Kantai Collection – Kankore – Kagerou, Batsubyou Shimasu! Vol 1 Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Water

A few days later, on the usual pier.

“We had a bad day yesterday, but let’s put more spirit today!” Kagerou said while facing the girls who lined up.

Their faces did not look like they were listening to her seriously and the tension was really low. But Kagerou did not get discouraged, even a little bit.

“You must be thinking it’ll be another boring training, but you’re wrong! Today we’ll be having sh.e.l.ling training!”

Everyone let out a surprised voice.

Compared to Battles.h.i.+ps and Heavy Cruisers, Destroyers’ gun sh.e.l.ls were nothing. But that did not mean Destroyers were not useful. There were a lot of cases where escaping Abyssal s.h.i.+ps were sunk by Destroyers’ last strike. While it may not really pack a punch but 12,7cm gun was definitely not for decoration. That was why Kagerou trained their sh.e.l.ling power too.

By making request to the navy storage room, they borrowed Abyssal Fleet mock ups. The storage officer had complained, “Lately our expenditure is a bit extreme. So please be careful with It.” but they replied with, “We don’t have a choice. If we change it with rensouhou dolls, s.h.i.+makaze will cry.”
Setting up Abyssal mock-ups then shooting at them were also often practiced in Kure.

“Now, we’ll be using live ammos.”

Those who heard it answered with an “eh?” together.

Us.h.i.+o said, “isn’t it dangerous….?”

“Well, there is danger, but everyone has done expeditions, right? You guys bring live ammos too that time, right?”

“Well… yeah…”

All the Destroyer Fleet Girls had done expedition at least once. In those expeditions, there was a chance to encounter Abyssal s.h.i.+ps and had to fight- that was the reason why they brought live ammos. So, it was not like they didn’t have real combat experience at all, but it wasn’t much as they never actually encountered any of the said Abyssal s.h.i.+ps. Yes, there were sorties available, but they were not allowed to fully partic.i.p.ate in them, thus they never had the chance to point and shoot their cannons before. The special training that Atago had mentioned might had been due to the fear of their inexperience.

“Act as if it was a real battle, it might even better our skills.” Kagerou said.

By using live ammunition, they would feel nervous, therefore, as a result, they would concentrate better. Kagerou thought to raise the girls’ experience before the actual special training was for the best.

Us.h.i.+o still felt a bit nervous.
“Do you have permission for this?”

“Don’t worry, I already have it.” –Kagerou said while she pounded her chest with her fist.

“We’ve done it a lot in Kure. Don’t worry, everything will be fine with me here. It’s not like I’m experimenting or doing something new.”

“Maa, you’re so full of confidence!”

She let out a strange “Hyo!” voice as she turned around.

There was Atago behind her.

“Are you watching us again?”

“You have sent a live ammo use form, right? There must be a Heavy Cruiser or a large s.h.i.+p to observe it. That’s why I’m here.”

“Isn’t it just because the secretary s.h.i.+p doesn’t have anything to do?”

“Well, the admiral is currently kneeling to Tatsuta as punishment for trying to touch her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, so it’s fine… And I also brought some other people.”

She pointed to her right. Looking that way, Kagerou jumped subconsciously.

The girls were wearing miko outfits and there were 4 of them, wielding gigantic, large-caliber cannons. They were obviously battles.h.i.+ps. Moreover, they were the Kongou-cla.s.s sisters.
The one in front suddenly shook Kagerou’s hand.

“Haaai, we’ll be observing you, okay?”

The one with this distinctive talking style was Kongou.

“Don’t make a fool of yourselves in front of nee-sama, okay?”

The one who said that, wholly for the sake of her sister, Hiei.

“Please be careful and avoid getting hurt.”

The one who worried about them was Haruna.

“I’m expecting good results from you girls.”

The one who said that simply and expectantly was Kiris.h.i.+ma.

Looking at the famous fast battles.h.i.+ps, Kagerou’s breath quickened. Talking about these battles.h.i.+ps, they were the main stars of the anti-abyssal fleet, the sea G.o.ddesses who protected the people. Their armor gave allies the feel of peace, and their gigantic cannon spelled terror to the enemies. Along with carriers, they were the most valuable and important people in the naval base.
Of course, Kagerou had met them several times. She bowed to them when they pa.s.sed. She pestered them to tell her the stories of their battles against with the abyssal fleets. However, being watched by them while training is a first.

Kagerou protested to Atago: “Why did you bring them…?”

Atago placed a finger on her cheek: “Umm… Because I invited them?”

“Looking at destroyer training isn’t fun!”

“That’s not true, everyone wants to know how you battle the abyssal fleet…”

But we only have 12.7cm cannons… Kagerou thought. Unlike the battles.h.i.+p who was equipped with 35.6cm and 41cm large-calibre cannons, they were only equipped with small caliber cannons or high angle guns of variable sizes. Well, there was no use to fall into self-despair but it was a cold hard fact that they were nothing compared to them.

But Atago, as if unconcerned about it, shouted “Ganbatte!” while she waved her hand.

Loomed with dark feelings that threatened to take over, Kagerou shook her head as if saying “No, no! I should consider it as an opportunity. I’ll make the battles.h.i.+ps remember us, and raise our names in Yokosuka! If it goes through the Kongou sisters in the naval base, it might even surprise the other destroyers.”

More than that, destroyers had weapons that were not inferior to battles.h.i.+ps that weapons that could kill an enemy with one hit.

“O-o-o-o-okay everyone! Don’t shame ourselves in front of the battles.h.i.+ps! But do-do-d-don’t be nervous, calm down!”

“But isn’t Kagerou who‘s the most nervous?”

Covering her mouth with her hand, Kagerou silently said “shut up” to Nagatsuki who had hit the nail on the head. With a stern stare to them, they scurried to prepare for the live sh.e.l.ling practice.

“I’ll be the one pulling this.” Kagerou said while she pointed to the abyssal s.h.i.+p mock ups.

“When I give you the signal, shoot, okay? When it’s my turn, someone please change with me.”

“I’ll do it.”

Nagatsuki stepped forward and Kagerou nodded.

“Okay, then I’ll head to the open sea.”

“Not, I’ll be the one pulling the target s.h.i.+ps.”

“Eh? Nagatsuki wants to do it?”

“Yes.”

She had already started to pull the tow ropes.
“You can leave everything to me.”

“That will help a lot, thanks.”

“Do it as much as you please.”

Before Kagerou could say anything, Nagatsuki went down from the pier.

Is it because of her ability or the speed of the mock ups Nagatsuki pulled, Kagerou was a bit surprised. Calming herself down, she faced the other girls.

“Okay then, I’ll be the first.”

She went down to the open sea and could see Nagatsuki pulling up the mock ups s.h.i.+p. For safety reasons, there’s a pretty big distance between Nagatsuki and the target she towed. Kagerou took aim, measuring the distance and directing the cannon.

“Direct front engagement. Target, enemy abyssal, starting shooting sequence!”

The 12.7cmguns equipped on her shoulder spat out fire. Water splashed just before the target. The angle had been too low. She corrected her aim a little higher.

“FIRE!!”

She shot again. Now the water splashed ahead of the target, her angle was too large.

“Target distance found!” She shouted with pride.

“Woohoo” sounds could be heard from the Kongou sisters who were watching. ‘Finding the target distance’ is done by putting the target between two shots. After doing that, she only needed to shoot between these two angles, so the chance to hit will be higher. Kagerou continued to fire without counting how many sh.e.l.ls. .h.i.t the target. After she had used up all the sh.e.l.ls she had, she swam back onto the pier. Nagatsuki did the same, while pulling the target.

They examined the mock ups. Almost half of the abyssal fleet mock-up was hollowed.

“It’s okay…” She said, feeling satisfied after checking the results herself. Atago and the others only gave it a single glance and smiled. What those smiles meant was a mystery.

“Let’s continue. It’s time to s.h.i.+ne!” Kagerou said as an encouragement.

Satsuki went forward. “I’ll start my sh.e.l.ling phase!”

With such energetic phrase, 12.7 cm sh.e.l.ls started to fly. With a good pace, Satsuki continued to shoot. Water splashed around the target. For those who watched it, it looked like a big water fountain. Before Kagero could say anything and it wasn’t long after, Satsuki ran out of ammo and stopped her sh.e.l.ling. The target was pulled back and Kagerou checked the mock ups.

“There’s only…. 1 hit!?”

Kagerou blinked several times.

“Hey Satsuki! There’s only one hit!”

To Satsuki, it was an achievement and said in a happy voice. “Whoa! It hit! I’m becoming better!?

“What?!”

“I didn’t hit anything last time! Being on target even with just one sh.e.l.l is amazing for me! It must because you came here!”

“But you wasted all of your ammo. If they strike back, it’ll be the end of you. Please be careful with your ammunition too.”

Then Kagerou went to the Kongou sisters and gave a forced smile.

“That one was just for entertainment, the others are better than that.”

The next one was Us.h.i.+o.

“I…I’ll try my best.”

Sh.e.l.ling phase started and just like her soft personality, the shots looked soft too. Like it was a shot but it was without any penetrating power, even the splashes were small. The sh.e.l.ling phase was completed and Kagerou made a complicated expression while checking the result. There’s really nothing special to report. It’s not good but it’s not bad. It was as if the abyssal mock ups were saying “Aah, I’ve just got sh.e.l.led” in a mocking tone.

“Hmm… It’s not bad… I guess?”

Us.h.i.+o shrunk with embarra.s.sment, “I’m sorry…”

“No no, you still have room to grow. The next is Akebono?”

Akebono glared at her before she started sh.e.l.ling. Without saying anything and with just a few shots, she was able to find the exact target distance. Without needing to count, she continued getting hits after hits.

Kagerou was impressed. There’s no wasted movement, the correction from the very first shot was very good, too. And she didn’t use all of her ammo like Satsuki either.

After checking the mock ups, there were confirmed critical hits.

“You’re good!”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m a destroyer after all. Did you think I’ll miss?”

She didn’t think that, but to think that this s.h.i.+p with such a bad personality was good at both fleet operations and sh.e.l.ling. Kagerou hadn’t expected that.

Kagerou took a look at the Kongou sisters to see whether they were impressed or not. The four of them had been sitting on the beach, Kongou with a teacup in her hand.

“Are they surprised to see this…?”

“If they look at this one, they will.” Akebono said with a bored voice.

Kagerou panicky turned to her.

The next in line was Arare.

As she’s a silent one, she silently headed towards the shooting point. She took a careful look at the abyssal mock ups.

“Fire.”

12.7cm sh.e.l.ls were launched.

After a bit of silence, the sh.e.l.ls reached their target. The result wasn’t water, but fire.

