Kagerou, Batsubyoushimasu! Volume 2 Chapter 3 Part 4

Chapter 3 : Slow Ahead

Part 4

　There was a wind screeching sound. The 16 inch shells sliced through the air and landed on the sea surface. The explosion shook the skies and sent anyone nearby into the Abyssal Fleet. It was a one-way ticket to death.

　Shiranui continued firing while protecting Takao.

　The Abyssal Fleet swarmed them. Shiranui skillfully weaved her way between them, firing back with a barrage of shells. The lone destroyer and many of the Abyssal Fleet engaged in an extreme artillery battle.

“As expected of the Ru-class battleship. The bombardment is reverberating in my body.”

　Toward Shiranui's monologue,  Takao replied, “You really don't change your facial expression, do you?”

“There was once a time where Kagerou told me I was disagreeable.”

　It was still a time when they didn’t know each other well. Rather than trying to be friendlier, they were more wary of each other.

　There was a sign of incoming shells. A lot of whistling sounds of shells falling. Shiranui pulled Takao and performed a left full rudder. There was a remarkable enormous explosion sound. If they had gone straight ahead, they would have been hit directly.

　The two skillfully evaded the attack and changed their course.

　They couldn’t let the enemy pursue Maya and the others, so they didn’t run in the same direction. While diverting their course repeatedly, they led the enemy to another area.

　Takao sometimes gasped for breath. She was able to navigate by herself, but she seemed to be in a great deal of pain.

“There are shipwrecks ahead,” Shiranui said. “Let's slip there.”

　They made their way to the rusty cargo ship while doing 之-character movements.

　Most of the Abyssal Fleet attacks were offshore, so the majority of the ships sank on the bottom of the ocean. However, there were also groups that attacked the coastline, so some ships ran aground and were abandoned in this way.

　Perhaps because of the coral reefs in this area, there were quite a few wrecks of ships that had washed up ashore. It was a tragic sight, but convenient for escape.

　They entered the inside of the overturned ship's cargo hold and took a breather.

“Their radar shouldn’t work here,” Shiranui said, dropping the main engine to a dead slow.

　The distant roar continued. Explosions were heard everywhere, perhaps because they were firing at random.

　Shiranui checked Takao's condition. She was sweating profusely, but she’s not worried about her sinking yet.

“How is the main engine condition?”

“It's so-so.”

　It seemed like she could only put out about half of the normal speed, but that's much better than being unable to move.

　The problem was the armament.

　She was equipped with two 20.3 cm twin gun mounts, but one was completely destroyed, and the other had one of the barrel damaged, reducing the offensive power to half. She was also equipped with anti-aircraft 25mm twin autocannons, but those had been lost and only the structure remained.

“It’s almost unsuitable for combat, huh.”

“What about you?”

“Shiranui's armament is all usable. However, I am concerned about the amount of ammunition.” The shells were almost at the bottom of the barrels because of the continuous firing. From now on, they had to continue shelling while being careful of the remaining quantity, and naturally, their offensive power would be reduced. “We have enough torpedoes. That's reassuring.”

“I guess it's a little better than a comforting thought. At the very least, I wish I could fire torpedoes too…”

　Currently, Takao had no torpedo tubes to use, so she couldn’t fire torpedoes.

　At any rate, there were too many enemies. The opponent had battleship, heavy cruisers, aircraft carriers, and destroyers all over the place, while they had only one destroyer and one heavy cruiser in a moderately damaged state. If they were to clash with the enemy, the outcome would be clear.

　So Shiranui had to think of a way to avoid a direct confrontation.

　She had Takao sit in the cargo hold of the sunken ship while taking out the torpedoes. She carefully tampered the warhead.

“What are you planning to do?”

“I'm removing the warhead,” she answered.

　Eventually, four torpedoes without explosives were made. If the warhead parts were left hollow, it would make them unbalanced, so she stuffed the parts with scrap iron that had fallen around the place.

　Shiranui lined up the torpedoes and then said, “Excuse me, but could you please remove the broken armament? Please let me use it.”

“That’s fine, but for what?”

　She didn’t reply to that. Next, she went to the inner part of the ship's wreckage and gathered adequate remains.

　After properly assembling the steel frames, she wrapped them with wires. There were worn out sheets, so she covered it from the top and packed the inside with plenty of stuff. The same process was repeated once more.

　Two doll-like figures were completed.

　She attached barrels to the dolls and placed them on top of the torpedoes. They became dummy dolls of the shipgirls.

“It’s an impromptu work, but it turned out pretty well,” Shiranui folded her arms and stared at the dolls. “These properly looked like Takao-san and Shiranui.”

“…Well, I guess so. If a drunkard squints at these from a distance, it might look similar.”

　Takao let her thoughts slip, but Shiranui pretended to not have heard it.

