, releasing the compressed air at the same time. They adjusted themselves to its specified depth after being submerged, then fiercely propelled forward.
They were spread in a fan-shaped pattern. The warhead would blow anything in one-hit. Each one of them had enough power to split any kind of Abyssal Fleet in half and sink them instantly.
Suddenly, the Abyssal Fleet performed an erratic action.
They were firing shells in front of themselves. The sea surface started to get chaotic.
The torpedoes exploded, and numerous columns of water splashes emerged.
“Direct hit, yay!” Satsuki cheered.
However, Kagerou was staring intently ahead. It's strange, they certainly did something.
The columns of water splashes dissolved.
Over there, the figure of the Ru-class battleship remained unscathed.
And not just that. Neither the light cruisers nor the torpedo cruisers had a single scratch on them. They were approaching toward Kagerou and the others, as if sneering at them.
“—The activation fuse is too sensitive…!”
Kagerou groaned. The torpedoes, traveling just under the sea surface, were struck by the violent waves, and the fuse mistook it for an impact from hitting the target and detonated. Those earlier columns of water splashes emerged in the front of the enemy.
It felt like the Ru-class battleship laughed. That woman knew the torpedoes' weakness. She also knew that destroyers without torpedoes were powerless. She pointed every single one of her gun barrels at them, aiming to blow them into pieces.
Then, columns of water splashes emerged one after another.
“—!”
Arare let out an inaudible cry. She was almost knocked over by the near misses.
The Abyssal Fleet's attacks were relentless. The more damaged the targets, the more concentrated the bombardments would be. The moment where you think you could survive as long as you didn't get hit by the next attack would be the exact moment where you would be hit for certain. That's why the shipgirls who were perceptive about such a thing wouldn't pursue them too far. They would choose to retreat the moment they picked up on the sign before it was too late.
But retreating was out of the question to Kagerou and the rest. They must let Akebono and Ushio escape at all costs. They had to fight against that many opponents until the end.
Kagerou and the others were destroyers. If they got hit twice, they would head straight to the bottom of the sea. They had limited loadout, so they weren't equipped with something fancy like an emergency repair system. In exchange, they carried torpedoes.
They had fired those torpedoes earlier. But now, the Abyssal Fleet would bare their fangs.
The Ru-class battleship roared. It was a war cry of her conviction of victory.
Kagerou was hit by a looming premonition of a swift death.
“Gh—!”
She gnashed her teeth.
In that instant.
Kagerou heard it.
And not just her. Nagatsuki, Satsuki, Arare, and perhaps even the Abyssal Fleet, they certainly heard it.
A loud piercing voice. A bright cheerful voice that blew the cloudy sky away.
Panpakapa~n.
Translator's note:
[1]: ‘There's nothing I can do to her (to make her change her attitude).’ Hence, beyond saving.
[2]: Waves with foamy crests or the white stuff you usually see on seawater.
[3]: The text was written as Defense film/layer while being read as field.
[4]: A reference to Akebono's in-game voice line for Major Damage.
[5]: Muroran is a city and port located in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Iburi Subprefecture. It's known as ‘Iron Town’ since 1909. More info here.
[6]: The Black & Red signal is used to adjust the rotational speed. Black to increase, Red to decrease.
[7]: A supernatural undersea palace of Ryūjin or Dragon God in Japanese tradition. It is best known as the place in the fairytale of Urashima Tarō who was invited after saving a turtle, where he was entertained by the Dragon God's princess Oto-hime.
[8]: 煙幕発生缶, lit. ‘Smokescreen-generating boiler.’
[9]: Bracketing is a military term for a method used to establish the range of a target by firing two preliminary shots, one short of the target and the other beyond it.
[10]: 電探射撃, lit. ‘Radar-firing’ but refers a firing mechanism where the shot is calculated and assisted by the Fire-Control System.
[11]: Ships of the same fleet communicated with each other typically using morse code sent with a signal lamp if they didn't have radio on board or wanted to avoid the message from being intercepted by the enemy.
[12]: Consort ship is a term used for any ship sailing alongside another, particularly as an escort or ship's tender. Fleet of vessels sailing in small numbers were often described as sailing ‘in consort’ to one another, that is, one ship following or escorting another to whom it was allied.
> In the meantime, they performed the Sei Z maneuver, a simultaneous 180 degree turn to the right.
ReplyDelete...
> She sent a Z-Sei signal (simultaneous turn one hundred eighty degrees to the left.)
Is this the same as turning back?
Yup! I intended to keep the original phrase, but perhaps I should also add notes for that.
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