Even though they were using live ammo, the magnitude of the explosion was reduced. But to easily tell whether the sh.e.l.l hit or not, they add a lot of magnesium.

The flash was from that. In other words, it had hit the target.

“The possibility of hits is normally below 10%. First shots are used to measure the distance, and to ready for a full salvo. In a real battle, the enemy and allies are always moving around, so it’s much harder to hit.

Even though this was training, it’s still under the effects of temperature and wind. Calculating this and that, and making the first shot hit was still not an easy thing. At first she thought it was just luck, but she hit the other mock ups with her first shot too.

Sh.e.l.ling was over and the mock ups were pulled back. There was no need to check the result.

The Kongou sisters were definitely surprised with this. They stared at the mock ups and only Atago smiled as usual.

Arare didn’t even show any sign of pride.

Kagerou, without thinking, patted Arare’s shoulder.

“That was really cool! You’re that good? You’ve improved a lot than when in Kure!”

“…………”

“Everyone will be surprised by that! You’ll become the naval base’s hero!”

“…”

Whether she was glad or not, it couldn’t be read through her expression.

Aside from Arare, Kagerou was really happy. With this, it’ll give a good impression to Atago and the fast battles.h.i.+p sisters. Word would spread in the naval base, and everyone would know that they shouldn’t mess with the 14th destroyer division.

“Do you think it is going well?”

The one who said that, as if throwing a bucket of icy water on Kagerou, is Akebono. Kagerou replied while pouting, “So? Isn’t it you that said that they would be surprised?”

“Well maybe they will be more surprised with the next one.”

“Next? Next is… uwah!”

Kagerou hurriedly said to the girl who lined up with the mock ups of the sea, “Sorry! It’s Nagatsuki’s turn, right?”

Nagatsuki, who was preparing to tidy the mock ups, took a bit of time before she replied. “Nah… I’m good.”

“Ah. You’re angry because I forgot about you even though I made you pull the mock ups? Sorry. I’ll pull it for you, so cheer up, okay?”

Kagerou put her hands together while bowing to Nagatsuki. Nagatsuki shook her head and said: “It’s okay, really. Don’t mind it.”

“Nagatsuki should practice sh.e.l.ling too! Next time I’ll let you be the first, so please…”

Kagerou took the towing rope from Nagatsuki then she pulled it lightly while checking the distance.

“I’ll pull it, when I give you the signal, shoot, okay?”

Leaving Nagatsuki, who looks like she still wanted to say something, in the middle of the sea. After distancing herself from the mock ups, she waved her hands

“Shoot now!”

After a while, Kagerou heard the first shot. The sh.e.l.l flew and landed. A column of water shot up.

Right beside Kagerou.

“Kyaa!”

She screamed without restraint. While covered in water, the shockwave from the blast vibrated to her stomach. If she wasn’t prepared, she would’ve puked all her breakfast.

“What the heck!?”

After that, the second and third shots fired. This time, they too fell somewhere far away from the target. The ones after that were always in front of the target.

And then, it landed near Kagerou again.

The impact almost made her fall. Even though it’s a sh.e.l.l from a destroyer, she wouldn’t come out of it unscratched.

“Wait! Wait! Stop! Abort! Abort!”

She raised and waved her hands, but whether Nagatsuki saw it or not, she didn’t know. Nagatsuki sh.e.l.ls’ always fell somewhere far away from the target.

Kagerou immediately left the abyssal mock up and headed towards the pier. Even with wet clothes, her blood ran to her head and she screamed.

“What the h.e.l.l are you thinking? I thought I was going to die! Do you hate me that much?”

There was no reply. Kagerou continued to shout.

“Well I scolded you guys, forced you to practice,and maybe am annoying. But is it that much to the point that you wanted to kill me?!”

Still no answer.

Kagerou took a deep breath and looked at Nagatsuki’s face. Nagatsuki’s face was so pale she could only stand.

“Uh…um…sorry.”

“Well… as long as you’re sorry….”

“I’m really sorry… It’s not like I do it on purpose.” She said with a really pale face, while trembling with a really small voice.

Looking at the difference to her usual self, Kagerou forgot all her anger and asked, “What do you mean?”

“It’s her real skill…”

That cold line belonged to Akebono. She folded her arms with a bored look.

“This girl, is really bad at aiming. She always act high and mighty but her battle skill is the worst of the worst within destroyers. Whatever she does will always be a blunder. She always say she would protect Arare, but the truth is that she always got protected.”

“….”

Nagatsuki looked down in shame. She’s really down in the slumps.

Akebono turns to Kagerou. “Now you understand, right? With this fool, of course the battles.h.i.+ps will feel bored.”
Kagerou looked at Atago and the others. They were talking. What they talked about is unknown. Maybe she shot her allies and they’re having a discussion about that. Naturally, the training would’ve been cancelled.

Without thinking Kagerou looked at the sky.

“Ugh, with this, the plan is….”

“I’m sorry.” Nagatsuki said in a small voice. “I’m sorry.” She suddenly ran off. From the pier, she descended to the sea, and disappeared towards Saru Jima ( Monkey Island).

“A…Us.h.i.+o, can you handle the rest?”

“Ye…Yes!?”

“I’m going to chase after her!”

Without waiting for a reply from the panicked Us.h.i.+o, Kagerou departed into the sea too.

Sarujima (Monkey Island) was a no-man island on the coast of Yokosuka. Even though there were no inhabitants, there was an open area for barbeque and a swimming area. But they were only operable in summer, other than that, it was shut down.

Kagerou, while searching for Nagatsuki, landed on the beach.

Fleet girls getting an emotional shock were not rare cases. To release emotional and physical exhaustion after fighting Abyssal Fleet, there were councillors who help with that on other naval bases. But there were girls that were too embarra.s.sed to consult. The more pride they had, the higher the possibility of feeling embarra.s.sed. Those girls would cry and get troubled without anyone knowing about it. And they loved places without people. Sarujima was a perfect place for them.

“Ah, she’s here.”

On the corner of the beach, a figure of a cowering girl was seen. Kagerou slowly approached her.

Nagatsuki was hugging her knees and hiding her face.

Kagerou, without saying anything, sat beside her.

And the two stayed like that for a while.

“It’s Kagerou, huh…”

Nagatsuki mumbled while she wept.

“Yeah…”

“What do you think of me?”

“I don’t think much of it. After all, Nagatsuki is Nagatsuki.”

Nagatsuki raised her face. In front of her was the sea.

“… What Akebono said was true after all…”

“… eh?”

“The balance of Mutsuki Cla.s.s is bad. The gun turret and the mount machine aren’t synching well. As a destroyer, it’s a defect. Especially mine…”

“Is that so…”

“It’s true. I’ve always been troubled about being a failure… My armor is pretty thin too.”

What the fleet girl referred as their armor was, pretty much, their clothing. It looked like a normal sailor uniform, but when battling the Abyssal Fleet, it was the important equipment that protected them from sh.e.l.ls.

Every type of s.h.i.+p girl had her own uniform design. Because the allocation was based on their apt.i.tude test, there was no use on wearing someone else’s uniform. If there was any case that one used another’s uniform, it wouldn’t become armor anymore, it would turn into normal clothes.

In order to reinforce and upgrade the Mutsuki-type, they remodelled the clothes several times, but ended up destroying the balance. That was well known.

“Satsuki is like that too. She always does muscle training. It looks like she thinks that if she trains her body well, she’ll be fine even if she got shot.”

So that’s the case, Kagerou thought to herself. I thought she’s just a muscle head, but it turned out there’s meaning behind it.

“She’s a really good girl. But I’m not like that. I asked myself countless time how to overcome it and in the end, I got into this way of talking. I made myself believe that it’s my duty to protect someone. But the truth isn’t like that. Because I‘m weak, being with other people gives me a sense of safety. Because Arare is so good at sh.e.l.ling, I’m always with her…”

“…”

“Arare always had that “go with the flow” personality, so I always got comforted by her. But when Kagerou came, I became scared. Because it’s someone she knew way before she met me. Doesn’t that mean her friends.h.i.+p with me will end? It’s a funny story, even though I’m the one who keeps on depending on her…”

Nagatsuki raised her head and looked at Kagerou.

“Hey, Kagerou…”

“What is it?”

“Do you want to kick me out of Fourteenth Destroyer Division?”

Kagerou blinked several times. Knowing there wouldn’t be any answer, Nagatsuki looked down.

“Yeah, you’re right. Because a destroyer with bad balance who can’t shoot and only rely on their comrades all the time is just deadweight. It’s better if you got sc.r.a.pped into parts.”
“Wait! Wait! Please wait.”

Kagerou suddenly put her fingers on her lips.

“No, of course I won’t do that. Nagatsuki is an important friend too.”

Nagatsuki got puzzled.

“…. really?”

“Of course. Even I used to be bad in sh.e.l.ling at first. The worst in Sixteenth Destroyer Division. After a lot of practice, I could stand side by side with the others. So, Nagatsuki can be better too.”

“Will I get better at sh.e.l.ling?”

“Yep! There will be times when everyone will be saved because of your sh.e.l.ls, I guarantee it!”

Kagerou b.u.mped her chest.

Nagatsuki was silent. Her eyes started tp water, so she faced away from Kagerou.

“Is that so…”

She only muttered that. Kagerou gave her hand to Nagatsuki.
“Let’s go back.”

“You go on ahead.”

Nagatsuki said while hiding her face.

Kagerou didn’t force her to come back. Only leaving, “I’ll be waiting” words, Kagerou got into the water from the beach and headed towards the naval base.

Kagerou went back to the pier where they practiced. All Fourteenth Destroyer Division members were there, but out of the others, only Atago left.
“Er… The Kongou sisters are…”

“They’re on a sortie. There are Abyssal Fleets appearing around Nansei Islands. If they don’t do a search and destroy operation now, some of our transport fleet might get hurt.”

“And why is Atago…”

“My job is watching your training!”

She laughed with a grin.

Because this could be recorded as a “failure”, in Kagerou’s head, she even imagined that the actual reason the Kongou Sisters left was because of how bad Nagatsuki sh.e.l.ling was.

Going back to the destroyers, Kagerou talked to Us.h.i.+o.

“How was it? Going great?”

“Y… Yes… Somehow…”

Even though she said so, her face showed shame. Maybe she’s afraid Akebono might had heard what she wanted to say, Kagerou thought.

“Sorry, I’ll take it from here.”

Then she b.u.mped Us.h.i.+o’s hand and turned around.

“Next is torpedo training!”

All the girls, including Akebono got nervous with those words. Torpedo was the beauty (flowers?) of destroyers. Event they, the small type s.h.i.+ps who weren’t even deemed important, could become wolves when in torpedo phase.