“The fog has come out again. It should be enough to deceive the enemy. We will use these as a decoy to attract their attention and escape in the meantime.”

“……You really can come up with something like this, huh?”

“Kagerou was the first to come up with the idea. When I would sneak out of the dormitory to do ginbai, I would make a dummy and put it on my bed,” Shiranui explained, then added, “Please keep it a secret.”

　All that remained was to find the right moment to release it. Shiranui stuck her head out from the broken ship and listened carefully.

　She couldn’t hear any sound of gunfire. There were noises like a flapping insect wings, but it was probably the Abyssal Fleet reconnaissance plane. It seemed that the Abyssal Fleet hadn't found them.

　The fog was even thicker than before. That was also convenient.

　She pulled her head back and told Takao, “When the reconnaissance plane noises are gone, we'll break out.”

“I understand… Let's hope the main engine works properly.”

　Shiranui sat down next to Takao.

　The sound of the reconnaissance plane's flight still could be heard. They were slowly moving away, but it wasn’t the right time to escape yet.

　It seems like a good opportunity, she thought.

“May I ask you a question?” Shiranui waited for Takao's response before asking the question.

“Yes, you may.”

“Why did you protect Shiranui?”

“Because I heard that you have a high temperament.”

“What do you mean?”

“The more damage you suffered, the more you would have tried to fight back. Perhaps you would have even confronted the battleship had you been damaged earlier. But if you're damaged, your priority should be escaping.”

　That must have been Kagerou who told her that, Shiranui imagined. Worrying about everything was that girl's specialty, so she must have advised Takao last night. That part of her probably had not changed ever since she was in Kure.

　Takao shrugged her shoulders.

“I didn't expect the extent of the damage would be like this, though.”

“It will be repaired soon once we return to Yokosuka.”

“Besides, I wanted you to survive.”

　Shiranui tilted her head slightly, “Shiranui is alive, though?”

　Takao laughed a little.

“No, I don't mean like that, I want you to survive this through the end. I am...... This ship, Takao, was a heavy cruiser that survived the war through the end even when faced with such terrible battles. She was hit by torpedoes, lost her propellers, had her stern destroyed, and even then, she still survived the war. Some of those moments were in my mind. Though in the end she was scuttled, I still can feel it, that surviving is a wonderful thing.”

“……”

　Shiranui listened to Takao's words quietly.

“Perhaps it's not the memory of that ship, perhaps it's just delusions I’ve made up. However, even a ship that can only fight has the right to survive and look at the blue sky. They have the right to look at the peaceful sea. It is the same whether it’s a real ship or a shipgirl. That's why I want as many of the girls to survive as possible…… Though Atago told me that my attitude toward the destroyers is cold, unexpectedly.”

　She expressed a smile as if being bashful.

“I've never told this to anyone else, you know?”

“I see, then Shiranui is lucky.”

“I'm sure you're right.”

　Shiranui stood up.

“Looks like the reconnaissance plane has gone. Let's get out of here.”

“What about the leftover torpedo warheads?”

“There’s no use for it.”

　First, Shiranui drove the torpedo-attached dummy. The torpedoes made a rattling noise because of the rotating propellers.

　She took it out of the abandoned ship and placed it on the sea. At first the dummy tottered unsteadily, but eventually it stabilized and went forward.

　She did the same with the other one. The two dummies sailed east.

　She turned around and nodded to Takao.

“Let’s go. We are fleeing westward."

　Shiranui exited the abandoned ship, while being alert and looking left and right. She put her feet on the sea surface. Takao was next.

“Both engines forward, slow cruising speed.”

　Turning the main engine on, they slowly started to advance a moment later.

　Shiranui gasped.

“Torpedo trails from portside!”

　White streaks stretched across the sea surface. Advancing in a straight line, it was undoubtedly torpedo trails. They tried to dodge it as quickly as they could, but they were not fast enough to perform an evasive maneuver in time. The torpedo trails continued to move toward Shiranui's rear.

　Toward Takao.

　A second later, there was an explosion sound and a blazing column. Her figure flashed for a moment.

　The sound and light disappeared; and Takao fell on her back.

　And then slowly, she was sinking into the sea on her back.

“Takao…-san!”

　Shiranui lost her voice. A submarine torpedo attack. It must have stuck around this area the whole time. It was lying in wait for them to come out and even saw through the dummy. Then, taking advantage of their relief, it fired its torpedo.

　It was my mistake.

　Paying attention only to the reconnaissance plane was a mistake.

　A periscope could be seen ahead. That must be a Ka-class submarine. Slowly, a seaweed-like hair emerged, and a darkish head with small eyeballs appeared.

　Its face looked like it was laughing.

　Blood rushed to Shiranui’s head.

“You… have made Shiranui angry!!”

　Both engines forward, maximum engine. As if snapped, she started her engine at full power. The main engine will suffer from the burden, but who cares? I'm going to sink that bitch no matter what.