The variety of torpedoes that they equipped had the strength to blow up even a capital s.h.i.+ps in one hit.

Kagerou said with her hands on her hip. “Even if we miss, as long as we’re good with our torpedoes, it’ll be okay! We can be top s.h.i.+ps!”

“Isn’t special practice means escorting transport fleets?” Satsuki said.

Kagerou instantly replied. “Because the abyssals will appear, we need torpedo practice. I’ll prepare it, so you guys line up again… hm?”

She tilted her head. The mock ups they borrowed were nowhere to be found.

“Us.h.i.+o, did you returned the mock ups?”

“No… in sh.e.l.ling practice, Arare sunk them all. Since the first shot hit, almost all of the others were hit too, so…” Looking carefully, only the tow rope was left by the pier. All the others were sleeping with the fishes.

“If there are no mock ups, how can we practice…?”

“Well yeah… how about borrowing again?”

But they would be scolded. Just getting scolded was the good case. There were a lot of cases where they were forced to write an apology letter and filing a lot of report and doc.u.ments.

“Well, well, if that’s so, how about me becoming the target s.h.i.+p?”

Atago who watched them said that.

Kagerou was surprised and hurriedly waved her hand.

“Of course not, letting the secretary s.h.i.+p being a target practice is a big no.”

“It’s fine. Let me become useful for you guys.”

Without stopping, she lowered her leg onto the waters, as if sliding. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s bouncing up and down.

“If you’ve finished preparing, give me a sign, mkay?”

While looking at the smiling Atago, Kagerou let out some words under her breath.

“What to do…”
“But the one who told us to do torpedo practice is Kagerou…” said Us.h.i.+o.

“But if we don’t put our minds to it as if it’s real…”

“On the contrary, I want to shoot.” Satsuki said.

“Those breast armor are really irritating me.” Without hiding, Satsuki had said that in a voice filled with envy, while looking at Atago. Arare added with a whisper.

“Shoot torpedoes while targeting breast… that’s new…”

“It only takes one hit…”

“What’s with the weird jokes, everyone…”Stuttering, Us.h.i.+o hurriedly said. With those words, everyone looked at her. Us.h.i.+o was taken aback.

“What… What is it…”

“The pride of those who have…”

With those words, Us.h.i.+o covered her b.r.e.a.s.t.s with her hands. Kagerou stopped them and said.

“Hey, stop with the weird talk. I’ve decided to go with the torpedo practice, act as if it’s real…”

“Kagerou’s actually one of those who has them…”

“Enough with it! Let’s go!”

Everyone went into the water.

The practice didn’t go 1 person at a time. Compared to sh.e.l.ls, torpedos are slow. The enemy could evade them, if they saw it. The most effective way to overcome this weakness was by making several s.h.i.+ps launch together.

That’s why practising as a destroyer division was much more effective. The problem then, was the placement of the torpedo launchers they equipped.

The girls whose torpedo launchers were equipped on their back or arms had it easy- by just bending their body a bit or aiming their arm into the water was enough to shoot the torpedo correctly.

The type-90 torpedos launched by 3/4 tubes torpedo launcher platforms really looked like fish swimming in the water at a really fast speed. The problem arose when they were equipped on their legs. This placement did not allow them to correctly shoot easily. On the other hand, those equipped on their ankle were pretty much ok, but those equipped on their thighs had to make a stance like a hand stand in order to shoot. On the manual, it had said, “When deploying torps, let the launch platform rotate”, but when they were cruising, they cannot let the platforms move otherwise it would affect their balance. If in a real battle, they would be crushed by the Abyssals before they moved in position to shoot. In other words, the girls themselves had to posture their body correctly first rather than rotating their armaments in order to shoot.

“But I’m not in one of those cla.s.sifications…” Kagerou said while b.u.mping her chest.

Her torp armaments were located on her back, but it had an arm that could move freely. With this, she could launch the torp easily without even the need to go into a specific posture.

Us.h.i.+o looked at her jealously; her torp armaments were instead located on her legs.

“I, feel embarra.s.sed when launching torps…”

Her torp armaments were facing up, so when she launched the torps, she had to be facing the target. Next, she had to raise her leg extremely high and launch the torps into the waters. Otherwise, she needed to turn her back to the enemy and do the same thing. Both positions allowed everyone to see what’s under her skirt.

“Why don’t you just configure the torp armament to face the front right from the start?”

“If I do that, it will lower the aerodynamics and my sailing speed will drop….speed is a destroyer’s weapon, so….”

Us.h.i.+o shrunk.

Kagerou pouted as she said, “hmmm.”

Showing of skirt or not, for Kanmasus, it was a pretty important matter. Even though these girls fight against missiles and fighter planes, in the end, they are still girls. They might not mind it during battle, but once they were back at base and reminisce about it, they will blush hard.

By the way, Kagerou was wearing spats. Through these kind of details, we can see how well developed a destroyer is.

Akebono, who’s listening silently, opened her mouth. “Just don’t think about it, easy, right?”

“But….”

“I don’t mind it.”

She’s an Ayanami-cla.s.s destroyer and the solution she suggested seemed pretty good to Kagerou.

Kagerou thought for a bit before saying, “How about you bow down a bit when you shoot?”

“Yes? Eh??”

Answering Usio question, Kagerou explained.

“If you face the opening of the torpedo launcher downwards, it won’t affect the aerodynamics right? When you shoot, bend your knees as if you are kneeling, then it will aim forward, right? If you set it upwards, then you will have to face backwards before shooting.

“Ah I get it!”

Enjoy our translator’s “Artistic Talent” Depicting torpedo arrangements/formations xD

Us.h.i.+o’s face lit up, but turned anxious in seconds.

“To kneel and shoot….it looks like…..meeting the parents on the other side…..the abyssal will misunderstand.”

“Whadaya mean by the ‘other side’?”

“I’m waiting~~” Atago’s voice echoed from a distance. Kagerou quickly a.s.sembled the girls.

“Let’s go, line up! Don’t forget to change into Ougi-formation!”

Torpedoes were usually deployed in a fan shape…so whichever way the target turned to evade, they will be hit.

Kagerou gave Atago the “we will do it” sign.

More “Art”

“Target, heavy cruiser Atago. Direction okay, route okay, torpedo launch platform fuse set to automatic.”

They all lined up and continued one by one. They’re close enough to see Atago clearly.

“Shoot!”

*Shuuu*, the sound of compressed air being fired. The torpedos launched from the girl and headed towards Atago.

Kagerou took a deep breath and looked at them go.

Then Atago made a big X mark with her arms.

“You missed.”

“A…”

Kagerou still felt disappointed even though the chance of torpedos. .h.i.tting enemy was only around 10%. Raising it through this type of special practice, she thought they should have hit more. However, having all the torpedoes missing was just too much.

“Maybe we missed the timing.”

“Or maybe it’s because our launch position was too different from each other.” The one who said that is Satsuki.

Because the 14th Destroyer Squadron was filled with s.h.i.+ps of different types, their position while launching torpedos differed from each other. There were those who shot while standing, sitting, raising their arm and even raising one leg. In this case, it’s much better if they were of the same type. It’s would be so much easier to match the timing, resulting in a raise of battle results and proficiency.

“That’s why I said there’s no need to be embarra.s.sed!” Akebono said while pouting.

“Rather than kneeling every time, isn’t it faster to just raise your legs?”

“But….”

Us.h.i.+o face became red. Akebono didn’t give her mercy.

“You are just too self-conscious! What good would it do for s.h.i.+p girls? Do you want to get eaten by abyssal? You really didn’t do anything at all. Since that day, you have never been useful at all.”

Us.h.i.+o became teary eyed, trying to object what Akebono said.

Then Kagerou came and separate them.

“Okay okay, that’s enough. Please don’t complain at every little thing, Akebono.”

“Huh…?”

Akebono whispered as if she was uninterested.

“No matter how many painful experience you have been in, there are those that won’t heal.”

Kagerou became a bit bothered by those words, but decided not to question it any further.

“Let’s do it again.”

They lined up again and once again signalled Atago.

“We’ll do it again.”

“This time, let’s get closer before we shoot.”

“Eh….Even though it’s not night battle?” Satasuki said.

Kagerou approved the truth in her words. “Yeah, and because we suck at this, we will get close as much as possible. It’s much easier to hit if we are closer after all.”

“On the other hand, we will be the ones who get hit.” An objection was raised.

“Yeah we will, but to be on the top, we should be able to do this.”

“Both sides, advance, 1st battle speed.”

Following along Kagerou’s orders, everyone advanced. Even though they sighted Atago’s at a distance, they kept advancing. They kept going till their eyes could finally see her clearly.

“…..Shoot!”

Shouu. The sound of compressed air once again released. Once they launched their torpedos, they turned around quickly to get away. It’s a manoeuvre to evade enemy counter attacks. When they were far enough, Kagerou turned around to see how they went. Atago, like before, made an X mark again.

“Ahhh….:” Kagerou slapped her palm on her forehead.

“Huuh….we missed again…”

Missing 2 times consecutively was pretty embarra.s.sing. If it was in real battle, it’s was definitely not rare for them to miss, but at the least in training, she thought it would hit. And real battles are much more difficult and crueller than training.

“Us.h.i.+o shot hers perfectly.” Satsuki said.

“But she’s crouching, it’s a bit weird….”

“Please don’t say it….I’m trying hard to conquer my embarra.s.sment,” Us.h.i.+o said with cheeks blus.h.i.+ng. Then Atago came.

“The result isn’t good huh….”

“Sorry….Do you have any insight? Does the launch distance a bit weird?”

Atago put her finger on her forehead. “Hmm….I don’t think there’s any problem with it, but as for the launch stance, I guess… considering the different types, its fine.”

When they thought about it later, they guessed it was supposed to be a joke and felt how Us.h.i.+o had felt.

“However some of the important torpedos were shot a bit late. If you don’t launch them together, the chance of hit will be lower.”

Kagerou turned.

“Is there anyone who shot their torpedoes a bit late?”

The destroyers looked at each other and fell into silence, then a hand slowly raised.

“…..Arare?”

Arare slightly nods.

“My torpedo launch platform….isn’t in good condition….so, slow…”

“From the first time?”

Arare affirmed Kagerou’s question.

Yes…”

“Say that earlier won’t you..?”

“Said it…..” Arare whispered.

“The voice must have been small.” Atago said.

Arare voice was small, and to top it off, she never said anything she deemed unimportant. It wasn’t a problem when they’re on land, but it wasn’t the case when they were out at sea. It’s important to speak loudly. Usually they are using wireless radio to speak with each other, but in a real battle, the sound of blasting guns interfered, not to mention the abyssal screaming and wailing. Thus there were many cases where they couldn’t hear each other, so at the very worst, they had to shout into the mike.

Because they always screamed, the mike frequently broke down and so the suppliers reduced the sensitivity of the mike. As a result of this, it wouldn’t receive anything that was said with a small voice.

“Even though you are that good at shooting….Hey Arare, try saying ‘torpedo launched.”

Obeying Kagerou, Arare opened her mouth to speak.

“……..Torpedo launched.”

“Once again.”

“Torpedo launched.”

Kagerou tilted her head slightly.

“Hmm….If it’s like this, we can hear you even with such a small voice.”

Atago was lost in thought for a second and then suddenly clapped her hands and said.

“Hey Kagerou….would you listen to big sis’s request?”

“Who the heck is ‘big sis’?”

“Aah, don’t tease me, I will be the one training Arare.”

“Eeh?Even though you are the secretary s.h.i.+p?”

“It’s a onetime deal.”

Atago pulled Arare, who was standing idly by, to the opposite side of the wharf, where the sand was.

With this, there were only 4 of them left in Kagerou’s team.

“Isn’t it okay to call it a day now?” Akebono said.

Kagerou shook her head.

“No, it’s not, we gotta train by ourselves. Especially after Atago is lending us a hand.”

“She’s just spending her free time, isn’t it?”

“Let’s just do the torpedo launching practice again.”

Even though they had different poses, they should, at least, be able to shoot with the same timing.
The torps they used just now had already been recovered. Torps are expensive, so they shortened the range in practice to make sure they don’t sink and lost.

“There’s only 4 of us, but let’s just do whatever we can. ‘Kay, both sides, 1st battle speed.”

For a while after that, they lined up and launched, lined up and launched, again and again.
While they did that, they became accustomed to it. Even with different poses, they became more and more synchronized. Even Us.h.i.+o forgot all about her embarra.s.sment and silently gave it her all.

However for Kagerou, it’s much more surprising to see Akebono still with them.

“I thought you would say, ‘I am going home,’ again in the middle of practice.”

“You guys suck, so I figured I will stay and use this to laugh at you guys later.”

Well, Akebono’s shooting and torpedo launching skills were at a high level. There were many times when they thought, “if only she had a good personality too”.

Kagerou took a quick look too see what the time was.

“It’s about time we stopped.”

“Nagatsuki and Arare?” Satsuki asked.

Kagerou took a look around for a while.

“I guess Nagastuki is home by now, and Arare…..I will take a look.”

After sending the others home, Kagerou immediately headed towards where Atago was.

Atago and Arare were standing on the beach doing something.

“?”

They weren’t actually doing any shooting or torpedo launch training. They were only standing in front of the sea, lined up. Walking towards them, Kagerou asked, “Er….we’re going to end today’s training…. what are you two actually doing?”

“A spell to raise your morale.”

“Spell…?”

“Well, let’s do it once again, Arare, stand beside me.”

Without letting her choose whether she wanted to or not, she forced Arare to stand beside her.

“Ookay, now take a deep breath.”

Atago took a deep breath. Arare did the same.

“PAN PAKA PA~~N!”

Kagerou stood shocked while Arare was drowned out. Atago pouted.

“C’mon, shout it out!”

“….”

“If you are able to make speaking loudly a habit, people will have to look at you. It’s really important.”

Rather than refusing to do that, Arare made a confused expression at what had just happened.
And of course, Atago ignored that and made Arare face the sea and shouted.

“Ookay, once again, pan paka pannnnnn!”

“Pa…paka….”

“Pan paka pannnnnn!”

“Pa……..paka…..”

Compared to the ever cheerful Atago, Arare’s voice got weaker and weaker. Kagerou took a glance to her back. Kanmusu that pa.s.sed were whispering to each other.

“Looks like she’s being played around by Atago.”

“Uwa, that looks troublesome,” someone said while laughing.

Arare who’s usually expressionless started to look a bit sad. The skin around her nape began to turn red.

Kagerou glared at the girls that pa.s.sed by and then back at Arare again.

She approached the 2 of them.

“Hey Arare.”

“…?”

Arare looked at her.

“Let’s do it together!”

“Why would….Kagerou….”

“Well, I feel like my voice has been getting softer….”

Kagerou lined up beside Arare and linked their arms together.

“Let’s chase the small voices away.”

“Let me join in too.” A strange voice was heard.

It belonged to Nagatsuki. It seemed like she just got back from the Sarujima and she was breathing a bit heavily.

“Even though I am bad at shooting, I won’t lose to you in voice. That’s the only thing I have to be able to help Arare with.”
After hearing that, Kagerou smiled a bit.

“That’s wonderful, with 3 people, it won’t be embarra.s.sing.”

“Fufufufu~,” Atago laughed.

“With this, our voice will surely reach beyond the horizons. Now, let’s shout till the Kanmusu across the sea hears us! PAN PAKA PAA~~N!”

“Pa….panpaka….pan”

Arare’s voice was still as small as ever. Kagerou, as if trying to cover for her, let out her own voice.

“Pan paka pan! If you use my voice as a cover, it won’t be embarra.s.sing!”

“I won’t lose! Pan paka pan!”

Nagatsuki shouted too. As if doing it in turn, Arare shouted too.

“Pan paka pan….”

“Pan paka pan!”

“Pan paka pan!”

This ‘training’ lasted till the sun had set.

Night.

After all that, Kagerou’s voice was reduced to barely a croak. As if dragging her feet, she headed towards the study room and pulled the chair heavily, sat and laid her head on the desk.
With training and all that ‘pan paka pan’, she’s not only tired physically, but her throat also hurts. Even if the ‘pan paka pan’ thing didn’t really improve anything for her, she still stuck till the very end.

After being dead tired for a while, a sort of fire called “will” flared from deep inside her heart and she raised her body slowly. She pulled out some stationaries and a fountain pen from the drawer and lined them up on the table.

Kagerou stared blankly at the paper that would become a means of communication and the writing apparatuses that would become tools to transmit feelings.

She wanted to send a letter to s.h.i.+ranui and was planning to send a letter to her right after she arrived at the naval base. However, a lot happened and she didn’t even have the time to remember to do it…until now.

There was no sign that s.h.i.+ranai sent one, but she’s always been the type that doesn’t do that, so there was no use worrying about it at all.

The stationary wasn’t a problem, but a fountain pen for a girl was a bit over the top. Because they say, “A Kanmusu should be a model for all girls”, they had to use the distributed writing tools. In the past, there was even training to write kanji.

Of course, there are telephones in the naval base. Even girls had their own phones and smart phones, but it’s just that they only had few chances to use them. They were limited in their usage of it.

This happened because the higher ups didn’t like girls talking behind their backs. Officially, they said it’s a preventive measure to limit the spread of information to the outsiders, but the girls thought that it was more like, “a father who checks his daughter” kinda thing.

And so, the most viable option to contact each other was through a letter. Even a letter should be concise and business-like. There were a lot of cases where girls would write a lot until it looked like a ma.n.u.script for a short novel, but ended up only having 1 page being sent by the naval base.

Kagerou wasn’t writing a love letter to her boyfriend, or a missive to a new secret religion, or trying to leak sensitive sortie details to the abyssal. She planned to write a normal letter.

“To my beloved, s.h.i.+ranui.”

As soon as she wrote that, she tore the paper, crumpled it, and threw it into the trash can. However, she missed, so she got up, picked it up and put it inside the trash can.

She felt it was way too formal. They used to be partners, so it should be more like a text message.

“s.h.i.+ranui-cchi~~”

Crumpled. Who the h.e.l.l is s.h.i.+ranui-cchi? She had never called her that before.

“Dear Madam,

In this clear, beautiful autumn season, how do you-“

It was too formal again. She crumpled it and threw it away.

“Ye-ay!gOoDmOrNiNg!”
What the h.e.l.l was that? It was thrown away.

After that, Kagerou tried a lot more writing styles, ripped them apart and threw them away.

Inside of each, it looked as if a novelist was trying to find her style, but in the end they became inhabitants of the trash can.

Because of the exhaustion from the training, whatever she did, her head didn’t work. Because of the hours spent shouting ‘pan paka pan’, her head felt like a pac.h.i.n.ko store during a sale. Her throat was parched as well.

After adding more and more goat feed (paper), she finally returned to her usual way of talking.

[ How’s Kuro? Here, it’s…]

After thinking for a bit, she continued.

[…the worst.]

It’s a bit negative, but who cared, she thought to herself.

[Destroyers are of the lower part of the hierarchy. The secretary s.h.i.+p is a weirdo and the admiral is pretty messed up too. The salty wind feels gross, there must be oil mixed up in it.]

She didn’t think she would write that much, but the bad things kept flowing out onto the paper.

[Arare had bad influence and became much more silent. It’s even questionable whether this is a naval base or not. I am always the one stuck with the short end of the stick, so much that I could cry. I always thought of s.h.i.+ranui. I want us to be in the same division again.]

Kagerou was so fired up she didn’t even realise that there were people behind her.

“Kagerou.”

“Eh, ah? What?”

She swivelled around. The one behind her is Hagatsuki, and Arare beside her. She held a bag in her hand.

“A letter? Did we disturb you?”

“N…No, it’s okay, what’s up?”

Nagatsuki cleared her throat.

“Today, I have troubled you so much, sorry for making you put up with my egoism.”

“Nah, it’s okay, we are in the same division, right?”

“Because of Kagerou, I could understand my stupidity. I won’t give you any more trouble. I promise.”

Then she nodded to Arare.

“Here….”

Arare gave Kagerou the item inside of her bag.

“Today, you stayed with me till the end…a present.”

“A gift? You are giving it to me?”

Arare nodded.

“Nagatsuki and I picked it up together….”

Kagerou blinked with surprise.

“Thank you…”

“The one who should say that….is us….”

Arare awkwardly bowed to her.

“Thank you….”

“Let me express my gratefulness too. Thank you very much.”

Hagatsuki bowed to her too and with that, both of them left the self-study room.

Kagerou took a look at what they gave her.

It was a MamiyaYoukan.

Among Mamiya products, Youkan was the best among the best. Even though Mamiya product’s popularity beat all other brands, the only ones with the special privilege to taste them are Kanmusus. They even held contests for it so they wouldn’t be distributed recklessly.

Kagerou cut the end of the Youkan and ate just a little of it.

A gentle sweet taste filled her mouth.

A bit after she tasted it, she picked up her fountain pen and finished writing her letter.

[But I will work hard. Please watch over me from Kure.]

Chapter 4 Water.

A few days later, on the usual pier..

“We had a bad day yesterday, but let’s put more spirit today!” Kagerou said while facing the girls who lined up..

Their faces did not look like they were listening to her seriously and the tension was really low. But Kagerou did not get discouraged, even a little bit..