　She approached with an unbelievable acceleration power. The Ka-class was caught just before submerging rapidly.

　She seized the periscope with both hands.

“Haaaaah!”

　And pulled it with all her might. The Ka-class, which was trying to dive, panicked and was unable to perform an effective counterattack.

　The Ka-class head appeared on the surface, and the arm on Shiranui’s back moved, thrusting the 12.7cm twin gun mount at it.

“Sink!”

　She fired. And it was continuous firing at point blank range. The smoke from the guns blocked her field of vision, and the sound of the attack echoed in her ears, but she didn't care. After the fourth shot, Ka-class’ periscope was shredded, and after the eighth shot, the body was torn apart, but she kept on shooting.

“Sink… Sink!”

　The only thing left from the Ka-class was its death agony, its figure has disappeared completely.

　But Shiranui's anger did not subside. There still must be enemies nearby. Somewhere out there, the enemy must have received communication from the submarine.

　There was a roar from another direction. She turned her head.

　It was a fleet of the Abyssal Fleet. A large woman with a pale face and long hair. The battleship Ta-class.

　The one she saw during the reconnaissance. She probably came here after receiving a message from the Ka-class.

　That battleship was huge. And it even exceeded the elite one. It was not an opponent that a destroyer could handle.

　But Shiranui had a smile on her face.

　It had to be like that, otherwise it would not be worthwhile. I’ll welcome you for coming here nicely, you fool with nothing but size. I'll send you to the other side and let Takao-san show you the way.

“Torpedo battle!”

　The arm moved and the torpedo tubes faced forward. There was a buzzer sound indicating that the torpedo was ready to launch.

“Fire!”

　There were four streaks of torpedo trails, thrusting forward and spread into a fan shape. Shiranui didn’t change her course. She ran at full speed, following the torpedo trails.

　The torpedoes exploded. It was uncertain whether the Ta-class was hit or not. She didn’t bother to check. Shiranui pushed through the blazing flames and aimed into its body.

　The 12.7cm cannon continuously fired. She struck the Ta-class body as hard as she could.

　G̵ r r̶ r̴ r̸ …

　The Ta-class staggered, but then returned standing still.

　She could only scratch it. The battleship's armor was tough. It was difficult to land a critical shot with the destroyer's cannon.

　Still, Shiranui attacked. The missed shots hit the nearby I-class destroyers and sank them, but they were rather an extra. The one she wanted to sink was the one in front of her.

　The Ta-class counterattacked as well. It fired its gigantic cannons and tried to blow Shiranui away. The shockwaves and debris scattered over, spreading death to the surroundings. Many of the Abyssal Fleet got tangled in the crossfire and scattered to escape. The noise from the battle and the main engine mixed and became a mess.

　As long as Shiranui bit her teeth into it, she wouldn't let go. Her eyes were dazzling like a hound dog as she continued to fire. Sink, sink, sink! Still not sinking? You're too tough, you damn battleship.

　The enemy's secondary guns rotated. It was now aimed at her.

“Kh!”

　Shiranui twisted her body. A shell exploded under her feet, lifting her body up.

　She slammed into the sea surface. When she rushed to get up, this time she was being aimed at the head by the main guns.

　I am done for, she thought at that moment.

　Her back was pulled. The shells passed through the place where she had been.

　Shiranui looked back with a startled look.

　The woman who she thought was dead was there.

“Takao-san…?!”

　It was the heavy cruiser Takao. Her clothes were torn, her face was bleeding, and most of her rigging was gone, but she was still standing on her two legs.

　She held a round object and a turret in her hand, and said “My goodness, for a destroyer trying to fight a battleship…”

“How…?”

“Yes, that torpedo really did me well… I was unconscious the whole time. However, I still have enough strength left to be your shield.”

　Takao glanced at her.

“Shiranui, get behind me.”

“But…”

“Don't make me repeat it. I want you to survive through the end. Listen, once I’m done for, you should escape! Even if I’m not done, you should keep running! You have to survive!” Takao shouted.

　Shiranui hesitated. It was a rare moment where she didn’t make an immediate conclusion. Was it right to leave this brave heavy cruiser behind? What kind of destroyer girl would do such a thing?

“Quickly!”

　The Ta-class cannon barrels moved, and those were about to fire at Shiranui.

“Your opponent is over here!” Takao provoked. At the same time, they collided as if they were falling down. The Ta-class turned to face her and opened its mouth threateningly.

　Takao thrusted something in her hand inside its mouth.

　It was a part of the torpedo, the warhead that Shiranui had removed for the dummy. She shoved it deep inside.

Then she aimed using the remaining single barrel from the 20.3cm cannon.

　Into the inside of the Ta-class mouth.

“You idiot… is what I want to tell you.”

　A shot. The warhead detonated. Flames engulfed the area.