“You must be thinking it’ll be another boring training, but you’re wrong! Today we’ll be having sh.e.l.ling training!”.

Everyone let out a surprised voice..

Compared to Battles.h.i.+ps and Heavy Cruisers, Destroyers’ gun sh.e.l.ls were nothing. But that did not mean Destroyers were not useful. There were a lot of cases where escaping Abyssal s.h.i.+ps were sunk by Destroyers’ last strike. While it may not really pack a punch but 12,7cm gun was definitely not for decoration. That was why Kagerou trained their sh.e.l.ling power too..

By making request to the navy storage room, they borrowed Abyssal Fleet mock ups. The storage officer had complained, “Lately our expenditure is a bit extreme. So please be careful with It.” but they replied with, “We don’t have a choice. If we change it with rensouhou dolls, s.h.i.+makaze will cry.”. Setting up Abyssal mock-ups then shooting at them were also often practiced in Kure..

“Now, we’ll be using live ammos.”.

Those who heard it answered with an “eh?” together..

Us.h.i.+o said, “isn’t it dangerous….?”.

“Well, there is danger, but everyone has done expeditions, right? You guys bring live ammos too that time, right?”.

“Well… yeah…”.

All the Destroyer Fleet Girls had done expedition at least once. In those expeditions, there was a chance to encounter Abyssal s.h.i.+ps and had to fight- that was the reason why they brought live ammos. So, it was not like they didn’t have real combat experience at all, but it wasn’t much as they never actually encountered any of the said Abyssal s.h.i.+ps. Yes, there were sorties available, but they were not allowed to fully partic.i.p.ate in them, thus they never had the chance to point and shoot their cannons before. The special training that Atago had mentioned might had been due to the fear of their inexperience..

“Act as if it was a real battle, it might even better our skills.” Kagerou said..

By using live ammunition, they would feel nervous, therefore, as a result, they would concentrate better. Kagerou thought to raise the girls’ experience before the actual special training was for the best..

Us.h.i.+o still felt a bit nervous.. “Do you have permission for this?”.

“Don’t worry, I already have it.” –Kagerou said while she pounded her chest with her fist..

“We’ve done it a lot in Kure. Don’t worry, everything will be fine with me here. It’s not like I’m experimenting or doing something new.”.

“Maa, you’re so full of confidence!”.

She let out a strange “Hyo!” voice as she turned around..

There was Atago behind her..

“Are you watching us again?”.

“You have sent a live ammo use form, right? There must be a Heavy Cruiser or a large s.h.i.+p to observe it. That’s why I’m here.”.

“Isn’t it just because the secretary s.h.i.+p doesn’t have anything to do?”.

“Well, the admiral is currently kneeling to Tatsuta as punishment for trying to touch her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, so it’s fine… And I also brought some other people.”.

She pointed to her right. Looking that way, Kagerou jumped subconsciously..

The girls were wearing miko outfits and there were 4 of them, wielding gigantic, large-caliber cannons. They were obviously battles.h.i.+ps. Moreover, they were the Kongou-cla.s.s sisters.. The one in front suddenly shook Kagerou’s hand..

“Haaai, we’ll be observing you, okay?”.

The one with this distinctive talking style was Kongou..

“Don’t make a fool of yourselves in front of nee-sama, okay?”.

The one who said that, wholly for the sake of her sister, Hiei..

“Please be careful and avoid getting hurt.”.

The one who worried about them was Haruna..

“I’m expecting good results from you girls.”.

The one who said that simply and expectantly was Kiris.h.i.+ma..

Looking at the famous fast battles.h.i.+ps, Kagerou’s breath quickened. Talking about these battles.h.i.+ps, they were the main stars of the anti-abyssal fleet, the sea G.o.ddesses who protected the people. Their armor gave allies the feel of peace, and their gigantic cannon spelled terror to the enemies. Along with carriers, they were the most valuable and important people in the naval base.. Of course, Kagerou had met them several times. She bowed to them when they pa.s.sed. She pestered them to tell her the stories of their battles against with the abyssal fleets. However, being watched by them while training is a first..

Kagerou protested to Atago: “Why did you bring them…?”.

Atago placed a finger on her cheek: “Umm… Because I invited them?”.

“Looking at destroyer training isn’t fun!”.

“That’s not true, everyone wants to know how you battle the abyssal fleet…”.

But we only have 12.7cm cannons… Kagerou thought. Unlike the battles.h.i.+p who was equipped with 35.6cm and 41cm large-calibre cannons, they were only equipped with small caliber cannons or high angle guns of variable sizes. Well, there was no use to fall into self-despair but it was a cold hard fact that they were nothing compared to them..

But Atago, as if unconcerned about it, shouted “Ganbatte!” while she waved her hand..

Loomed with dark feelings that threatened to take over, Kagerou shook her head as if saying “No, no! I should consider it as an opportunity. I’ll make the battles.h.i.+ps remember us, and raise our names in Yokosuka! If it goes through the Kongou sisters in the naval base, it might even surprise the other destroyers.”.

More than that, destroyers had weapons that were not inferior to battles.h.i.+ps that weapons that could kill an enemy with one hit..

“O-o-o-o-okay everyone! Don’t shame ourselves in front of the battles.h.i.+ps! But do-do-d-don’t be nervous, calm down!”.

“But isn’t Kagerou who‘s the most nervous?”.

Covering her mouth with her hand, Kagerou silently said “shut up” to Nagatsuki who had hit the nail on the head. With a stern stare to them, they scurried to prepare for the live sh.e.l.ling practice..

“I’ll be the one pulling this.” Kagerou said while she pointed to the abyssal s.h.i.+p mock ups..

“When I give you the signal, shoot, okay? When it’s my turn, someone please change with me.”.

“I’ll do it.”.

Nagatsuki stepped forward and Kagerou nodded..

“Okay, then I’ll head to the open sea.”.

“Not, I’ll be the one pulling the target s.h.i.+ps.”.

“Eh? Nagatsuki wants to do it?”.

“Yes.”.

She had already started to pull the tow ropes.. “You can leave everything to me.”.

“That will help a lot, thanks.”.

“Do it as much as you please.”.

Before Kagerou could say anything, Nagatsuki went down from the pier..

Is it because of her ability or the speed of the mock ups Nagatsuki pulled, Kagerou was a bit surprised. Calming herself down, she faced the other girls..

“Okay then, I’ll be the first.”.

She went down to the open sea and could see Nagatsuki pulling up the mock ups s.h.i.+p. For safety reasons, there’s a pretty big distance between Nagatsuki and the target she towed. Kagerou took aim, measuring the distance and directing the cannon..

“Direct front engagement. Target, enemy abyssal, starting shooting sequence!”.

The 12.7cmguns equipped on her shoulder spat out fire. Water splashed just before the target. The angle had been too low. She corrected her aim a little higher..

“FIRE!!”.

She shot again. Now the water splashed ahead of the target, her angle was too large..

“Target distance found!” She shouted with pride..

“Woohoo” sounds could be heard from the Kongou sisters who were watching. ‘Finding the target distance’ is done by putting the target between two shots. After doing that, she only needed to shoot between these two angles, so the chance to hit will be higher. Kagerou continued to fire without counting how many sh.e.l.ls. .h.i.t the target. After she had used up all the sh.e.l.ls she had, she swam back onto the pier. Nagatsuki did the same, while pulling the target..

They examined the mock ups. Almost half of the abyssal fleet mock-up was hollowed..

“It’s okay…” She said, feeling satisfied after checking the results herself. Atago and the others only gave it a single glance and smiled. What those smiles meant was a mystery..

“Let’s continue. It’s time to s.h.i.+ne!” Kagerou said as an encouragement..

Satsuki went forward. “I’ll start my sh.e.l.ling phase!”.

With such energetic phrase, 12.7 cm sh.e.l.ls started to fly. With a good pace, Satsuki continued to shoot. Water splashed around the target. For those who watched it, it looked like a big water fountain. Before Kagero could say anything and it wasn’t long after, Satsuki ran out of ammo and stopped her sh.e.l.ling. The target was pulled back and Kagerou checked the mock ups..

“There’s only…. 1 hit!?”.

Kagerou blinked several times..

“Hey Satsuki! There’s only one hit!”.

To Satsuki, it was an achievement and said in a happy voice. “Whoa! It hit! I’m becoming better!?.

“What?!”.

“I didn’t hit anything last time! Being on target even with just one sh.e.l.l is amazing for me! It must because you came here!”.

“But you wasted all of your ammo. If they strike back, it’ll be the end of you. Please be careful with your ammunition too.”.

Then Kagerou went to the Kongou sisters and gave a forced smile..

“That one was just for entertainment, the others are better than that.”.

The next one was Us.h.i.+o..

“I…I’ll try my best.”.

Sh.e.l.ling phase started and just like her soft personality, the shots looked soft too. Like it was a shot but it was without any penetrating power, even the splashes were small. The sh.e.l.ling phase was completed and Kagerou made a complicated expression while checking the result. There’s really nothing special to report. It’s not good but it’s not bad. It was as if the abyssal mock ups were saying “Aah, I’ve just got sh.e.l.led” in a mocking tone..

“Hmm… It’s not bad… I guess?”.

Us.h.i.+o shrunk with embarra.s.sment, “I’m sorry…”.

“No no, you still have room to grow. The next is Akebono?”.

Akebono glared at her before she started sh.e.l.ling. Without saying anything and with just a few shots, she was able to find the exact target distance. Without needing to count, she continued getting hits after hits..

Kagerou was impressed. There’s no wasted movement, the correction from the very first shot was very good, too. And she didn’t use all of her ammo like Satsuki either..

After checking the mock ups, there were confirmed critical hits..

“You’re good!”.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m a destroyer after all. Did you think I’ll miss?”.

She didn’t think that, but to think that this s.h.i.+p with such a bad personality was good at both fleet operations and sh.e.l.ling. Kagerou hadn’t expected that..

Kagerou took a look at the Kongou sisters to see whether they were impressed or not. The four of them had been sitting on the beach, Kongou with a teacup in her hand..

“Are they surprised to see this…?”.

“If they look at this one, they will.” Akebono said with a bored voice..

Kagerou panicky turned to her..

The next in line was Arare..

As she’s a silent one, she silently headed towards the shooting point. She took a careful look at the abyssal mock ups..

“Fire.”.

12.7cm sh.e.l.ls were launched..

After a bit of silence, the sh.e.l.ls reached their target. The result wasn’t water, but fire..

Even though they were using live ammo, the magnitude of the explosion was reduced. But to easily tell whether the sh.e.l.l hit or not, they add a lot of magnesium..

The flash was from that. In other words, it had hit the target..

“The possibility of hits is normally below 10%. First shots are used to measure the distance, and to ready for a full salvo. In a real battle, the enemy and allies are always moving around, so it’s much harder to hit..

Even though this was training, it’s still under the effects of temperature and wind. Calculating this and that, and making the first shot hit was still not an easy thing. At first she thought it was just luck, but she hit the other mock ups with her first shot too..

Sh.e.l.ling was over and the mock ups were pulled back. There was no need to check the result..

The Kongou sisters were definitely surprised with this. They stared at the mock ups and only Atago smiled as usual..

Arare didn’t even show any sign of pride..

Kagerou, without thinking, patted Arare’s shoulder..

“That was really cool! You’re that good? You’ve improved a lot than when in Kure!”.

“…………”.

“Everyone will be surprised by that! You’ll become the naval base’s hero!”.

“…”.

Whether she was glad or not, it couldn’t be read through her expression..

Aside from Arare, Kagerou was really happy. With this, it’ll give a good impression to Atago and the fast battles.h.i.+p sisters. Word would spread in the naval base, and everyone would know that they shouldn’t mess with the 14th destroyer division..

“Do you think it is going well?”.

The one who said that, as if throwing a bucket of icy water on Kagerou, is Akebono. Kagerou replied while pouting, “So? Isn’t it you that said that they would be surprised?”.

“Well maybe they will be more surprised with the next one.”.

“Next? Next is… uwah!”.

Kagerou hurriedly said to the girl who lined up with the mock ups of the sea, “Sorry! It’s Nagatsuki’s turn, right?”.

Nagatsuki, who was preparing to tidy the mock ups, took a bit of time before she replied. “Nah… I’m good.”.

“Ah. You’re angry because I forgot about you even though I made you pull the mock ups? Sorry. I’ll pull it for you, so cheer up, okay?”.

Kagerou put her hands together while bowing to Nagatsuki. Nagatsuki shook her head and said: “It’s okay, really. Don’t mind it.”.

“Nagatsuki should practice sh.e.l.ling too! Next time I’ll let you be the first, so please…”.

Kagerou took the towing rope from Nagatsuki then she pulled it lightly while checking the distance..

“I’ll pull it, when I give you the signal, shoot, okay?”.

Leaving Nagatsuki, who looks like she still wanted to say something, in the middle of the sea. After distancing herself from the mock ups, she waved her hands.

“Shoot now!”.

After a while, Kagerou heard the first shot. The sh.e.l.l flew and landed. A column of water shot up..

Right beside Kagerou..

“Kyaa!”.

She screamed without restraint. While covered in water, the shockwave from the blast vibrated to her stomach. If she wasn’t prepared, she would’ve puked all her breakfast..

“What the heck!?”.

After that, the second and third shots fired. This time, they too fell somewhere far away from the target. The ones after that were always in front of the target..

And then, it landed near Kagerou again..

The impact almost made her fall. Even though it’s a sh.e.l.l from a destroyer, she wouldn’t come out of it unscratched..

“Wait! Wait! Stop! Abort! Abort!”.

She raised and waved her hands, but whether Nagatsuki saw it or not, she didn’t know. Nagatsuki sh.e.l.ls’ always fell somewhere far away from the target..

Kagerou immediately left the abyssal mock up and headed towards the pier. Even with wet clothes, her blood ran to her head and she screamed..

“What the h.e.l.l are you thinking? I thought I was going to die! Do you hate me that much?”.

There was no reply. Kagerou continued to shout..

“Well I scolded you guys, forced you to practice,and maybe am annoying. But is it that much to the point that you wanted to kill me?!”.

Still no answer..

Kagerou took a deep breath and looked at Nagatsuki’s face. Nagatsuki’s face was so pale she could only stand..

“Uh…um…sorry.”.

“Well… as long as you’re sorry….”.

“I’m really sorry… It’s not like I do it on purpose.” She said with a really pale face, while trembling with a really small voice..

Looking at the difference to her usual self, Kagerou forgot all her anger and asked, “What do you mean?”.

“It’s her real skill…”.

That cold line belonged to Akebono. She folded her arms with a bored look..

“This girl, is really bad at aiming. She always act high and mighty but her battle skill is the worst of the worst within destroyers. Whatever she does will always be a blunder. She always say she would protect Arare, but the truth is that she always got protected.”.

“….”.

Nagatsuki looked down in shame. She’s really down in the slumps..

Akebono turns to Kagerou. “Now you understand, right? With this fool, of course the battles.h.i.+ps will feel bored.”. Kagerou looked at Atago and the others. They were talking. What they talked about is unknown. Maybe she shot her allies and they’re having a discussion about that. Naturally, the training would’ve been cancelled..

Without thinking Kagerou looked at the sky..

“Ugh, with this, the plan is….”.

“I’m sorry.” Nagatsuki said in a small voice. “I’m sorry.” She suddenly ran off. From the pier, she descended to the sea, and disappeared towards Saru Jima ( Monkey Island)..

“A…Us.h.i.+o, can you handle the rest?”.

“Ye…Yes!?”.

“I’m going to chase after her!”.

Without waiting for a reply from the panicked Us.h.i.+o, Kagerou departed into the sea too..

Sarujima (Monkey Island) was a no-man island on the coast of Yokosuka. Even though there were no inhabitants, there was an open area for barbeque and a swimming area. But they were only operable in summer, other than that, it was shut down..

Kagerou, while searching for Nagatsuki, landed on the beach..

Fleet girls getting an emotional shock were not rare cases. To release emotional and physical exhaustion after fighting Abyssal Fleet, there were councillors who help with that on other naval bases. But there were girls that were too embarra.s.sed to consult. The more pride they had, the higher the possibility of feeling embarra.s.sed. Those girls would cry and get troubled without anyone knowing about it. And they loved places without people. Sarujima was a perfect place for them..

“Ah, she’s here.”.

On the corner of the beach, a figure of a cowering girl was seen. Kagerou slowly approached her..

Nagatsuki was hugging her knees and hiding her face..

Kagerou, without saying anything, sat beside her..

And the two stayed like that for a while..

“It’s Kagerou, huh…”.

Nagatsuki mumbled while she wept..

“Yeah…”.

“What do you think of me?”.

“I don’t think much of it. After all, Nagatsuki is Nagatsuki.”.

Nagatsuki raised her face. In front of her was the sea..

“… What Akebono said was true after all…”.

“… eh?”.

“The balance of Mutsuki Cla.s.s is bad. The gun turret and the mount machine aren’t synching well. As a destroyer, it’s a defect. Especially mine…”.

“Is that so…”.

“It’s true. I’ve always been troubled about being a failure… My armor is pretty thin too.”.

What the fleet girl referred as their armor was, pretty much, their clothing. It looked like a normal sailor uniform, but when battling the Abyssal Fleet, it was the important equipment that protected them from sh.e.l.ls..

Every type of s.h.i.+p girl had her own uniform design. Because the allocation was based on their apt.i.tude test, there was no use on wearing someone else’s uniform. If there was any case that one used another’s uniform, it wouldn’t become armor anymore, it would turn into normal clothes..

In order to reinforce and upgrade the Mutsuki-type, they remodelled the clothes several times, but ended up destroying the balance. That was well known..

“Satsuki is like that too. She always does muscle training. It looks like she thinks that if she trains her body well, she’ll be fine even if she got shot.”.

So that’s the case, Kagerou thought to herself. I thought she’s just a muscle head, but it turned out there’s meaning behind it..

“She’s a really good girl. But I’m not like that. I asked myself countless time how to overcome it and in the end, I got into this way of talking. I made myself believe that it’s my duty to protect someone. But the truth isn’t like that. Because I‘m weak, being with other people gives me a sense of safety. Because Arare is so good at sh.e.l.ling, I’m always with her…”.

“…”.

“Arare always had that “go with the flow” personality, so I always got comforted by her. But when Kagerou came, I became scared. Because it’s someone she knew way before she met me. Doesn’t that mean her friends.h.i.+p with me will end? It’s a funny story, even though I’m the one who keeps on depending on her…”.

Nagatsuki raised her head and looked at Kagerou..

“Hey, Kagerou…”.

“What is it?”.

“Do you want to kick me out of Fourteenth Destroyer Division?”.

Kagerou blinked several times. Knowing there wouldn’t be any answer, Nagatsuki looked down..

“Yeah, you’re right. Because a destroyer with bad balance who can’t shoot and only rely on their comrades all the time is just deadweight. It’s better if you got sc.r.a.pped into parts.”. “Wait! Wait! Please wait.”.

Kagerou suddenly put her fingers on her lips..

“No, of course I won’t do that. Nagatsuki is an important friend too.”.

Nagatsuki got puzzled..

“…. really?”.

“Of course. Even I used to be bad in sh.e.l.ling at first. The worst in Sixteenth Destroyer Division. After a lot of practice, I could stand side by side with the others. So, Nagatsuki can be better too.”.

“Will I get better at sh.e.l.ling?”.

“Yep! There will be times when everyone will be saved because of your sh.e.l.ls, I guarantee it!”.

Kagerou b.u.mped her chest..

Nagatsuki was silent. Her eyes started tp water, so she faced away from Kagerou..

“Is that so…”.

She only muttered that. Kagerou gave her hand to Nagatsuki.. “Let’s go back.”.

“You go on ahead.”.

Nagatsuki said while hiding her face..

Kagerou didn’t force her to come back. Only leaving, “I’ll be waiting” words, Kagerou got into the water from the beach and headed towards the naval base..

Kagerou went back to the pier where they practiced. All Fourteenth Destroyer Division members were there, but out of the others, only Atago left.. “Er… The Kongou sisters are…”.

“They’re on a sortie. There are Abyssal Fleets appearing around Nansei Islands. If they don’t do a search and destroy operation now, some of our transport fleet might get hurt.”.

“And why is Atago…”.

“My job is watching your training!”.

She laughed with a grin..

Because this could be recorded as a “failure”, in Kagerou’s head, she even imagined that the actual reason the Kongou Sisters left was because of how bad Nagatsuki sh.e.l.ling was..

Going back to the destroyers, Kagerou talked to Us.h.i.+o..

“How was it? Going great?”.

“Y… Yes… Somehow…”.

Even though she said so, her face showed shame. Maybe she’s afraid Akebono might had heard what she wanted to say, Kagerou thought..

“Sorry, I’ll take it from here.”.

Then she b.u.mped Us.h.i.+o’s hand and turned around..

“Next is torpedo training!”.

All the girls, including Akebono got nervous with those words. Torpedo was the beauty (flowers?) of destroyers. Event they, the small type s.h.i.+ps who weren’t even deemed important, could become wolves when in torpedo phase..

The variety of torpedoes that they equipped had the strength to blow up even a capital s.h.i.+ps in one hit..

Kagerou said with her hands on her hip. “Even if we miss, as long as we’re good with our torpedoes, it’ll be okay! We can be top s.h.i.+ps!”.

“Isn’t special practice means escorting transport fleets?” Satsuki said..

Kagerou instantly replied. “Because the abyssals will appear, we need torpedo practice. I’ll prepare it, so you guys line up again… hm?”.

She tilted her head. The mock ups they borrowed were nowhere to be found..

“Us.h.i.+o, did you returned the mock ups?”.

“No… in sh.e.l.ling practice, Arare sunk them all. Since the first shot hit, almost all of the others were hit too, so…” Looking carefully, only the tow rope was left by the pier. All the others were sleeping with the fishes..

“If there are no mock ups, how can we practice…?”.

“Well yeah… how about borrowing again?”.

But they would be scolded. Just getting scolded was the good case. There were a lot of cases where they were forced to write an apology letter and filing a lot of report and doc.u.ments..

“Well, well, if that’s so, how about me becoming the target s.h.i.+p?”.

Atago who watched them said that..

Kagerou was surprised and hurriedly waved her hand..

“Of course not, letting the secretary s.h.i.+p being a target practice is a big no.”.

“It’s fine. Let me become useful for you guys.”.

Without stopping, she lowered her leg onto the waters, as if sliding. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s bouncing up and down..

“If you’ve finished preparing, give me a sign, mkay?”.

While looking at the smiling Atago, Kagerou let out some words under her breath..

“What to do…”. “But the one who told us to do torpedo practice is Kagerou…” said Us.h.i.+o..

“But if we don’t put our minds to it as if it’s real…”.

“On the contrary, I want to shoot.” Satsuki said..

“Those breast armor are really irritating me.” Without hiding, Satsuki had said that in a voice filled with envy, while looking at Atago. Arare added with a whisper..

“Shoot torpedoes while targeting breast… that’s new…”.

“It only takes one hit…”.

“What’s with the weird jokes, everyone…”Stuttering, Us.h.i.+o hurriedly said. With those words, everyone looked at her. Us.h.i.+o was taken aback..

“What… What is it…”.

“The pride of those who have…”.

With those words, Us.h.i.+o covered her b.r.e.a.s.t.s with her hands. Kagerou stopped them and said..

“Hey, stop with the weird talk. I’ve decided to go with the torpedo practice, act as if it’s real…”.

“Kagerou’s actually one of those who has them…”.

“Enough with it! Let’s go!”.

Everyone went into the water..

The practice didn’t go 1 person at a time. Compared to sh.e.l.ls, torpedos are slow. The enemy could evade them, if they saw it. The most effective way to overcome this weakness was by making several s.h.i.+ps launch together..

That’s why practising as a destroyer division was much more effective. The problem then, was the placement of the torpedo launchers they equipped..

The girls whose torpedo launchers were equipped on their back or arms had it easy- by just bending their body a bit or aiming their arm into the water was enough to shoot the torpedo correctly..

The type-90 torpedos launched by 3/4 tubes torpedo launcher platforms really looked like fish swimming in the water at a really fast speed. The problem arose when they were equipped on their legs. This placement did not allow them to correctly shoot easily. On the other hand, those equipped on their ankle were pretty much ok, but those equipped on their thighs had to make a stance like a hand stand in order to shoot. On the manual, it had said, “When deploying torps, let the launch platform rotate”, but when they were cruising, they cannot let the platforms move otherwise it would affect their balance. If in a real battle, they would be crushed by the Abyssals before they moved in position to shoot. In other words, the girls themselves had to posture their body correctly first rather than rotating their armaments in order to shoot..

“But I’m not in one of those cla.s.sifications…” Kagerou said while b.u.mping her chest..

Her torp armaments were located on her back, but it had an arm that could move freely. With this, she could launch the torp easily without even the need to go into a specific posture..

Us.h.i.+o looked at her jealously; her torp armaments were instead located on her legs..

“I, feel embarra.s.sed when launching torps…”.

Her torp armaments were facing up, so when she launched the torps, she had to be facing the target. Next, she had to raise her leg extremely high and launch the torps into the waters. Otherwise, she needed to turn her back to the enemy and do the same thing. Both positions allowed everyone to see what’s under her skirt..

“Why don’t you just configure the torp armament to face the front right from the start?”.

“If I do that, it will lower the aerodynamics and my sailing speed will drop….speed is a destroyer’s weapon, so….”.

Us.h.i.+o shrunk..

Kagerou pouted as she said, “hmmm.”.

Showing of skirt or not, for Kanmasus, it was a pretty important matter. Even though these girls fight against missiles and fighter planes, in the end, they are still girls. They might not mind it during battle, but once they were back at base and reminisce about it, they will blush hard..

By the way, Kagerou was wearing spats. Through these kind of details, we can see how well developed a destroyer is..

Akebono, who’s listening silently, opened her mouth. “Just don’t think about it, easy, right?”.

“But….”.

“I don’t mind it.”.

She’s an Ayanami-cla.s.s destroyer and the solution she suggested seemed pretty good to Kagerou..

Kagerou thought for a bit before saying, “How about you bow down a bit when you shoot?”.

“Yes? Eh??”.

Answering Usio question, Kagerou explained..

“If you face the opening of the torpedo launcher downwards, it won’t affect the aerodynamics right? When you shoot, bend your knees as if you are kneeling, then it will aim forward, right? If you set it upwards, then you will have to face backwards before shooting..

“Ah I get it!”.

.

Enjoy our translator’s “Artistic Talent” Depicting torpedo arrangements/formations xD.

 .

Us.h.i.+o’s face lit up, but turned anxious in seconds..

“To kneel and shoot….it looks like…..meeting the parents on the other side…..the abyssal will misunderstand.”.

“Whadaya mean by the ‘other side’?”.

“I’m waiting~~” Atago’s voice echoed from a distance. Kagerou quickly a.s.sembled the girls..

“Let’s go, line up! Don’t forget to change into Ougi-formation!”.

Torpedoes were usually deployed in a fan shape…so whichever way the target turned to evade, they will be hit..

 .

 .

Kagerou gave Atago the “we will do it” sign..

.

More “Art”.

“Target, heavy cruiser Atago. Direction okay, route okay, torpedo launch platform fuse set to automatic.”.

They all lined up and continued one by one. They’re close enough to see Atago clearly..

“Shoot!”.

*Shuuu*, the sound of compressed air being fired. The torpedos launched from the girl and headed towards Atago..

Kagerou took a deep breath and looked at them go..

Then Atago made a big X mark with her arms..

“You missed.”.

“A…”.

Kagerou still felt disappointed even though the chance of torpedos. .h.i.tting enemy was only around 10%. Raising it through this type of special practice, she thought they should have hit more. However, having all the torpedoes missing was just too much..

“Maybe we missed the timing.”.

“Or maybe it’s because our launch position was too different from each other.” The one who said that is Satsuki..

Because the 14th Destroyer Squadron was filled with s.h.i.+ps of different types, their position while launching torpedos differed from each other. There were those who shot while standing, sitting, raising their arm and even raising one leg. In this case, it’s much better if they were of the same type. It’s would be so much easier to match the timing, resulting in a raise of battle results and proficiency..

“That’s why I said there’s no need to be embarra.s.sed!” Akebono said while pouting..

“Rather than kneeling every time, isn’t it faster to just raise your legs?”.

“But….”.

Us.h.i.+o face became red. Akebono didn’t give her mercy..

“You are just too self-conscious! What good would it do for s.h.i.+p girls? Do you want to get eaten by abyssal? You really didn’t do anything at all. Since that day, you have never been useful at all.”.

Us.h.i.+o became teary eyed, trying to object what Akebono said..

Then Kagerou came and separate them..

“Okay okay, that’s enough. Please don’t complain at every little thing, Akebono.”.

“Huh…?”.

Akebono whispered as if she was uninterested..

“No matter how many painful experience you have been in, there are those that won’t heal.”.

Kagerou became a bit bothered by those words, but decided not to question it any further..

“Let’s do it again.”.

They lined up again and once again signalled Atago..

“We’ll do it again.”.

“This time, let’s get closer before we shoot.”.

“Eh….Even though it’s not night battle?” Satasuki said..

Kagerou approved the truth in her words. “Yeah, and because we suck at this, we will get close as much as possible. It’s much easier to hit if we are closer after all.”.

“On the other hand, we will be the ones who get hit.” An objection was raised..

“Yeah we will, but to be on the top, we should be able to do this.”.

“Both sides, advance, 1st battle speed.”.

Following along Kagerou’s orders, everyone advanced. Even though they sighted Atago’s at a distance, they kept advancing. They kept going till their eyes could finally see her clearly..

“…..Shoot!”.

Shouu. The sound of compressed air once again released. Once they launched their torpedos, they turned around quickly to get away. It’s a manoeuvre to evade enemy counter attacks. When they were far enough, Kagerou turned around to see how they went. Atago, like before, made an X mark again..

“Ahhh….:” Kagerou slapped her palm on her forehead..

“Huuh….we missed again…”.

Missing 2 times consecutively was pretty embarra.s.sing. If it was in real battle, it’s was definitely not rare for them to miss, but at the least in training, she thought it would hit. And real battles are much more difficult and crueller than training..

“Us.h.i.+o shot hers perfectly.” Satsuki said..

“But she’s crouching, it’s a bit weird….”.

“Please don’t say it….I’m trying hard to conquer my embarra.s.sment,” Us.h.i.+o said with cheeks blus.h.i.+ng. Then Atago came..

“The result isn’t good huh….”.

“Sorry….Do you have any insight? Does the launch distance a bit weird?”.

Atago put her finger on her forehead. “Hmm….I don’t think there’s any problem with it, but as for the launch stance, I guess… considering the different types, its fine.”.

When they thought about it later, they guessed it was supposed to be a joke and felt how Us.h.i.+o had felt..

“However some of the important torpedos were shot a bit late. If you don’t launch them together, the chance of hit will be lower.”.

Kagerou turned..

“Is there anyone who shot their torpedoes a bit late?”.

The destroyers looked at each other and fell into silence, then a hand slowly raised..

“…..Arare?”.

Arare slightly nods..

“My torpedo launch platform….isn’t in good condition….so, slow…”.

“From the first time?”.

Arare affirmed Kagerou’s question..

Yes…”.

“Say that earlier won’t you..?”.

“Said it…..” Arare whispered..

“The voice must have been small.” Atago said..

Arare voice was small, and to top it off, she never said anything she deemed unimportant. It wasn’t a problem when they’re on land, but it wasn’t the case when they were out at sea. It’s important to speak loudly. Usually they are using wireless radio to speak with each other, but in a real battle, the sound of blasting guns interfered, not to mention the abyssal screaming and wailing. Thus there were many cases where they couldn’t hear each other, so at the very worst, they had to shout into the mike..

Because they always screamed, the mike frequently broke down and so the suppliers reduced the sensitivity of the mike. As a result of this, it wouldn’t receive anything that was said with a small voice..

“Even though you are that good at shooting….Hey Arare, try saying ‘torpedo launched.”.

Obeying Kagerou, Arare opened her mouth to speak..

“……..Torpedo launched.”.

“Once again.”.

“Torpedo launched.”.

Kagerou tilted her head slightly..

“Hmm….If it’s like this, we can hear you even with such a small voice.”.

Atago was lost in thought for a second and then suddenly clapped her hands and said..

“Hey Kagerou….would you listen to big sis’s request?”.

“Who the heck is ‘big sis’?”.

“Aah, don’t tease me, I will be the one training Arare.”.

“Eeh?Even though you are the secretary s.h.i.+p?”.

“It’s a onetime deal.”.

Atago pulled Arare, who was standing idly by, to the opposite side of the wharf, where the sand was..

With this, there were only 4 of them left in Kagerou’s team..

“Isn’t it okay to call it a day now?” Akebono said..

Kagerou shook her head..

“No, it’s not, we gotta train by ourselves. Especially after Atago is lending us a hand.”.

“She’s just spending her free time, isn’t it?”.

“Let’s just do the torpedo launching practice again.”.

Even though they had different poses, they should, at least, be able to shoot with the same timing.. The torps they used just now had already been recovered. Torps are expensive, so they shortened the range in practice to make sure they don’t sink and lost..

“There’s only 4 of us, but let’s just do whatever we can. ‘Kay, both sides, 1st battle speed.”.

For a while after that, they lined up and launched, lined up and launched, again and again.. While they did that, they became accustomed to it. Even with different poses, they became more and more synchronized. Even Us.h.i.+o forgot all about her embarra.s.sment and silently gave it her all..

However for Kagerou, it’s much more surprising to see Akebono still with them..

“I thought you would say, ‘I am going home,’ again in the middle of practice.”.

“You guys suck, so I figured I will stay and use this to laugh at you guys later.”.

Well, Akebono’s shooting and torpedo launching skills were at a high level. There were many times when they thought, “if only she had a good personality too”..

Kagerou took a quick look too see what the time was..

“It’s about time we stopped.”.

“Nagatsuki and Arare?” Satsuki asked..

Kagerou took a look around for a while..

“I guess Nagastuki is home by now, and Arare…..I will take a look.”.

After sending the others home, Kagerou immediately headed towards where Atago was..

Atago and Arare were standing on the beach doing something..

“?”.

They weren’t actually doing any shooting or torpedo launch training. They were only standing in front of the sea, lined up. Walking towards them, Kagerou asked, “Er….we’re going to end today’s training…. what are you two actually doing?”.

“A spell to raise your morale.”.

“Spell…?”.

“Well, let’s do it once again, Arare, stand beside me.”.

Without letting her choose whether she wanted to or not, she forced Arare to stand beside her..

“Ookay, now take a deep breath.”.

Atago took a deep breath. Arare did the same..

“PAN PAKA PA~~N!”.

Kagerou stood shocked while Arare was drowned out. Atago pouted..

“C’mon, shout it out!”.

“….”.

“If you are able to make speaking loudly a habit, people will have to look at you. It’s really important.”.

Rather than refusing to do that, Arare made a confused expression at what had just happened.. And of course, Atago ignored that and made Arare face the sea and shouted..

“Ookay, once again, pan paka pannnnnn!”.

“Pa…paka….”.

“Pan paka pannnnnn!”.

“Pa……..paka…..”.

Compared to the ever cheerful Atago, Arare’s voice got weaker and weaker. Kagerou took a glance to her back. Kanmusu that pa.s.sed were whispering to each other..

“Looks like she’s being played around by Atago.”.

“Uwa, that looks troublesome,” someone said while laughing..

Arare who’s usually expressionless started to look a bit sad. The skin around her nape began to turn red..

Kagerou glared at the girls that pa.s.sed by and then back at Arare again..

She approached the 2 of them..

“Hey Arare.”.

“…?”.

Arare looked at her..

“Let’s do it together!”.

“Why would….Kagerou….”.

“Well, I feel like my voice has been getting softer….”.

Kagerou lined up beside Arare and linked their arms together..

“Let’s chase the small voices away.”.

“Let me join in too.” A strange voice was heard..

It belonged to Nagatsuki. It seemed like she just got back from the Sarujima and she was breathing a bit heavily..

“Even though I am bad at shooting, I won’t lose to you in voice. That’s the only thing I have to be able to help Arare with.”. After hearing that, Kagerou smiled a bit..

“That’s wonderful, with 3 people, it won’t be embarra.s.sing.”.

“Fufufufu~,” Atago laughed..

“With this, our voice will surely reach beyond the horizons. Now, let’s shout till the Kanmusu across the sea hears us! PAN PAKA PAA~~N!”.

“Pa….panpaka….pan”.

Arare’s voice was still as small as ever. Kagerou, as if trying to cover for her, let out her own voice..

“Pan paka pan! If you use my voice as a cover, it won’t be embarra.s.sing!”.

“I won’t lose! Pan paka pan!”.

Nagatsuki shouted too. As if doing it in turn, Arare shouted too..

“Pan paka pan….”.

“Pan paka pan!”.

“Pan paka pan!”.

This ‘training’ lasted till the sun had set..

Night..

After all that, Kagerou’s voice was reduced to barely a croak. As if dragging her feet, she headed towards the study room and pulled the chair heavily, sat and laid her head on the desk.. With training and all that ‘pan paka pan’, she’s not only tired physically, but her throat also hurts. Even if the ‘pan paka pan’ thing didn’t really improve anything for her, she still stuck till the very end..

After being dead tired for a while, a sort of fire called “will” flared from deep inside her heart and she raised her body slowly. She pulled out some stationaries and a fountain pen from the drawer and lined them up on the table..

Kagerou stared blankly at the paper that would become a means of communication and the writing apparatuses that would become tools to transmit feelings..

She wanted to send a letter to s.h.i.+ranui and was planning to send a letter to her right after she arrived at the naval base. However, a lot happened and she didn’t even have the time to remember to do it…until now..

There was no sign that s.h.i.+ranai sent one, but she’s always been the type that doesn’t do that, so there was no use worrying about it at all..

The stationary wasn’t a problem, but a fountain pen for a girl was a bit over the top. Because they say, “A Kanmusu should be a model for all girls”, they had to use the distributed writing tools. In the past, there was even training to write kanji..

Of course, there are telephones in the naval base. Even girls had their own phones and smart phones, but it’s just that they only had few chances to use them. They were limited in their usage of it..

This happened because the higher ups didn’t like girls talking behind their backs. Officially, they said it’s a preventive measure to limit the spread of information to the outsiders, but the girls thought that it was more like, “a father who checks his daughter” kinda thing..

And so, the most viable option to contact each other was through a letter. Even a letter should be concise and business-like. There were a lot of cases where girls would write a lot until it looked like a ma.n.u.script for a short novel, but ended up only having 1 page being sent by the naval base..

Kagerou wasn’t writing a love letter to her boyfriend, or a missive to a new secret religion, or trying to leak sensitive sortie details to the abyssal. She planned to write a normal letter..

“To my beloved, s.h.i.+ranui.”.

As soon as she wrote that, she tore the paper, crumpled it, and threw it into the trash can. However, she missed, so she got up, picked it up and put it inside the trash can..

She felt it was way too formal. They used to be partners, so it should be more like a text message..

“s.h.i.+ranui-cchi~~”.

Crumpled. Who the h.e.l.l is s.h.i.+ranui-cchi? She had never called her that before..

“Dear Madam,.

In this clear, beautiful autumn season, how do you-“.

It was too formal again. She crumpled it and threw it away..

“Ye-ay!gOoDmOrNiNg!”. What the h.e.l.l was that? It was thrown away..

After that, Kagerou tried a lot more writing styles, ripped them apart and threw them away..

Inside of each, it looked as if a novelist was trying to find her style, but in the end they became inhabitants of the trash can..

Because of the exhaustion from the training, whatever she did, her head didn’t work. Because of the hours spent shouting ‘pan paka pan’, her head felt like a pac.h.i.n.ko store during a sale. Her throat was parched as well..

After adding more and more goat feed (paper), she finally returned to her usual way of talking..

[ How’s Kuro? Here, it’s…].

After thinking for a bit, she continued..

[…the worst.].

It’s a bit negative, but who cared, she thought to herself..

[Destroyers are of the lower part of the hierarchy. The secretary s.h.i.+p is a weirdo and the admiral is pretty messed up too. The salty wind feels gross, there must be oil mixed up in it.].

She didn’t think she would write that much, but the bad things kept flowing out onto the paper..

[Arare had bad influence and became much more silent. It’s even questionable whether this is a naval base or not. I am always the one stuck with the short end of the stick, so much that I could cry. I always thought of s.h.i.+ranui. I want us to be in the same division again.].

Kagerou was so fired up she didn’t even realise that there were people behind her..

“Kagerou.”.

“Eh, ah? What?”.

She swivelled around. The one behind her is Hagatsuki, and Arare beside her. She held a bag in her hand..

“A letter? Did we disturb you?”.

“N…No, it’s okay, what’s up?”.

Nagatsuki cleared her throat..

“Today, I have troubled you so much, sorry for making you put up with my egoism.”.

“Nah, it’s okay, we are in the same division, right?”.

“Because of Kagerou, I could understand my stupidity. I won’t give you any more trouble. I promise.”.

Then she nodded to Arare..

“Here….”.

Arare gave Kagerou the item inside of her bag..

“Today, you stayed with me till the end…a present.”.

“A gift? You are giving it to me?”.

Arare nodded..

“Nagatsuki and I picked it up together….”.

Kagerou blinked with surprise..

“Thank you…”.

“The one who should say that….is us….”.

Arare awkwardly bowed to her..

“Thank you….”.

“Let me express my gratefulness too. Thank you very much.”.

Hagatsuki bowed to her too and with that, both of them left the self-study room..

Kagerou took a look at what they gave her..

It was a MamiyaYoukan..

Among Mamiya products, Youkan was the best among the best. Even though Mamiya product’s popularity beat all other brands, the only ones with the special privilege to taste them are Kanmusus. They even held contests for it so they wouldn’t be distributed recklessly..

Kagerou cut the end of the Youkan and ate just a little of it..

A gentle sweet taste filled her mouth..

A bit after she tasted it, she picked up her fountain pen and finished writing her letter..

[But I will work hard. Please watch over me from Kure.].